Remember when you were a child on Christmas Eve and you had a difficult time sleeping? It was kinda like that. I was asked to work at the 85th Annual Academy Awards . That’s right… THE OSCARS! One of my very close friends has worked for The Academy for years and asked me to “assist” her this year. I was hesitant… (kidding). I said “YES, of course!”… I may have even screamed it. My flight landed around 9:00pm on Friday night. I was actually walking on The Red Carpet (covered in plastic at that time) less than two hours later. Here are a few behind-the- scenes photos that I took over the next 48 hours.
Saturday morning, press began arriving and going through “rehearsals”.
First celebrity sighting of the day? Ryan Seacrest, of course. Very appropriate, right? He was right next to me. So close, in fact, it actually felt rude to reach down, pick up my camera and point it at him. I am not sure I would make a good paparazzi. A few seconds later, I noticed Chris Harrison. I feel like I “know” Chris after watching ALL 17 seasons of The Bachelor. ( I really have to stop watching that show…) I gathered up the courage to snap a photo as they were looking away. Again, I said I wouldn’t be good at being Paparazzi.
Here is a view where you can see both of them rehearsing. I was at a safe distance. I snapped away.
This is the end of The Red Carpet. The enormous red staircase leads you into the Dolby Theater, which is where the awards ceremony takes place. The grouping of “Oscars” awaits you at the top of the staircase.
The photo below was taken early Sunday morning. Oscar Sunday!
I had to arrive on The Red Carpet at 6:00am. I was given coffee, breakfast, and a walkie talkie.
The below shot was taken early Sunday from the Red Carpet looking up into the bleacher area. This is the area where the “Bleacher Fans” and I sat. I got to sit in the Front Row, actually. I’m bragging, I know. I’m allowed.
Did you know that behind the Red Carpet and the Bleachers is a Forever 21? Me either. Now you know… There were so many things about the whole process surprised me. After I took this photo, I had to run back up to our hotel room and grab a hat. I was in for a long day of sunshine and decided a hat was better than a sunburned face. On my way back down to the carpet I was alone in a long walkway next to Owen Wilson. He totally busted me doing a double take, and when I looked at him the second time, he smiled and said “how’s it going?” I smiled, said “good” and kept walking. Waaaay too awkward to take a photo. You just have to believe me.
Back down on the red carpet, here is the view from the top of the bleachers. 
We had to be off the carpet by 2:00 as the arrivals start coming in. I took this photo of my friend (and boss) around 1:55. I love this photo of her. All business- but with a smile.
A quick shot up at the Bleacher Fans before joining them myself.
Here are a few of my “star” shots. I was only shooting with my EF 24-70mm lens so I wasn’t able to get in really close. There are AP and Getty photographers for that 🙂 My husband can probably recite every line to Wall Street, so I had to make sure I got a good shot of “Gekko” for him. I have to say, all the celebrities look exactly like I thought they would look. Everyone. I guess that’s what to expect when everything is broadcast in HD now.
Once the last celeb is down The Red Carpet, crews immediately start the tear-down. It’s crazy how fast it all comes down and goes back to being a normal street. I took the photo below on Monday morning. As I was taking the photo, Spiderman walked by. Thats normal, right? It was almost back to the same “Hollywood” it was just a few days prior.
It was an amazing experience and one I will never forget!
