I arrived in Chicago looking forward to photographing Barack Obama on this historic night. But when I arrived at Grant Park, I found out that I didn’t have a press pass that would allow me into the inner cordon to photograph him as he made his victory speech.

At that stage I knew it was too late to change anything. I was ticked off: I would be out in the cold figuratively and literally, not where I wanted to be.

I went out to walk around this huge park, famous for so many political moments of history. The atmosphere was wonderful. Usually at that time of year in Chicago it’s turning cold, but it proved to be a balmy night. More and more people gathered — huge numbers of African Americans, obviously — sensing that this was their moment, some leaping with excitement, others quietly holding hands, smiling, as the results came in.

It started to dawn on me that this would be a better place to be than inside. I was watching Obama’s victory through the faces of all these people watching him on the big screen. Inside would be very controlled. This was real America.

I was pleased with this shot because you’ve got a real cross-section of cultures — African, Hispanic, Chinese, white. You can see their tension and emotion as they bite their lips and bring their hands to their faces; there’s a tear in one woman’s eye. Even Martin Luther King is there, on a T-shirt, depicting the journey from his defining struggle to Obama’s final victory When he won the place went mad, and when he delivered his speech everyone became quiet and emotional. As the world now knows, it was a fantastic speech.

There was only one place to be on the planet that night — and this time, I was there.

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