"My favorite months in the Oval Office are late fall to early winter when occasionally the afternoon light will be at just the right angle to create some interesting backlight if the president is working at the Resolute Desk," Oct. 14, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)
Pete Souza, US President Barack Obama’s chief White House photographer, posted his photographic retrospective on Obama’s final year in office.
The photographs in the original photo essay, posted on Medium, run the gamut from personal to stately, from brooding over the Sandy Hook massacre to dancing with a staffer ahead of her wedding.
“All of them were taken either by me or a White House photographer on my staff. For many of the images, I’ve included the backstory behind the image to provide further context or to share why that image was particularly important to me,” Souza wrote.
“As always, the editing for this project is both subjective and personal. Yes, there are some historic moments included but mostly I was looking for behind-the-scenes moments that give people a more personal look at the President and First Lady. And I’ve included a few that I thought were just cool photos,” he said.
Posted on the last day of 2016, just three weeks before Obama leaves the White House and President-elect Donald Trump moves in, Souza said he was grateful for “the honor of a lifetime to be a witness to history these past eight years.”
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‘With sunlight streaming through a window in the Green Room, President Obama listens to his introduction by Mark Barden, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was killed during the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. Later, as he made remarks in the East Room, he began to cry as he recalled the day of the shootings; he called it the worst day of his presidency,’ Jan. 5, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘President Obama reacts as his putt falls just short during an impromptu hole of golf with staffers Joe Paulsen, left, and Marvin Nicholson after the US-ASEAN Summit at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, Calif,’ Feb. 16, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘I had my eye on this youngster while President Barack Obama spoke during a reception at the White House celebrating African American History Month. When the president starting greeting audience members along the rope line, I bent down in front of the young man and captured this moment of the president touching his face before he too bent down to greet him. Afterwards, I tracked down his name — Clark Reynolds — and had the president sign a copy for him,’ Feb. 18, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘The President receives an update in the Oval Office on the situation in Syria from Brett McGurk, Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. Pictured left to right: Jen Easterly, Senior Director for Counterterrorism; Lt. Gen. Terry Wolff (Ret.), Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL; National Security Adviser Susan E. Rice; McGurk; and Rob Malley, White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa,’ Feb. 24, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘I spend a lot of time every year in the Situation Room, which is not my favorite room to work in because it’s so difficult to move around. Here the President convenes a National Security Council meeting,’ March 18, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘The great thing about children is you just don’t know what they will do in the presence of the president. So when David Axelrod stopped by the Oval Office with his son’s family, Axe’s granddaughter, Maelin, crawled onto the Vice President’s seat while the President continued his conversation with the adults. Then at one point, Maelin glanced over just as the president was looking back at her,’ June 22, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘President Obama talks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia following their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China,’ Sept. 5, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘The President sips from a coconut during his visit in Luang Prabang, Laos. This was just after it was chopped open, splattering pieces of coconut on his shirt,’ Sept. 7, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)‘The First Lady hugs former president George W. Bush as she and President Obama take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC,’ Sept. 24, 2016. (Official White House photo/Chuck Kennedy)‘Two days after the election, the president meets with President-elect Donald Trump,’ Nov. 10, 2016. (Official White House photo/Pete Souza)
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