I post a monthly diary highlighting the pictures taken for the previous month by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza. Pete has posted his annual album of his favorite pictures of the year. I thought I'd take the opportunity to choose some of my favorite from his selections. As always I encourage you to click through and check out all of the pictures he has posted when you have the time.
Year in Photographs 2012 by Pete Souza
All photographs were taken by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza.
Dec. 16, 2012
"Two days after the shootings at Newtown, the President traveled to Connecticut to meet with the victims' families and give remarks at a prayer vigil. The President spent hours greeting family members. Difficult as that was for everyone, the one moment that helped sooth the pain was when he posed for a photo with the siblings and cousins of Emilie Parker, one of the 20 children who died that day in Newtown. I see both sadness and hope in this photograph, and I know after a lot of tears that day, it meant so much to the President that everyone was able to smile for a moment in this family photo. Thanks to the Parker family for allowing us to show this photograph publicly.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Jan. 1, 2012
"A nice way to celebrate the New Year for the President was to jump in the ocean in his native state of Hawaii. He was on his annual Christmas vacation with family and friends, and went swimming at Pyramid Rock Beach in Kaneohe Bay."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Jan. 24, 2012
"One of the most memorable moments of the year was when the President hugged Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as he walked onto the floor of the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol to deliver his annual State of the Union address."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Feb. 1, 2012
"Lawrence Jackson captured this cute photograph of the President holding Arianna Holmes, 3, before taking a departure photo with members of her family in the Oval Office."
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Feb. 21, 2012
"Egged on by B.B. King, at right, the President joins in singing 'Sweet Home Chicago' during the 'In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues' concert in the East Room. Participants include, from left: Troy 'Trombone Shorty' Andrews, Jeff Beck, Derek Trucks, B.B. King, and Gary Clark, Jr."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Feb. 29, 2012
"Sonya Hebert made this amusing photograph of Bo, the Obama family dog, as he was being videotaped for the Easter Egg Roll, in the East Colonnade of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Sonya N. Hebert)
March 30, 2012
"We had just arrived aboard the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn and the President was walking into the White House. I had seen this scene several times but had never been able to quite capture it the way I wanted. Here, finally, arriving at night, I was able to frame him walking into the light of the Diplomatic Reception Room, with the added bonus of his shadow being cast from the television lights off to the left."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 18, 2012
"We were doing an event at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. Before speaking, the President was looking at some of the automobiles and exhibits adjacent to the event, and before I knew what was happening he walked onto the famed Rosa Parks bus. He sat in one of the seats, looking out the window for only a few seconds."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 24, 2012
"We were backstage at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill for the President's appearance on 'Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.' The President let out a big laugh as he was being briefed by the producers and Mr. Fallon on the 'Slow Jam the News' segment."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 19, 2012
"At Camp David for the G8 Summit, European leaders took a break to watch the overtime shootout of the Chelsea vs. Bayern Munich Champions League final. Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom, the President, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, French President François Hollande react during the winning goal."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 19, 2012
"Following the conclusion of the G8 Summit, the President plays a game of pool in the Holly Cabin at Camp David."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 13, 2012
"There was still a little light left in the evening sky as the President and First Lady waved goodbye to President Shimon Peres of Israel following a dinner in his honor at the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 5, 2012
"'Anyone want to try a piece of my strawberry pie,' the President asked those at adjacent tables during a stop for lunch at Kozy Corners restaurant in Oak Harbor, Ohio. A young boy said yes and came over for a big bite of pie."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 14, 2012
"The President delivers remarks in the pouring rain at a campaign event in Glen Allen, Va. He was supposed to do a series of press interviews inside before his speech, but since people had been waiting for hours in the rain he did his remarks as soon as he arrived at the site so people could go home to dry off ."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 16, 2012
"The President and First Lady were attending the game between the U.S. Men's Olympic basketball team and Brazil in Washington, D.C. During the first half, the jumbotron flashed couples on their 'Kiss Cam', where they are then induced by the crowd to kiss each other. But neither the President or First Lady saw themselves when they were flashed on the 'Kiss Cam', and some in the audience booed when they didn't kiss. At halftime, as we walked to the locker room to visit the U.S. team, daughters Malia and Sasha were asking their parents why they hadn't kissed during their 'Kiss Cam' moment. Both the President and First Lady said they hadn't even realized what had happened and didn't know why people were booing. So in the second half, when they appeared again on the 'Kiss Cam', the President leaned over to kiss the First Lady amidst audience cheers as Malia and the Vice President watched overhead on the jumbotron."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Aug. 14, 2012
"How about a White House beer? The President was greeting patrons at Coffee Connection in Knoxville, Iowa, when this customer asked him about the White House beer. The President said he thought he might have some on his campaign bus and asked an aide to check. A few minutes later, the President delivered a bottle and the customer reacted in celebration."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 2, 2012
"David Lienemann made this unusual photo as staff held flashlights so the Vice President could see as he signed autographs backstage at West York Area High School in York, Pa."
(Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Sept. 6, 2012
"While the President was waiting anxiously backstage before his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., daughters Malia and Sasha came in to wish him well."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 28, 2012
"A candid portrait of the President during a meeting, juxtaposed with the paintings of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington, busts of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Abraham Lincoln, and the Emancipation Proclamation. It's a difficult angle to get because I had to sit in front of the closed Oval Office door and hope that no one would open the door and knock me over."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 12, 2012
"The President had invited former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to have lunch, and they apparently started talking about Gibb's Chevy Volt. Gibbs knew the President had visited one of their factories and was hoping to drive a Volt one day. Gibbs told the President that his car was on the South Drive. So the President jumped in and made three loops around the drive, joking later that the Secret Service ordered that the White House gates not be opened under any circumstances."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 26, 2012
"The President pretends to be caught in Spider-Man's web as he greets Nicholas Tamarin, 3, just outside the Oval Office. Spider-Man had been trick-or-treating for an early Halloween with his father, White House aide Nate Tamarin in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. I can never commit to calling any picture my favorite, but the President told me that this was HIS favorite picture of the year when he saw it hanging in the West Wing a couple of weeks later."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 3, 2012
"I had noticed the possibility of a potential good photograph if the President were to pass by this flag as he departed an evening campaign rally in Dubuque, Iowa. So I planted myself backstage as he finished working a ropeline and managed to get one usable frame as he walked by."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 15, 2012
"The President had just met with the U.S. Olympics gymnastics team, who because of a previous commitment had missed the ceremony earlier in the year with the entire U.S. Olympic team. The President suggested to McKayla Maroney that they recreate her 'not impressed' photograph before they departed."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 19, 2012
"To some, this is just a snapshot and doesn't belong in this gallery of candid photographs from the year. But to me, it evokes what the trip to Burma was all about. Here is the President, shoes and socks off in respect, posing like an American tourist in front of the oldest pagoda in the world in a country that no U.S. President had ever been able to visit."
President Barack Obama stands barefoot in front of the 368-foot tall Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon, Burma, Nov. 19, 2012.
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 12, 2012
"When I was in high school, I had a friend who had Bose 901 speakers–at the time the best speakers on the planet–and when his parents were gone, he would invite me and other friends over to blast Led Zeppelin songs so loud that the windows in the house almost rattled. So when the President was chatting with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin–John Paul Jones, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page–during intermission at the Kennedy Center Honors, those long ago memories came flooding back."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 14, 2012
"The President reacts as John Brennan briefs him on the details of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The President later said during a TV interview that this was the worst day of his Presidency."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 31, 2012
"Following remarks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the fiscal cliff negotiations, the President greets a couple of OMB workers as he walked back across on West Executive Avenue as he walked back to the West Wing of the White House. He gave them an elbow-bump, because he had just put Purell on his hands."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
White House Photography Disclaimer:
This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House.
I know a lot of people don't have the time to check out the
White House's photostream at Flickr so I put together this diary at the end of each month for everyone.
If you see an image you really like I encourage you to click through using the links I've provided under each image and view that photo in a larger format (in cases where there are no links that is because the White House has not yet uploaded that image to Flickr). Also, you can order prints through Flickr or download full sized files to print at home if you'd like. I've printed quite a few over the years to hang in my office here at school.
Please feel free to add your favorite White House Photo Staff pictures from 2012 in the comments that I missed and you'd like to share with everyone.