CAPTURING A TERRORIST
… AND A MOMENT
Now iconic and instantly recognizable,
Pete Souza’s bin Laden raid photograph
has been picked apart—oftentimes incorrectly. Much has been made of Hillary
Clinton having her hand to her face, but as
Souza remembers it, other cabinet members had similar reactions. “Going back
over the hundred pictures, if you look at
the different people in the room, probably five or six people had their hand up to
their face like that,” he says.
Souza recalls taking about 1,000 pictures that day, and about 100 in that
attributes the difference to both familiarity
and age. “My access to President Obama is
much better than my ac cess to President
Reagan,” he says, “mostly due to the fact
specific room, which was then distilled
down to that one, now-infamous captured moment of history.
“It’s difficult to add any context to
the image other than 40 minutes of
anxiety,” he says. “I knew it was an
important photograph, but I didn’t have
any idea that it would take on iconic status as I was shooting it.”
that I knew President Obama before he
For more on this and other memorable
Souza images, visit ppmag.com for a
multimedia slideshow, including commentary from the photographer himself.
older. I was also in my 20s when I started
became president and had already established trust. With Reagan, I gained better
access during the second term.
“Reagan was in his 70s, and Obama was
in his 40s when he started,” he adds. “It
makes a difference having a young family
compared to someone who was much
with Reagan; now I’m in my 50s and have
had many more life experiences both in
photography and in general. I think I’m a
smarter photographer as a result.”
In Souza’s daily work, part of being a
smart photographer means maintaining a
low profile in high-pressure situations. “I
definitely try to use a small footprint in that
I don’t use flash, I don’t do rapid motor drive,
and I keep the camera on silent mode,” he
says. “I’m not causing a ruckus. That’s the
way I operate. Over the course of time, the
president knows I’m going to be there, so it’s
not as big a deal. I try to carry that forward
with visiting heads of state, for instance, so
that the visitor does not feel my presence.”
By early 2017, Souza’s White House
presence will be at an end, and the photographer remains circumspect about what his
tice stifles newsgathering. “You are, in effect,
in-depth account of the bin Laden raid photo,
professional life will look like afterward. For
replacing independent photojournalism
see the sidebar above and our multimedia
now, though, he remains focused on captur-
with visual press releases,” the letter stated.
package on ppmag.com.) That rapport
ing as much as he can. “I was teaching for
Souza responded in a New York Times
extended to Souza’s wedding ceremony to Patti
about a year and a half at Ohio University
article: “It’s legitimate for them to push for
Lease, which was held last October in the
when I got the call, so it’s possible that I’ll
more access, and in some cases I think their
White House Rose Garden, an opportunity
do that. It’s something that I can start think-
arguments are valid, and in some instances
rarely afforded a private citizen and report-
ing about seriously in three years. For now,
I think their arguments aren’t valid.”
edly suggested by the president himself.
it’s not even part of the conversation.” ■
matter where you fall on the political spec-
DIFFERENT BONDS
trum—it’s clear Souza has formed a trust
Obama and Souza share a close connection,
Pete Souza’s Flickr stream is at
flickr.com/whitehouse.
and rapport with President Obama that’s
by all accounts, which differs from Souza’s
resulted in some remarkable images. (For an
experience with President Reagan. Souza
Despite those controversies—and no
80 • www.ppmag.com
Will Pollock is a writer and photographer
in Atlanta.