I post a monthly diary highlighting the pictures taken for the previous month by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza. For some reason Pete's staff has not yet posted all of the pictures from December to the White House Flickr feed, but Pete did post an album of 76 of his favorite pictures of 2011. I thought I'd take the opportunity this month 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.
I realize that there have been other "year in review" picture diaries posted in the past few weeks. My focus in this diary is only on photographs taken by the White House staff.
I will return, hopefully, to posting a monthly diary in February. If the pictures are posted in the WH Flickr feed I'll have that diary cover all of December and January.
2011 Year in Photos by Pete Souza
All photographs were taken by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza.
Dec. 11, 2011
"For a new family portrait, I chose a sofa in the Oval Office mostly because the State Floor was busy with tours for the Christmas holiday. Since portraiture is not my strong suit, I tried to make the setup as simple as possible."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Feb. 5, 2011
"The two coaches for Sasha Obama's basketball team couldn't make it to one of her games, so the President and his then personal aide, Reggie Love, filled in as coaches for this game one Saturday. Here they along with Sasha's teammates react during the game."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Feb. 17, 2011
"The President joins a toast with technology business leaders at a dinner in Woodside, Calif. Among those attending were the late Steve Jobs, to the President's left, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to the President's right."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
March 20, 2011
"Despite security concerns, the President decided to walk into the street to wave to people gathered outside the Cidade de Deus favela community center in Rio de Janeiro. As he was walking, a young boy reached out of a closed door and the President reached over to give him a fist bump."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
March 20, 2011
"The Obama family was scheduled to tour the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio before dinner one night. But when heavy fog rolled in, they canceled the visit. After dinner, the fog had dissipated somewhat so they decided to make the drive up the mountain. It was quite clear when they arrived and then the fog started to roll back in. I managed to capture this silhouette as they viewed the statute one last time just before departure."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
March 26, 2011
"More often than not, the President is in the office on most Saturdays to convene a national security or economic meeting. Here, on a Saturday in March, the President listens during a conference call on Libya in the Situation Room of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 6, 2011
"Following the late night meeting on the budget, the President pulled aside House Speaker John Boehner for a private talk in the Oval Office. This was an unusual angle shot from the private dining room looking back through the hallway with the Oval in the background."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 9, 2011
"After the President and Congress finally agreed on a bill to keep the government from shutting down, the President decided to make an unannounced stop to thank tourists for visiting the Lincoln Memorial the following day. The Memorial and other monuments and national parks in Washington and across the country would have been forced to close had they not come to an agreement. Here, the President greets a surprised young girl as other tourists in the background snap pictures of their chance encounter with the President."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 5, 2011
"A few days after the mission against bin Laden, the President traveled to New York City to meet with families of the 9/11 victims. He also visited at Engine 54, Ladder 4, Battalion 9 Firehouse. The firehouse, known as the "Pride of Midtown," lost 15 firefighters on 9/11 -- an entire shift and more than any other New York firehouse. Here, the firefighters offer an impromptu toast to the President in honor of their fallen comrades during a lunch at the station house."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 23, 2011
"This was one of the great trips of the year, albeit brief, when we visited Ireland in May. This rope line in Moneygall was particularly fun as people reacted so jubilantly to the President and First Lady. It was somewhat unusual, though, in that the sun kept coming in and out, and at times it was even pouring rain."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 23, 2011
"I can still hear these Irish girls screaming, 'Barack! Barack! Michelle! Michelle!' It reminded me of the old black and white video footage of American girls screaming at the Beatles in concert. These girls were cheering as the President and First Lady took the stage at the College Green in Dublin."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 29, 2011
"The President visited Joplin, Mo., following a devastating tornado. Here he greets Hugh Hills, 85, in front of his home. Hills told the President he hid in a closet during the tornado, which destroyed the second floor and half the first floor of his house."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 9, 2011
"The President had attended the fourth grade closing ceremony for his daughter Sasha at her school in Bethesda, Md. As he was departing, he noticed some pre-school children peering out of a window at a child care facility adjacent to Sasha's school so he walked over to say hello to them."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 20, 2011
"This photograph was taken from inside the Oval Office looking out onto the White House Colonnade as the President conferred with the Vice President."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 4, 2011
"I'm always trying to capture how people react to the President especially when he works a rope line. On the Fourth of July, the President was greeting members of the military and their families on the South Lawn when a young girl struck a salute as the President approached."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Aug. 16, 2011
"I wasn't going to include this photo but everyone loved the dog with the stuffed animal in his mouth prancing through the scene as the President talked with people at Grasshoppers store in LeClaire, Iowa, during the bus tour."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 10, 2011
"The President hugs a woman during a visit with the First Lady to Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. Section 60 is reserved for military personnel who have lost their lives while fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 11, 2011
"The President greets a woman following a ceremony to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11 at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa. The President and First Lady greeted virtually every family member that attended the ceremony."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Sept. 21, 2011
"The First Lady reacts to something the President whispered to her at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in between events related to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 6, 2011
"David Lienemann, the Vice President's photographer, captured this loving moment as Captain Mark Kelly embraces his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, after receiving the Legion of Merit from the Vice President. Rep. Giffords was shot in the head by a gunman in January and has progressed more than anyone could have imagined."
(Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
Oct. 10, 2011
"Nicky DeParle, son of Deputy Chief of Staff Nancy-Ann DeParle, was in the White House to visit his mother one afternoon on a school holiday. The President took a break between meetings to have a power bar with Nicky and check on how he was doing."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 14, 2011
"The Obama family made an unannounced visit to tour the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C., the night before the President made remarks at the official dedication of the memorial."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Oct. 17, 2011
"The West Wilkes High School "Struttin' Hawks" Dance Team listen in rapt attention as the President delivered remarks on the American Jobs Act at West Wilkes High School in Millers Creek, N.C."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Nov. 11, 2011
"Lawrence Jackson captured this superb overall view of the tipoff of the Carrier Classic––the NCAA men's basketball game between the University of North Carolina and Michigan State University on board the USS Carl Vinson, docked at North Island Naval Station in San Diego, Calif."
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
Nov. 24, 2011
"I photograph a lot of presidential phone calls from the Oval Office. But rarely is the light like this, backlit and reflecting back from a briefing paper. On Thanksgiving Day, the President made phone calls to 10 U.S. military service members -- two each from the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy -- to thank them for their service in Iraq and Afghanistan and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 14, 2011
"There was a sea of maroon berets as the President and First Lady greeted troops following remarks on the end of America’s war in Iraq, at Fort Bragg, N.C."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 14, 2011
"During one of the Christmas Holiday receptions at the White House, I noticed the First Lady's hands resting on the podium as the President made brief remarks."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Dec. 21, 2011
"The President and Bo, the Obama family dog, ride in the presidential motorcade en route to PetSmart in Alexandria, Va. The President bought Bo some Christmas gifts at the pet store then walked nearby to Best Buy to purchase gifts for his daughters.
(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 2011 in the comments that I missed and you'd like to share with everyone.