Each January, Pete Souza, Chief Official White House Photographer and Director of the White House Photography Office, pulls together his favorite images from the past 12 months — exclusive perspectives of everything from Presidential trips and events to private moments between President Obama and his family and staff.
Here are four of approximately 100 photographs. See them all here. All are official White House photos by Pete Souza.
“The President had invited departing staff member Adam Neufeld to the Oval Office for a farewell photograph. When the President picked up Neufeld’s six-month-old daughter, she started grabbing his face.”
“A quiet moment inside Nelson Mandela’s former prison cell as the President embraced Sasha while the Obama family was listening to Ahmed Kathrada recount his years spent imprisoned here on Robben Island in Cape Town, South Africa. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, initially in this prison cell. Kathrada was imprisoned at Robben Island for 18 years.”
“The President shows off his dance moves as he and the First Lady waited backstage during an intermission of daughter Sasha’s dance recital at Strathmore Arts Center in North Bethesda, Maryland.”
Lead Photo: “As part of their daily end-of-the-day wrap, the President and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough walk on the South Lawn of the White House. They usually walk on the South Drive but on this day they ventured to this corner of the 18-acre grounds.”
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.