I post a monthly diary highlighting the pictures taken for the previous month by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza (an archive of those past diaries can me found here). 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. You can view his entire Year in Photos 2014 album here.
2014: A Year in Photos by Pete Souza
All photographs were taken by the White House Photography staff lead by Pete Souza.
These pictures and more can be viewed
on the White House website.
January 17, 2014
"Sometimes a unique angle makes all the difference. Lawrence Jackson scouted out a balcony position in the New Executive Office Building to photograph the President as he signed H.R. 3547, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, which at the time provided fiscal year 2014 appropriations."
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
January 28, 2014
"At the annual State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol, Chuck Kennedy captured this poignant moment between the First Lady and U.S. Army Ranger Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg. Cory first met the President in 2009 at a D-Day ceremony in Normandy. Four months later, Cory was badly injured in Afghanistan and in a coma for three months. In early 2010, shortly after Cory came out of his coma, the President happened to be visiting patients at Walter Reed Hospital. As he walked into one of the patient's rooms, hanging on the wall was a photo I had taken of the President and Cory in Normandy. The President then realized that he had met this badly injured Army Ranger at Normandy. Two years later, we were visiting Arizona, where Cory had gone home to further recuperate. The President asked if Cory would be able to greet him backstage. Amazingly, Cory was able to salute the President and walk across the room aided by a walker to shake hands with the President."
(Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)
February 7, 2014
"This is one of those photographs that needs some explanation. The President had been meeting with Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri, left, and Senior Communications Advisor Tara McGuinness, to prep for a radio interview. At one point, the President made a comment so humorous that Jenn and Tara bent over in laughter."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
February 18, 2014
"You gotta love Bill Murray. The actor had been invited to the White House along with other cast members of 'The Monuments Men' for a movie screening in the Family Theater of the White House. Prior to the screening, the President was to greet some of cast members in the Diplomatic Reception Room. A White House staff person had told Murray where to stand, meaning before the greet. But when the President walked into the room, Murray stayed put, saying 'they told me to stand here.'"
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
March 4, 2014
"The President was visiting a classroom at Powell Elementary School in Washington, D.C. A young boy was using a stethoscope during the class, and as the President was about to leave the room, the President asked him to check his heartbeat."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
March 23, 2014
"A great moment captured by Amanda Lucidon of the First Lady and daughters Sasha and Malia during their visit to the Great Wall of China."
(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
March 27, 2014
"The President talks with Pope Francis following a private audience at the Vatican."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 4, 2014
"Despite the haphazard framing, I love the expressions on the President and one-year-old Lincoln Rose Smith as she learns to walk in the Oval Office. This moment happened when former Deputy Press Secretary Jamie Smith and her family stopped by for a departure greet and photograph with the President."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 14, 2014
"Amanda Lucidon captured this spontaneous moment as the First Lady hugged family pets Sunny and Bo during a video taping in the Map Room of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)
April 28, 2014
"'Help me up!', the President beckoned after posing for a photograph with children at the U.S. Embassy in Manila, the Philippines."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 16, 2014
"Call it the Shake Shack slide. As he is wont to do, the President normally does a group photo with restaurant staff when he stops for lunch or dinner somewhere. After having lunch with Vice President Biden at a Shake Shack in Washington, D.C., the President asked me where he should stand for the photo. Before I could even reply, the President jumped on the counter and slid onto the other side. The Vice President soon followed."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
May 24, 2014
"This photograph was from the annual White House Science Fair. It shows the President posing with Girl Scout Troop 2612 from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I think the 8-year-old girls — Avery Dodson, Natalie Hurley, Miriam Schaffer, Claibyre Winton and Lucy Claire Sharp — are called 'Brownies.' They had just shown the President their exhibit: a Lego flood-proof bridge project. The fair celebrated the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) competitions from across the country."
(Official White House Photo Pete Souza)
June 6, 2014
"The President talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin after a lunch with other foreign leaders to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. I'm sure they were talking about a subject matter other than D-Day."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 9, 2014
"The President sits for a 3D portrait being produced by the Smithsonian Institution. There were so many cameras and strobe lights flashing but the end result was kind of cool. See the video at here."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 23, 2014
"This was a photograph that went viral when we posted it on Flickr. Lawrence Jackson captured a young boy face-planting himself onto the sofa in the Oval Office as the President greeting his parents — a departing United States Secret Service agent and his wife."
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
June 23, 2014
"The President kisses a baby girl as he and the Vice President greeted wounded warriors and their families during their tour in the East Room of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
June 29, 2014
"The President shares a quiet moment with his daughter Sasha during a father and daughter hike at Great Falls, Virginia."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 8, 2014
"A woman slips a note into the President's front shirt pocket as he greeted pedestrians during an impromptu walk in downtown Denver, Colorado."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 10, 2014
"During remarks on the economy in Austin, Texas, the President was heckled about immigration by two young men in the audience. After being interrupted again, the President told the men that he wanted to finish his speech but would be happy to have a conversation with them later. As soon as he left the stage, the President told his staff to bring the two men backstage so he could indeed talk to them about immigration."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
July 21, 2014
"The President shares a laugh backstage with Los Angeles Clippers basketball player Chris Paul, who was about to introduce the President at a 'My Brother's Keeper' initiative town hall in Washington, D.C. A few minutes before this photograph was taken, I was talking to Chris and he told me how nervous he was about doing the introduction. It surprised me that a basketball superstar, who plays under enormous pressure every night in front of tens of thousands of people, would be nervous. The President then came over and before long, had Chris cracking up in laughter to help put him at ease. I'll note that Chris did a great job in his introduction, and there were no visible signs of nervousness."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
August 29, 2014
"This view of the President reading briefing material was taken with a remote camera set up on the mantel above the fireplace in the Oval Office."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
September 14, 2014
"The President, First Lady, and daughter Malia view a portrait of Abraham Lincoln while visiting the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
September 15, 2014
"The President checks out a baby's foot while greeting guests at a picnic on the South Lawn of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
September 22, 2014
"As the President was greeting wounded warriors and their families, I focused on this young girl as the President shook hands with her father. I love how she's touching the President's arm as she looks up at him almost in disbelief."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
October 6, 2014
"The President was taking a walk with former Chief of Staff and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when they stopped to pet Sunny along the South Grounds of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
October 15, 2014
"When the skies opened up one fall afternoon, I ventured outside the Outer Oval Office with my iPhone to try and capture a good Instagram of the rainstorm. The President saw me standing out on the White House colonnade and stepped outside himself. Fortunately, I also had my DSLR with me to capture this photograph as the President reached out to feel the raindrops."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
November 13, 2014
"I almost tripped coming down the stairs trying to make this photograph as the President turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs coming into this beautiful light casting shadows and and his silhouette at the Parliamentary Resource Center in Naypyitaw, Burma."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
November 19, 2014
"Lawrence Jackson captured the President busting out in laughter as he and the First Lady recorded a holiday video message in the Map Room of the White House."
(Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
November 26, 2014
"The President and his daughters Malia and Sasha look at 'Mac' the turkey in the East Room prior to the annual National Thanksgiving Turkey pardon ceremony at the White House. The President pardoned 'Cheese' publicly, though both 'Mac' and 'Cheese' were spared to live out their life at a farm in Ohio."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
December 3, 2014
"The First Lady and I both spotted the President standing under the mistletoe and she moved in to grab a kiss from him following a dinner for Combatant Commanders and military leadership at Blair House in Washington, D.C."
(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
December 8, 2014
"The President mimics a middle-school student overcome with emotion at meeting him during an 'Hour of Code' event to honor Computer Science Education Week at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building."
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
December 16, 2014
"The President talks on the phone with President Raúl Castro of Cuba in the Oval Office. The next day, the President announced the U.S. would restore full relations with Cuba after more than 50 years."
(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.
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 at school.
Please feel free to add your favorite White House Photo Staff pictures in the comments that I missed and you'd like to share with everyone.