Whenever I think 2017 can’t get any more surreal, the anthropomorphic personification of time basically says, “Hold my beer.” If you had told me last year that the former White House photographer to President Obama would be trolling the Trump administration via Instagram, I’d have drawn a salt circle around you to banish you back to the darkest timeline.
And yet, here we are. For those of you not familiar with Pete Souza’s work, he was the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama during his entire tenure in office. It wasn’t Souza’s first stint working for 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. as he was also an official White House photographer during the second term of President Reagan. A long tenure like that means Souza has acquired a huge collection of iconic photographs, such as teasing President Obama with a menacing snowman or capturing the President’s faux pas at Chipotle. But much of his work has never be seen before. In days gone by, such photos would’ve been regulated to dusty albums in attics until rediscovered by future historians. But into today’s social media culture, Souza is able to share his portfolio with the world.
He can also use his extensive backlog of Obama-era White House photos to shine a glaring spotlight on the differences between the previous administration and the current one.
The shade is subtle, but the best usually is.
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