These two historic photos were taken during the successful military operations that ended with the death of the terrorists Osama Bin Laden in 2011, and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019. Univision News photo editor David Maris, the analyzed for a reason: they speak volumes for the radically different styles of two leaders on similar occasions.
The photograph of Barack Obama and his cabinet at the time of Osama Bin Laden's death on May 1, 2011 was taken by Pete Souza, the official White House photographer at the time. The government published a series of nine casual photographs about the moment and Sousa's images were, as always, in the tone of a photographic report. That is, the characters are not posing and the presence of a photographer in the room does not seem to change the attitude of those who are present.
To achieve a series of this type, the photographer has to be part of the place. He must be there a long time to make the protagonists forget that there is a camera there and thus the emotions can flow.
The photograph of Donald Trump and his team at the time of the military operation against Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on October 27, 2019, is very different: it is a posed image. Evidently the characters are aware of the presence of the photographer Shealah Craighead, who seems to have only been obstructing the screen seen by the president and the military for a few moments.
The White House did not release any series of casual photos from the scene, just a couple of graphic posed ones and others from the press conference afterwards.
Obama vs. Bin Laden: May 1, 2011
The protagonist of the 2011 photograph is not Obama, the center of interest of the image is occupied by the soldier to his left at the head of the table and the only one who looks at a different point: his computer. This is General Marshall B. Webb, who supervised communications for the operation.
Obama, with his body resting on his knees, looks smaller than everyone else, although his expression as he watches the screen shows him interested, concerned. He's not wearing a suit, just a simple jacket over his golf shirt. He had been playing that afternoon, which suggests that he did not prepare his wardrobe for a photo and looks like one of the others in the room, not the man who gave the order to execute the historic operation.
“The White House Situation Room is really made up of several different conference rooms. Most of the time, the president calls meetings in the large conference room with assigned seating. But to monitor this mission, the group moved to the much smaller conference room” its author, Pete Souza, wrote about this photograph. “With so few chairs, others just stood at the back of the room. I was stuck in a corner of the room with no room to move. During the mission I took approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this narrow spot in the corner," he added.
The room where they are is small and it seems that it was not prepared for the size of the group, so most of them are standing. According to the author of the photo, the Situation Room has several different spaces, and the group moved to a smaller room to monitor the crucial moment of the operation.
"I was stuck in a corner of the room with no space to move. During the mission I took approximately 100 photographs, almost all from this narrow spot in the corner," Souza added on the official White House Flickr account.
Joe Biden and other top-level administration officials are tieless, obviously surprised at a day where elegance was not the priority. Their expressions reveal the extreme tension of the moment. The face of the then Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, is striking, as she covers her mouth with her hand in a gesture of surprise. There is also another woman on the scene, Audrey Tomason, an intelligence officer looking over the shoulders of those in front of her.
The content of the photograph on the table in front of Clinton was intentionally blurred, probably because it is classified information. Another indication that it was a spontaneous moment.
Souza's image generates anguish. The concern of the group seems genuine, casual. Souza achieved one of the most difficult things for a photojournalist: becoming the invisible man.
Trump vs. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi: October 27, 2019
Trump's expression, the focus of the image, recalls that of the posters of 'The Apprentice': the frown and the stern look. "Al-Baghdadi, you are fired", seems to be the text that would best accompany that expression.
