I hold Peté Souza’s work in high regard; he is the man responsible for most of White House brilliant shots and is the current Chief Official White House Photographer for President
Obama. I especially admire his
coverage of The Rise of Barack Obama,
in which Souza; a photojournalist follows the then senator all over the globe
including his [Obama’s] trip to Kenya. I believe
someone has to be in a certain state of mind in order to capture images the way
Souza does. He always manages and rather effortlessly, to photograph rarely
seen moments of the President. Apart from a mindset,
in order to get the kind of images that Souza captures, one needs to also have access,
and lots of it. According to Daily Kos,
Souza has what amounts to an all access pass, “He is permitted to go anywhere
and shoot anything.”
Without the access as I found out, life can be tough trying to photograph the most protected person in the land. I will not even get into the endless security checks that one has to endure. A person of the President’s status tends to attract a lot of camera attention wherever he goes. Consequently, a photographer will usually have to deal with large presence of other photographers and videographers alike, each jostling for space and trying to get the best photo ops. This is further complicated by the President's ‘men’ who most often than not will huddle photographers together to watch their [photographers’] every move with keen interest. In a group however, one risks getting similar photos with other photographers in terms of composition and angles. The only way to capture the most infrequent moments in such situations is to separate from the ‘pack.’ Stepping aside, and shooting from low or high angles will make a big difference. The idea is to try and think through your shots and to make complete use of the limited access.
Without the access as I found out, life can be tough trying to photograph the most protected person in the land. I will not even get into the endless security checks that one has to endure. A person of the President’s status tends to attract a lot of camera attention wherever he goes. Consequently, a photographer will usually have to deal with large presence of other photographers and videographers alike, each jostling for space and trying to get the best photo ops. This is further complicated by the President's ‘men’ who most often than not will huddle photographers together to watch their [photographers’] every move with keen interest. In a group however, one risks getting similar photos with other photographers in terms of composition and angles. The only way to capture the most infrequent moments in such situations is to separate from the ‘pack.’ Stepping aside, and shooting from low or high angles will make a big difference. The idea is to try and think through your shots and to make complete use of the limited access.
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Public address
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Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 125mm
Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
Aperture - f/6.3
ISO/Film - 2000
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Aperture - f/6.3
ISO/Film - 2000
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Location - KICC, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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| Lest I forget |
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
Aperture - f/7.1
ISO/Film - 3200
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Aperture - f/7.1
ISO/Film - 3200
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Location - KICC, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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| Blue Presidential standard |
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 24mm
Focal Length - 135mm
Shutter Speed - 1/250 sec
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Location - Holy Family Basilica, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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| Grand entrance |
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| The homily |
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On bended knees
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Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 24mm
Shutter Speed - 1/80 sec
Aperture - f/8
ISO/Film - 1600
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Aperture - f/8
ISO/Film - 1600
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Location - Holy Family Basilica, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Shutter Speed - 1/60 sec
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Location - Holy Family Basilica, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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‘National’ cake
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Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Shutter Speed - 1/500 sec
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Location - Holy Family Basilica, NairobiUploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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Hidden camera
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Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 35mm
Shutter Speed - 1/20 sec
Aperture - f/6.3
ISO/Film - 2000
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Location - KICC, Nairobi Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 16th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
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In conclusion
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Camera - NIKON D80
Focal Length - 135mm
Shutter Speed - 1/100 sec
Aperture - f/5.6
ISO/Film - 1600
Category - Portrait
Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Location - Holy Family Basilica, Nairobi Uploaded - October 30th 2013
Taken - October 27th 2013
Copyright - Stephen Mukhongi/CISA
