The President's Photographer

Belton, TX is home to an excellent museum called the Bell County Museum, and here we finished our week of sightseeing in this area with my sister and her husband.

Like many museums, BCM has visiting exhibits, and we were fortunate to visit when the National Geographic's "The President's Photographer" was in town.

This exhibit chronicles 50 years of public and intimate moments in the lives of our Presidents. Some of the images are not only familiar, but iconic. Many others were new to me. Here are some of my favorites.

President Kennedy and his daughter, Caroline aboard the yacht, Honey Fitz off Hyannis Port, MA, 1963, photo by Cecil Stoughton

Stoughton's most famous image, LBJ being sworn in on Air Force One on November 22, 1963.

Betty Ford had always wanted to dance on the Cabinet Room table, and on the day she and President Ford left the White House she gave in to temptation. Photo by David Hume Kennerly.

 President Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton listening to a briefing on Air Force One, photo by Robert McNeely.

Pete Souza snapped this shot of President Obama and his Portuguese Water Spaniel, Bo.

 President Obama playing a game of one-on-one with his personal assistant and a member of the 2001 NCAA Championship Duke Basketball team, Reggie Love. Photo by Pete Souza.

President Johnson was the first to recognize the importance of documenting the Presidency, and had the first full-time photographer on staff.  President Nixon, on the other hand, strictly limited his staff photographer's access to him and often refused to allow photos taken of important meetings. 

Nowadays, Presidents are photographed all day by the White House photographer. Between 20,000 and 80,000 images are taken every month by President Obama's photographer, and each one is preserved for posterity. By law, none of the photos can be destroyed; they are ultimately placed in the Presidential Archives. 

We reluctantly left the Bell County Museum and a little while later said good-bye to Gail and Mark. We will meet up again next time we pass through this area. Tomorrow, we are on the move again.