Barria’s photographs are solemn and heartbreaking in how they depict the grief and anguish of a life cut short, and being there brought home for him his role as a photojournalist covering the White House.
“It closes the whole circle of being a photojournalist, to see where the policies are made and seeing it down there,” Barria said.
Taking chances
If there is one thing that Trump, with his history of showmanship, is attuned to above all else, it’s his own image, and photographers have met the challenge of bringing the reality of a man like that to the public.
“I think it has ushered in a new era of photojournalists to be more creative,” said Sarah Silbiger, a freelance photojournalist who works for Getty Images and other outlets.
With the immense volume of images, photographers like Silbiger look to take pictures that offer something different. At a coronavirus news conference on April 4, Silbiger took a picture of Trump and Vice President Mike Pence from behind that feels revelatory without showing much at all. Trump is leaning down to talk with Pence, and while their exchange is unknowable, there is a slight tension. In another Silbiger photograph from June 23, Dr. Anthony Fauci appears to be in a moment of tranquility. It was before a House hearing, Silbiger said, and he was in the midst of taking a deep breath.
Vice President Mike Pence and Trump hold a coronavirus press conference in Washington on April 4, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images)
Vice President Mike Pence and Trump hold a coronavirus press conference in Washington on April 4, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci before a House hearing on June 23, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Dr. Anthony Fauci before a House hearing on June 23, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Occasionally, quick reflexes and some luck translate into iconic photographs, as was the case for an Air Force One landing at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on Aug. 28. Four photographers found themselves on the tarmac that night, as they had many times before; this time, it was dark and stormy after a rally earlier in the day. The ground was slick with rainwater, reflections stretching like phantoms underfoot. Umbrella in hand, Trump was near the bottom of the staircase when a bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.
Nearby, Barria, Loeb, Mills and Evan Vucci of The Associated Press responded with a flurry of clicks, and remarkably, each captured the bolt in stark, cinematic frames.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
