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As 2016 draws to a close, it signifies the final year in office for President Barack Obama.
Pete Souza, the White House’s chief photographer, has closely followed Mr Obama and his family’s every movement for the past eight years. Each year, he compiles a selection of the estimated 1000 photos he takes every day which make the 'year in review' cut.
“Editing for this project is both subjective and personal,” he wrote on Medium. “Yes, there are some historic moments included but mostly I was looking for behind-the-scenes moments that give people a more personal look at the President and First Lady. And I’ve included a few that I thought were just cool photos.
Show all 26 1 /262016 in pictures from the White House 2016 in pictures from the White House Feb. 18, 2016: 'President Obama watches the First Lady dance with 106-year-old Virginia McLaurin in the Blue Room of the White House prior to a reception celebrating African American History Month.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Feb. 16, 2016: 'President Obama reacts as his putt falls just short during an impromptu hole of golf with staffers Joe Paulsen, left, and Marvin Nicholson after the U.S.-ASEAN Summit at the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands in Rancho Mirage, California'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House March 10, 2016: 'What an honor to watch these girls grow up. Malia, foreground, and Sasha were both invited guests for the State Dinner in honor of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and Mrs. Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau. Following the actual sit-down dinner in the East Room, they made their way down the Great Hall to the State Dining Room for the musical entertainment.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House March 23, 2016: 'Two renowned tango dancers–Mora Godoy and Jose Lugone–were the featured entertainers at a state dinner hosted by President Mauricio Macri and Juliana Awada of Argentina in Buenos Aires. The dancers then summoned the President and First Lady to join them for a dance.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House April 14, 2016: 'The President is always asking staff to bring their babies and young kids by for a visit. Here, during a break between meetings one afternoon, the President crawled around in the Oval Office with Communications Director Jen Psaki’s daughter Vivi.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House April 22, 2016: 'Originally it was unclear whether I would be permitted to photograph the President meeting Prince George. But the night before, our advance team called and said they had gotten word from Kensington Palace that they would allow me access to make candid photographs during their visit. Afterwards, this photograph garnered the most attention but at the time all I could think was how the table at right was hindering my ability to be at the optimum angle for this moment.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House March 16, 2016: 'It just happened spontaneously one afternoon as the President began dancing in the Outer Oval with Personal Aide Ferial Govashiri. As I recall, he was helping her practice for her upcoming wedding.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House June 4, 2016: 'The Vice President chases children and members of the press with a super soaker during the 2016 Biden Beach Boardwalk Bash held at the Naval Observatory Residence in Washington, D.C.'
Official White House Photo by David Lienemann
2016 in pictures from the White House June 21, 2016: 'For eight years, President Obama has visited wounded warriors on a regular basis at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Here he participates in an agility drill (top) and box jump with Navy Lt. Cmdr. John “Jae” Terry.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House June 22, 2016: 'The great thing about children is you just don’t know what they will do in the presence of the President. So when David Axelrod stopped by the Oval Office with one of his sons’ family, Axe’s granddaughter, Maelin, crawled onto the Vice President’s seat while the President continued his conversation with the adults. Then at one point, Maelin glanced over just as the President was looking back at her.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House July 9, 2016: 'German Chancellor Angela Merkel reacts when she thought they were somehow going to squeeze the entire press corps into a small hallway in Warsaw, Poland, to do a group photo with all of the European leaders. Instead, they were just being lined up in the order that they were supposed to walk into the room where the press was already prepositioned.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House July 25, 2016: 'Armanil Chisholm, 3, reacts as the President greets him in the Cross Hall of the White House. Armanil was with his grandmother, Tameca Brown, after the President had taken a group photo with wounded warriors and their families.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Aug. 4, 2016: 'With some staff watching in the background, President Obama blows out candles after the Vice President surprised him with some birthday cupcakes.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Aug. 5, 2016: 'When Stevie Wonder stopped by for a visit, the President described many of the items in the Oval Office including the bust of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Aug. 24, 2016: 'President Obama watches a virtual reality film captured during his trip to Yosemite National Park earlier this summer as Personal Aide Ferial Govashiri continues working at her computer.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Sept. 5, 2016: 'President Obama talks with President Vladimir Putin of Russia following their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Sept. 7, 2016: 'The President sips from a coconut during his visit in Luang Prabang, Laos. This was just after it was chopped open, splattering pieces of coconut on his shirt.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Sept. 12, 2016: 'After a meeting with actor and human rights activist George Clooney, the President invited him and three of his colleagues to shoot hoops on the White House basketball court. This photo garnered a lot of attention when it was hung on the walls of the West Wing.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Sept. 12, 2016: 'The First Lady goes shopping at a CVS Pharmacy in preparation for life after the White House during a segment taping for the Ellen DeGeneres Show in Burbank, Calif.'
Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson
2016 in pictures from the White House Sept. 24, 2016: 'The First Lady hugs former President George W. Bush as she and President Obama take the stage during the opening ceremony of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.'
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
2016 in pictures from the White House Oct. 31, 2016: 'The President was about to welcome local children for Halloween trick-or-treating when he ran into Superman Walker Earnest, son of Press Secretary Josh Earnest, in the Ground Floor Corridor of the White House. ‘Flex those muscles,’ he said to Walker.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Nov. 8, 2016: 'The President had just walked in from the dining room and sitting on the floor in the Oval Office was Evelyn ‘Evie’ Cushman, daughter of Chase Cushman, Director of Scheduling and Advance. He immediately dropped down to his hands and knees and began tossing a ball back and forth with her.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Nov. 9, 2016: 'It was the morning after the election and the President wanted to speak to Press Secretary Josh Earnest about how to characterize his thoughts to the press. When he heard Josh was meeting with his team, the President sent word to bring the team with him, thinking it was just a few others. But it turned out that Josh had the entire communications, speechwriting and research team in his office and they all filtered in to the Oval, some for the first time.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Oct. 3, 2016: 'The White House was hosting South by South Lawn, an event based on the infamous South by Southwest event in Austin, Texas. Just before lunch that day, the President was checking out the setup from a window in the Oval Office before the gates were opened. ‘Hey Pete,’ he said to me, ‘let’s go take a picture with the LEGO® men.’ And so we did.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Oct. 14, 2016: 'There was almost no light remaining at the end of the day when the President and First Lady walked out to the South Lawn for a ‘Fourth Quarter’ toast to White House staff.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
2016 in pictures from the White House Dec. 27, 2016: 'President Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan toss flowers at the wishing well after laying a wreath at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor.'
Official White House Photo by Pete Souza
“I hope you enjoy this final Year in Photographs of the Obama administration. It’s been the honour of a lifetime to be a witness to history these past eight years.”
The collection, which were either taken by Mr Souza or a member of his White House photography team, ranges from historical moments such as Mr Obama’s address to his staff the morning after Donald Trump’s victory in November and his visit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Pearl Harbour.
Others show a more personal side of the outgoing president, including candid moments with his wife Michelle, daughters Malia and Sasha as well as him interacting with children and dancing.
Similarly to when the Obamas sent out their final family Christmas card, the photos have only fuelled a further outpouring of grief from the outgoing president’s supporters who do not want to see him exit the White House in January.
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