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2008 was coming to a close and Kailua was abuzz for the arrival of Hawai'i's native son, the now President-elect Barack Obama. Along with his family and friends, Obama spent the Christmas holidays on O'ahu, keeping it pretty low-key.
I was a member of the White House traveling press pool, shooting for Getty Images, which is what made the Obamas' trip to Hawai'i a bit more exciting for me. A "press pool" is a group of news-gathering organizations "pooling" their resources in the collection of news. This was a real opportunity for me, as an aspiring visual journalist, to get on-the-job experience and network with professionals who have been doing this for many, many years.
Working in the press pool was tiring. It was a lot of hurrying up to wait. We rushed around only to have to wait for the president-elect to do something, and since he was on vacation, we did a lot of waiting. The waiting time, however, gave me a chance to get to know the other photographers better.
The Associated Press had two photographers in the pool that rotated in and out. Lawrence Jackson and Gerald Herbert, who are both based out of the D.C. office, regularly cover both President Bush and President-elect Barack Obama (who the pool affectionately nicknamed PEBO). They rotated with each other on a daily basis, while Agence France-Presse, the oldest news service, had their one photographer, Tim Sloan, there throughout Obama's entire stay in Hawai'i. They were gracious enough to give me insight and feedback on how I was performing as a "pool member."
Being in the press pool really opened up doors. My photos moved all over the world, being published in USA Today, The Chicago Tribune and Tribune affiliates, The San Fransisco Chronicle, TIME Magazine, People Magazine and newspapers and news agencies all over Europe, China, Canada and Korea.
Meeting one of the most powerful men in the world and being able to document a part of his life as he returned to his native Hawai'i for the winter holidays was truly an experience to remember. Hopefully he'll be back again next year, and if he does, I'll be swimming in the pool again. Portfolio is a regular column for UH Mānoa photographers to get their work published; Portfolio seeks to showcase the talent and creativity that UH Mānoa has to offer. Student photographers, please submit your portfolios and contact information to Kent Nishimura, Ka Leo Photography Editor, at photos.kaleo@gmail.com.
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