UP CLOSE WITH THE OBAMAS
Over a decade, Callie Shell captured rarely seen moments behind the scenes with President Obama and his family
Behind the scenes with the former First Family
In 2004, Callie Shell worked for Time magazine when she was assigned to photograph a rally for US Democratic Senator John Kerry. The same day, she met the man who would become the 44th president of the United States – and photographed him for the first time. Over the next four years, Shell photographed the Obamas behind the scenes and at work, campaigning for the Democratic nomination and then the presidency. Shell’s stunning photos are collected in her book, Hope, Never Fear – A personal portrait of the Obamas.
CALLIE SHELL I first met Barack Obama at a rally for Senator John Kerry in Chicago on April 4,2004.Ilikedhiminstantly.Hewascharismatic, funny, and engaging. I watched him hang out in the back hallway while Kerry took interviews. He said hello to everyone
– not just Kerry’s staff, but the janitor, the building staff, and the union workers. He was personable, with a genuine smile. Eventually he made his way over to me, and said, ‘What do you do?’ We started talking about our kids, his youngest being the same age as my son, Hunter. We joked that we were both tall and had big ears, and that we had both married up in life; that we had great spouses. I thought at the time that I could see myself being friends with him.
When he went onto the floor, I was surprised at the enthusiastic response. People were so excited to see him that the applause he received was louder than it was for Kerry. I took a lot of photographs of him that day, and when my editor at Time joked that I must be getting bored photographing Kerry, I told her I thought
Obama might run for president one day.” Shell’s first photo essay on the Obamas was published in October 2006, when the senator was being heavily tipped as a candidate for the 2008 presidency race.
SHELL: I first met Michelle at her home in Hyde Park, a Chicago neighbourhood, as she sat at her kitchen table, balancing her chequebook, checking her Blackberry, and talking with her daughters Sasha and Malia. I was there on assignment, spending a few days with Obama for Time. She was exactly what he said she was – strong, gorgeous, funny, and wise beyond her years. She told me, ‘We are big on hugs in this family,’ and welcomed me into her home without question. She warned me that my profile of her husband was going to ‘make his head bigger than it already is’, adding fondly: ‘Whatever you do, just don’t put him on the cover.’ We did.
I was simultaneously awed by this amazing woman, who seemed to balance her career and family so easily, and frightened by the reality of what a presidential campaign would mean for the Obamas should her husband decide to run. There was no doubt in my mind that she would be an incredible First Lady, or that he would be an extraordinary president. But I felt a gnawing sense of dread – here they were, both so down to earth, and completely obsessed with their kids. They had what seemed like the perfect family life. That same day, after the family served themselves cereal for breakfast, I took a picture of Obama washing the dishes with the girls. I couldn’t help but feel that this life
would soon be gone.
The whirlwind built slowly. We spent time in those first few calm months in vans driving across Illinois. There was no security detail, no entourage, no frenzied media. It was low-key and relaxed – just Obama laying the groundwork.” In February 2007, Obama announced he’d be running for the presidency the following year and the campaign intensified.
SHELL: He loved his daughters, and made time to Skype with them every night. It was also clear that he missed Michelle deeply. They complemented each other; she energised and grounded him, bringing a lightness and a joy to what were often stressful, high-pressure days. He was visibly excited about seeing her and would be in great moods on the days he knew they
would be meeting up at a rally. In the first few months of 2008, the Obamas’ private time seemed to consist of a few crossover moments in back hallways before rallies. When I captured them sharing a rare moment of quiet time aboard the campaign bus, I could tell they loved being together, even briefly.” Obama won the presidency on Nov. 4, 2008, becoming the first black president in US history.
SHELL: The week of his inauguration, I asked him if he was nervous about his speech. He said, ‘No, I have had it finished in my head for a while. This week is kind of like a wedding; you’ve just got to get to the end.’
The Obamas’ natural capacity for love and empathy enabled people to see their genuine nature because it was that – genuine. One day he asked me why I had chosen to photograph him in the beginning, before he was in the spotlight. I told him it was because he was nice, and I could tell that he was a good person. And sometimes, as he proved, being respectful, and nice, and a decent person, does work in your favour.
As he adapted to life in the White House, Obama told me one day that he felt like he was living in a museum, or a bubble. You had to learn to adjust to your new surroundings, or you would not survive. A year into office, while in his limousine as he read the paper, I asked him if he was glad he had taken on the presidency. He acknowledged that there was no going back now, but said yes, he was glad. In the December before the inauguration, the Obamas asked Shell to be chief photographer for the White House. She declined, but for the next