A 102-minute doc about Pete Souza, White House photographer to Obama and Reagan. He saw his job as being "a fly on the wall," capturing what was happening without posing anything, without directing it. Just being there to "document history," as he puts it. Politics was not his thing, having served both a Republican president and a Democratic president. He is an excellent photographer, capturing most of the iconic shots we know from these two presidencies, as well as many hundreds more we haven't seen. He's published a couple books of his photos, and a memoir on what it's like to be in all the candid moments including classified briefings.
Since 45 came in office though, Pete has begun speaking out.
Not as a partisan, but as a protector of, and respecter of, the Office of the Presidency. He's seen, firsthand, the weight of the office and seen the process by which good decisions are made. He knows the deliberation and empathy and thoughtfulness that must go into the job.
And he knows it's not currently being done that way. He started Instagramming photos of Obama to contrast with DJT tweets, and in so doing earned the ire of DJT and probably torpedoed any future he might have in photojournalism. But he felt compelled to point out what he knows, from his unique perspective, serving two very different presidents.
Trump does not have a "staff photographer." He poses for photos with visiting dignitaries, but he does not allow anyone to shadow him and take unposed photos. Pete feels history is being lost because of this, and the country is poorer for it.
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