Christopher Morris for Vanity Fair
Publication: “It Has a Sinister Nature”: The Tense Nights Before the Presidential Inauguration
“Christopher Morris has covered major conflicts around the world since the mid-1980s—from the First Gulf War and Panama invasion to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—and spent eight years chronicling George W. Bush’s White House. When he recently arrived in Washington, D.C., and started photographing the violent Capitol riot on January 6, he was in a state of shock. ‘I have witnessed this in other countries’ he says. ‘It has a sinister nature.’ Morris says he was harassed multiple times by the pro-Trump mob while documenting the action on the east side of the Capitol building. The thing that kept him going was focusing on the historical value of the image.”
John Stanmeyer for National Geographic
Publication: “A Capital at a Standstill Celebrates an Inauguration Unlike Any Other”
In the photo above, taken by John Stanmeyer on assignment for National Geographic, Rubin Israel, a Trump supporter from California, yells during an intense argument with local resident Bobby Blassingame, who was denouncing Rubin as a racist, during a rally in D.C. moments before Biden was sworn in as president.
Ron Haviv for The Intercept
Publications:
Photo Essay: At Biden’s Inauguration, Empty Streets but Not a Void
America’s Fortified Capital Awaits a President’s Inauguration
A City Under Occupation
“In a way, this was an intimate inauguration. There was no central mass of people gathered at one spot, cheering or laughing together. It was up to each individual, each modest assembly, to gesture or shout on their own, when and how they felt the urge. At Black Lives Matter Plaza in downtown Washington, photographer Ron Haviv, on assignment for The Intercept, caught people throwing their arms into the air in celebration, defiantly refuting everything that had happened in recent years, looking ahead to a future that, their fierce expressions seemed to say, has to be better than what they just endured, and will be better.”
Ed Kashi for Rolling Stone
Ed Kashi / VII / Redux for Rolling Stone
Publication: Photographer Ed Kashi Captures Biden-Harris Inauguration 2021
“This was my third presidential inauguration I’ve covered over my career, and it was so dramatically different it’s hard to describe in words. My raw feelings in seeing our nation’s capitol on lock down — having worked in more than 100 countries and witnessed civil unrest and conflict — brought me to tears multiple times on January 20th. Seeing thousands of National Guard troops guarding the U.S. Capitol and National Mall moved me to anger that we were brought so close to the brink by our own people. Thankfully the day transpired in peace and I had so many wonderful and inspiring conversations to remind me of our resilience, goodness and that we will reemerge from this national nightmare stronger. There are so many incredible milestones we’ve achieved and you can feel the potential just waiting to move forward, so I left the day with relief, renewed hope and strength.” — Ed Kashi
