Barack Obama, Then and Now

Alan Taylor
January 11, 2017
5 Photos
In Focus

President Barack Obama is easily one of the most-photographed individuals of the past decade, and with hundreds of thousands of images made in often-similar circumstances, some duplicate compositions are bound to happen over the years. I spent a ridiculous amount of time poring over photos of Obama taken toward the end of 2008, and again, in the final months of his presidency, looking for such twin images, allowing for a visual comparison—compressing eight years of aging while in office into a single transition effect. The photos below (starting with number two) are interactive—click on each image to see the difference the years have made.

Hints: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo by typing j/k or ←/→.

Left: On April 14, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama attends the Associated Press annual luncheon in Washington DC Right: President Barack Obama, joined by the Easter Bunny, greets members of the audience on the South Lawn at the White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington, DC, on March 28, 2016. #

Andrew Harnik / AP, Emmanuel Dunand / AFP

Read more
On April 14, 2008, Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama attends the Associated Press annual luncheon in Washington DC, and, eight years later, (click to fade) President Barack Obama, joined by the Easter Bunny, greets members of the audience on the South Lawn at the White House Easter Egg Roll in Washington on March 28, 2016. [Click the image to view transition.] #

Andrew Harnik / AP, Emmanuel Dunand / AFP

Read more
On January 27, 2009, President Barack Obama makes a statement to the news media after meeting with Republicans in the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol, and, (click to fade) President Obama makes remarks during his news conference at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Lima, Peru, on November 20, 2016. [Click the image to view transition.] #

Chip Somodevilla / Getty, Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

Read more
On January 28, 2010, President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall style meeting at the University of Tampa's Bob Martinez Sports Center in Tampa, Florida, and, (click to fade) President Obama watches as US Vice President Joe Biden speaks during signing ceremony for the 21st Century Cures Act in the South Court Auditorium, next to the White House, on December 13, 2016. [Click the image to view transition.] #

Charles Dharapak / AP, Mandel Ngan / AFP / Getty

Read more
On April 29, 2008, Democratic presidential hopeful, Senator Barack Obama pauses for a moment while campaigning at a town hall-style meeting in Hickory, North Carolina, and, (click to fade) President Obama speaks at a news conference after the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Rancho Mirage, California, on February 16, 2016. [Click the image to view transition.] #

Jae C. Hong / AP, Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Read more