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“Looking at these photographs, you would almost think that Kennerly has been at every major event in the last 60 years!”
— Todd J. Tubutis, Director, The Center for Creative Photography, The University of Arizona
"In The Room" is David Hume Kennerly’s unprecedented decades-long eyewitness account of the pivotal events that defined our nation and world.
Foreword by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham.
Few photographers have stood closer to the making of history than David Hume Kennerly. Since 1966, his camera has been present at the moments that shaped modern America—from Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination to the fields of fire in Vietnam, from Nixon's resignation to Gerald R. Ford’s ascension, from the horror of Jonestown to Reagan and Gorbachev's historic fireside summit. He photographed the Pentagon burning on September 11, and was backstage with Barack Obama on the first night of his presidency. His work continues to this day.
In the Room gathers photographs taken during his extraordinary career into a single sweeping visual history of the United States during many of its most turbulent periods. Against the backdrop of America's 250th anniversary, Kennerly's lens offers something no archive can replicate: a view from “inside the room” where our country’s story is constantly being written.
Featured Blogs
In light of the Trump v. Xi meeting in the PRC, I thought I would pull this out of the Kennerly files. President and Mrs. Ford with Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping in Peking’s Great Hall of the People in 1975. Ford also was the last westerner to meet with Mao, but the Chinese wouldn’t let me in for that, a life-long regret. On a more upbeat note, the translator behind them is Tang Wensheng, who was the inspiration for Garry Trudeau’s “Honey Huan” in his Doonesbury strip. Contemporary and cultural history in one shot! Garry was with us on the trip. @cntrforcreativephoto @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @fordlibrarymuseum @sfbpanda @petesouza @bush41library @mikebarnicle @hillaryclinton @beschlossdc1776
100! @freddiefreeman crosses home plate last night after hitting his 100th homer as a Dodger against his former team the @braves @nickkennerly and I had great seats thanks to our friends at @bankofamerica @dodgers won 3-1. @improvambassador @cntrforcreativephoto @raulroa @johnrodphotography @utnicky
Happy Birthday to @j_kennerly who is the youngest member of the “My Three Sons Club,” and always makes a splash. Sending love and joy and happiness to an extraordinary human being! @rebeccakennerly @improvambassador @nickkennerly @_katiemeili @jayli_clothing @lioragailsher @taililasoladay @mollysoladay @janestraight @johnrodphotography @utnicky @cntrforcreativephoto
Yep. @michael_de_adder continues to dog trump. @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @mikebarnicle @mikabrzezinski @jaketapper @officialjld @beschlossdc1776 @petesouza
Mommy deerest. #capearago this morning @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @raulroa @utnicky @johnrodphotography #deer @cntrforcreativephoto @petesouza
Two #rooseveltelk near #reedsportoregon @canonusa @cntrforcreativephoto @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @petesouza @utnicky @raulroa @johnrodphotography #pairs
Waiting for the midterms. Bandon, OR this morning. Made with @canonusa R5 MK II and RF100-500 at 500. @cntrforcreativephoto @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @raulroa @johnrodphotography @utnicky @petesouza #pairs
The Kennerly Time Machine. I took the top pic 60 years ago in Portland, OR of this well-dressed group of anti-war protesters as they marched up Broadway in 1966 when I was a young Oregon Journal photographer. Flash-forward to this afternoon and that’s how it looks now. The only recognizable place you can see now is the Ladd Carriage House built in 1883 on the right. The protest pic will be in my new book “In the Room: Sixty Years on the Frontlines of History” coming out this fall with a foreword by @jon.meacham . @rizzolibookstore @cntrforcreativephoto #history @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @doriskgoodwin @beschlossdc1776 @petesouza @scottwisemanphoto @raulroa @johnrodphotography @davidburnettfoto @mikebarnicle @mikabrzezinski @axiosmike @lbjlibrary
The Vietnam War ended 51 years ago today. Four years earlier in 1971, this 24-year-old news photographer was flying over the Central Highlands in a helicopter as I covered the war for UPI. I lost a lot of friends there, and many who made it out never fully recovered from their experience. I was one of the lucky ones, but I’ll never forget my friends, colleagues, or anyone else profoundly affected by that war. Photo by Dieter Ludwig. @cntrforcreativephoto @davidburnettfoto @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @utnicky @pulitzerprizes
A pic I made of a windblown Prince Charles on his first trip to the White House in 1970. He’s back there today as King, no doubt making the commoner-in-residence royally jealous. @cntrforcreativephoto @petesouza @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @mikeluckovich @hwinkler4real
Love our busy bees! At least it wasn’t a sting operation. @cntrforcreativephoto #bees🐝 @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @_katiemeili @utnicky @raulroa @ralph.nelson @johnrodphotography @petesouza @trlibrary @edwardokeefe #honey
Took this photo at a remote firebase in the Central Highlands of Vietnam called “LZ Lonely” 55 years ago this week. It was one of eleven pictures that I made in 1971 that won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Feature Photography. @pulitzerprizes @improvambassador @nickkennerly @j_kennerly @dawnkbrockett @edwardokeefe @trlibrary @anseladams @kerrykennedyrfk
