Pete Souza is the chief official White House photographer for President Obama; he is also the director of the White House photo office. He has worked as an official White House photographer for President Reagan, a freelancer for National Geographic, and as the national photographer for the Chicago Tribune based in their Washington bureau. His book The Rise of Barack Obama, published in July 2008, includes exclusive photographs of the senator’s rise to power. Souza has also covered stories around the world. After 9/11, he was among the first journalists to cover the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan. As a freelancer, Souza has photographed two articles on assignment for National Geographic Magazine and three photo essays for Life Magazine. His photographs have also been published in many other magazines and newspapers around the world including on the covers of Fortune, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Report. Souza has won numerous photojournalism awards including several times in the prestigious Pictures of the Year annual competition, the NPPA’s Best of Photojournalism, and the White House News Photographers Association’s yearly contest.