As one of only two Reuters photographers covering the entire eight years of President Bush’s term, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately, most of his time was defined by the latter two.

Early days in Crawford, with both of us looking much younger.

From the beginning Bush seemed a most unlikely President. I have often used the metaphor of a schoolboy who has not studied for an exam showing up on test day. He seemed as surprised as anyone that he actually was in fact president. He gradually grew into the role, though it could be argued that it never was a good fit.

The attacks of 9/11 defined his term in office. For photographers, this meant an end to the lighter side of things. There would be few photos of a President at leisure. No more golf outings, very few cultural trips abroad which are traditionally image feasts for photographers.  Everything took on a very serious tone, and our photos were generally limited to men in suits looking very grave about what was going on in the world.

At Bush’s last G8 summit, looking very much alone in the world.

While things may not have gone smoothly in a political sense, George W. Bush was very likeable as a person. He still goofed around like the frat boy he was portrayed of being. He was very much a regular guy and could connect with the man on the street. That was his strength. And he really believed in what he was doing. There were times that it was hard not to feel sympathy for him, and also times where you could not help but laugh, sometimes with, sometimes at.

Pardoning the turkey at Thanksgiving, Nov 2001. After this photo, the turkey was never allowed such free rein.

Now here’s the thing. Our job is  really not unlike that of the Secret Service that protects “the body”. But, 99.99999 percent of the time nothing happens. So how do you stay constantly alert and at the ready in case something does happen. Well, the Secret Service certainly is. That is their sole purpose. But photographers? Well, we tend to walk about during a presidential event, looking for different angles, or simply taking a breather when we think we have exhausted the photo opportunities of the event. Often, we have our eyes deeply embedded in our laptops, filing photos as the President is still speaking. So, are we always as alert and fixed upon “the body” as the Secret Service is? Of course not.

So, imagine our surprise when a man hurls a pair of shoes at the President. I had taken a position side on, midway between the podiums and the back press riser. I had anticipated that would be a good position for the signing of documents that was due to occur immediately after the remarks from the podiums. The setting of the remarks was incredibly unremarkable for photo possibilities, so after shooting that, I had moved to prepare for the signing of documents hoping for better.

About 10-feet from me I heard a loud voice. Protester? Probably. Not unusual at a Presidential event. My camera was trained on the President. The voice caught my attention again, so after the President ducked from the first shoe, I immediately turned to see where it came from. By that time, the second shoe had been thrown and the culprit was already on the ground, smothered by Iraqi security and Secret Service agents who skirmished directly beneath me.

All I could see was backs and butts, but I held my camera aloft hoping to get something dramatic. I never saw the culprit’s face. There were so many agents on top of him; they dragged them off, again, backs toward me. I pondered following, but thought better of it, remembering my job is to stay with the President. To the sound of blood-curdling howls as the culprit was being taken away and beaten, I returned to the front of the room to document President Bush’s reaction.

Secret Service agents stood around a visibly shaken President. President Bush appealed for calm and for people to take their seats and resume the remarks. Using various quips, he tried to lower the tension, but it was quite apparent this incident would leave a deep impression on his mission here, replacing all the words of hope that had been spoken before the shoes began flying.

As the President and Iraqi Prime Minister returned to the podiums and finished off the remarks, President Bush looked down at me kneeling in the front row, and winked at me, his way of saying all is fine. I nodded back; my way of trying to reassure him all was okay. It was one of the few moments of interaction I have experienced with the man in eight years of coverage. At that moment, I felt pity, but also saw him as a man, a friend even, not just the President.

As we faced the challenges of trying to get our photos from the incident out as quickly as possible, stories flew about, and we gradually tried to piece together all that had happened. As time went by, it was clear that the video cameras in the back captured the whole incident with the best angle and that the papers would most likely use grabs of those images over our stills.

It was a difficult moment for still cameras to cover in full. Do you train the camera at the culprit or the President? Split second decisions had to be made by reflex, there was no time to think. The light at the front (where the President stood) was dim but sufficient. Light where the reporters and shoe-thrower sat was dim at best.  Technically, a photographic nightmare really. There was no flash was on my camera, and no time to properly change my settings. All I could do was reduce my shutter speed and hope for one or two decent frames.

I finally got to watch the video upon my return to the U.S. I realized that at the time I never even knew two shoes had been thrown. What I saw on TV amazed me. The President had amazingly fast reflexes!!  Humorous as it seemed, I could not forget how it ruined the President’s mission, nor could I forget the screams of pain as the shoe-thrower was taken away.

It is a White House photographer’s nightmare to think about something happening to the President and missing it completely. Each of the wire photographers on this trip managed to get a frame or two which helped tell the story, but there would be no “moment” image. I think all were glad that it was only shoes, and not something more lethal. The President tried to laugh off the event with some clever jokes, but we photographers were thinking “what if” and that was nothing to laugh about.

I am up on platform B with about 15 other photographers. This position often produces the best celebration photos as players turn and face their family and coaches seated above us upon match point.  But match point is no guarantee tonight.

Despite the thrill of what is taking place before our eyes (later to be called the greatest Wimbledon final ever) we are all extremely fearful of the two scenarios we face. Firstly, and most likely, as darkness falls, will the match be suspended until Monday morning?  Or secondly, will this match actually finish on time, making our big match point photo an extremely difficult technical challenge due to insufficient light.

Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Roger Federer in their finals match. Picture by Kevin Lamarque

Television plays a cruel trick on photographers. TV can raise the light levels in their coverage making it appear to be lighter than reality. When I tell people now how dark it was out there, they say, "It looked okay on TV."  Not so. It was dark.  Fortunately I had borrowed new Canon Mark III cameras from Canon Professional Service for the finals. These cameras allowed me to handle dim lighting situations much better than the older Canon MARK IIn's I had been shooting previously.  This switch proved crucial.

Roger Federer returns the ball to Rafael Nadal during their finals match.  Picture by Kevin Lamarque

It is after 9:00 when Nadal breaks Federer to go up 8-7 in the fifth. Can he hold serve? We are pretty convinced at this point the match will end. Nadal has served well all five sets. And Nadal now is at my end of the court, good luck considering the light. I can now use a shorter lens. But it is a zoom lens, not the sharpest piece of glass in my kit. Success in capturing the big moment seems a 50/50 chance at best. Not a great way to feel about match point!  I have pushed my camera to its limits, 3200 ISO, shutter at 250^th and lens wide open at 2.8.

Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Roger Federer during their finals match.   Picture by Kevin Lamarque

Tension builds in the crowd and in the photographers stand. Many photographers lose faith and put flash units on their cameras to ensure an image. The only problem with this move is that flash photos look unnatural, especially in tennis. Match point. As Federer dumps a forehand into the net, Nadal falls onto his back in celebration. I quickly switch from a vertical to horizontal and shoot away. As Nadal comes up, I see his face and know this is my image. I look at the screen on the back of  my camera and breathe a huge sigh of  relief.  

Rafael Nadal reacts after winning his finals match against Roger Federer. Picture by Kevin Lamarque

Had I failed to get the image sharp, I would have been extremely disappointed but glad that  Reuters staff photographers Toby Melville and Allessia Pierdomenico were also on court producing fabulous photos from other angles ensuring Reuters provided striking images of this historic final. It was a great team effort.

Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating Roger Federer in their finals match. Picture by Alessia Pierdomenico

Rafael Nadal celebrates defeating Roger Federer in their finals match.  Picture by Toby Melville

Wimbledon has always been a challenge to photographers due to the fact that the frequent rains wreak havoc upon any well intentioned schedule of play. It is quite common to have matches finishing as players can barely see the ball or have matches that carry over to the next day.

Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Roger Federer during their finals match. Picture by Kevin Lamarque 

There are no lights at Wimbledon as yet. Next year the retractable roof will be completed on Centre Court. This means that a match can proceed unimpeded by Mother Nature. Additional fill lighting will ensure that darkness will not bring a premature end to a match. 

This year was truly the last old-fashioned Wimbledon, at the full mercy of the weather and setting sun. Will anyone miss the long rain delays? I think not. We all hate to see traditions die, but a retractable roof over Centre Court is long overdue.

Rafael Nadal poses with the trophy after winning his finals match against Roger Federer. Picture by Kevin Lamarque

I leave Wimbledon, as always, with memories that will last a lifetime. It is my 13^th year of coverage here, and with any luck, I will be back for another.

There are some photographers who would endure almost anything rather than cover a tennis match.....let alone a two-week tournament. Fortunately for me, I had always dreamed of covering professional tennis and for the past 18 years my wish has come true a few times each year when I am sent to cover Wimbledon, the U.S. Open or other tennis events for Reuters.

I play a lot of tennis (mildly obsessed would be more accurate) and my circle of tennis friends are green with envy that I am sent to "work" at these events.  My tennis partners would kill for a seat in the courtside photographers pit where I spend a great deal of time. What they don't realize is that covering a match is not quite the same as watching it while sipping a cold beer or enjoying a dish of strawberries and cream. Paying close attention to the flow of the match is crucial to getting the right images.  The reality is that you are watching the match through a lens trained on only one player at a time. You are not actually seeing the back and forth of the game like the folks in the audience.  In addition, you must spend a lot of time lugging your big lenses around the stadium to get different angles and different moods as the light changes throughout the day. Ah yes, and then there are the rain delays. Work, yes, but......

Through the years I have documented some of the great moments in the modern game. From McEnroe's famous tirades, Jimmy Connors' late career surge, the Navratilova vs. Graf rivalry, the reign of Sampras, Agassi's tearful retirement and Federer's attempt to be the greatest of all time. I've also met some great people in my travels and had a lot of laughs with colleagues along the way. Covering what you truly enjoy certainly blurs the lines of work and play. And yes, it also makes a nice break from my usual beat at the White House!

Top  picture:Fabrice Santoro of France sits with an ice bag on his head during a changeover during his match against James Blake of the U.S at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, August 30, 2007.   Kevin Lamarque

2: A ball boy holds tennis balls during a match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, August 29, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

3: Nadia Petrova of Russia serves to Agnes Szavay of Hungary at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 1, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

4 and 5: Roger Federer of Switzerland leaps to make a return to Nikolay Davydenko of Russia during their semi-final match at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Flushing Meadows, New York, September 8, 2007. Kevin Lamarque

6: Reuters photographers Mike Segar and Kevin Lamarque take advantage of an open court for their annual tennis match at the 2007 U.S.Open.