By Kevin Lamarque

First there is the phone call. It’s a quiet Sunday afternoon in Washington when the phone rings. “Can you be at the White House for a meeting in four hours? I can’t tell you why, but we need you to be there.”

Hmmm … I’ve seen this show before, and I pretty much know what the deal is. President Obama is going to be traveling somewhere unsavory and everything about it will be Top Secret until he lands at his mystery destination.

A beautiful weekend here in the D.C. area is instantly transformed from worrying about my son’s soccer games to worrying about where I am going, how long I will be gone and what preparations must I make before departure? The wheels are already churning before the White House meeting that evening.

As soon as we walk into the meeting, we are told: our destination is Afghanistan. Purpose: to sign a strategic partnership agreement. Coincidentally, or not, it is the one year anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

After hearing warnings about the need for secrecy we are given the details. We are to meet at a rarely used entrance to Joint Base Andrews (where Air Force One is kept) Monday evening after dark. Wheels up will be near midnight. Before going to the plane, all of our communication devices are to be confiscated. Our iPhones, Blackberrys and laptops will be returned once we are well into the flight and communication is impossible. This measure is taken to preserve the secrecy of the departure.

We are driven to the remote hangar where Air Force One sits out front, completely blacked out. We board the plane in darkness and inside the cabin, the shades are all down. We will not do the customary photo of Obama boarding the plane as we do on every other scheduled departure. Instead, at some point, we feel the plane begin to move and we know President Obama is on board and we are headed to Afghanistan.

By Kevin Lamarque

On a secretive trip by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Tripoli, only days before the capture and killing of Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi, I photographed Clinton aboard a C-17 transport plane. She was wearing dark sunglasses while texting from a makeshift desk she was working from. Okay, nice image I thought, but we were about to land in Tripoli which was certain to yield the images that the world would really want to see. Initially yes. But that was last October.

In the past week, that image of Hillary texting on the plane has gone viral thanks to a tumblr.com blog called “Texts from Hillary” which used my image, along with a similar one from photographer Diana Walker, for a meme which according to the creators of the blog resulted in “a week that included 32 posts, 83,000 shares on Facebook, 8,400 Twitter followers, over 45K Tumblr followers, news stories around the world.”

The blog went so viral, that the creators of the tumblr blog, Adam Smith and Stacy Lambe were invited to the State Department where they met with Secretary Clinton who according to Smith found the site much to her liking. The icing on the cake was having their photo taken with Clinton as they all texted.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Yesterday, Smith and Lambe announced on the blog

By Kevin Lamarque

The average weekend tennis hacker might never have their racquet restrung. A serious player might have their racquets strung every month, but for most players, once a year suffices. A top professional tennis player strings up to 6-racquets before EVERY match.

As a keen club player who strings his own racquets, I’ve always been intrigued by the elite teams of stringing professionals who work the major professional tournaments.

In the dark indoor passage that rings center court here at the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, players and coaches make their way to the stringing room, a daily ritual that goes unseen to the general tennis public.

The task of keeping all these tennis weapons finely tuned falls into the hands of a team of stringers here from Wilson and Luxilon. Over the course of the two week tournament, these master stringers work behind their machines as long as there are matches on court. It is not unusual for a player in the heat of a battle to request a “rush job” racquet to be strung at a particular tension based upon the changing elements or the particular feel the player is seeking. The stringing team is at the ready, swiftly getting the re-strung racquet in the hands of the player within the time it takes to play a mere few games.

As children’s obesity has dramatically increased in recent years, Michelle Obama had made a cause out of fighting the national trend towards bad diet and too little exercise. Two years ago she launched her “Let’s Move” initiative to improve the diet and fitness of our nation.

According to “Let’s Move”, over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled. “Let’s Move” states that “today, nearly one in three children in America is overweight or obese. Thirty years ago, most people led lives that kept them at a healthy weight. Kids walked to and from school every day, ran around at recess, participated in gym class, and played for hours after school before dinner. Meals were home-cooked with reasonable portion sizes and there was always a vegetable on the plate. Eating fast food was rare and snacking between meals was an occasional treat.”

My, how things have changed! I see it at my own kid’s schools. Students have limited recess activity and physical education classes that seem to be more about eliminating injury than actually providing exercise. On several occasions I’ve gone to the school principal and requested more exercise opportunities for the kids at school. My requests were generally accepted and appreciated. On diet, my kids have never, to my knowledge, eaten at McDonald’s. Down time…..well….we have a saying in our house….”If the sun is out, so are you.” TV and computer time is closely monitored. Am I being a whacky parent, or were there others that thought like me?

It gave me great comfort and reassurance when first lady Michelle Obama launched the “Let’s Move” initiative. This was something near and dear to my heart. I can do my best to change diet and exercise in my own backyard, but someone like Michelle Obama has some serious pulling power to get the job done nationally. And so she has.

By Kevin Lamarque

Traveling with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, covering seven countries in seven days (Malta, Libya, Oman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) was sure to present some challenges, but also offer some fresh perspectives. My usual beat, covering Obama at the White House and on his trips abroad, generally involves lots of pushing and shoving with other photographers behind velvet ropes or trying to get a clear photo through layers upon layers of secret service agents. I was welcoming a chance to be free of these constraints in the more low key State Department bubble.

I was the “pool” photographer on this trip, supplying my photos not only to Reuters but to AP and AFP as well. I was hoping that being the only wire photographer on the trip would give me better access and more spontaneous images.

The Secretary of State flies on a smaller plane than the President’s 747; hers being a Boeing  757. It’s similar to the plane we call “baby Air Force One” which the President uses for travels to smaller airfields. I was lucky in the seat lottery and secured a business class seat for the entire week, a huge plus on a trip involving so much flying time.

With the first stop (Malta) out of the way after the exchange of a few diplomatic pleasantries, we headed for Libya. It was certainly an exotic place for me to spend my 48th birthday! The only things I knew for sure about this stop was that it would be fast moving and there were no communications on the ground whatsoever. I had my satellite phone with me, but not a lot of confidence that I would be able to get my photos out on the fly. En-route to Libya, I was given a quick photo op of Clinton at work aboard the C-17 military transport.

Upon landing, things were instantly working in my favor when Clinton was met on the tarmac by TNC (Transitional National Council) fighters. I was given good access, with no security agents pushing me away. What a nice change this was. With photos in the camera so early into the trip, I could take a deep breath. I had images that media outlets around the world would seek to publish. Now I had to find the time to transmit them.

By Kevin Lamarque

My assignment was to fly on Air Force One to Martha’s Vineyard and cover President Obama’s vacation. Covering is perhaps a misleading term. The term “protective coverage” would be more accurate.

When the President is on vacation, the photo opportunities are few and far between. Days as the “travel pool” Reuters photographer are long, tedious and not necessarily fruitful. The travel pool consisting of photographers, TV crew and reporters is at the ready in case breaking news happens as the President vacations. The pool will also be on hand if the White House actually decides to allow coverage of the President during a rare public appearance. We had a few photo opportunities… a bookstore, a restaurant, a golf course, a bike ride and two statements to reporters (Libya and Hurricane Irene). Total Presidential face time for those photo opportunities…….about 9-minutes out of a 9-day vacation.

(Life’s a beach. As the President and family enjoy the beach, a colleague and I dip our toes in a foul puddle off the main road. Behind is the yellow bus that served as our mobile “office” with the motorcade press vans parked beside.)

Times are tough. The economy is weak and many Americans are out of work. Those lucky enough to have work did not have the funds to take a summer vacation this year. With economic dark clouds all around, it was little surprise the White House did not want the press or public to see the President having too much fun in this New England playground of the rich and famous. It was also no surprise that the first image of the President on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard was a White House produced photograph of Obama looking deeply concerned during a morning security briefing.

During my long days on protective coverage, there was precious little time for sightseeing in these lovely surroundings. I decided that during rare moments outside the Presidential bubble, I would leave my “work cameras” behind and shoot only with my pocket camera. The following images have no President or hint of the President, they are just pictures I took during a walk or drive on the Vineyard or waiting for a Presidential motorcade movement. Martha’s Vineyard is a beautiful place and given time and freedom, it would be incredibly rewarding to document in pictures. Someday………

When you live in Northern Virginia, only miles from Washington D.C., you are somewhat aware of the history all around you, yet it is a distant feeling, drowned out by suburban sprawl and ubiquitous strip malls. Today, it is difficult to form a picture of what happened in this countryside 150 years ago during the Civil War. Over half the Civil War battles were fought in the state of Virginia.

Appropriately, the first major battle of the Civil was at Manassas in Northern Virginia. The First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run on July 21, 1861, dashed hopes on both sides of the fight that war would be a quick affair. The rest, as they say, is history, and I will leave it to historians to tell that story.

For me, the 150th anniversary of this important battle was an opportunity to imagine what it may have been like. With my cameras in hand, I could share the experience with others through my pictures. Cameras of course have a great way of opening doors and allowing one to see what others do not. With the aid of my daughter’s teacher, Mark Stevens, who is not only from Manassas but is also a Civil War reenactor, I was graciously invited into the Confederate camp to spend a few days soaking in the sights and experiences of the reenactor. No, I did not put on the wool uniform and nor did I sleep in a tent. I did, however, get a good glimpse of the passion and dedication these reenactors take into an event. By the time they were ready for battle, I was already overwhelmed by what I had seen in the Confederate and Union camps. Talk about a feast for the eyes of a history buff.

It’s cold, it’s very dark and oh…. of course it’s raining. I have no idea if or when I will actually see the Prime Minister after standing here for hours.

That’s my enduring memory from 10 years (1989-1999) of covering Downing St. as a photographer for Reuters. I still tell people that Downing St. is the coldest place on Earth, no matter what month it may be!

Twelve years later, I walked up Downing St. as a veteran of the White House Press Corps for Reuters, and things were very different indeed. The sky was blue, the air was dry and warm and sunshine washed in from Whitehall. This couldn’t be the same place where I regularly photographed Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair all those years ago.

On this perfect day, as I awaited President Obama’s arrival at 10 Downing St., I reflected upon the many differences between covering Downing St. and the White House.