Photojournalists Evan Vucci and Jewel Samad work in the foreground as President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, June 19, 2013. On stage with the President are Chancellor Angela Merkel and Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Evan Vucci (/ˈvuːtʃi/; born June 15, 1977)[1] is an American photojournalist, who is the chief photographer for the Associated Press in Washington, D.C.. Vucci shoots and produces both still photography and video projects worldwide, as well as on various subjects including Washington, D.C.–based sports, the U.S. military, and U.S. politics.
Vucci was born in Olney, Maryland, on June 15, 1977. His mother was a secretary and his father was a police officer.[2]
Vucci enrolled at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, in 1995 on a path to commercial photography. Whilst there he attended a lecture given by photojournalist Michael Williamson. In the lecture, Williamson showed his work and spoke of his travels all around the world while on staff with The Washington Post. Vucci was struck by the photographs and life Williamson had lived and changed his major to focus on photojournalism. While still enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology, Vucci photographed sports for Reuters.[2]
Vucci graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in professional photographic illustration in 2000.[3][4][5]
Career
After graduating from college, Vucci moved to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and took a 30-hour-a-week position at The Fayetteville Observer. After about three months, Vucci realized that life at a small-town paper was not for him. Vucci took a job in Sydney, Australia, to work for the International Olympic Committee as a photo manager during the 2000 Summer Olympics. While working in Sydney, Vucci met then Associated Press photographer Doug Mills, who would help him get his foot in the door at the Associated Press as a freelance photojournalist.[2]
In late 2003, Vucci accepted a position at the Associated Press. In 2008, Vucci made several visits to Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq, profiling soldiers and their stories. His primary focus was a Cavalry Scout Platoon from Killer Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment (3 ACR). He spent several weeks embedded with the platoon filming their patrols and lives spent at a Combat Outpost in Western Mosul. Many of those soldiers were wounded and three were killed.[6]
One of Vucci's most iconic shots came from Iraq while he was working for Associated Press. On Sunday, December 14, 2008, Vucci was at a joint press conference between United States PresidentGeorge W. Bush and Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Malik in Baghdad, capital city of Iraq. The joint press conference was to announce the signing of a status of forces agreement, which allowed the United States military to remain in Iraq. During the press conference, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidithrew his shoes at United States President George W. Bush.[2][7][8]
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