Who's that guy?

Portrait of a president as a young man

1980

These arrived in my inbox this morning, a series of B&W photos of Barack Obama, taken in 1980 by a young aspiring photographer. The shoot was informal and nearly forgotten, and photographer Lisa Jack, now a psychologist, kept the negatives in a safe deposit box during the election. The election over, they are circulating from inbox to inbox.

He looks so young in some, and in others, you can see where he's going as a man, the element that is sexy and alluring.

To think that within the year, Barack had joined us at Barnard-Columbia. Yo-mama, my old boyfriend called him. I was too busy in the undergrad architecture studio, struggling and succeeding only to "crucify myself" at each pin-up, as my old beloved teacher Bob Stern used to say, to take much notice.

Somehow, I made it to grad school and out again, and into practice... and out again.

For how long? Well, the French country life in my garden and on the political and election listservs and blogs suits me pretty well.

We'll see.

Enjoy.
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The whole series