2009 Presidential Inauguration

You know that feeling you experience when something exciting, scary, suspenseful or just plain electrifying happens and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up straight? That was the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. Pure excitement. Pure electricity flowing through the crowds.

Despite my background in photojournalism and my tendency to distance myself emotionally from the events I’m covering, it was pretty hard not to feel the rush as Aretha Franklin sang “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”; or the joy as Yo Yo Ma played the cello in a quintet with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet); or the excitement when President Obama took the Oath of Office and gave his inauguration speech.

I hope the following images can convey even just some of the various highs of this historic event.

People stream into Washington D.C. along Memorial Drive for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.

“Yes We Can” was a prominent theme of the Obama campaign.

Mother and daughter sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, waiting for the inauguration to begin.

Before the inauguration there was plenty of concern that the 5,000 porta-potties strategically placed around the National Mall would be insufficient for the expected crowds, but I saw many without any lines or wait. Perhaps closer to the Capitol this was an issue.

This flag is located between the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

These two young women were one of the few exceptions to the mostly unpainted crowds.

Scattered throughout the Mall were JumboTrons showing the inaugural proceedings. This crowd is gathered by one of the two screens located near the National WWII Memorial.

This woman reacts to Aretha Franklin’s rendition of Samuel F. Smith’s “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”.

This woman is overcome with tears following Aretha Franklin’s performance.

A young man draped in an American flag watches President Obama’s inauguration speech.

Two women cheer during President Obama’s inauguration speech.

This is only a small portion of the estimated 2 million people who attended the inauguration.

This crowd is gathered north of the Washington Monument. Beyond this point, the crowd became quite dense and nearly impenetrable.

Following the inauguration, many in the crowd started streaming west, heading towards the Lincoln Memorial and the roads leading into Virginia.

Before I took this image, perhaps 30-40 buses had already passed by.

Apparently nearly 43,000 security personnel were on hand for the inauguration, although it didn’t appear that heavy, at least west of the Lincoln Memorial. Here a police helicopter makes a flyby.

After the inauguration, the crowds stream across the Arlington Memorial Bridge into Virginia.