Biography
"You scan with your eye, you think with your brain. You don't just mindlessly click the shutter."- Wally McNamee
Every president from Dwight Eisenhower to George W. Bush has been captured on film by Wally McNamee. The recently retired photographer spent 30 years documenting world events for Newsweek magazine, where he produced more than 100 cover photos. From Vietnam to the Kremlin to Beijing's Forbidden City, McNamee logged many miles as he photographed defining moments around the globe.
A four-time winner of the coveted White House News Photographers Association Photographer of the Year Award, the former marine was also the photographer for Newsweek's Special Projects Unit, which won a National Magazine Award for "Charlie Company: What Vietnam Did to Us." In addition to his work at the magazine, McNamee also snapped shots for The Washington Post. Of course, he has been known to occasionally stray beyond politics--covering the likes of the American Bicentennial, the Super Bowl, 11 Olympic Games and even a Willie Nelson tour.
For access to additional photographs by Wally McNamee, as well as to purchase prints of his work, contact Alison Beck at the Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
