A family’s cherry blossom photo shoot took a surprising turn this week when they realized they had captured an unlikely photobomber — former president Barack Obama.
Portia Moore was with her family and photographer Briana Inell, who was taking pictures of Moore’s young children, Belle, 4 and Preston, 20 months, at the Tidal Basin early Monday morning when her husband, Damien Thomas, tried to tell her something.
Moore ignored him, busy in the middle of a “peak mom moment” making sure her children did not fall off a bench or into the water, she said. Once the photo was taken, she looked up and asked Thomas what he was talking about.
“That’s President Obama over there,” Moore said her husband told her as she looked up to see a man wearing a baseball cap about 20 feet away.
“I was so shocked and I ran to the photographer and was like, ‘Did you get it?’” Moore said.
Inell, who had been focused on getting the children smiling and looking at the camera, checked and saw she indeed captured the moment Obama walked behind Belle and Preston, his hands in his pockets.
“She got the perfect picture,” Moore said.
The photo quickly went viral after both Moore and Inell posted the picture on Instagram on Tuesday. Moore said the encounter is already the source of debate between her husband and father over who spotted the 44th president first, and she’s glad it has been able to make people smile.
Inell, who has been photographing families and newborns for 11 years, said she is used to people walking into the background of her shots. “I go to the Tidal Basin every single year,” Inell said, adding that it is usually filled with tourists. “I’m very used to people walking in on my pictures. I tell my clients ‘don’t worry they will be Photoshopped out.’”
Obama apologized for the intrusion, commenting on Instagram: “Preston and Belle, I hope you enjoyed peak bloom! My bad for stepping into the shot.”
He also posted on his own Instagram account: “It’s fun to be able to play tourist once in a while. The cherry blossoms were beautiful this morning!
The Obamas have opted to stay in Washington since Obama left office, buying the eight-bedroom home in Kalorama they previously rented for $8.1 million in 2017, according to property records. Despite having a security detail typical of former presidents, the couple largely fly under the radar with intermittent visits to restaurants, exhibitions and theaters.
The ability to go for a simple stroll is something the former leader dreamed of while in office. In 2014, he told “Live with Kelly and Michael” he would love to walk around the city unrecognized. “I would just walk out this gate. I might walk up to the Lincoln Memorial, sit on there, maybe I’d wander around and find myself at a little outdoor cafe or something and sit and order something and just watch people go by,” he said. “The thing you miss most about being president is anonymity.”
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