Okamoto photographing himself in the mirror at the L.B.J. Ranch in Stonewall, Tex. Jan. 2, 1964.
The Okamoto Project | The President’s Shadow
Yoichi Okamoto was the second official White House photographer, serving under President Lyndon B. Johnson from late 1963 to January 1969. Known as “Oke”, he captured images of the President of the United States, more candidly than had been previously permissible. Because of his ability to be present at almost any event, more photos of the Johnson presidency are available than from any earlier term of office. Okamoto’s work was groundbreaking in its depth, authenticity, and historic witness to legislative action that occurred during the Johnson administration. His photographs have been used extensively in accompanying works about LBJ, particularly the 1990 coffee table book LBJ: The White House Years by Harry Middleton.
For additional background on the life and work of Yoichi Okamoto, David Hume Kennerly, White House photographer during the Ford administration, discussed Okamoto’s work in this excerpt with James Estrin in Photographing the White House From the Inside, published in The New York Times.
LBJ Presidential Museum
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