Eyes on history: J. Scott Applewhite
As a photojournalist with The Associated Press for more than 40 years, I’ve traveled the world and witnessed history firsthand.
With my own ears, I heard Ronald Reagan demand the Soviet Union tear down the Berlin Wall. I've walked on the Great Wall of China, slept overnight in a voodoo temple, and met presidents, popes and saints. I've flown with the Blue Angels and witnessed the absence of God in Mogadishu. I’ve stood in the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali and was even hit with a snowball by the Dalai Lama.
From AP’s Washington Bureau, I’ve covered seven presidents as well as the divisive political atmosphere in the U.S. Congress.
The Shot is a monthly series showcasing top photojournalism from staff photographers at The Associated Press. Each month, AP photographers will share the stories behind some of their iconic imagery.
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Our job is to show people what they can't see for themselves. Photography transcends language and has the power to change the world. That mission has never felt more vital than in the last two years as a raging pandemic caught the nation unprepared and Americans demanded action against racism and injustice.
The U.S. Capitol where I work is practically the safest building in America – or so I thought until Jan. 6, 2021. Rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol to stop the official count of the 2020 presidential election, forcing lawmakers to run for their lives.
AP photographer Andrew Harnik and I were perched in the balcony overlooking the chamber of the House of Representatives. The room was jolted when officers shouted that the Capitol had been breached and tear gas was filling the Rotunda – prepare to evacuate!
I focused on the barricaded chamber entrance where Capitol Police were aiming their guns. My telephoto could see the eye of one of the attackers through the shattered glass of the door, but he couldn’t see the pistols aimed inches from his face. This photo earned first place in the spot news category of the Pictures of the Year International competition.
AP’s cameras became the eyes of the world in some respects. I was still in the chamber when colleagues texted news flashes with the very photos we’d just transmitted.
Sending our images directly over the internet helped the AP quickly relay the first moments of the insurrection to the world. Journalists were special targets of rage that day and AP’s bravest prevailed inside the mob. Even if our gear had been destroyed, the critical images were already dispatched.
Covering the Persian Gulf War of 1991, we carried transmitters, satellite phones, generators, and wet chemicals to develop film.
In 2022, a citizen-journalist in Ukraine can share cell phone video with the entire world in real time.
What changes I’ve seen!
Model: Sony ILCE- 9M2 | Lens: 85mm | F-Stop: 1.4 | Shutter Speed: 1/15 | ISO: 1000
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., center, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., left, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., right, are joined by bipartisan members of House and Senate hold a moment of silence for 800,000 American lives lost to COVID-19, on the step of the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
J. Scott Applewhite is a longtime Associated Press photographer in Washington who has covered seven administrations since 1981. He marked his 40th anniversary with the AP the day before the Capitol attack.
Spotlight is the blog of AP Images, the world’s largest collection of historical and contemporary photos.
Produced by AP News staff. The sponsor was not involved in the creation of this content.