Samantha Appleton is a photographer and 2019 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. Her work combines art and history to interpret the complicated components of large news stories. She has covered many of the most tumultuous, man-made events of the 21st Century. Primary stories have included conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon, social issues in Africa, and immigration issues in the US. She was an official White House photographer for the Obama administration 2009-2012. Appleton co-founded the photo agency Noor Images to promote projects in support of human rights and social justice. She has won numerous awards including Pictures of the Year, World Press Master Class, American Photography and Camera Arts.
Sadr City shiites pray and wail in the darkness amid bombing and heavy fighting in the Baghdad slum in April 2004. They had gathered in the home for a funeral of a young man who was killed earlier that day by American soldiers in the fighting. The April uprising in which Shiites took up arms against the occupation in mass for the first time was one of the bloodiest months since the occupation began. Sadr City residents stayed in their homes for days at a time as fighting raged. April 9, 2004 (Samantha Appleton for the New Yorker Magazine)
Staff brief First Lady Michelle Obama while Malia Obama, Sasha Obama and Marian Robinson relax aboard Brightstar en route Toronto, Canada from Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. June 26, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)