Two Washington Post photographers retire after more than 200,000 images
John McDonnell and Bill O’Leary, with a combined 85 years of shooting photographs for The Washington Post, are retiring at end of the year. According to The Post: “Theirs is a legacy rich in images of the nation’s capital as well as the country — some searing, some quirky, some iconic and some simply capturing a moment that otherwise would have gone unnoticed.”
“An incredible privilege,” McDonnell says of the work he’s done, camera in hand.
With both journalists closing their careers at the end of 2023, The Post asked them “to pull out a few favorite photos. The ones they picked are grounded in the Washington region, which seems appropriate since each man was born here and never left. Each landed at The Post by happenstance, not design. O’Leary came as a darkroom technician and only planned on a short stint, but the energy of the newsroom, then powered by legendary editor Ben Bradlee, “was undeniably thrilling. It sucked me in.”
More here.
PHOTO: Bill O’Leary
