
Updated 1314 GMT (2114 HKT) January 19, 2022
It has now been one year since Joe Biden became President of the United States, and it has been a year filled with ups and downs.
The President has had some legislative victories, signing a $1.9 trillion economic relief plan in March and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in November, but he and Democratic leaders are finding it hard to enact some of the bigger reforms on their agenda.
Outside of Congress, Biden has faced other setbacks. Afghanistan fell back into the hands of the Taliban after the United States withdrew its troops from the country. At home, America is dealing with its worst inflation in nearly 40 years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a constant throughout. From the start of his term, Biden has been pushing to get more Americans vaccinated. He met his goal of administering 100 million doses within his first 100 days in office, but despite his urging, nearly 40% of the population still isn't fully vaccinated.
Here are some of the key moments of Biden's first year through the lens of photographers who have covered him along the way.

Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci was among those in the Oval Office.
"After the chaos of the 2020 election and one of the most unique presidencies in American history, I remember thinking that the next chapter had begun," Vucci said.


"The idea of being inside such an important research facility, where so many different viruses have been studied and stored, made the visit — and the gravity of the pandemic — very real," Reuters photographer Carlos Barria recalled.
One of Biden's first major promises was to administer 100 million doses within his first 100 days in office, a mission that he said was dependent on major production increases and health-care coordination. The administration surpassed that goal by mid-March, weeks ahead of schedule.

Perseverance, NASA's most sophisticated rover to date, sent back its first images immediately after landing. It will search for signs of ancient life and study the planet's climate and geology before returning to Earth by the 2030s.
"Congratulations to NASA and everyone whose hard work made Perseverance's historic landing possible," Biden said in a tweet. "Today proved once again that with the power of science and American ingenuity, nothing is beyond the realm of possibility."

There were 500 candles lit to mark the 500,000 Americans who had died at that point from the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The people we lost were extraordinary. They spanned generations," Biden said.
Biden spoke from experience when it came to describing the grief of losing a loved one. He also expressed optimism, telling Americans: "We will get through this, I promise you."

"This historic legislation is about rebuilding the backbone of this country and giving people in this nation — working people, middle-class folks, people who built the country — a fighting chance," Biden said before he signed the legislation. "That's what the essence of it is."

"I've walked up those steps before, and they are steep and long," New York Times photographer Doug Mills said. "On this very windy day, President Biden started walking up the steps and then a few steps later he began jogging. He stumbled and recovered, then stumbled again and recovered, and then finally fell to one knee and was down on the steps with just his right hand holding onto the railing. He quickly popped back up and finished his climb into the plane.
"I was pretty shocked at what had happened, but given the windy conditions and the slight movement in the stairs, it's completely understandable."

"I remember that everyone was buzzing about this because it was Biden's first formal news conference," Reuters photographer Leah Millis recalled.
Speaking from the East Room, Biden stepped into a swirl of issues that had bubbled up at the two-month mark of his presidency.

Biden told Evans' mother: "I have some idea what you're feeling like. I buried two of my children." The President's first wife and daughter died in a car crash in 1972. Biden's son Beau died in 2015 of brain cancer.
Logan wore the police hat and clutched a stuffed animal for most of the memorial service, photographer Drew Angerer said.

"I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," Biden said. "I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth."
Biden delivered his remarks from the White House Treaty Room.
"This room, on the third-floor 'residence' level of the White House, was the same room where former President George W. Bush announced the beginning of the war," Associated Press photographer Andrew Harnik said. Because it was a small room, only one news photographer was allowed in, and it was Harnik's turn in the pool rotation. "Almost no one gets access to the residence level of the White House, and it was the first and only time I've been up there," Harnik said.

"Coming off a virtual lockdown, this announcement was a huge relief to the nation," Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque said. "I anticipated that the only moment I really needed to illustrate this story was Biden pulling off his own mask. I positioned myself head-on and zoomed in tight on his face to get this image."
The President took the opportunity to once again urge all eligible Americans to get vaccinated. "The bottom line is clear: If you're vaccinated, you can do more things, more safely, both outdoors as well as indoors," he said. "So for those who haven't gotten their vaccination yet, especially if you're younger, or thinking you don't need it — this is another great reason to go get vaccinated. Now."

It was a speech unlike any we've seen in modern American history. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, only a limited number of lawmakers were in the chamber.
This was also the first time in history that two women were seated behind the president for a joint address, as Pelosi was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden noted the historic moment during his speech. "Madam speaker, madam vice president. No president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words. And it's about time," he said.

"Departures and arrivals are so routine, and most of the time nothing happens," Washington Post photographer Demetrius Freeman said. "But this time I noticed (the President) looking down. He then stopped and picked the dandelion and presented it to (the first lady).
"(The President) tends to stick to the routine, but in this moment he showed a very spontaneous, kind moment."

The photo grabbed people's attention on social media because of what appeared to be a significant size difference between the two couples. While many experts theorized that it was the result of a wide-angle lens, Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times.

Biden and the first lady also visited a community college in Virginia to promote his sweeping economic proposals and how they would benefit schools if signed into law.
He touted his $1.8 trillion American Families Plan as "a once-in-a-generation investment in our families, in our children, that addresses what people care most about and most need: the investment we need to win the competition, the competition with other nations in the future."

This photograph was taken after the CDC updated their mask guidelines for vaccinated people.
"The mood was optimistic that the end of the pandemic was within reach and some normalcy would be returning to our lives," Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci said. "Unfortunately that wasn't the case, but at the time it felt like the first piece of good news in a long time."

The "family photo," when leaders all get together in one place, is "often an occasion where more candid moments occur," Reuters photographer Phil Noble said. "It's a great chance to observe all the body language and interactions between the leaders."
The summit kicked off Biden's first trip abroad as president. He also traveled to Belgium for a NATO summit and a US-European Union summit, and he later went to Switzerland for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"This photo was taken as the President walked past the dais during his inspection and stole a quick glance back at his grinning wife standing beside the Queen in what must have been a proud moment for him," photographer Samir Hussein said.
The Queen and the President held private talks inside the castle, and Biden later said he wished he could have spoken to her longer. "She was very generous," Biden said. He said he did not think she'd be insulted if he said she "reminded me of my mother in terms of the look of her and the generosity."
It was her first one-on-one engagement with a world leader since the coronavirus pandemic began, and it was among her first public engagements since the death of her husband, Prince Philip, in April.

The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting of Biden and Putin since Biden was elected President.
The library room was a tight fit for the presidents, their security teams and about 15 members of the media, Reuters photographer Denis Balibouse said. He tried to get a wide shot to capture the room's atmosphere. "As there was still some disturbance from the media, the Swiss police asked everyone to leave the room, and that's when I noticed the hand of a Russian security officer in front of my lens and I tried to include it in the frame," Balibouse said.
After the summit, both presidents described the meeting as generally positive but without any major breakthroughs. There were a few modest outcomes, including an agreement to return each country's ambassador to their post and assigning experts to focus on the growing problem of cyberattacks.

When asked if he seemed overly optimistic, Biden said the press said the same thing about his meetings at the G7 summit: " 'Oh Biden, they're not gonna buy Biden's stuff.' Any of you find that? Did that happen? Any of it? A little bit? Just a little sliver of it?"
Reuters photographer Kevin Lamarque said Biden seemed to want to clear the air after his news conference with Putin.
"Because the airplane engines were so loud, Biden got incredibly close to make his points," Lamarque said. "This proximity helped to capture the face of a man who really had something to say."

"Not a lot of people think that we could have won (the Super Bowl). In fact, I think about 40% of people still don't think we won. You understand that, Mr. President?" Brady said to laughter.
Biden responded, "I understand that."

An aide had handed Biden the card earlier in the meeting, and the President was using the other side of it to take notes.
"In Washington and with the seat of power, the smallest things can often times become big news, and this photograph of a lighthearted and minor gaffe quickly spread across news and social media," Associated Press photographer Andrew Harnik said.

"I would imagine that when Biden looks back at his first year in office, this will stand out as his toughest day," Associated Press photographer Evan Vucci said.

"Everyone in attendance was silent and still," Associated Press photographer Carolyn Kaster recalled. "The only sounds were quiet instructions of the carry team, boots walking down the large aft metal ramp and across the tarmac, and the grief and weeping of loved ones and children. It felt like they would never stop coming off the plane."

In this photo, from left, are former President Bill Clinton; former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; former President Barack Obama; former first lady Michelle Obama; the Bidens; former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Bloomberg's partner, Diana Taylor; and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
"Any time we get so many important current and former political leaders in one place, it kind of creates its own atmosphere," said Chip Somodevilla, a photographer with Getty Images. "I think that's exactly why this group of powerful people didn't step into the spotlight but stood behind and below the stage instead."

The installation, a concept by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, paid tribute to all the Americans who died because of Covid-19. It included more than 650,000 small plastic flags, some with personal messages to those who died.
"Looking back on the photograph, I think about how it was one of the few ways to literally place the President with a visual representation of the pandemic's toll," said Los Angeles Times photographer Kent Nishimura, who took the photo from the observation deck of the Washington Monument. "As Marine One disappeared into the distance, I wondered to myself, what does the President do when he's flying out over the District? Does he look out the windows? Did he ever see the installation? I wondered what he thought about looking at all of those flags, representing all those lives lost. Surely it must weigh on him."

"We know that to beat this pandemic and to save lives ... we need to get folks vaccinated," Biden said ahead of his shot. "So, please, please do the right thing. Please get these shots. It can save your life and it can save the lives of those around you."
Anna Moneymaker took the photo of the President for Getty Images. "It was remarkable how subdued the process was, with him even taking a few questions from reporters as he sat there getting his shot."

He was there to promote his Build Back Better Agenda and highlight the importance of investing in child care. He warned that if Congress does not act to invest in children, the United States will face slower economic growth for generations to come.
"This is the first administration I've covered as a photojournalist, and one thing that has stood out to me from the beginning is how much time President Biden takes to engage with the people he meets while traveling," said Sarahbeth Maney, who took this photo for The New York Times. "I think this photo shows a little slice of that."