Bob Daugherty

The photographer who was 'always in the right place', captured history from Nixon's fall to Carter's limo stunt

- Patrick Kidd

On a cold day in Beijing in 1972, Bob Daugherty was on the airport tarmac with a small group of photographers to record a breakthrough in diplomacy as Richard and Pat Nixon descended from Air Force One. Then, after a pause, Zhou Enlai, the Chinese prime minister, stepped forward to offer his hand.

"It was a handshake to remember," Daugherty said. "Decades of history running through those two hands." That evening, the Associated Press photographer was a few feet away from the two leaders as they rose at a state banquet and raised a glass to each other and a new understanding between their countries.

Daugherty was on the spot for this highlight of Nixon's presidency and he was there again two years later for the humiliating end. He was in front of the helicopter on the White House lawn as Nixon, his name and legacy tarnished by scandal, left office. At the top of the steps, the president turned, flung out his hands in a double V for victory. Another image for the history books.

"Bob was always in the right place," the late Hal Buell, the AP executive news photo editor, said. "He had a political insight that warned him what would happen." Or, as Daugherty put it: "In news photography the moment is a fragile thing. It's fleeting, even unseen by the naked eye. Our job is to make sure we don't miss that moment."