Pete Souza / The White House

Pete Souza, Official White House Photographer: May 1, 2012 "In Afghanistan, there was virtually no light inside the helicopter as we flew from Kabul back to Bagram Air Field after the President had met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. (For the photo buffs, this photograph was taken at ISO 6400, 1/5 second at f/1.4.) Flanking the President are  General John Allen, Commanding General of U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, and U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker. Denis McDonough, Deputy National Security Advisor, is at left." 

• Year in Photographs 2012 by Pete Souza on Flickr
• The White House's photostream
• Story: Obama hails the future of a 'new kind of relationship' with Afghanistan