Behind the lens: An OHIO graduate's rare and intimate look at Jimmy Carter's life, legacy and farewell

I have photographed former President Jimmy Carter on and off since 1998 when I became a staff photographer at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Assignments ranged from his regular Emory University visits to an appearance at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles and a rally in Plains after he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Those occasional assignments ramped up in 2015, when he was diagnosed with cancer and I was assigned by he AJC to spend time in Plains photographing him and getting to know the town.

A few months into this assignment, I went to Plains to photograph the annual Peanut Festival. One of my friends in town who knew I was a runner told me that Carter personally awarded the prizes for the Peanut Festival 5K, so I ran the race and placed in my age category. When Carter called my name, I handed my camera to that friend and took the stage. Carter looked at me, broke into a grin and proclaimed, “Mr. Mustache!” That is what he called me from then on.

With this long history of photographing Carter, I was deeply honored that I was asked to be one of a small team of photographers to document his funeral for the Carter family. I rode in the funeral motorcade and photographed all of the events in Georgia including his arrival, public viewing and departure from the Carter Center and the funeral service at Maranatha Baptist Church.

As a seasoned photojournalist, I am used to always having to lobby and negotiate for the access I need to make storytelling photos, especially during historic events. As one of the family photographers, not only was I given full access to make these images, but I also had a team of people there to make sure I was in the positions I needed to be in.

When we arrived at Phoebe Sumter [Medical Center] to pick up the body, I had just stepped out of the motorcade and was still wrapping my head around the level of access I had been given. I had pre-positioned a folding ladder near a small camera platform to get a better vantage point. As I hustled up before the family arrived, I saw a woman holding my ladder, looking the other way. I walked up and said, "Excuse me, that’s my ladder." She turned around, looked at me and said, "I know. I’m waiting for you. I’m here to hold it."

The stories that you've heard about how engaging he is and how open he is and that he's a humble regular guy, it's so true. Anytime he did Bible study, he would wait there in the front of the church until every single person had come up and taken their picture with him—and I mean every single person.

Top photo courtesy of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Ben Gray is a 1993 graduate of Ohio University’s School of Visual Communication in the Scripps College. He is an independent photographer working in the journalism, non-profit, corporate and commercial sectors. Follow him on Instagram @photobgray.