Click here to access a multimedia presentation created by Alex Wong of Getty Images.

It was 4:45 am in the morning when my alarm clock woke me. I opened my eyes while still lying in bed and I thought of Tim. I knew things were not going to be the same from then on. He has left us and has returned to heaven.

“If it’s Sunday, it’s MEET THE PRESS.” Tim Russert ended each show with this statement for the last 17 years, as moderator of Meet the Press.

I heard the news of Tim’s death from my assignment editor, Pierce Wright, while I was at the LOOK3 Festival of the Photograph in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was a big shock to me. I have been fortunate enough to be Tim’s photographer, to document him and his show every Sunday for the past eight years. I drove back to Washington the same evening hoping to see whether I could help with anything and I wanted to be in the studio on Sunday no matter what, to remember Tim.

The next day, I went to the studio hoping to see everybody on the crew. When I saw the executive producer, Betsy Fischer, I gave her a hug. “Tim loved to see you every Sunday,” she said.

WASHINGTON – APRIL 01: Betsy Fischer (L), Executive Producer of ‘Meet the Press,’ talks to moderator Tim Russert (R) prior to a taping of the show at the NBC Studios. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)

A message was written on a white dry-erase board, similar to Tim’s famous “Florida! Florida! Florida!” white-board from the 2000 election, that was left by an NBC employee at an impromptu shrine put up at the front entrance of NBC’s Washington bureau, telling people how much Tim was respected and beloved:

“Tim,

Our fearless leader.

Our hearts are broken.

Who will look after us now?

Who will help us get through this?

Will miss you.

Sarah”

WASHINGTON – JANUARY 28: Moderator Tim Russert (R) poses with Vice President Dick Cheney (L) as he holds up a white board with the words ‘Florida! Florida! Florida!’ after a taping of Meet the Press. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)

Tim treated the whole crew at Meet the Press like family. He would tell me to bring my family to see the show. He loved children. One time, when my family visited the studio after a taping, he held up my son Ian, who was one and a half years old at the time, and flew him everywhere in his arms like a plane in the studio. Ian, of course, enjoyed that very much.

My son Ian with Tim Russert (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The show usually hosted an audience of journalism students, members of young leadership programs, scholars or friends and families of Tim and the crew, to the studio to watch the taping. Most of the time, Tim would have a photo taken with visitors in front of the Meet the Press wall panel. He would also speak to them, tell a few stories about Washington politics and take questions.

We did the show on that Sunday morning for the first time without Tim. His chair was left empty on the set. A few of Tim’s very good friends, Tom Brokaw, Betsy Fischer, Mike Barnicle, James Carville, Mary Matalin, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Gwen Ifill, were on the show paying a tribute to him. It was very emotional and when a slide show of Tim played at the end of the show, it seemed that everyone in the studio had tears in their eyes.

After the taping, I walked away from the set to take my blimps off my cameras as NBC employees flooded into the studio to pay their respect to Tim and offer condolences to his family. After I returned to the crowd, one of the employees pointed to the far side of the studio. I saw Tim’s son, Luke, holding the cushion Tim used on the set. He walked around the set as he mourned his dad, and then, he walked back up to the platform by the table, extended his hand to touch Tim’s chair. I pressed the shutter and captured that very moment, a powerful scene I would never forget.

WASHINGTON – JUNE 15: Luke Russert, son of the late moderator of ‘Meet the Press’ Tim Russert, touches the empty chair that was left behind by his father on the set of the show after a taping June 15, 2008 at the NBC studios. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)

A few NBC employees saw me filing images from the studio on that Sunday. They burst into tears when they saw the picture of Luke touching Tim’s empty chair. I knew that would be a powerful picture when I first shot it, but people’s responses were more emotional than what I expected. I’ve never seen people so moved by my images.

Tim was well loved. In the days after Tim passed away, many people who knew that I had been shooting for the show offered condolences to me, as if I had lost a family member. I have also received e-mails from people who thanked me for taking pictures of them with Tim when they were audience members on the set from years ago. The fact that so many photos of Tim exist with so many different people shows the impact of his work and the connection that so many people felt to him.

Taking photos of Tim on Meet the Press was part of my assignment as a Getty Images photographer, and so I could detach myself to do my job. Yet, if I were to pause for a moment to think again of Tim, I would miss his face, his voice, his kindness, his objective analysis on politics, and miss the example he set for me of what it means to be a father. I am honored that I have had the opportunity to document Tim’s work through images and also helped create a visual memory for all who knew and loved him.

Tim, you have been the biggest inspiration to me and have taught me how to be a good father. Thank you for writing your two books Big Russ and Me and Wisdom of Our Fathers. From reading your books, it reminded me of how important the role of a father is in the upbringing of his children. You said it best when you described our father’s generation, “They shaped our destiny. We stand on their shoulders.” I know I have to do my best to build a strong bond with my children and to do my best to raise them up well.

Thanks for being such a great role model. We will see each other again in heaven. I’ll miss you!

WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 21: Moderator Tim Russert listens during a taping of ‘Meet the Press’ at the NBC studios. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images for Meet the Press)

Tags: Assignment, Getty Images, Meet the Press, Tim Russert

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