Behind the scenes with Obama

On election night, as you were watching Barack Obama's electoral count rise, and state after state turn blue, were you wondering what it was like behind the scenes with Obama?

If you were, we've got your answer.

Obama's campaign{campaign [kæmˈpein]n.运动；战役 vi.发起运动，参加竞选} photographer, David Katz, has uploaded thousands of behind-the-scenes photos onto Flickr, Yahoo!'s photo-sharing site. Among our favorites were these candid shots of the Obama family hanging out on election night, watching history unfold. (To see more of these photos, you can check out the Barack Obama photostream on Flickr.)

Among the most striking{striking [ˈstraikiŋ]a.显著的；惹人注目的，容貌出众的} things about these election-night photos is how calm both Barack and Michelle Obama look.

But calm doesn't mean inattentive{inattentive [ˌinə'tentiv] a. 不注意的,怠慢的,疏忽的}. That's certainly clear in the photo below. Only Obama knows what was on his mind, but you have to wonder if the reality{reality [riˈæliti]n.现实，实际；真实} of it all -- the history he was making -- is evident{evident [ˈevidənt]a.明显的，明白的} in the shadows of his intense{intense [inˈtens]a.强烈的，紧张的；认真的；热情(切)的} expression.

And if you've ever wondered about Obama's basketball skills, you can scrutinize{scrutinize [ˈskru:tinaiz]vt.细察} earlier entries on the Flickr photostream. Here's one showing Obama's form on what we're guessing is a two-pointer. This was uploaded on Flickr this past April.

Obama has said he plays basketball on Election Day for good luck. It looks like a superstition{superstition [ˌsu:pəˈstiʃən, ˌsju:-]n.迷信，迷信行为} that just might have some merit{merit [ˈmerit]n.优点，价值；功绩，成绩 vt.值得}.

Here's a selection of other photos from the campaign.