AP photog: No special place for Obama-Brewer photo

“I thought it was interesting — the body language between the two,” AP photographer Haraz Ghanbari tells me over the phone. “But frankly, I didn’t think it was going to create this much international interest. People have been talking about this for so long – they’re still talking about it today.”

Ghanbari realized the impact of his photo of President Barack Obama and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer once the emails and phone calls started pouring in.

“I heard from people I haven’t heard from in 5 or 6 years,” says the 30-year-old photojournalist. “I got at least 50 emails. …I got emails from bosses in New York, from bosses in DC, and from the bureau chief in Arizona. I got emails from people who retired from the AP long ago.”

What’s he going to do with the photo that NBC anchor Brian Williams said “the whole world is talking about”?

“Every picture I’ve taken I’ve kept,” says Ghanbari. “I have everything backed up, and this is going to go with them. I don’t plan to do anything fancy with it.”

* Behind the Obama-Brewer picture, a very attentive photographer
* WP ombud: Was Obama really “testy” with Brewer?
* Earlier: Ghanbari kept a down-on-luck Marine from an anonymous grave