Among the dozens of national photographers shadowing the president and vice president was a familiar face to Cape Girardeau resident Robin Kinney.

His sister, Barbara, is one of four White House staff photographers who travel with the president.

In fact, Robin Kinney, his wife, Martha, and son Sean were able to stand by the buses and meet with the Clintons and Gores apart from the crowds.

His sister took their photograph with Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton at Capaha Park.

"The president basically took me under one arm and my wife under another and my sister took a picture of all of us," he said.

Later, the Gores' photographer took a picture of Al and Tipper Gore and the Kinney family, complete with Barbara.

"We got to go into the bus by ourselves with the Gores and talk with them a few minutes," he said. "They were very nice. Only the bus driver was there."

The Kinneys also had a few minutes to chat with the Clintons.

"The president looked so exhausted, so we didn't get to talk long. I told him it looked like he had lost weight, and he told me he had worked at it real hard. My sister said he has lost 15 pounds," said Kinney.

Robin Kinney also had a chance to talk to Chelsea, who came off the bus for a short time. She did not take the stage with the other family members in Capaha Park.

"She asked me what brought me to Cape Girardeau, and I told her my job did. I told her I really like it here, and she said, `That's nice.' We talked about the weather and then I introduced her to my son, who's 12. He turned red."

The Kinney's father is from Evansville, Ind., and he was planning to drive to Paducah to meet Barbara.

The Kinneys are natives of Evansville.

While his sister's job can be very exciting -- like at the convention this week -- the work can also be very taxing.

"They won't get done until late tonight and they do that every day," he said.

She knows all the Secret Service officers and basically has total access to just about everything.

Barbara Kinney, 38, has worked as a staff photographer with the Clintons since the inauguration.

She first went to Washington to take a job with the American Trucking Association. She later worked for the USA Today newspaper. She was recommended for a free-lance job at the White House by a friend in public relations.

That was a week before the inauguration. After a 30-day trial period, she joined the staff full time. In addition to photographing the president, she also handles photo assignments with the first lady.

Barbara Kinney took time out Friday to speak with a reporter in Cairo, Ill. She never stops for long.

"The pace is amazing. We work a lot of hours," she said. "Every once in awhile, I take a step back, and it's like I'm living a little history."

"Whenever I see black and white from the Kennedy administration or the Nixon administration, I realize I'm doing the same thing," she said. "Twenty years from now, my pictures will be what people are looking at."

She won an award for a photograph taken last September of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, King Hussein of Jordan, Bill Clinton and the PLO's Yasser Arafat. They were about to enter the East Room for the signing of an accord to expand Palestinian self-rule. As the president straightened his tie, so did all the rest. Kinney captured the shot.

Five weeks later, Rabin was assassinated.

The photograph was reprinted around the world. Kinney went to Amsterdam to receive her award.

Last summer, Robin Kinney visited his sister in Washington. "We got to go into the Oval Office and on Air Force One," he said.