Graduated high school. I was drafted, went into the air force and they said youre going to be a photographer and thats what i did. Why was that . They said well, at the time, this is 1967, vietnam wars going on, i was drafted, i didnt want to go to the army so i joined the air force. The air force did the aerial photo over North Vietnam so there was a big turn over of air force photo people. So all the guys, 500 guys, its called a flight, and we all got some kind of aerial photography, Motion Picture photography, Lab Processing and still photography. Im valdez, i got still photography which was at the bottom of the list. And i was assigned to the 836combat support group at mcgill air force base in tam pa florida. I worked for the newspaper but the Strike Command was there and thats kind of where the vietnam war was managed from. I, at 18yearold was photographing three and fourstar generals in meetings and ceremonies. So at a very early point in my photography career was photoing highlevel people. And being trained in the military, and also coming from a military family, my father was career military, and you know we could talk about him, you know, growing up in south texas and working on farm and going into world war ii, thats a whole other big part of my life, my Texas History roots. But, so, when i got out of the air force four years later in 1971, my dad had moved up to washington, d. C. , so i followed my parents up there and got a job as a photographer at the u. S. Department of agriculture. And thats where the Farm Security administration photos had been taken back in the depression time. So, i was being made more aware of the world of photography, it wasnt something i thought that i would do as a career or, you know, life long work. But it worked out well for me there. From agriculture i went to u. S. Department of house and now in the early 70s, you know the 60s were a lot of race riots. And hud which was started by president johnson, almost immediately after Martin Luther king was sas nated, so there was a real effort by the Department Housing and urban development to rebuild watts and harlem and detroit. I did a lot of travel all over the country photographing that. And then, they wanted they had a new program called new communities, so colombia, maryland, western iowa virginia, the woodlands up in dallas. The baltimore and harland areas there were a lot of places i went to like that and photograph. And at the time, fema was apart of hud. So i was on the hud s fema Disaster Team so i traveled all over the country doing that. There was a program for indian housing so i traveled around the country photographing indian reservations. There was a lot of outreach in terms of the photography. And then because i worked in washington, d. C. As a photographer at hud, i would also go up to capitol hill and photograph Senate Hearings with the secretaries of hud. So i was exposed to, you know, capitol Hill Photography and all the press photographers and all that that was going on. While all this was going on, i was pursuing my degree in journalism from the university of maryland. So id be reasoning around the country and at night ill be doing my night school work so i could get a degree in journalism. And then i start thinking i would really like to actually switch from doing the government documentary photography work into news photography. You know the washington post, times magazine, news work, they were all there. So i pursued that but that never happened. I did wind up getting hired but the u. S. Chamber of commerce which was across the street from the white house. They had, at the time, the largest selling business magazine in the country and it was called nations business magazine, i was hired add the chief photographfer. So i was hired directly across the street from the white house. And its 1983, and i heard that Vice President bushs photographer was leaving and beginning to get a job with time magazine. So scott apple white, photographer for the Associated Press told me about that. And i said, you know what i could do that. It kind of goads in line of where i had been as a government photographer versus a david who has been a press photographer. Eric graper who had been with the Associated Press, david went on to be president for his photographer and eric wen on to be george w. s photographer. I was coming out of government and so, most people that work at the white house get the job because they worked on the company. And since i didnt do that, i had to figure out another way of getting in. So, i did a lot of research and found that the Vice President s photographer works for the Vice President s press secretary. So, i wrote a personal letter to they areally green, whose a texan, who was the press secretary at the time and introduced myself. And she called me in for an interview and we kind of hit it off. Then i was called in to interview with the chief of staff, admiral dan murphy and he really pushed my buttons. He was trying to make me upset and why was that . I think he was testing me. And i just said, yes, sir, no, sir, i understand. And i had my military background. You were unphased. I was unphased by him trying to push my buttons. But when i left i felt theres no way im going to get this job, this guy hates me. But then i got called back to do an interview with the Vice President. And so i go and im it never really occurred to me, you know, you just dont think opinion having a Job Interview with the Vice President of the united states. And i walk into his office there in the Old Executive Office building, and they he greats me and hes warm and gracious, he showed me photos of your grandchildren. He said, you know, youre going to spend a lot of time with me and were going to be together in public, in private, and with my family, and i was realizing, gee, this guy thinks i have the job but no ones made a job offer to me. And, so, i said well you know, this is great. Do you know what the salary is. And he says, you know i have no idea, lets call dan murphy and well ask him. He picks up the phone and he said hey dan im in here with dave valdez and hes asking me what the salary is. I could hear him screaming through the walls saying, what, hes asking you about salary. And i thought oh gees. But i got hired anyway. Then, the very first day, so this is december 1983, the bushs had gone down to south florida. It was right after christmas, and i flew down commercially. I was used to applying around the country pause thats what i did for work forever. But i land down in miami and a white house advanced person comes up and says here, ill carry your bags for you. I was like who are you, and ill carry my own bags. If youre going to give me a ride great, lets go. So he tells me the next morning to meet him at 5 00 a. M. And he would take me to the Vice President. So, i said okay. So, we go off, puts me on a helicopter, flies me out to this island where the bushs were staying. And i land and theres Vice President bush and he comes out to greet me and he says come on in, i need to introduce you to barbara bush. I go in and have breakfast with them. So this was the first time that id met barbara bush and really only the second time i had met the Vice President. And i started learning how warm and gracious and embracing they were. And i learned through the years that that they were kind of the values that they cherished were their faith, family and friend. And, i was pulled into that group of friends and and many times over the years, the president called me family. And so, that first day theyre son jeb bush, he and his wife klum baa had just had a baby, jeb jr. And jeb was bringing the new baby by to meet his grandfather. And this hotel suite and people there then jeb came in, he wanted to get the baby with his grandfather and they walked back into the bedroom. Im looking around and im saying, well theres nobody here to tell me do i go back there, stay out here, leave the room, what do i do. And i remember following david kinerly and the relationship he had with president ford and the ford family. I thought, you know, if david kinerly were here he would walk into the bedroom and take some pictures. And i kind of modeled my philosophy after watching how david worked. So i went into the bedroom and i took some pictures and then a few weeks later. I got a note from barbara push and she said love the photos you took of gentleman pi and little jeff. As long as you take pictures of my grandchildren you can go anywhere and do what ever you want to do. So that was my ticket. And, you know from then on, you know, i was fortunate because i spent six years photographing the Vice President. And the Vice President staff is a lot smaller. So, we had a chance to spend a lot of time together and with few people around. And, so we got very comfortable with each other. We would go places and, hed hit me with hi elbow sometimes and hed say, can you believe us, us two guys from texas here doing this. And i was like, yeah you know, this is pretty amazing. But, you know youre president of the united states. But, you know, it was it was a great thing and so when he became president everybody understood that david valdez the access and can go around. But that time after all those years they were very comfortable with me being around. And, i could read barbara bush, if id go into a private setting, maybe she was knitting or coe shaying what ever she was doing, and id walk in and i would see her do this, shes take her glasses off and id take a couple of pictures and then i would see her go like this. And without ever having said anything i knew that that meant thank you david, youre done. And, so, i had a great relationship also with barbara bush. We had a lot of fun. And even after we left the white house and i went to head up photography for the Walt Disney Company down in florida, she came to visit and speak at conventions in orlando several times. One time she came to our house for lunch, you know, i had to call my wife up and say, guess whose coming over for lunch. Yeah, but that was a lot of fun. And then and then former president bush for quite a few years did a bone Fishing Tournament down in the island in florida keys. I was invited to go down there many times and photograph that event, go fishing and have some fun. Of course when he started doing his sky diving, i went to that a couple of times and got pictures of him sky diving as the former president. I was going to say, thats especially dangerous. Yeah yeah. But, you know, i think it was that time working for the Vice President that really solid tied my relationship. Ill never forget on Election Night down over in houston when bill clinton was elected, and all the family was in the hotel suite there at the house tone yan, and he realized he had lost the reelection. And he tells everybody, it must have been 20 people, he said everybody leave and go get in the motor cave i need to call president clinton. And he said, everybody leave, but i stayed. And i photographed him calling president elect clinton and congratulating him on the election. I think by that time there was no doubt, you know, we were that close. When youre president ial photographer, you dont alter things you photograph whats there. I one time was in kenny port maine, and it was the summer before president bush was going to run for president , it was 1987. He had already been Vice President. And life magazine wanted to send a photographer there and photograph him relaxing and on vacation. And he said, no im on vacation. And so, life they were taken aback are you serious . Yeah, nobody says no to life. There was some back and forth. And they said okay, well let david valdez do some photos and bobby baker barrel was the photo editor at life. She didnt know me so she said okay, lets give this guy a shot. So i talked to barbara bush and she said you ought to just come over to our house at walker path at 6 00 and watch what happens. So the next morning i go over and their bedroom is literally just inside the door there. So i go in and theres george and barbara bush in bed, his hairs all messed up and theyre in theyre pajamas. I sat on the end of the bed, it was just good morning, and i reminded him what i was doing there. Then the grandchildren started coming in and this was a natural occurrence. So, so i stood back and i took some photos of the grandchildren in bed with george and barbara bush. And there were many times president bushs hair was kind of light would blow in the window a lot and a lot of times id just go like that. Ill just do it like this and he would pull his hair back. But that morning, you know his hair was you know he had just woken up, his hair was up. And i thought, you know if i Say Something about his hair, and i take this photo and his hair looks nice, no one will ever believe that this wasnt set up. So i just took the photo and wound up running two full pages in life magazine. And over the next 20 years or so, it was in the best in life and classic moments in life. In 2011 it was elected in one of best photo magazine for 25 years. I was fortunate as a photographer to get Something Like that. But its one of those things where theres a handful of folks that get photos that live on like that. I remember one time a photographer by the name of eddy adams, pull it surprise photographfer. Many years later he set up the eddy adams workshop. I was invited as a speaker and i was there with eddy in his farmhouse in upstate new york. And theres Joe Rosenthal and karl. Joe took the photo of the marines raising the flag and carls photograph, mcarthur walking on the beach. And eddy adams who took the photo in vietnam with the general getting shot in the head. And im thinking, wow look at these guys. Theyre just incredible photographers and incredible photos they had done. And they were kind of lamenting their life and saying, you know we have all been in the business for 50 or 60 years and were only known for one photograph. And i was like wow, thats really interesting. And for me, that one photograph is george and barbara bush in bed with your grandchildren. So, it was a good run for me. We should have been formore years, my wife was glad that it wasnt. Why is that . Well youre at it seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and i spent all those year with the Vice President and then the president. And, you know, its really allconsuming. And, you know kud does to guys like eric draper he was able to do the full eight years. In a lot of ways he did more than eight years. Yeah. You were there when he was Vice President. Right. Well, you know the fascinating thing about that is, if you think back in history of the things that were going on during that period of time, the 80s and 90s, i remember going to communist po poland and meeting with Shipyard Worker and Vice President bush meeting and i remember him saying some day youll be the president of the united states. And i was able to photograph them at their house. And a few years later we go back to a free poland and meet with the president there and president bush. And i was there again to photograph that, and to so to see that transition in history, and then be there when the military aid comes up to the president and says, mr. President , the soviet union has fallen. You know, and theres that moment of, what. And, you know, it was the end of the soviet union, the cold war was over, the berlin wall came down. And that was a whole other thing where president bush was criticized for not going to berlin and kind of standing on the wall and waving the flag and saying, you know, we won the cold war. And he refused to do that. His reasoning was that its not about our victory or anything that weve done, its time for german people, the people who are experiencing freedom for the first time in 70 plus years, its time for them to celebrate and have their own victory. And, also if he had gone, it was so soon afterwards that there were there were potentially rogue russian generals who had access to military assets and they could have said, oh, so youre celebrating, watch this. You know, and nuke somebody or done some horrible thing. So, he held back and, you know received a lot of political criticism for not going out there and waving the flag. I think it was great that president reagan stood at the ber hint wall and said mtear don this wall. But we didnt need to stand on that wall after it was torn down and gloat about it. If you think back to his childhood, to George Walker bushs childhood, and his upbringing in playing sports and Little League and when they would win a game, his mother would say, well george, did you congratulate the other team and say, you know, you played well . And, you know he made sure that she taught him to always reach out to the other guy and congratulate the other guy win or lose. And i kind of felt, you know, it was never spoken but i kind of felt it in my heart, you know, i can hear him thinking about his mother and saying, you know, yeah we won the cold war but we dont need to go and brag about it. We dont need to go stand on the wall and stick our thumb in somebodys eye. And so, i see that as kind of the character of the man and i think all the years that i spent with him, i really had a real opportunity to watch that part of his personality and i was fortunate, you know the guy that i worked the, you know, what was a man of great character and and humility and i know that the experiences that he had prior to becoming president , whether you think about when you think about his career, when you go back to about youngest Navy Fighter Pilot in world war ii, having been shot down, lost two members of his crew, rescued, coming back, moving out to midland, texas. Starting in the oil business, being a congressman, about representative for the united nations, about liaison to the people republic of klein. Be the Vice President of the united states. All that prepared him for being president. Whether you see that slice of history where he was president and the things that were accomplished and things ha happened in the world, what better person to have with all of that experience during that period of time. Its you almost wish that you had someone like that here in 2013, who had that broad range of experience, who could pull someone, who could go out and pull World Coalition together to remove iraq from kuwait. All the things he accomplished, i think its great lilacing in some lacking in some folks who become president because they dont have that broad range of experience. One other thing i wanted to z you about ask you about was your approach to taking photos when you were behind the scenes with the family or behind the scenes during political discussions . Well, you know id get three schedules, i would get a block schedule which was a monthly schedule it was fairly loose but yacht go a sense of big things going on in a month. Then you get a weekly schedule and it was a little tighter. Then you get a daily schedule. The daily schedule was admitted by me that and the job was the document what president did. So, would just rook at the schedule is see okay, heres the thing going on this day and this time and you would go photograph them. After iraq innervated kuwait and the president made a speech to the world and gathered the World Coalition and there were a couple of days there where there was nothing on the schedule. And, you know there was a lot of just sitting around waiting. One day patty, who managed the oval office for the president , called me up and say hey, you need to go into the oval office. And i was like, whats going on. And she was like you just go in there. And i go in and i immediately realized the war was starting. I go in take a couple of photos, its dick clay any whose seskt of defense, colin powell who chief of the president. Jim baker. And i take some photos and i turn around to leave and they had locked me in. It was so highly classified that once i was exposed to it i conleave. So, just on the other side of the oval office is a private office and so, i went in there and so for the next 10 or 12 hours i was just kind of back and forth. Hed get on the phone and talk to people, you know, world leader, congress fall leadership, and you know so you even without the schedule you just kind of had to watch the players and what was going on. I knew there was sometimes where youd say, okay, i walk in i documented what was there, im good. Sometimes, maybe youd stay a little bit longer. One time when he was Vice President and the Space Shuttle challeng challenger blew up, president reagan asked Vice President bush to go down and meet with families. So i naturally went. As we got there i asked lim, i said you know, i know youre going to walk in this room and meet with these family members and they just lost their loved ones. He didnt respond but i could see he was pained by that. And so, i chose not to walk in that room. And out of respect for the people who were there. I could have walked in there just as easily but you know, as a human being there are times when as a photographer youre put into situations, and just, you know, theres no need. Just back off. So, on that it was kind of unspoken but, i chose not to do that but i did ask him about it but he never really responded. But i could see, you know kind of in his heart, you know it was interesting. I was with him so much i could anticipate even body movements, because i observed him so much, and in such an intimate way. You could have thousand people in the room and you could have hundreds of staff people traveling. I was the only one that my sole focus was the watch him. And, you know, the secret service rotated, the doctors rotated, the military age rotated, everybody rotated except the photographer. Yeah, yeah. So youre always there and you could really learn, you know, what to anticipate, which really helped with the photography. Because you can say, i know hes going to do this, hes going to make that move, hes going to do what ever it is hes going to do that you can anticipate. And that really help because you knew that, like the second he did that, he was going to like slump down in his chair or do something which kind of visually wouldnt where he wanted to be. So you knew, okay, i got it. Then you could, you know, you knew you were done for that small period of time. Its funny, somebody else talked to me the other day and we were talking about just, you know when people speak up. And i said, well, you know i was always there but i never spoke up. It wasnt my responsibility to say anything. And so, except for one time we were in the oval office and i ralk invaded kuwait and president bush was practicing his speech to the world but really directing his remarks to sadaam hussein. And in the practice speech he says, this will not stand and iraq needs to be out of kuwait but 12 00 noon on a certain date. I turned to the speech writer i said is that 12 00 noon d. C. Time or baghdad time. And the guy went pail and he went up and changed the speech. It was one of those small Little Things that i did, which i never, you know spoke up because you werent there to talk or you know, you just photographed what was in front of you. Its really amazing that they kept you in there with them too. I noticed some of the photos in your book, i cant remember what point during the gulf crisis it was. Bush is behind the desk and colin powell is on the phone as well and colin powell also pulled out a drawer so it muv incredibly tense to be in there. Well, it was. And its funny, you know, whats going through your mind, no matter whats going on, as a photographer whats going through your mind is youre looking at the situation and youve been in that room, the Oval Office Thousands and thousands of times and youre saying, okay, i know its there time of the day, lights going to be coming through that window, their moving around, theyre moving around, theyre moving around, boom. And so, youre always like thinking pretty intently about the photography and not so much about youre kind of hearing because youre anticipating some action, but probably 90 of your brain thought is the photography. And, you know i feed to get over here, i need to get you know were just scoot over just a little, scoot over come on come on, boom. And thats kind of what youre thinking. So in terms of like, getting, you know crazed about the situation, you know, not so much because it wasnt my responsibility. We were in panama one time and it was after Manuel Noriega had been removed from power and we were doing there and there was a the president was making a speech in a public plaza and the p panamanian military surrounded the plaza with these big tractor trailer trucks to build a barrier to protect the environment. And there was a crowd outside of the truck and the crowd surged a little bit. And the up and down main yan military folks shot off some tear gas. Well the wind was blowing our direction in the stage so the people inside the barrier started moving away from the tear gas towards the stage. The secret service grabbed the president and said, lets get out of here. As a photographer visually it was really an interesting thing because the cat guys came out with their gas mask on. So i started taking photos of that, a little chaos. And secret service agent, and i dont know who it was, dragged me back the back of my belt and pulled me into the spare limousine and we sped off. So here we were if kind of a life and death situation. And my mind went to, man lets get some neat photos here. But, i was glad to be able to get into the lim moe because i was starting to breathe that tear gas. And the limos have their own air supply. So i was pat had my face up to the vent. I was like, give me some of this fresh air. So, you know, it was it didnt get too worked up. I think the only time i really teared up about lost and, you know it wasnt so much that bill clinton won, ross perot had ran and spent the popular vote, bill clinton won with 50 . It was kind of sad, but you know he was gracious enough. But when i was standing there taking those photos i was tearing up. And then the last time were at camp david, he was saying goodbye to the military families there and all the people that he learned to love and the people that supported them there. He started crying. And it was sad. We visited also she wits and that was pretty intense, really changed my personal feelings about a lot of thing, never really thought much about it. Became a huge supporter of israel and it was never really never really gave it much thought before. But after you go there and see that, it really changed me for the rest of my life. Well, until most slightly later affair, you mentioned taking some photos of president bush fishing and you know, kind of doing outdoorsy things. I want to ask about because there are a lot of passages in your book. Cleaner what of that were you witnessed . Well, president bush had this Beautiful House in kenny boon port maine. He grew up there as a child and it was a family house. He wound up getting it. So, he grew up around the water, boating, fishing. And then of course down in west texas hunting. So, he was a sportsman by any part of the definition there. And a strong athlete, played baseball, golf, tennis, was very active sports wise. And, actually quite the teaser also, which impacted me on my very first trip to kenny uncbun port. He wanted to show me around workers point. We walked down to the pier. He says as a child i used to swim here. He said yew and i ought to do that. I was like, well, im dressed, i got my camera, im the guy from south texas, i know that that waters probably 40 degrees. He insisted. He said look, i dont have a swim suit. He said we dont need swim suits we can go back up to the house i got plenty up there. So we walk up to the house, change, put on the swim suits. Walk back down, he said on the count of three well jump. So one, two, three i jumped, he start walking back towards the house. So that was my initiation to kenny unc kenny bunk port. That was also our bonding thing. As i saw him over the years, you know, he always well 20 something years later i was asked to speak to a hunting and fishing group. And i was like, i dont hunt and i dont fish. They said well, you know tell stories about president bush. So i went back into my files, i was amazed how many photos i found of him, you know hunting. Every december right after christmas we used to go to beeville, texas and go opportunitying down there. The lazy franch, his friend will ferris had a place down there, wed go hunting down there. Every chance he got hed go fishing in kenny bunk port, wed go fishing for blue fish. And one summer we were out there and he wen for weeks without catching a fish. And usa today on their barner top of their page said day five no fish, day six no fish. This went on and on and on. And one day im in the boat with him and im asleep and im holding on to a fishing pole, and boom, i catch a fish. And, you know, so i reel it in, hes all excited. And as the fish gets closer, what had happened is the fish swam buy and got hooked on the gills and so, i was like i didnt catch it. I snagged the fish. And he said, well, you know. I said hey i caught a fish. He says no that doesnt count you snagged it. And so, i was like okay. Well the next day literally the very next day, he finally catches a fish, this is after 14 or 15 days of no fish. Hes catching the fish and were looking down at it, its coming in tail first. He had tangled the fish line around the fishs tail. He brings the fish in and hes all excited and he said call the press over so i can get a picture with the fish. And he sai said wait a minute y didnt catch that fish you sflaged it. He said looking, im president of the united states, its my boat, call the press. So, there we go, we get a picture with the fish. And we were down in, i dont know, alabama or georgia or some place, a friend of his ray scott was very involved with the pro bass fishermens tournament. We were at scotts home and they had a lake, and so they wanted to go out on the lake and go fishing. And the media were all there, they were on the shore. It was a good sized lake but not so big a telephone lens couldnt go all the way across it. So they decided, they made an agreement with the press, if we catch the fish then you guys will go away. So, that he said yes. So, they go out and they were out there for five or ten minutes, and then theres all this excitement. And the president raises up this fish, and the press takes picture of the fish. They put it down and the press leave. The fish was one that ray hat caught months before and had mounted. And so, they just raised up this mounted fish so the press could take a picture of it so they would go away so they could be left alone, so they could go do their fishing. Actually, i think that photo was in the book. If you look closely at the fish you can see the block on the bottom left side of the fish. In terms of like daytoday activities, he always jogged, loves to play horseshoes. In one of your photos in the exhibit is of him playing horseshoes. Right, yeah. He would always get he had the Prime Minister of japan, he had queen elizabeth, she actually never through a horseshoe. Borrish why didnt she throe a horseshoe . Well she brought some silver stilt horseshoes, she just didnt play. But that was a lot of fun. We were actually