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 abou