next, q&a with doug mills. then, questions from the house of commons for british prime minister theresa may. ♪ announcer: this week on "q&a," new york times staff photographer doug mills. he talks about covering president trump and discusses some of the photos he took before and after the 2016 presidential election. brian: new york times photographer, doug mills, back in 2013 you were photographing a lot of barack obama, what has changed since then? doug: what has changed?

well, we have a president who is not a politician in the white house. the american people elected somebody who is a businessman and now he is president of united states. things are drastically different for us. it is a lot of work. we worked nonstop, the president drives the new cycle hourly. therefore it affects us every day. the white house is quite an exciting place to work. brian: how is it different? doug: from a photographer standpoint, we get a lot more access to the president. i see him a lot more on a daily basis the young we did with barack obama. sometimes four or five times per day we are able to photograph him in different situations. some meetings, executive orders, signings, things like that.

there is a lot of travel involved. mar-a-lago, new jersey, where he likes to spend it the weekend. it is exhausting. it is great. it is very exciting. i look what i'm doing. i have the greatest job in the world. being in the white house right now, every time i see someone that i haven't seen in a while, that is what they ask. how has your life changed and what is different. it is very different. we work nonstop. so many different pictures. i think photographing barack obama for eight years -- he was probably the most photogenic president in my generation. i look at the past year of

photographing donald trump, he is the most iconic. you look at a picture of him from the front, side, back, you know who it is immediately. it is challenging. it is fun, i love photographing. brian: here is a photo you took of donald trump sitting at his desk. when did you do that? doug: that was shortly after he took office. that was in february or march. there was a period where he was signing a lot of executive orders. and again, us having more access, we have been in the oval office more. longer than you normally can. you are able to be creative. i was able to put a camera up high in the air. i was waiting for them to bring the executive order over to him. i liked that picture better than the one with him with the actual papers in front of him. brian: when you are on the scene, can you see the sweep of

light -- did you notice that? doug: i did. other presidents have kept more things on the desk at times. sometimes it is blocked, i think this was an afternoon signing. the sun was coming in behind him, it cast that vignette. i remember looking at it when i pulled it up on the computer, it looked more dramatic than when i saw it in person. brian: you took the overhead shot. it has become your trademark, when did you start doing this and how do you do it? doug: i basically take a monopod, a single leg of a tripod, it has a connector on the top. of thatball head on top which lets me tilt it.

top, i liftt on the as high as it will go, probably 15 feet at the most. then i am able to tilted over. i cannot see, i am just trying to do a practice shot in the press room before i go out. i try and calculate what the distances for focus. i am not using autofocus. i am pre-focusing. i watch as he is gesturing or looking over. i think it is such a great, unique, view of the oval office or capitol hill. i think it really brings the reader into who is in the room and how it is being orchestrated. especially with everyone surrounds him like that. i love doing them. brian: in our archive we have one from 1996, one from 2008, one from 2013, for those that have never seen any of these, bring us up to date how long you

have been a still photographer. doug: i have been washington, d.c., a long time. i have covered the white house since ronald reagan when he was running for reelection. i have been there since 1983. i believe i have covered 18 and 16f republicans democrats. the brian: how many years with the times now. doug: i was with the associate press first. brian: we talked about pete sousa, i think he was number one for a couple of weeks. why do you think that book of photos has sold so well? doug: he is a great photographer. he has a fantastic eye, he had the most access that any white

house photographer had ever. you talk to other photographers who have been in that same job. i think pete had the most access. he clearly did a fantastic job of branding himself and branding his work. staying with the president of the time, he rarely took a day off. his colleagues did not have the same kind of access that he did. therefore, he has been able to tap into a market -- obviously the book is selling like crazy. with all due respect, that work think came at the expense of the access to the press. brian: that is what i wanted to ask you. you were kept out of the obama years, you went to bat for that. in the end, what did happen? doug: you go through different

press secretaries in different communication directors. i think josh earnest did a great job of getting us back into the fold of taking more pictures. he had a great team that was really committed to it. there was a lot of controversy about the fact that we felt like we were shut out, those with the facts. we have plenty of examples that we were not allowed in, the white house was putting up their own instagram or twitter pictures, or putting it up on the website. they were excluding the press. we had, one that sticks out, it was memorial day. the president invited the oldest living african-american veteran to the white house. which sounds like that would be a great photo, a great thing for the news media to see.

it was put on instagram and twitter. those were the things that really irritated me about that. pete is a great photographer, he did a great job. i felt at times we were on the short end of that because we were not allowed into every event that we are now. brian: how would you describe the photographers that are around president trump compared to the others? white house photographer for president trump worked in the bush administration. there is another female photographer who worked for

president bush on the first lady staff. i think, it is mostly female. they are great. none of them are former photojournalists that were working as press photographers, much like the obama administration. you had chuck kennedy who was a working photographer in washington, d.c., they were working in d.c. and doing what we do every day. brian: there is a photograph you took in front of the white house, what is that? where is the president? doug: he is on the south lawn of the white house. this was an event for truckers, and uni himons and so forth. it was a normal event. the president spoke at the podium. there were members of congress there. there were two tractor-trailer sitting behind him.

they filled up the frame nicely, they look great. at the end of it, i think a number of us were joking, wouldn't it be wild if he got into the cab. everyone said he is not going to do that. sure enough, he climbed up there, he grabbed the wheel like he had road rage, it was hilarious. it made for a great picture. it was not a site i have seen of him like that. obviously, he was having fun, joking, you can see the members of congress there and other trucking officials who were taking pictures. brian: if you are around him so much more than you expected, what do you see a close that we do not see on television or photos? him him him him him doug: that is a great question. what do i see up close? obviously, he enjoys having us around. i really believe despite his constant comments about fake news and the media, i really feel he enjoys having us around because it helps drive his message.

it helps drives the news of the day. he is constantly driving that message. therefore, having us around really allows him to do that. there are personalities he really looks to, on air force one he will come back and chat with us. there are reporters that he is on a first name basis. he has not gotten to know photographers in the same way. he has only been in office one year. i think he knows who i am. i think he knows i worked for the new york times. brian: the failing new york times.

doug: the failing new york times, exactly. yes. that hurts, the new york times is the greatest news organization in the world. we do not put out fake news. that gets under my skin when i hear it. i think a lot of journalists feel that. brian: have you ever had a conversation with him? doug: for the white house news photographers contest, we were invited to the oval office to have our picture taken with him. there was a brief handshake. that was the first time i had ever shaken his hand. i think it was the first time i realized he knew who i was. he said watch out for this guy, he is very good. i realize he knew who i was and who i worked for. it is definitely different, he is not a politician. every time you are in the oval office, when he is around members of congress, to have a

room about immigration, and be in there for 55 minutes. we were flies on the wall negotiating the immigration bill. it was fascinating. it was unprecedented. senator lindsey graham was sitting right in front of me while i was taking pictures. i said this is unbelievable, he said i know. it is remarkable. it is different. brian: on that particular day, did they tell you this was going to happen? doug: we had no idea. we get the president schedule every day. that they it stated the meeting was going to take place. it said close press. but a lot of times the president in the senior staff says we have to get the media or the president will ask for the

the president will ask for the pool. he says a lot about where the press pool is. without it would be a couple of minutes. we stayed in for 55 minutes. it was remarkable. brian: sure is a photograph of an important person in the white house, who is it and where did you get this photo? doug: this was taken during a meeting with members of congress. sitting there with his hands up to his face was general kelly. i have gotten to know sort of. i have met him on a couple of off the record events. i have great respect for him. he is very nice to me, very kind. him and it was the first time, that is normally where the vice him and president sits. i think he was traveling that day. a lot of times when the vice

president is sitting in that seat, there is a secret service agent directly behind him. we are not allowed to have that kind of perspective, right over whoever's head is sitting directly across from the president. jumpedalized that and right into it. brian: is that normal that they do not let you have that kind of position? doug: it has happened during the trump administration where there -- i don't recall it happening during with vice president biden and president obama sitting across. there is a lot more security. we have seen a lot more secret service around. the white house has a lot of new faces in the media. there is a lot more secret service agents around. it seems tighter in that regard. brian: who is the person in this photograph with a jacket over his head? doug: that was taken from one of

the press vans one evening at the white house. the president and first lady were heading out. we saw his son, barron was up by the motorcade. walking across the lawn, normally we are not allowed to photograph any of the children. we always give them that respect. hey, we are not going to photograph them unless the president is around. in we thought he was leaving, the ball started rolling, i thought i should get this. as soon as the two boys saw the tv cameras, they put their

jackets over their head. barron always has a secret service agent with them. just like every member of the trump family and that every member of the obama family group they had constant secret service around. barron has secret service with him in school. brian: this is a unique photo. they can see more stuff on twitter. what is this? doug: this picture was actually taken during that 55 minute meeting we had with immigration. it was the first time i ever saw the number 45 embroidered on his sleeve. i am always fascinated with his cufflinks. the president has a unique array of cufflinks.

if we are in the meeting long enough i always tried to do that. we get to see these things. this was one, when i took it, i thought this is different and unique. luckily, i did not tell my other colleagues because there are 8-10 photographers in the same room. i am using a newer camera. i am using a sony which is him completely silent. i can be standing next to my colleagues, formerly they could hear me take pictures, now it is silent. that helps make that image. i think if i have been photograph and while he was speaking or something like that. so it helped. brian: let's talk about the technology. the first time in 1996 you were shooting with a canon. doug: the models have changed

every couple years. in brian: d1x. show us what is different, what are you using now? doug: it is a sony a9, it is a mirrorless camera. the mirror like on a regular slr you cannot hear. brian: let's hear what it sounds like. doug: it is taking pictures. you will not see it. it is completely silent. brian: when did that come on the market? doug: earlier in the year, i have been using it now probably about eight months. i was asked to try it out and see what i think that i have been a canon photographer for 35 years, probably more than that. my first camera was a canon,

they do not make a mirrorless camera. sony came to me and asked if i would be willing to try it and see what i thought. i picked it up, i played with it for a few hours. i remember saying to one of the technicians that this is a game changer. i want to use this camera. brian: how does it change the game? doug: it is silent. for what we do in politics, it helps immensely bit that is one of the biggest complaints when news photographers are around the president or members of congress. it is hard to hear what the president is saying or anybody else in the room. that helps being a game changer. it is 20 frames per second, and can fire 20 frames per second, that is twice when i was using to that is twice when i was using before.

if i am shooting sports with this, it doubles my frame rate, the amount of pictures i can get. the peak action. chasing somebody around like robert mueller, you are running up and down the steps. when you finally get to him, i have used it and i have like 50 pictures of him. in an eight second window of seeing him. brian: what about quality? doug: it is fantastic. i am a true believer -- i have used canons all my life.

eventually i am sure nikon and canon will come out with mirrorless cameras. i can take a picture and send it quickly from there. they can have it in seconds. brian: one of your visits here, you were full of computers and all of that. him you have to do that anymore? doug: i do. being part of the press pool, when we travel with the president, i take my computer, so i can crop and tone pictures. it does have all of the wi-fi to get on the internet. if i know i am on a deadline or the office is waiting on something. i can send it directly.

like during the campaign, i did a lot of that. i did it directly from the camera. i still do it now. if i am heading off to the olympic site will be doing it every day there. i don't carry the laptop as much as i don't carry it as much as i used to. eventually the software will be piped in cameras to allow us to do that. brian: can a civilian by this camera? doug: they are on the market. brian: how much? doug: they are cheaper than most of the slr's out there. i want to say i think they are and the others are around $10k. brian: with other photographers,

do they use the silent camera? doug: photographers from getty, reuters, sony came into washington and tried to see if people would be willing to switch. i am completely switch. you some of my colleagues and completely switch. there is a larger staff. photographers at ap would be hard to outfit every photographer who wanted to switch. same with getty, and reuters, it is tough when you have a large staff. new york times purchased it for me, i am thrilled with it. brian: let's go back to some of photographs. here's one for twitter. from the white house briefing room. doug: that one has a lot of interesting comments on twitter. it was a day when we had seen the president a few times. i have gotten to really know and respect sarah huckabee sanders, she has the toughest job in

washington by far. she was doing her daily briefing. had him and himecause we seen the president a couple times, with my desk in the white house, it is all the way in the back. i can hear on the pa when the secretary comes in and start speaking. i was not planning to go out and photograph her until question started. when she said she had a guest with her, i grab my camera and run up to the briefing room. that would be his first time in the briefing room. all of a sudden, he is on the monitor. i have never seen this. it was an interesting day. her face -- the questions that she got about it, they were interesting. she has a tough job. just like sean spicer, it is a tough job.

brian: late last year, fox and friends brought your name up. let's watch what the exchange was. [begin video clip] >> there was a moment where a new york times photographer was upset, the day before, they were not allowed to cover this. he actually took this picture, the washington post said mills got his revenge for that awkward moment. the revenge was, the president of the united states, had a grimace. he did not look his best. these cameras are like a machine gun going off, how many frames per second they are taking these shots. he has hundreds of pictures from that very scene, he picks an isolated frame so it looks bad. this is what people get so disgusted by.

him and this was a hit job trying to make president trump look bad. [end video clip] doug: it was not a hit job. i had no intention of doing a hit job on the president or any president. him and i was there, i took photos of the president like 20 other photographers who were there. i happened to tweet mine out first. because of that i was criticized for. it did not help the day before, i tweeted out a blank frame, we were at a summit and had no coverage of the president. so i tweeted out -- this is the first time i had ever been to a summit and never been able to

photograph the president. much less, the family photo, when you hear a family photo, you think that is for the photographers and the camera crews. we were not allowed into that. brian: what was driving that? doug: from my understanding, the vietnamese came to the white house and said, ok here is video, we are giving each country two credentials for the press. that is it. two credentials, one went to youtwo credentials, one went to fox, one went to the press photographer. when i found out, i was fuming. i was out of my mind. and how could this happen? i had a conversation with sarah

about it. about it. they did not have a credential for the white house photographer. my feeling was, if it is a press credential or a credential to get in, it should be given to the press. i thought, with the white house, just send a memo, no one is going to stop a photographer from traveling with the president of the united states. nobody is going to stop them. send them in, give the credential to a member of the white house press corps. a trip like that cause the new york times probably $60,000 to go on a trip like that. it is not cheap, for us not to be in the room, we are there to cover the president. to not have access to it -- unfortunately, a story was written about the blank frame, then the next day i got my revenge, that is what the narrative was. was that dougive

alls got revenge with picture. brian: who made the choice? to this end up in the new york times? doug: they did not publish it. it was on twitter the handshake picture, it did. i think we went from vietnam to the philippines. the next day, the front page of every newspaper had the same picture. everybody made that picture. i have some that look worse than that. brian: how often do you are -- hear those discussions about the new york times from somebody like mike huckabee? in your misleading mind. doug: that was completely misleading. i was mad the day before. i was out of my mind the day before because we were not given

access. givenat day we were acdcess. other leaders make remarks, they got on stage for the handshake. it was a really awkward handshake. every photographer took it. it brought back memories of when president bush, 43, went to china and the door was locked after it is conference. he had this incredibly more awkward face. the picture went up on the front page. nobody went after him. twitter is black and white. there is no right or wrong. everybody has an opinion. on twitter everybody goes after you. if they feel you are being unfair. brian: when you appeared in our call-in show in 1996, i had to

remind you of that, when you appeared here in 1996, a woman called and was upset that we were showing pictures of bob dole in shorts. she accused you of doing this on purpose. doug: i remember that. bob dole came down from the pool, he said walking around in shorts. he did not have problems with us taking pictures. nobody ever complained. brian: why did somebody in the audience think you are up to get him? doug: that is a great question. matter who you work for. i was working with the associated press at the time. they think photographers have agendas. they are biased. i could not be further from being biased. i just do my job. i photograph what is in front of me. i do not tell him what or what not to do. i do not put out a picture because i think the president -- it didn't happen, if something happens and i have it on camera

or disk, it is not -- you not fake and it's not, know -- brian: you have seen newspaper editors, photo editors, the drudge report, people use pictures politically to show somebody in a bad way. doug: that is true. that fox and, friends, that video put me and a bad light the same way. they used that picture, they did not send out any of my other ones. i probably sent 42 the new york times. they did not look to see the most awkward they could find. and the ones of him tighter that made himothers used awkward, it is

an awkward moment. brian: here is a photograph that shows cartoonist newspapers that love to do the hair. doug: they do. like i said, it is iconic. his hair is amazing. this was on that same trip. i think we were leaving china and going out, the wind caught his hair as it does sometimes. i asked if i should send this, should i not tweet about it? all of my colleagues shot it. i saw the video from it. it looks the same way. it is not as if i'm attacking the president. it is something that happened. we are just showing something that happened. people talk about his hair. his children have talked about

his hair. it is not -- i don't think, he has talked about his hair, i am not going after him. it is interesting. brian: here is that november photo in korea with the presidential plane -- we don't see much of mrs. trump. doug: the first lady was on the trip with us. and at this point, they had two separate schedules. we had no idea they were going to depart. we don't get those kind of details in our schedules. the president had gotten off the plane, the world leaders were there, politicians, members of the diplomatic corps, they were reviewing the troops. right at the end, the first lady came up and gave him a kiss. she went one way, he went the other. we were asking where she is going. they said she had a complete different schedule. that is how that one came about. brian: at the uss arizona in hawaii, how did you get this picture?

there is a gulf between you and the president. doug: that is at pearl harbor memorial. it is an amazing place to be. i don't know if you have ever been there. it is solemn, dramatic, it is so well done. we were standing on the other side. the president came in with the separate boat. over on a separate boat. they brought the press pool in a different boat.

we saw the chief of staff looking at the memorial. we have a picture of him looking at the memorial. it was very solemn. the president and first lady looked at the names. as they were leaving, i think the president and first lady were supposed to do this. we didn't know that we were going to see this. they said, come around, it looks like he is standing just above the water. they through the rose petals up in the air and in the water. brian: we will come back more on president trump. this was a video from 2016 when you are on the hilary clinton campaign. doug: this was a big project the new york times was doing during the election. brian: i am carrying the camera? doug: i am turning the camera. it looked like an eyeball. you would set it down, it basically what all you to see a 360 degree view of anything. this one here sat on the ground on a monopod. i am not even near it because i would be in frame. the secretary walked over and was shaking hands. you can basically stand around

and look at an event like that. brian: who is moving the camera? doug: when you put the glasses on, you move it. it is stationary. you can follow everything around in 360 degrees. it is fascinating. i used it on the campaign for months. hillary's campaign.

overthey said, can you go andonald trump's campaign use it? i said absolutely. i packed up all of my gear, went out with donald trump and on the first day i put it down. one of the secret service guys said what are you doing? i said is a 360 degree camera. i have been using on the hillary campaign. he said you are not using that on our campaign. it is no different. they said it could be used as a weapon, get it out of here. i was playing with the staff. it is what i have been doing, it is a secret service call. they said if you put it up on stage, and that does not give the same effect. it really has to be in a very strategic spot.

i could not do it. brian: how is that any different than the camera you carry? doug: i have no idea. i went to the shift leader on the campaign and tried to explain to them what i was doing. he said it is too dangerous. someone could reach over and grab it and start swinging. it never even occurred to me that is what it could be used as. i used it for 2-3 months with hillary. brian: how often do you find yourself in an argument with a staff person? doug: during the campaign? quite a bit. not a argument but a discussion. maybe a discussion about why things aren't being done the way they said things were going to be done. the white house is arguing with the secret service because they are in charge for the president's staff. they will listen to what the recommendations are.

my experience has been -- it is up to the president staff. if they say this photographer is allowed to go here. they go and tell the secret service, the photographer can go there and then they say ok. if they are confident in who they are. they trust them. there are arguments on the campaign. with photographers, staff, most of it is out of frustration about decade a decent picture. it is nothing political. it is about what photographers need. this is why we need it. it is to help your candidate. we cannot be here or there. this is not right. brian: let's go through quickly, a love of your photographs. we will keep moving through. this is from october 2017.

doug: that was on a trip to south carolina. the president arrived there just as the sun was setting. it was a dramatic -- i shot it with the sony, i was able to look at it a little beforehand. i really tried to do a silhouette. i thought it would be cool. i had one or two frames with that. brian: here you are aboard marine one. doug: that was shortly after the hurricane. the president went down to visit. the press pool was flying in a separate helicopter. it has an open back or windows on the side. a lot of photographers went to the back of the helicopter to try to shoot out the back. i went to the side and asked the marine who was standing if i could shoot out the window. brian: do you have to pay for that? doug: it is expensive. for news organizations to travel with the president it is outrageous.

the new york times probably spends $750,000 per year to travel with the president. brian: here is a familiar figure. doug: he is a lightning rod. brian: what can you say? do you have any interaction with him? you know, we would see him around the white house quite regularly. quite regularly. he was not familiar with the press. he never said hello to me. i was in a meeting one-time or he walked in. i think he said that she was with sean spicer and other meeting with the staff. he said you are meeting with the enemy. he said that publicly. you would see him around. he is a very different kind of subject.

brian: you mentioned robert mueller, is this the picture you got? doug: it is. he was meeting before the select committee. he was in an area where you could not stand by the door. there are a lot of rules about where photographers can and you are walking back and forth. try and find out. you see two security guards that are gone from the door. he went out the back door. the senate -- they were over in the capital. running up and down steps. time to figure out where he is going out. threeprobably those other running full were

speeed upstairs, around elevators, up more stairs and then outside. secondsbly had five before we saw the first security guard come out to it was -- thankfully i am in shape. i try and stay in shape to do this young man's job. it pays off. it is a fast paced game at time. brian: this picture that you an interview. why? what was the excitement about it? doug: the anticipation of james comey coming to the hill after he had been fired to talk about aboutring and to talk president trump. bowl upike the super there. so much hype. once he got there, i used a

camera with the monopod on it. i try not to overuse that. i thought this would be a good opportunity to do that. brian: i also want to show a picture from the back of the room. if you look closely there, you can see your own self. somebodymonopod and next to you with another monopod. doug: i had four different remote cameras set up that day. i had set this one up at 7:00 a.m. and the back of the room in a window. i was able to fire wirelessly. when i was taking this picture, they were using that camera, another one over here and another over there. all on the sides of the windows, not on the floor. i tried to explain -- viewers don't understand what goes into an event like that. it was like the super bowl. my colleague was thinking the same thing. he was trying to do the same thing. press.th the associated

brian: does the times expect you to do this or are you doing this your own? doug: there is a lot expected of us. i try not to let them down. that is my goal. never take any assignment lightly. every event, especially something like that needs to bowl.ated like the super brian: you also carried another camera, what is that one? doug: it is great. it has a screen, -- i will turn it on. that way you can see everything. if i take your picture you will not hear. there it is. there you are. you can't hear a whisper of a noise. anan: when will we as audience that listen to these

clicks all the time, when will we not hear it anymoe. anymore? doug: maybe one year or two. some of my colleagues and fox news -- every time there is a photo opportunity where they can hear the president because of the cameras. he will say to me, i wish what -- everyone had what you are using. it helps for a lot of reasons. hate hope, believe me, i having that sound drown out whtat the president is saying or photographing.e it is distracting. it does make it seem like a news

event. when you hear that clicking, even for people watching it, i am sure there is a reaction, they hear the shutter. they don't know what he is saying yet. there is drama, it is dramatic. it is not a studio. it is kind of a catch 22. brian: here is a completely separate location. this is in the supreme court. what is this event like, how often do you get to take this picture? doug: this is taken every time there is a new member of the supreme court. it is fascinating. i have done it two or three times now. mike kelly has also done at a number of times. it is a fascinating day. you go to the supreme court very early in the morning. you set up in this room. you draw straws about what position you are going to be. you draw numbers basically. it gives you the position you are going to stand in. you go into the room, you put your camera down on the floor. then you leave. all of the justices come in, they pose for the supreme court photographer. then they say, give us one minute, then we will let the media in.

the media is allowed to come in, but you cannot just grab a camera and start shooting. somebody is standing with a stopwatch. because they can hear their shutters, they say you cannot take pictures yet. they say, ready, begin. we have 90 seconds. the justices said there like this. most of the time they are at you.right there is not much back and forth. brian: how many did you do at this time? did you do individuals? doug: you make sure you get a good overall. there is such limited time. you cannot tell if somebody's eyes are closed. if they have an awkward look for awkward smile. you also have to get head shots of everyone.

the time there is a story of the supreme court, there may be a separate story of a justice. we have seen them every once in a while. we do not get to see them in the robes. brian: how often are you allowed to take this picture? doug: only when there is a new justice. you would think they are done every year. but no, every time there is a new justice on the supreme court. brian: now that you have the silent camera, they won't know. doug: exactly. brian: here is the speaker of the house, when did you do this one? doug: paul ryan has a weekly press conference. after he meets with all of the republican members of house. he walks into a small room at the capital, it looks bigger on television but it is a small room.

he answers two or three questions. maybe four. he comes out, i was able to meet him at the door. i was basically standing right in front of him, impeding him. i knew i could not stay there the whole time. i took a couple of quick pictures. i noticed the door was open. i could see reflections. nobody had walked in yet. as soon as he walked to the door, i noticed the door was ajar. it worked. brian: this is one of the many photos you have taken on a golf course. how hard do they work to prevent you from getting these shots? why? doug: no matter what president -- they get criticized for

playing golf. they have the hardest job in the world food when they go play golf, there are people on sides of the aisle complaining he is playing golf. with president clinton, bush, reagan did not play golf, i did not see it. we do not get to see him play golf. some tv crews have recently tried to see him going from one hole to the next. they took video of him cnn. andink it was peter morris once that aired, they blocked that area. brian: this photograph -- the general public would be interested in? doug: all the way the reporters are sitting around. i think this was during sean spicer's era. it is a packed house. most of the time, it is busy. probably higher ratings than sarah.

i think sarah has a way of bringing the temperature down. with sean the temperature was always up. i think early on, sean probably used a number system. i think sarah pretty much knows everybody now. there are a lot of people who come into that briefing room, she doesn't know. i am sure she can look at a certain reporter and no what kind of question she is going to get. brian: how soon did you know you had an unusual photograph like this one? doug: that was at the african american museum. that was one of those where all of my colleagues were to my left, i tried to go farthest to the right. i did not like what we would see. luckily, the president turned down the hallway. i saw that sign. then they were talking

quietly. his ear atlly had the time. she really was around a lot. once reince priebus left and general kelly took over to the saw a lot less of her. the meetings were really tighter. dramatically come up when you would go into a meeting, it cannot room, anywhere. the numbers shrunk right away. general kelly felt a lot of people did not belong there, they were a distraction. that has changed a lot. general kelly has brought the numbers down. you see that. there are members of the press going in the room. brian: how long can you keep this up? you said it was a young man's game or a young woman's game. doug: it is definitely a young photographer's game. i am 58 this year. i would like to do it until i am 65.

if i stay in shape and stay healthy -- i am training right now for the olympics. they are coming up. i am training with a backpack just like i will be on the ice. brian: when people see this the olympics may have been running. doug: i leave on february 3 and come back at the end of february. brian: i always say this in our interviews, your wife runs over -- our radio station. how are your daughters? doug: they are young ladies now. they are 23 and 25. brian: still not interested in photography? doug: the younger one does.

she has quite an instagram feet. she has two. the other is in pr and marketing. they love their jobs but they are with great companies. as parents, we are delighted for them. it is great to see them grow up. brian: net new york photographer -- new york times photographer doug mills, thank you for this periodic update on your activity. doug: always a pleasure, thank you for having me. ♪ announcer: for free transcripts or to give us your comments, visit us at q&a.org. q&a programs are also a available as c-span podcasts. announcer: if you enjoyed this

week's interview with doug mills, here are some other programs you may like. mr. mills previously talking about efforts to increase access to the president for photographers. washington post photographer carol guzy talks about being a pulitzer prize winner. another photographer talks about his book, in the shadow of power. it shows a washington, d.c., not tourists.en by watch these any time or search our entire video library on c-span.org. announcer: coming up, we take a look at the week in washington with aisha rasco and paul singer, "usa today" washington correspondent. we will also discuss efforts to lower prescription drug prices with david mitchell, founder and president of patients for

affordable drugs. c-span's "washington journal," life beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern monday morning. join the discussion. announcer: this week on "the communicators," from the consumer electronics show in las vegas, technology industry leaders discuss their latest developments in artificial intelligence. >> you can have artificial intelligence in something as simple as your music playlist or your netflix queue. they are all using machine learning to figure out what music you like to listen to. it can be in your internet email system, filtering out spam. that automated system is not a algorithmt a computer using technologies like deep learning to do that. you canhe other end, have artificial intelligence towering self driving cars.