I was surprised by my first reaction to George W. Bush in person. Having spent thousands of hours filming Barack Obama in diners, state fairs, and high-school gymnasia, I thought I’d gained some special insight into the character of presidents. But there I was, like any ordinary person watching a White House ceremony on television, thinking, “Oh wow, look at how gray he’s gotten!”

It was 2008, and I was in the Oval Office as President-elect Obama’s official photographer, which was my position during the presidential transition. President Bush was giving Obama a tour of his soon-to-be home.

I usually worked as a videographer, but the Bush people only wanted a still photographer. They were skeptical when my name had been submitted for security clearance. “Why are you sending your YouTube guy as a photographer?” Though I’d worn the “YouTube guy” label proudly as Obama’s New Media Road Director and personal videographer during the campaign, the Bush people used the term interchangeably with “national security threat.”

After my naïve initial shock over Bush’s hair color, I began to wonder about their skepticism of the “YouTube guy.” Candidate Obama might’ve been the first to have his campaign videotaped 24/7, but George W. Bush clearly shared Obama’s amazing ability—which I’d hung my entire video strategy on—to be the same person on and off camera.

As I sprinted up the stairs to the White House behind Bush’s photographer, Eric Draper, dodging the kitty litter in the back stairs, we arrived at the rooms where the First Family actually lives. The president was showing the president-elect a few of his favorite things. “See this room?” he said, sounding astonishingly like Will Ferrell doing his best “W” impression. “This is a good room for sittin’, Barack. I like to do a lot of sittin’ right here.”