From the coast of southern California to the mountains of south eastern Arizona, the shape and face of country is changing. What was once just a marker on the ground to show where the border is has now transformed into an almost medieval scene. Iron fence posts into the sand and ocean as a demarcation line, could be confused for any war torn third world country. Yet it is the thoughts of politicians located on the opposite side of the country so far detached that they cannot see the true impact on daily lives of their decisions. They come to see the fence with a parade of officials around them making sure to show how effective the fence is, yet at the same time they clear out all the people that would normally be there. Husbands and wives separated by an unforgiving fence that allows them only to touch fingers, this is all too familiar in many countries across the world and further back in history.
A recent solution has been to build a fence to block the flow of immigrants. What has not been considered is the shift of the crossing now into Arizona. Arizona’s response is to create a new law that encroaches on an American’s civil rights. Does that solve the problem? On March 27th Douglas Arizona rancher’s Rob Krentz’s body was found along with the lifeless corpse of his cattle dog. Speculation abounds to if it was drug traffickers or smugglers bringing across illegal’s that caused his death. In April while on a neighboring ranch of Krentz, I had the opportunity to document the daily life of a rancher in Douglas, Arizona. The impact of the fence is apparent immediately. On the side of a road are empty water bottles and backpacks. While out on the open range driving cattle, fresh foot prints can be found as well as more empty water bottles. The impact is becoming more prominent with destruction of property and vehicles being stolen. With calls to local government officials showing no response by the rancher, it seems there is no solution. The only people not feeling the impact of the border fence are sitting in an elected office to far removed to understand the gravity of the situation.
A typical June morning in San Diego brought what many coastal locals know as June Gloom. Cloudy skies that hold the sun away for all but a few hours. Out of the gray sky and sea rose that lines of the Portuguese Navy’s tall ship the Sagres. Visiting San Diego on its circumnavigation of the globe she left Lisbon on January 15th and rounding Cape Horn, she headed north making several ports of call in South America. Her voyage celebrates the arrival of the Portuguese to the Orient 500 years ago. Originally built in Germany in 1937, she has been with the Portuguese Navy since 1962.
Docking at the San Diego Maritime Museum found a vast crowd of on lookers were awaiting her arrival including Cristine Griffing who had flown all the way from Boston to meet her boyfriend Vitor Dantas who is part of the crew. Having met in Boston and now traveling all over the world to see each other, moments like these are cherished. Thanks to technology they are able to stay in contact even when he is out sailing the high seas, which as Cristine said “Without Skype we wouldn’t have made it this long.”
The Captain of Sagres, Commander Pedro Proenca Mendes greeted the visitors of the tall ship with the warmth of Portugal. He mentioned how the last time he was in San Diego he was the navigator of the same ship. His captain at the time had kept all the sales up to within a 600ft of docking. With a grin Captain Mendes said “I kept her sails up to within 300ft of the dock.”
The Sagres will continue on her voyage around the globe on the 17th June, with her next port of call being Honolulu.
Cinque Terre is made up of five villages on the west coast of Italy. Built into the rugged cliffs these towns are only accessible by boat or train. Rail tunnels were only built in the 1920's and provide a unique trip to these beautiful villages. The warm hospitality of the typical Italian fishing village can be seen at every turn, not mention the great food.
I had the pleasure to document the Bone yard at Davis Monthon AFB in Tucson Arizona. I found old C-47 / DC-3 dating back to the 30's to newer jets such as an A-7E that were operational in the 90's. It was a unique experience to photograph these aircraft. One highlight was finding the flight deck section of a 747 that was flying just a couple of years ago. After its accident, the remaining portions were shipped to the bone yard and it is now serving a second life by being parted out to keep other aircraft operational. It was amazing how big the cockpit is when everything is removed. The vast number of aircraft stored is amazing, with the deserts dry conditions and lack of rain it keeps them in pristine condition, even though some have not flown in 30 years. This was made possible by Holt Webb and the Vanishing America Project as well Aircraft Restoration & Marketing.
