One Photograph: The Arizona/Mexico Border

I don’t discuss politics much here and I won’t today either, but there has been a lot of talk lately about the US/Mexico border. I lived in Arizona for over three decades and visited the border quite a few times. Most of my trips were to the busy crossing at Nogales. Whenever friends or family would visit, we’d drive down from Phoenix, park in the Safeway parking lot near the border and cross into Mexico for some shopping. Mostly, we’d buy colorful blankets that were nice to look at but kinda scratchy to cuddle up with. Visitors also wanted to try a bottle of Coca-Cola in Mexico, which tastes sweeter than what we buy in the US. More syrup, I suppose.

In 2008, I spent a few days in Bisbee which is a quirky little southern Arizona town worth checking out, especially for photographers. One afternoon, I drove a few miles to the border near Naco, Sonora where I saw this border patrol agent sitting in his truck enjoying his lunch and watching the wall. We chatted a bit and I asked if I could snap this picture. I shot this with my Nikon D70s and a AF Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6D IF—a lens that gets mostly terrible reviews but served me well for years.