Here's another #MuroLoco / Crazy Wall shot. It's really hard to describe how wild this thing is. I've said before that I see it as a piece of public art in the service of authoritarianism. Being out here a lot, I can't help but see its performative character, its ideological purpose, its practical purpose (funneling big money into various private hands), *and* its raw aesthetic power.

I'm really hoping they don't close the access road immediately. The more I get to editing these shots, the more ideas I get that will require multiple repeat trips.

The big difficulty is that most of the strangeness of it comes from telephoto compression. But that means either shallow depth of field or using a tripod for long exposures at f11 or more, which isn't always possible for reasons.

#Border #BorderWall

Muro Loco/Wall Crazy

I've decided that "Wall Crazy", a direct translation, is better than "Crazy Wall", because it suggests the mental state of current border and immigration policy.

I just skimmed through the last trip's images and I've got some really good ones. They haven't closed the road yet and so far it seems the military are going to the populous areas. That is, they're going to where the media can easily get to and report, since this is all theater anyway.

Anyway, here's something slightly different. Shadows cast through the flood gates where the fence crosses California Gulch. I climbed up on the lock boxes on the gates themselves to get this shot.

#MuroLoco #BorderWall #Border #immigration #migrants

Muro Loco/Wall Crazy

I just did a 2-minute edit on this, but I'll go back and do a bunch of masking to get it right. I took a lot of shots and didn't really like any of them at the time, but seeing them on my computer now, I like this one.

It really does take days and days and days out there in all sorts of weather, driving up and down the road, making note of where to be at what time of day, to get the best shots. There are some, like the tree with all the shadow stripes, that I've driven by 50 times, but never when the light was right, so never even noticed the potential there.

#MuroLoco #border #immigration

I just happened to have my camera pointed that general direction when this fella soared over. Digitally cropped way, way in. I've got another version where it's mostly sky, but I like this crop better.

#MuroLoco #BorderWall #Border #Immigration

Muro Loco/Wall Crazy

It is impossible to not notice the striking and improbable forms of this strange thing imposed on the landscape. You can say the same in metaphorical terms about U.S. border and immigration policy.

#MuroLoco #immigration #BorderWall

Muro Loco
I spent a while chatting with this couple. I didn't write their names down, so have since forgotten. They have a cute story. They met working on the Yuma, CA section of the border fence. Both are certified welders. She had already been working on the fence when they met. They're now married and live in a camper van of some sort and travel up and down the border working on the fence wherever they're needed.

They repeatedly emphasized how not-political they are, that this is just a job. They didn't seem to be particularly anti-immigrant, though I'm guessing they voted for Trump.

I know a lot of radical lefties find it odd or annoying that I take time to hang out with the work crews or even get chatty with the Border Patrol agents who I've come to recognize. There's nothing to be gained by being hostile to anyone here, no matter how much I disagree with the U.S. border policy. As long as people act respectfully, I'm curious about them and their roles here.

#MuroLoco #border #immigration

To continue this thought a bit...
U.S. border policy is so much bigger than any of the workers or particular agents. The fence itself is here for a while, so I feel like I might as well learn what I can about it and the people who work in its ambit.

Most of the Border Patrol agents around here that I have seen working have been, at worst, curt toward immigrants, but are usually respectful and professional. It could be because people like me are around with cameras, but so be it. If I see them misbehaving, I'll report that as well.

I'm drawing a distinction here between people working day to day on the fence and people like ICE agents doing raids.

One last interesting tidbit this welder couple shared with me after two near-supersonic jets roared over VERY low on a training flight: apparently the pilots practice aiming their weapons by locking on to the border fence crews and their equipment as they fly over 😬😂

@Mikal "by locking on to the border fence crews and their equipment as they fly over"

did they offer any explanation as to how they would know this? a large wall to orient against makes sense as a reason for the flybys but there's no way someone on the ground would know a jet has "locked on" to them...
I think they may have been pulling your leg. Great photos. Such a striking bit architecture. Wondering what future archeologists will make of it.

@jonahgibberish

I got the impression that someone from one of the nearby bases told them. Spencer construction is a huge company that has built a bunch of the fence, sometimes in places like the base west of Yuma, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if they talked with people from the air force.