Migrants are deported to Guatemala
The mood was somber in Arizona as deportees filed up the stairs to the plane that would take them back to Guatemala. I remember a woman crossing herself as she looked up at the plane. Later I learned it was the first flight she’d ever taken.
Migrants deportation from Carlos Barria on Vimeo.
Most of the migrants I talked to had crossed the border into the United States on foot. One woman told me of being abandoned by a ‘coyote’ during the crossing after she injured herself. She said she had wandered for two days before U.S. border agents found her, dehydrated and weak. She also told me how one of the agents had cleaned and bandaged her feet– a kindness that clearly moved her.
When the plane landed in Guatemala, the deportees let out a subdued cheer and smiled nervously. It was a journey that would reunite them with families, even if it meant the end of a dream to get ahead in the United States. For others, it was a setback. Several told me they would try to run the border again.
Bush years: Defining his presidency
As I take my last pictures of George W. Bush as President just days before Barack Obama’s inauguration, I reflect on what it was like to cover the 43rd President of the United States for the past six years.
I would characterize President Bush as a person of single-minded determination, a man guided by a moral compass to protect the nation, all the while bringing a style of Texas swagger into the oval office. We shared a passion of mountain biking and on several occasions I was fortunate enough to ride on his ranch in Texas where, away from the prying eyes of the press, I witnessed a man who loved the sport, always rode fast at the front of the pack and showed genuine interest in those around him.
Two of my favorite pictures center around perhaps the most definitive legacy of Bush’s presidency – the war in Iraq.
On an unannounced clandestine trip into the Iraqi desert province of Anbar in 2007, Bush is seen casting harsh shadows onto the desert sand made with dramatic side lighting in front of two humvees. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates appear to symbolically follow Bush into the desert night, both as second-term appointees following the controversial departure of Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld.
Another image that I think defines the man as commander-in-chief is this simple composition of Bush looking very presidential among heavily-armed soldiers during his visit to Fort Irwin in the Californian desert in 2007.
It was rare for Bush to let his guard down in public but if you follow one of the most photographed people on earth long enough, it’s just a matter of time before an unguarded moment presents itself and you have to be ready to capture it. Bush’s goofy facial expression as he strains to open a locked door following a press conference in Beijing was a fleeting moment that I wasn’t even aware had happened until I looked at the back of the digital camera moments later. At the time I got a lot of grief from Bush’s press staff for putting it on the wire as they tried to protect ‘the honor of their president” but it occurred in front of the world’s cameras so it was my duty to record the moment, which later was the fodder of late night talk shows everywhere. The man is only human.
I work in Singapore as a professional photographer and regularly visit this column. Another good read and insight to Bush. Thanks.
Bush years: Impressions of the man in office
Bush has faced many battles in his tenure. Record low approval ratings, a failing economy, the September 11 attacks, a war with no near end in sight, and for the last year, most of the world was looking more to his successor, than to the sitting President himself.
But when I look back over my three years here in Washington, I come away with two impressions of the man in the office.
One impression is that of a man carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, an insurmountable burden. As from my first image of Bush, making the long, slow walk back to the Oval Office, head and hands hanging low.
In November 2007, Bush met with Lance Cpl. Isaac Gallegos during a visit to the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He met with many of the soldiers, visibly scarred and injured from the war under his presidency. Although he seemed very confident in his actions, you could not help but feel that it was a hard eight years as the 43rd President.
The other impression is the playfulness of the man. Fun-loving silliness. The next two images come from the same day on a presidential trip to Africa in February 2008. It was probably the most fun I have seen the President have, and it gave me some of my favorite memories covering Bush. Joining a group of singing and dancing Massai Warriors during a stop at school in Arusha, Tanzania. He really seemed to be enjoying himself, surrounded by people who really were making every effort to make him feel loved and appreciated. He could have been anyone that day, just a guy wrapped up in the beautiful music, having a great time, and living in the moment.
Bush years: Good, bad and ugly
Reuters Washington staff photographer Kevin Lamarque made the move to White House coverage in 1999. Before that, he was covering London politics spanning the end of Margaret Thatcher, the John Major years, and the beginning of the Tony Blair era. Washington proved to be an interesting contrast. He has covered the final two years of the President Bill Clinton, and all eight years of President George W. Bush.
As one of only two Reuters photographers covering the entire eight years of President Bush’s term, I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly. Unfortunately, most of his time was defined by the latter two.
Early days in Crawford, with both of us looking much younger.
From the beginning Bush seemed a most unlikely President. I have often used the metaphor of a schoolboy who has not studied for an exam showing up on test day. He seemed as surprised as anyone that he actually was in fact president. He gradually grew into the role, though it could be argued that it never was a good fit.
The attacks of 9/11 defined his term in office. For photographers, this meant an end to the lighter side of things. There would be few photos of a President at leisure. No more golf outings, very few cultural trips abroad which are traditionally image feasts for photographers. Everything took on a very serious tone, and our photos were generally limited to men in suits looking very grave about what was going on in the world.
At Bush’s last G8 summit, looking very much alone in the world.
Love the G8 pic, Kevin. Looks like he wandered onto the set of some movie by mistake . . .
Bush years: First-time history
Larry Downing is a Reuters senior staff photographer assigned to the White House. He shares that duty with three other staff photographers. He has lived in Washington since 1977 and has been assigned to cover the White House since 1978. He worked for United Press International and Newsweek Magazine before joining Reuters as a stringer in 1997 and then as staff in 1999.
As the final moments of President Bush’s administration wind down, I look forward to Barack Obama’s historic inauguration. Having grown up in America as a child of the 50’s, I found the odds impossible that he, or any other African American, would ever win the presidency in my lifetime.
Early on election day last November I drove with my wife from the suburbs in Northern Virginia to Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School in the Anacostia district of Washington D.C. to watch as thousands of African Americans stood in line to cast their vote on a cold, raw morning. It was heartwarming to watch.
Obama will be the fifth president I’ve been assigned to photograph at the White House in the last 32 years. Each presidency was unique and enjoyable to document. I remember flying back and forth aboard Air Force One with President Carter while he brokered peace between Egypt and Israel in the late 70’s. I then documented his success on the North Lawn of the White House with a three-way handshake between Egypt’s Sadat, Israel’s Begin and Carter.
Less than two years later, the American Embassy in Iran was overrun and embassy personnel were paraded in the street in blindfolds. Carter barricaded himself in the deep bunkers of the White House and lost his bid for re-election.
In came Reagan and the era of feeling good.
Larry, trying to track you down for a photo you took 9/14/09. Please email me. Thanks!
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The Wall
excellent coverage, thank you