©2009 Chicago Tribune/Alex Garcia
One of the benefits of going through the gauntlet of contest deadlines in January is the self-review of one’s past year as a photographer. You look back and get a chance to see what went well, what didn’t, and where you could have done better. The photo above was a favorite from last year, that was largely unseen since it appeared in an online slideshow for a couple seconds. It was taken from within a bus in which a couple dozen Mexican nationals were being deported for illegal immigration. The light coming from the window was the sunrise, giving them a last look of Chicago before they were flown to the border. Everyone’s story was different. Some were painfully uprooted. Others were happy to get a free trip home, determined to return. But the picture was a quiet moment – whether for contemplation, or calculation…
Excellent. Poignant, and something every American should start to see about the “other side” of immigration.