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On the morning of August 4, contractors began moving heavy equipment into Big Bend National Park, a major development in the months-long standoff between the federal government and local officials and residents over the construction of a border barrier in the park. As Sam Karas of the ‘Big Bend Sentinel’ first reported, the move came after weeks of speculation about whether construction projects were imminent as survey crews and staging areas began popping up around the park.

Photographer Brian Finke was in Terlingua, just outside the park, when the activity started. Finke had intended to photograph the park to show off its sweeping landscapes and natural beauty. When he heard that bulldozers had moved in, he grabbed his equipment and set up near Santa Elena Canyon, where 1,500-foot cliffs on either side of the Rio Grande cut a dramatic scene. Near the base of the trail, at the river access point, Finke captured the beginnings of road construction. Seeing crews beginning to raze the land he’d hoped to capture made it real. “It felt important for me as a documentary photographer to go and share,” he said. More here. (Gift link)

📸: Brian Finke

On the morning of August 4, contractors began moving heavy equipment into Big Bend National Park, a major development in the months-long standoff between the federal government and local officials and residents over the construction of a border barrier in the park. As Sam Karas of the ‘Big Bend Sentinel’ first reported, the move came after weeks of speculation about whether construction projects were imminent as survey crews and staging areas began popping up around the park.

Photographer Brian Finke was in Terlingua, just outside the park, when the activity started. Finke had intended to photograph the park to show off its sweeping landscapes and natural beauty. When he heard that bulldozers had moved in, he grabbed his equipment and set up near Santa Elena Canyon, where 1,500-foot cliffs on either side of the Rio Grande cut a dramatic scene. Near the base of the trail, at the river access point, Finke captured the beginnings of road construction. Seeing crews beginning to raze the land he’d hoped to capture made it real. “It felt important for me as a documentary photographer to go and share,” he said. More here. (Gift link)

📸: Brian Finke