September 11th

THE 11TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER SHOWS MY PERSONAL COLLECTION OF IMAGES I PHOTOGRAPHED ON 9/11. BACK IN 2001 I RESIDED ON ORCHARD STREET IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE, WAKING UP THAT DAY TO MORE THAN USUAL FIRE ENGINE ALARMS.

AFTER READING ABOUT A PLANE THAT MIGHT HAVE HIT ONE OF THE WTC TOWERS ON THE INTERNET, I DECIDED TO PACK UP MY OLD NIKON FE AND FUJI GA 645 CAMERAS, GRABBED A COUPLE ROLLS OF FILM AND MADE MY WAY DOWN TO THE WTC.

ON ARRIVAL DOWNTOWN I WAS STOPPED ON THE CORNER OF CHURCH AND VESEY ST BY THE POLICE AND WAS TOLD TO WAIT, THEY OFFERED ME AND OTHER JOURNALIST TO GET US CLOSER TO THE TOWERS IN A FEW MINUTES.

SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE SOUTH TOWER COLLPASED RIGHT IN FRONT OF US, I WAS STUNNED AND SPEACHLESS, THOUGHT I GAMBLED TO HIGH AND WOULD LOOSE MY LIFE AS A RESULT OF BEEING TO CLOSE.

A FELLOW PHOTOGRAPHER PUSHED ME AND WE BOTH RAN BACK TO BROADWAY AND MADE IT TO AN ENTRANCE OF A BUILDING WHERE WE JUST GOT IN ON TIME TO AVOID THE TSUNAMI OF DUST, SMOKE AND RUBBLE FOLLOWING US. THE PITCH BLACK DUST HAD ZERO VISIBILITY. AFTER THE SMOKE CLEARED I WALKED BACK OUT, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS STILL STANDING.

THE OUTSIDE RESEMBLES A URBAN WASTELAND OF RUBBLE, DUST AND CHAOS, I FOCUSED TO CAPTURE THE UNFOLDING EVENTS RIGHT ON BROADWAY AND VESEY ST.

LATER I WALK ACROSS TO THE WEST SIDE, TO A FLEET OF UNATTENDED EMERGENCY VEHICLES. AROUND 4PM I RAN OUT OF FILM AND WENT UP TO 22ND STREET TO DEVELOP THE NEGATIVE FILM AT MY LAB RIGHT AWAY. TWENTY YEARS PASSED, SOMETIMES I CLOSE MY EYES AND IT FEELS JUST LIKE IT WAS YESTERDAY. WHEN I’M IN NEW YORK, I AVOID GOING TO GROUND ZERO. I STILL MISS THE TWIN TOWERS.