NYC POST 9/11

When I received word of the attacks on 9/11, I had just set out on the road in my camper to photograph and relax in nature for a month. Driving close to 3,000 miles through the Pacific NW and the Rockies, I had ample time to think about the tragedy and the grief so many people were experiencing. In the end, I kept flashing upon on how blessed my life was and found within myself a conviction and vow to give something back for my good fortune.

Upon returning to the Bay Area in early October 2001, I was asked to travel to NYC to photograph for a book about women rescue workers at Ground Zero. En route to the forever altered metropolis, a city I both love and lived in for 8 years, I wondered how to possibly photograph under such tender circumstances. Just as I had operated in Croatia with the refugees, I had to be ultra sensitive as the subjects were damaged from living through unspeakable events and loss. It's absurd to ask someone to pose for a desired image in that state of despair. To request that the subjects express something other than what was truly in their heart (or pose) would have been a terrible injustice. My answer was to shoot a lot of film and just wait for their expressions to emerge.

The following pictures are the final edits from 12 days of shooting. These images remain unpublished with the exception of display on this website due to lack of information presented to me at the time in regards to the destination and percentage of profits that would actually be donated book sales. I refuse to be involved with anyone or anything that profits from tragedy.

Here I am allowed a place for the public to see the faces, my vision of the tragedy that touched each and every one of our lives. This section is dedicated to those who not only risked but lost their lives on 9/11. It was a true honor to photograph these courageous, humble, and authentic people.