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One of the most common things I hear from other people remembering that day, aside from the obvious events, is that it was such a beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, there were no clouds, no humidity, no wind or haze. It was so amazing that even now, almost 10 years later, when talking about an extraordinarily nice day, my brother and I often refer to it as “9/11 weather”.
I got to work at about 8:15am. I worked on the 25th floor of 3 World Financial Center. We had a flat panel television with the news on all the time and multiple computer monitors displaying various systems' status. It wasn’t long after I settled in at my desk when it all started. For a few seconds the floor rumbled, windows shook, and the TV rattled on the wall. It wasn’t jarring or frightening as much as it was confusing. Looking west out of our windows, we could see the windows of 4 WFC shaking. I stood up from my desk to get a better look at the ground and saw an enormous ripple on the surface of the Hudson River; a half circle growing larger and larger outward with its center just out of view where the commuter Ferries from New Jersey docked. It was as if someone dropped a gigantic boulder into the water just by the docks. There were some people running out towards the water so my first thought was that one of the big ferries had crashed, and people were rushing to see what happened. A few seconds later someone from the east side of the building came in our office and told us that something had happened at the trade center.
Looking out from a window on the east side of our floor, we didn't see anything wrong with the building. We could only see paper blowing around in the air and some debris on the south side of 1 WTC, which was adjacent to our building about 100 yards away across the west side highway. Back in the office, it took a few minutes but CNN started reporting that a small plane, possibly a Cessna, had crashed into the WTC. I decided to go outside into the plaza to see what was going on. As I was walking out of the office when my boss asked me to continue to monitor the computer systems for any issues. I smirked and replied, “Are you kidding me?” and walked out of the door. Up to that point I mostly felt excitement and curiosity. When I got outside and turned my head to look up at 1 WTC center, everything changed.
Standing in the World Financial Center Plaza, I was looking at the western face of 1 WTC. There were 2 floors with all of the windows completely orange, filled with flames. It was horrifying. I kept repeating to a coworker, “this is only gonna get worse... it’s only gonna get worse”. I was so afraid for all the people above those floors as I couldn’t see how any of them would survive. It was overwhelming. At this point we had no idea it was an attack, and from our vantage point you couldn’t see the impact damage the plane caused. Just seeing the flames filling all the windows was terrible enough. By this time people were still coming in to work, but they all stopped outside and watched. The WFC plaza was filled with people staring up in shock.
Without fully wrapping my brain around what was going on, another plane was approaching from the right. What a site… the oddity of a plane flying so close to the city, so close to the ground and at such great speed was confusing enough, but the realization that it was flying towards the buildings was mortifying. It came in so quickly there was no time to process it. “PULL UP! PULL UP!”, I screamed inside as though the pilot hadn’t realized his path... as though some serious error caused these planes to accidentally do this. I often compare it to the feeling you get when you go bowling; when the ball is rolling slowly towards the pins, slightly off line, moving away from where you want it to go, and how you twist and bend your body as if to will the balls direction. That is how I felt, twisting inside. I can’t remember hearing any explosions or crashing sounds. Upon impact I heard nothing but screams. Everyone started running. I understood then that it wasn’t an accident… it was an attack. I took a few steps to my left so that I can be protected by a building overhang and immediately started thinking what I should do next. I took one step away from my building, one step towards it, and back again indecisively as I contemplated going back to my office to get my bag, in which I had left my wallet, cell phone and journal.
I decided to go back inside. I thought I would be able to do so quickly, but with everyone else going in the opposite direction, and security guards yelling to exit and directing me to leave, I felt like it wasn’t fast enough. In the elevator going up, I wondered how many more planes were coming, I wondered how much time I had to get out of the area, and I kept wondering. Obviously all mothers worry for their children but my mother has a special level of worry that borders on general panic. I knew she was really scared, and I had to start contacting people. When my elevator doors opened, there were two elevators filled with people waiting for their doors to close. Their faces were all the same. Shocked, fearful, and blank stares all looking at me wondering why I was going in the opposite direction… one of those faces belonging to my boss. Finally inside my office, I raced to my desk and grabbed my bag. My next objective was to get out of the area. As I was leaving I noticed Phil, a coworker, looking around his desk for something. He was calm, normal actually. It was as though he had no idea what was going on. When I told him that everyone was evacuating, he kept fiddling his fingers around trying to remember something, then said, “Yeah I know, I have ta go to the bathroom.” I told him to get the hell out, and left the office.
I considered taking the stairs down, but figured that the elevator would be fastest. I entered an elevator with a few people in it, including a man who was frantically hitting the door-close button. We stopped on every single floor. The moment the doors open, he starting tapping the door-close button. I understood a little more why he was doing it when no one was ever waiting to get on the elevator when the doors opened. It was unnerving to say the least. After about 8 or so floors of this constant stop and go, I bolted out of the elevator and headed for the stairs. I opened the doors to echoes of tapping feet and a stairwell filled with people moving swiftly, quietly, and seemingly focused… I was almost outside. If I could break my story up into chapters, it would be at the moments when my heart sank into my stomach; the 1st time being when I saw the 2 floors completely engulfed in flames, the second being immediately after the second plane came in, and the third being when I finally exited the building.
Being in the stairwell was somewhat comforting. We were moving well, I felt safer, and I was on my way out. But I had no idea where we would exit and I wasn’t thinking about what I was about to see. The emergency exit for stairwell B was on the east side of the building on West Street. Outside the door was a policewoman yelling for us to run, paddling her left arm in a circle and pointing with her right arm for everyone to go uptown. After a few steps I turned around to see an enormous jagged hole in the building with smoke blowing out. It was surreal and horrible. People were screaming, crying and running. Some simply stood in shock and watched. After a few strides I would stop, turn and watch, then repeat that process. I was in survival mode. I would stay close to the west side, prepared to jump into the river in the event of another catastrophic event. I wanted to be able to see as much of the sky as possible so if there was another plane I would be able to see it and prepare. After a few more strides, I’d turn and watch. At first I hoped what I was seeing was debris but what I saw were people falling. People were jumping. People were screaming. I could not comprehend what I was seeing. I would turn my head away each time a body neared the ground. It was a horrible routine I repeated 4 times. Forcing myself to get away, forcing myself to turn and witness it all.
People were screaming and crying. There was one young woman at a corner ahead of me who I'll never forget. She was by herself and in so much pain. It seemed as though her entire family was in the buildings. I wanted to hold her or comfort her. As I got closer she turned and walked away. I don’t know if I would have approached her had she stayed in place. I turned and looked at the enormous gash in the building a few more times in shock before it was out of site. I never thought that they would come down. How could someone have planned this? How could someone have decided to do this?
I tried to stay focused. There was still a sense of danger for quite a while. People were murmuring on the street that the Pentagon was attacked, the Sears Tower in Chicago was hit and that the Golden Gate Bridge had been destroyed. Phone calls weren’t going through, lines at the payphones were 10-20 people deep, and EVERYONE was on the street. I was trying to reach someone in my family to let them know I was ok, but I couldn’t get through. All trains were shut down. Cars were barely moving on the streets. My primary goals were to stay in safe areas and try to communicate with my family. I continued to walk along the water and away from downtown.
After walking far enough away to feel safer I decided to walk towards NYU. I had gone to school there and knew where I could find food, water, bathrooms and shelter if I needed it. I continued dialing and dialing. The rumors about nationwide disasters continued. Finally I was able to get connected with a friend. The connection was not good, so I simply repeated over and over again, “Call my family, tell them I'm ok.” After about the 3rd time I said that, the connection was lost. I had hoped that she heard, and continued walking.
At one point I entered a very odd scene where everything looked, well, normal. There were children playing and laughing on a jungle gym. Woman chatting in a laundromat. People in an outdoor eatery/bar having breakfast and smiling at each other with a TV in the background reporting horrific events. A few more steps and I reached an emergency room entrance area of a hospital. The area was crowded with medical staff, stretchers, wheel chairs and cots... but no patients. They were waiting… fidgeting… arms crossed and feet tapping.
A few moments later, I received a call from another friend and the connection was good. My family was aware that I was ok, and that I was walking their way. It was a relief. He asked me if I had seen the tower go down. I didn’t understand what he was asking. I was confused. One of them had collapsed? It was unimaginable. When I reached the NYU campus, I went to the restroom at the student center. I rested for a bit on some couches and drank some water. I found an obscurely located payphone in one of the buildings, it only had about 5 people waiting to use it. I started to chat a bit with the people in line. I showed them my ID card for 1 World Trade Center. Along with 3WFC, we occupied the 40th and 41st floors of 1WTC and my department needed access to all areas. I’m not exactly sure why, but I felt a little ashamed of myself for showing my ID. I think maybe I just felt like I was making something about myself when so many people were suffering.
I was finally able to speak to my family and let them know that I was safe. My parents also worked in the city. All bridges and public transportation had been shut down. There were fighter jets patrolling the sky. I walked a little over 8 miles and over a bridge so that I could get to Queens. From there I jumped in a friend's van. When I got home, I hugged my family and sat and stared at the walls for a bit and told them this story. Everything was different. My grandfathers Canon AE-1 was on the kitchen counter top. My grandmother had just given it to me, and I had film in it. When I turned on the TV, the news was obviously reporting it, with the tagline: “WORLD TRADE CENTER ATTACKED AND DESTROYED.” It seemed like such a poor and meaningless summary of my day, so I had to take a picture of it.
Out on Friday afternoon on the golf course. the greens were soft to say the least. This was my dads pitch onto the green, took a dive into the grass/soil/water. All good fun :-)
Taken for the View 52 challenge.
Election posters everywhere they really are a sight
Vote for us in this election or else we`ll start a fight
Elections must be wonderful if you`re of a voting mind
But i`d hate to be seen encouraging any of their kind
So if you`d all take down your posters and put them in the bin
I`d be forever grateful as i`m sick looking at your grins
..................... Copyright (c) Rodney Harrison 2014
Robin looks over the Diamond District where Penguin is supposed to be. He was surprised that Bruce would let him go down there all by himself. Penguin might be reasonable villain, but also a dangerous one. He looks down at several guards who are guarding one of the backdoors, and he decides to sneak in the building through that entrance. He glides down in front of the guards and he unclips his bo-staff.
Rbn: "Hiya fellas!"
The guards point their guns at Robin.
Thug1: "I'll say this once kid, leave while you are still able to."
Rbn: "I'm sorry, but I'm in a hurry and I need to speak to your boss."
Thug2: "Boss ain't here, birdshit."
Rbn: "Did you just call me birdshit? Okay I was going to play nice, but you can forget that now."
Robin throws some batarangs at the weapons of the guards, and they malfunction. There are 4 guards and Robin leaps onto the first one and throws another batarang at the second one. He slams his bo-staff onto the head of the third one, and kicks the fourth one in the face.
Rbn: "There. That wouldn't have happened if you would've just let me in, and would not call me birdshit."
As Robin turns to the door he gets thrown aside. As he looks up, he sees Orca standing over him.
Orca: "Teeny tiny bird. Are you looking for a real fight?"
Rbn: "Ehehm, not particularly, heheh. Listen, if you just let me talk to Penguin, everything will be alright."
Tim tries to slip past Orca, but she grabs him by the throat and lifts him up.
Orca: "Listen birdbrain. If you would've been smart, you would've listened to Loose Lips over there. Now I'll have to pop your head off, for being a bad listener. Kids nowadays."
As Orca squeezes her hands tighter around Tim's neck, a batarang is thrown into Orca's back and it detonates. Orca lets loose of Tim as another batarang is thrown at Orca, which detonates an electric pulse through her body, rendering her unconcious. As Tim gasps back for air, a hand reaches out for him. As he looks up he sees Steph with her bo-staff over her shoulder and holding her hand out. Tim glares at her, but takes her hand anyway. As he gets up he starts to get enough air to say something to her.
Rbn: "Spoiler? *cough* what are you *cough* doing here?"
Splr: "Saving your butt... again."
Rbn: "Didn't you see *cough* I had that totally under control."
Steph pads him on the back and hands him a small bottle of water.
Splr: "Yeah, you totally had that."
Tim finishes the bottle and he looks at Steph.
Rbn: "Okay, okay. Thanks. But you shouldn't be here. It's way too dangerous."
Splr: "Yeah, that's just the reason why I'm here. I'm here to cover you. As you might've seen just now."
Rbn: "What?"
Splr: "Listen. All I'm saying now, is that I'm here to have your back, and to learn from you, and you know, maybe become better friends. Because granted, I did not make the best first impression, and I want to make up for that."
Rbn: "Hmm. Did Batman tell you to come with me?"
Splr: "Well, he did not say no when I asked him."
Rbn: "Did he also give you those gadgets?"
Splr: "Hey, why ask so many questions? We have a Penguin to interrogate."
Tim looks confused at Steph, and she laughs. Tim's eyes widen though as he pulls Steph away, and he gets hit in the shoulder by a dart. They both look up and see two being with claws coming at them.
Splr: "Oh my god! Are you okay?"
Tim pulls the dart out and he takes a batarang.
Rbn: "Yeah, I'm okay."
Splr: "Who are they?"
Rbn: "They are the Kabuki Twins. Assasins and bodyguards for Penguin."
Splr: "You think we can handle them?"
Tim picks up his bo-staff and prepares for battle.
Rbn: "We'll have to."
2011.
My first planned shoot in New York (not counting my job-related work in Manhattan). Shot this in my backyard in Brooklyn.
It's always tricky to mix strobes with fire, but this was all done in-camera with one exposure. No compositing.
Strobist: One AB1600 with a 40 degree grid in the background and as an accent/rim.
นายสุรนันท์ เวชชาชีวะ เลขาธิการนายกรัฐมนตรี พร้อมด้วยคณะผู้บริหารสำนักเลขาธิการนายกรัฐมนตรีื ร่วมกันรดน้ำขอพรจากนายกรัฐมนตรี ณ ห้องสีม่วง ตึกไทยคู่ฟ้า ทำเนียบรัฐบาล 10 เมษายน 2556
I’m celebrating a decade on pinhole photography, with the exhibition “multiple city”. The work is the result from the view of five different hand made cameras
Estou comemorando 10 anos em pesquisas com câmeras artesanais, com a exposição Cidade Múltipla na Caixa Cultural Sé de 29 de maio a 05 de julho. O trabalho é resultado do registro da cidade de São Paulo por cinco câmeras pinhole.