It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years since the fateful day that rocked and devastated not just New York City, but the world.
However, several incredibly positive things happened because of this tragedy:
People came together like no other time.
We supported each other, we were kind to each other, and we helped each other out.
We were one united world.
Another positive was the creation of the Tribute in Light. It first shined its blue beams to the heavens six months after 9/11, on March 11, 2022, and it has been lit every year since on the anniversary of the attacks.
It is a perfect tribute: A twin beacon comprising 88 high-power beams of luminous presence that symbolizes hope, loss and resilience, and that of course fills the empty space in our skyline and our hearts.
I feel blessed each time I experience the Tribute. For the first 10 years, my wife Nancy and I would walk along the Brooklyn Promenade or somewhere in Dumbo, to honor the memories of those lost and to feel the quiet but powerful energy of the light and its effect on the city.
In the early 2000s there were not the mobs of people going out to photograph the Tribute. Digital photography was still in its infancy, plus I think the idea was more about being with your loved ones and feeling the light. It wasn’t until the 11th year that I felt a need to photograph it. I decided to walk over my favorite bridge in the world, the Brooklyn Bridge, and I captured an image that is still one of my top five I’ve ever created (Figure 1).
Shooting from the upper deck, I wanted to get the car trails zooming toward me, and I was careful to align the Tribute lights through the cabling of the bridge. I was able to create this image with a 15-second exposure, which was perfect for the car trails of the oncoming traffic. I’ve known many people who have tried to replicate this image and for some reason the bridge shakes more at this spot and they can barely get sharp images at fractions of a second. I guess the stars aligned for me.
Figure 1. Tribute from Brooklyn. Nikon D700 with a Zeiss 21mm f/2.8 lens. 15 seconds, f/14, ISO 200.
The next year, 2012, I was invited by a good friend who works on the Tribute in Light to photograph from the inside of the setup during a test night. You see, setting up the lights is a huge endeavor. The team works for weeks in advance. About one week prior they start setting up each of the 88 7,000-watt Xenon rocket-ship-like fixtures, and they start shooting beams into the sky so they can focus the lights.
Figure 2. Fisheye shot of the actual Tribute in Light source. Fujifilm X-T1 with a Lensbaby 8mm fisheye lens. 5 seconds, f/11, ISO 200.
Figure 3. The Beacon. Fujifilm X-Pro1 with a Fujifilm 18mm f/2 lens. 2.5 seconds, f/8, ISO 200.
This was an experience that is still hard to explain to this day. I was there with Nancy and a few other dear friends who experienced 9/11. We were able to walk within the lights and to see the source of the pure blue light that had inspired and cured us of some of the heartache of the decade prior. It was spiritual, cleansing and inspiring all in one. I saw the Tribute from a whole new point of view and tried to capture it in a way that still beckoned me like a beacon (Figures 2 and 3).
It was now becoming a project. I was looking for all the different vantage points I could capture the Tribute from. Nancy’s office had an amazing rooftop view of downtown Manhattan that included the warm lights of car traffic leading to the colorful Freedom Tower just being built (Figure 4).
Figure 4. The Scoop. Fujifilm X-Pro1 with a Fujifilm 18mm f/2 lens. 15 seconds, f/11, ISO 200.
Figure 5. Tribute to Vega. Fujifilm X-T1 with a Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4 lens. 8 seconds, f/8, ISO 400.
In 2014 an interesting alignment happened. We don’t get to see many stars in the sky in NYC, but on this night and by shooting super wide I was able to include one of the brightest stars in our sky, Vega. (Fun Fact: Vega was our North Star around 12,000 BCE and because of Earth’s axis wobble, it will replace Polaris as our North Star again in the year 13,700.)
Typically, on a clear night, the beams can reach up to 4 miles high and are visible from a 60-mile radius. By photographing this way, with a 15mm lens, it created a rare example of seeing the light not extend infinitely into the sky (Figure 5).
The next year I was invited back to ground zero and was able to bring a few close friends, including National Parks at Night’s Matt Hill. We went on one of the practice nights when the Tribute team worked on focusing the lights. It was incredibly special to share this with them, and I shot this fisheye “usie” standing within the lights (Figure 6).
Figure 6. Usie. Fujifilm X-T1 with a Lensbaby 8mm fisheye lens. 1/2, f/11, ISO 1600.
Figure 7. Tribute with Rain. Fujifilm X-H1 with a Fujifilm 18mm f/2 lens. 1/30, f/2.8, ISO 800.
Getting access to inside the lights is a tricky thing. There is no set schedule. I was fortunate to have a good friend on the inside, and he would give me about 24 to 48 hours’ notice about which night they would be focusing the lights. Only people who have lost family and loved ones are allowed into this space on September 11.
When I got the call in 2018 that they would be working on the lights, the forecast was for rain. Well, I’d never experienced the Tribute in the rain, so why not? I packed my gear accordingly and went with a few friends to experience one of the most unique Tribute in Light events to date. By using slowish shutter speeds such as 1/30 of a second, I was able to create the beautiful linear rain drop texture within the beams (Figure 7).
In 2020 Nancy and I ventured back to Dumbo and met with several friends to see and photograph the Tribute. We didn’t know what to expect—would there be the return of thousands of people lining up in Brooklyn Bridge Park? We went to the most popular spot to photograph downtown Manhattan as a backdrop to the iconic pilings. There were a few people, but we got there early enough to stake out our spot. It’s a classic angle for a reason, and I gave the image the black-and-white treatment (Figure 8).
Figure 8. Pilings and Lights. Nikon Z6 with a Nikon 24-70mm f/4 lens. 10 seconds, f/11, ISO 400.
Figure 9. From Manhattan Bridge. Fujifilm X-Pro3 with a Fujifilm 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens. 10 seconds, f/11, ISO 800.
It did end up getting crowded a little later and we decided to try another vantage point, this time from several hundred feet above sea level: the Manhattan Bridge. From there you get an amazing view of Dumbo and lower Manhattan, but photographing through the wire fence can be tricky. You need to use a small lens or use one of the unofficial cut windows, which is what I needed to do to get this shot (Figure 9).
Last year I was invited back again as the spotlights were focused on their search for the heavens. I was there on their first night of testing and only a few lights were on. I pushed myself to capture them as creatively as I could, and I pulled out all the tools and tricks from previous years: the Insta360, Lensbaby and intentional camera movement keep me clicking long into the night (Figure 10).
Figure 10. Lensbaby Lights. Nikon Z8 with a Lensbaby Sweet 22. 6 seconds, f/3.5, ISO 640.
Figure 11. Tribute and Harvest Moon. Nikon Z8 with a Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 lens. 1/15, f/10, ISO 640.
Then something magical happened. Only eight of the 88 beams were lit that night, yet I was able to align one of them with the rising harvest moon (Figure 11).
I stepped inside the lights one more time, amid a flood of memories and so many emotions: loss, honor, war, chaos, hope. We need to remember that light is always a beacon and it should inspire us to search for beauty in the darkness.
