Photographing the Tragedy of 9/11

 "I strongly believe in documentary photography, in taking pictures of real life. When I looked at the pictures from our photographers (he means other Magnum Photographers, A.R), there were some that were wonderful or clever compositions, but they emphasized the artistry in photography rather than telling the story. We didn’t put those pictures in this book. I don’t think they belong in this book because they do not serve its purpose, which is to bear witness. In a moment like this you must be very humble. When something like this happens, nothing you do can adequately respond to the monstrosity of the event."- Magnum Photographer Thomas Hoepker

    The criticism of documentary photography is that people tend to believe that nothing is being solved by taking a picture of some tragic moment. Given the tragic event of 9/11, at that moment, there wasn't much to do but just watch. It is a catastrophic event that can't be changed at that moment. Thomas Hoepker explains that documentary photographs have a purpose, not to show beauty but to tell a story. 

    Documentary photography, I have to say, is one of the most crucial parts of photography. As stated by the quote above, many of the photographers during 9/11 focused on the aspects of art, and composition is a fragment of the photographs taken to express beauty rather than explain a story. The story is important specifically on how impactful 9/11 was; the pain and tragedy of many individuals at Ground Zero or even the world shows impact. It is key to capturing these moments because is once of a lifetime opportunity to illustrate a major moment that can be part of history.   

Smoke rises over Manhattan after the terrorist attack. (Daniel Hulshizer/Associated Press)

    The photo above illustrates the aftermath of what seems to be the collapse of the twin towers. What I found very interesting about this photo is the inclusion of the Statue of Liberty on the left side. The Statue of Liberty is the symbol of freedom and justice in the United States, and what shows behind represents something worse than those features. 

    The tragedy that happened on September 11, 2001, was very grave and painful for people in the United States. The loss of many lives the moment the second plane crashed into the second tower was a shock to the world.  When seeing the black smoke behind the building, I think of a wave of danger covering the city as the statue of liberty is looking in its direction. That's why this picture is intriguing to me because I see it conveying a feeling of immobile, not being able to change what is witnessed. As Hoepker mentioned in the quote, at that moment, we aren't capable of doing anything but watching and capturing what we're seeing in front of us.