9.11.2001
I woke up the morning of September 11th, 2001 and knew that the world had changed. I watched the horrors unfold on my big screen television within arms reach of my bed, from a safe Berkeley hillside overlooking the warm San Francisco sunrise. And then I witnessed the news media declare that we, as a country, were at war. This was at 8:43 AM PST.
This rush to war was astonishing. I settled my affairs and within 2 weeks had packed my Jeep with my dog Loki and my camera and drove over 6,000 miles across the country to Washington, DC and then New York City to see it all for myself. I knew I had to photograph this. I had to see Ground Zero and document the scene. I grew up just outside of New York City and still have many friends in the area.
My uncensored account numbers in the hundreds of black and white images, back when I was shooting film. I am grateful that I made the effort. The resulting journey was another seminal experience that has changed my life.