I thought that I could see the light from the roof of my house, but I couldn’t see it because of the buildings around. I walked toward the river and still, another building blocked the light. So I said to myself “that’s it, I’m going to downtown.” When I got to Ground Zero, I thought I was screwed. I didn’t see any light illuminating from the site. I looked around and I saw many people taking pictures. It turns out the light didn’t come from the memorial site, but instead a few blocks away. As you can see I took this picture at 11:33pm. I felt exhausted but after looking at the light, I think to myself that this is nothing compared to all the first responders who risk their lives and keep continuing even though they were exhausted.

The day of September 11, 2001 was very hectic. I remember it clearly, even though I barely spoke English. I had just returned from my two-year stay in Poland, and I forgot how to speak English. I knew it was chaotic, and to this day it still has an effect on me. This year, my whole family was returning from upstate New York—we were visiting family friends—and we were speeding down the West Side Highway. Between 9:15 and 9:30 PM, we were not too far away from Stuyvesant High School, which isn’t far off from the site of the former Twin Towers. I grabbed my sister’s film camera and click click click! Snapped a few photos of the beams of light. These beautiful pillars of energy soared up to the sky that night, illuminating the clouds, the world. They remind me of fire and power, especially how strong America and New York really can be. I needed that energy in me right then and there because flashbacks to the day it happened and how much is shook me overwhelmed my system. There’s no way to stop the hypothetical situations from playing in my head, even to this day.

The Tribute in Light its a very special event that only happens once a year. I wasn’t to sure where to spend my day to take a picture until a friend of mine had recommended we go to the Empire State Building to get a nice view and enjoy the lights from there. It would be the perfect place to take a nice clear picture of the beams along with the rest of the city. It was my first time on the Empire State Building making the sight in front of me breath taking. When you looked toward downtown you could see the two beams of lights. They weren’t that clear at first because it was a foggy night but thanks to my friends advanced camera we were able to take a nice picture that captured the lights and the rest of the city. We can see from the picture how the whole city compliments the lights as if they were one even though the towers today aren’t there. Being up there on the Empire State Building, you  feel a bit close to the towers knowing your so high up. Looking over the city, you get an idea of what it would of been like if you were in the Twin Towers at night. The whole experience was breath taking to me and also new. I felt like I belonged a bit more to NY.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Yet sometimes, it is capable of doing much more than that. It brings to life the flurry of feelings laying dormant within ourselves, untouched with the lapse of time. An image evokes the deepest, most visceral reactions we can yield. It is 10:24 PM and I gaze at the two translucent streams of light that transcend the skyline and aspire to the skies. They illuminate the clouds and the image resembles a spiritual ascension, one to a place with no pain, sorrow, or fear. I remember being too young to understand the gravity and the horror. I recall the loss of a thousand lives and more-just a number at the time. Now I see what the pictures have always captured. No clock can be turned back to make an absence a presence. No building will replace the ashes that have become ingrained with the earth. It is a void-one that cannot be replaced with anything concrete. It is the tenth anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Though the picture may be blurry, I hope you can see and feel what I see and feel. An unknown abyss that provides a soft, ethereal light to alleviate an overwhelming hollow sensation.

September 11^th is always a sad day in New York, for obvious reasons.  I’m lucky. I didn’t know any of the 2,996 people that died in the terrorist attacks that day.  So, I’ve always had the luxury of not feeling the full impact of sorrow that so many are still haunted by.  That’s why it’s always been easy to have a moment of silence each year, and then go about my day.  This year, I was thinking about it all day. I had never seen the Tribute in Light before, and it’s a pretty powerful symbol to be confronted by.  I took my picture of it in Soho, at around 9:00 pm, because I felt like I wasn’t getting a good enough view from where I live in Brooklyn.  Its eerie translucence against the cloudy night sky made the tribute look like the ghosts of the towers.  That effect for this particular memorial is especially poignant, because of the bitter reminder of what used to sit in place of the tribute.  It was like seeing the towers standing there again, but at the same time being reminded that they’re gone.  I think that says a lot about how effective the work is as a commemoration to the World Trade Center.

This photo was taken from Malcolm X Boulevard, between W137 Street and W138 Street. I was walking home from a classic Harlem dinner of chicken and waffles, when I saw the two columns of light in the distance. The Tribute in Light stopped me in my tracks. It caused a necessary interruption from my life. I observed the people bustling past me, and then glanced back at the glowing, stationary light. How often do New Yorkers think about 9/11? I suppose that answer varies among different people. The Tribute in Light is the backdrop to this loud, busy boulevard. The memorial represents an event that I keep in the depths of my memory. Life goes on, but the memories of 9/11 will always exist.

I was sitting in Brooklyn Bridge Park. I was waiting. It was 7:00 p.m. In my head, I was expecting something spectacular to happen. I was anticipating two bright columns of light to suddenly shoot up in the sky and pierce through the clouds, illuminating the sky over downtown Manhattan. But nothing exciting happened. I waited ten minutes, fifteen minutes; nothing happened. Suddenly my friend noticed the faint gleam of light in the sky across the river. It almost looked like sunshine coming through the clouds. But I knew the gleam in the clouds was not sunshine, because two barely noticeable columns of light coming from behind the Manhattan skyline were connected to it. The Tribute in Light was there all along since 7:00 p.m. I just could not find it due the absence of a contrasting background. As time passed, the two columns became bolder against the dark maroon sky. I took my picture at 8:10 p.m. But I knew my camera could not capture the magnificent and captivating view I had in front of me. So I stood there, I do not know for how long, indulging myself in the spectacular view that only occurs once a year.

Although it was quite difficult to photograph the Tribute in Light I managed to get a decent photo. The clouds and fog may have seemed like an obstacle but they create a pretty interesting effect with the photo. It was taken at 9:28 pm, close to Jamaica Queens, while I was on the LIRR train heading home.  I was amongst many amazed commuters capturing this photo, as it was hard to find a clear spot to photograph it. I feel that photo, even though taken with a camera phone, is able to produce some pretty interesting effects. The lighting pretty much makes the photo, as the Tribute in Light illuminates the sky and the bright light post shines on the numerous railroad tracks. It really goes to show how far you were able to see the memorial, even with the weather issues. The two monstrous beams of light shine way up in the sky, as if they are reaching to heaven. This symbolizes, in my point of view, how the fallen are still connected with America today in spirit Overall I feel that the Tribute in Light is very calming and allows you to remember all the events of 9/11.

Trubute in Light

Immediately after it got dark in the evening, I tried looking for the Tribute in Light from the soccer field in front of my house. The idea of spotting it from the soccer field failed due to the cloudy weather. So I looked on the Tribute in Light website and found a location from where it would be easily visible. I hopped on the subway and made my way to 23rd street and 6th avenue. Sadly, this location had the same fate as the soccer field one did. But that did not deter me from walking down all the way to 10th street where I finally caught a glimpse of the light. The light was not clearly visible because of the weather but at least something was better than nothing. The time was 9:10 pm so I did not walk closer to the site as it was getting late. The punctum would be the light’s effect on the clouds. The light only illuminates a fraction of the sky covered by dark clouds. For me that signifies a passageway to heaven. The lights got me thinking about the void left by the towers and also the number of people that perished that day. The lights serve to remind people of that unfateful  day.