I’m proud to announce that Issue 86 of my photography magazine is hot off the digital presses (via email)! I’m doubling down on New York City with photos from my 2024 NYC trip, unpublished on the blog, my most recent Substack posts, and more. Sign up for the free magazine to get the next issue and access to all the previous issues.

I’m limiting my coverage of Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial Museum to three posts, which I consider a mini-series. I photographed all three with the Leica M 246 Monochrom. The black-and-white-only camera and its slow, contemplative approach to picture-making seemed well suited to the spirit of our visit.

Nearly a quarter century later, the area has been completely transformed. Even taller buildings now stand where the original Twin Towers once dominated the skyline. Two reflecting pools and an underground museum remain as reminders of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. I wonder how long it will be before these visual reminders become abstractions—events people know only from history books, with no first-person witnesses left to describe what it was like.

One World Trade Center, seen here through a glass awning that transforms it into an abstract composition, is also known as the Freedom Tower. To me, it stands as a beacon of hope and optimism. It reminds us that a city can rebuild and move forward, even after unimaginable devastation.

Blog readers, you’ll love my free monthly photography magazine. Signup for the free magazine to get articles and topics not discussed on the blog.