Asymmetrical Information

From the desk of Mindles H. Dreck:

No funny titles for this, I'm not in the mood

I had lunch today with my wife uptown. She is a curator at the New-York Historical Society, which has a special exhibit of photos and a video taken by Magnum Photographers on scene on September 11. She took me around the exhibit.

Included is a 25-minute video taken by Evan Fairbanks. He starts shooting just after the first plane hit from the overpass in front of the American Stock Exchange. From there he works his way up to the Southeast corner of the WTC plaza by Liberty Street - right where I emerged from the PATH 45 minutes earlier.

There is no sound track, but Fairbanks recorded stunning real-time visuals of: people gawking at the fire in the North Tower; firemen and ambulances arriving and entering the plaza, the second plane hit, including huge chunks of debris hurtling towards him; panic among the bystanders; discussions at the fire command center INSIDE the Trade Center; workers filing out of the 5 WTC exit on Church Street and, finally, the South Tower collapsing as he is plunged into darkness, about 40 feet from where one of my employees had to jump through a window.

I can't put my finger on it, but this clip is MUCH more vivid than the video I have seen on the internet. Resolution and size help as well. The press you read about the two planes being the equivalent of a 1-kiloton explosive seem unremarkable as you watch this.

There are some fantastic still pictures also, such as the one taken on a Brooklyn terrace that captures the photographer's baby in a "bouncy chair" in the foreground as the Towers burn in the background across the River. Combined with the moving tribute to Chief Feehan outside (look for the heartbreaking entry from his grandkids in the viewer remembrance book under his picture), I'm still reeling.

I was here a few blocks away when it all happened, but the museum, five miles uptown, has succeeded in making this a close-up experience. If you are in New York, go to the Historical Society (77th and C.P.W.), it's worth the trip.

Posted by Mindles H. Dreck at December 10, 2001 04:49 PM | Technorati inbound links