Do me a favor and take yourself back to September 11, 2001. Think about the planes barreling into the twin towers as smoke engulfed the clear sky of New York City. Think about the people on the street who were smothered in debris and forced to watch the jaw-dropping horror of what was unraveling in front of their eyes. Think about the helpless victims who found no other option but to end their life by launching their bodies out the window to plummet hundreds of feet to their death. Think about the firefighters and first responders who were required to put on a brave face and hit the ground running into blood, bodies, and not one, but two burning buildings.
Now think about the chills that went down your spine when you watched these horrors happen from wherever you were in the country that day. Think about the tears that may have slipped out of your eyes. Think about the prayers you may have repeated over and over again for the victims and their families. Think about how thankful you were for everyone you had in your life, and that they were safe. Or think about the shock that took over your body and how the blood drained from your face because your father-in-law worked on floor 76 of the first tower to be hit.
If it were not for the chilling videos, disturbing photographs, and unsettling news broadcasts of this terrifying event, the news would not have traveled to California, or Florida, or North Dakota so quickly. Families would not have been able to comprehend the severity of what was happening in their very own country. It was the media that helped to provide such a strong emotional reaction. People will always be able to remember where they were that day when they watched the planes hit the towers on repeat all day long. The images will always be burned into their minds.
This is why I want to be a photographer.
I want to be the person that captures the breathtaking beauty or bloodcurdling terror of a single moment. I want to be able to let everyone across the country see the destruction of the category-five hurricane to hit the coast of Louisiana. I want to capture the look in a bride's eyes when her husband recites his vows to her so they can forever remember the happiness pulsing through their veins in that moment in time. I want to be able to catch the terror on a firefighters face as he steps out of his truck and sees the twin towers falling in front of his eyes so everyone across the country can understand the severity of what was happening in that moment. I aspire to capture moments that people will never get back but can continue to relive. I dream to be able to send messages to people all over the country but not through words, through a sole photograph.
