For the second time in little more than 6 months, I climbed to the roof above my apartment to point a camera in the direction of lower Manhattan. The first time had been on the afternoon of September 11th, when I shot still photos of the burning attack site at the World Trade Center. This time the occaision was the unveiling of the Twin Towers of Light on March 11th, a month long memorial to all that was lost in September.

Back then, I watched in agony for weeks following the tragedy as the fires & smoke continued to burn from the massive wreckage. It was visible every morning as I went to work, and every night as I came home. To finally replace that unforgettable image with these dual columns of light, as symbolic as they are beautiful, has brought a subtle feeling of relief that can't be described.

I've seen the beams from different locations around Manhattan, Brooklyn, & Queens. From each perspective they seem to offer a non-verbal answer to the horror that was visible last fall, with equal respect to both the human and the architectural loss.

We New Yorkers feel quietly guilty about mourning the loss of the buildings along with the people who perished in them, but the truth is that we really miss the Towers too. The audacity of their size, almost twice as big as anything around them, was an inspiration to the dreams & ambitions of anyone who came here to create a life they could call their own. "The Pursuit of Happiness". There was something about the sight of those 2 big buildings that reminded us anything was possible. With them gone, from the south, the city looks like it had its 2 front teeth knocked out.

In addition to shooting the lights from my Brooklyn roof, I decided to venture into town & photograph them from a few locations around lower Manhattan and Ground Zero. In every place I shot, they seemed to belong. Whether framed by some of the oldest buildings in the city, or drifting towards the heavens in the background of St. Paul's Chapel, the beams brought a sense of calm.

After walking around the area, looking at all the makeshift memorials, I got in the car & drove across the Brooklyn Bridge where I parked on the waterfront for one last shot.