PhotoTalk 2020/09
Joe McNally is one of those photographers whose works are known around the world, his images have featured in many major publications including TIME, Newsweek and National Geographic. One of his more notable works is “The Future of Flying” which was National Geographic’s first fully digital story. Joe’s portfolio covers fashion, portraits, dance, athletes, healthcare and industrial images among many.
The image I chose from Joe McNally is one from his series “Faces of Ground Zero”, a tribute to the men and women who were the true heroes of 9/11, all of the portraits are great, at a glance you can tell the individual’s occupation and associate with that their possible role in the aftermath of the terror attacks. As I looked at the images I loved how clean the images looked, but I also noted the state of their dress, many “cleaned up”for their portrait it seemed, but this one (and a few others) showed them as if they just climbed out of the rubble.
In this image I could see the looks of determination, of loss, of despair; I can see that these men worked tirelessly to help. I’ve seen many of Joe McNally’s situational Portraits where you get an immediate sense of the person, just from the photograph, from the surroundings. In this one Joe has accomplished that with a plain white background, and just the men, their attire, their tools and their expressions.
The information below was taken from TIME Magazine.
Billy Ryan and Mike Morrisey, Firefighters, Rescue 3, FDNY
Each was home when the attack came. They arrived at the site just after the second collapse.
“I tried to get overtime the night before but signed up too late,” said Morrisey. “It would have been me. Eight me in my house were killed.” Said Ryan: “Two tables of people from my wedding are not here anymore. I’m tired of burying my friends.”
Today, doctors and nurses are on the frontlines AND the last line of defence in the COVID-19 Pandemic, let us remember them, but can we also reach out like this?
The original post was published on the Guyana Photographers’ Facebook Page on April 9th, 2020. The original comments and discussions can be seen on that post.