Above: Bullet puncture splintering glass at Rue Bichat.
These are from the November 13, 2015 attacks, in which 137 were killed and 413 wounded. I was four blocks away and was listed as missing by the US Embassy for three days before being found by CNN; you may recall reading my thoughts on being there during that time.
I was shooting blind in the hours afterwards, photographing things I didn't know how to process. There were many things I chose not to photograph. In retrospect I realize my aim was not the literal scope of the event, which can be easily ascertained by available journalism; I was feeling for the larger question of how a populace attempts to reconcile its tragedy with everyday life. The focus here is not on combat footage, but instead the more subtle psychological fallout of war when it is imposed on everyday citizens.
The real-world moments following a massacre possess a power reportage rarely captures; I noticed a disconnect between the ground-zero experience and the event’s translation into a comprehensible news cycle. They were missing something. Newsmedia photography of atrocities, though powerful, have become familiar, and I feel more can be mined than the gratuitous or the obviously tragic.
The images here rather attempt to actualize the nature and immense size of proximal death and explore how a city, not least the cultural capital of the world, absorbs unspeakable horrors into a part of life: with sadness, perspective, beauty, and perhaps most awfully and most necessarily, an attempt at indifference.
All images shot on film, starting eight hours after the attacks and continuing forward from there. The deserted street scenes taken the day after are of roads which would normally be packed with activity. The above link explains my circumstances there in greater detail.
An open letter from me to terrorists around the world.
Thoughts on the event, one year later. It continues to inform my existence here (upon returning to the US), here (upon returning to work), here (in relation to the Las Vegas shootings) and here (as a motivator for making the book).
These are from the November 13, 2015 attacks, in which 137 were killed and 413 wounded. I was four blocks away and was listed as missing by the US Embassy for three days before being found by CNN; you may recall reading my thoughts on being there during that time.
I was shooting blind in the hours afterwards, photographing things I didn't know how to process. There were many things I chose not to photograph. In retrospect I realize my aim was not the literal scope of the event, which can be easily ascertained by available journalism; I was feeling for the larger question of how a populace attempts to reconcile its tragedy with everyday life. The focus here is not on combat footage, but instead the more subtle psychological fallout of war when it is imposed on everyday citizens.
The real-world moments following a massacre possess a power reportage rarely captures; I noticed a disconnect between the ground-zero experience and the event’s translation into a comprehensible news cycle. They were missing something. Newsmedia photography of atrocities, though powerful, have become familiar, and I feel more can be mined than the gratuitous or the obviously tragic.
The images here rather attempt to actualize the nature and immense size of proximal death and explore how a city, not least the cultural capital of the world, absorbs unspeakable horrors into a part of life: with sadness, perspective, beauty, and perhaps most awfully and most necessarily, an attempt at indifference.
All images shot on film, starting eight hours after the attacks and continuing forward from there. The deserted street scenes taken the day after are of roads which would normally be packed with activity. The above link explains my circumstances there in greater detail.
An open letter from me to terrorists around the world.
Thoughts on the event, one year later. It continues to inform my existence here (upon returning to the US), here (upon returning to work), here (in relation to the Las Vegas shootings) and here (as a motivator for making the book).
