New York after Sandy … images tell the story
The Dutch architectural photographer Iwan Baan was sitting at the open door of a helicopter flying at 5,000 feet when he captured an image – featured as the front cover of New York Magazine – that is quickly becoming a lasting icon about the crippling impact of Hurricane Sandy on the New York City area.
Credit: Iwan Baan and New York Magazine.
The simplicity of great images many times will tell the stories of the human experience with greater clarity than words.
The photo by Baan – which delivers an emotional punch to anyone who loves the New York region – and thousands of other images have told the stories of the immense destruction of a major hurricane and water surge.
The human side of suffering is beyond mere words to describe. Many parts of the New York area – including Staten Island and Breezy Point – resemble the 9th Ward of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and underscore how unprepared we are for such natural disasters. Governments, industry and business find themselves shockingly impotent to help people fast enough despite all the best efforts.
“They aren’t even on the job. It’s their day off.”
It was Carlos Rodriguez at Staten Island, NY, who snapped this image with his mobile phone of firefighters from FDNY Engine 228 helping with the filthy clean-up. Rodriguez said, “When I was taking the photo, a bystander leaned in and whispered: ‘They aren’t even on the job. It’s their day off.’”
Photo credit: Carlos Rodriguez at Staten Island, NY.
Rodriguez captured a great image that told a story as he was walking down a street.
Category: The Media
We really have just begun to understand the damage that was wrought by Hurricane Sandy, and we will never comprehend the suffering those that had to live through it and deal with the aftermath have and are going through.