My Memories Of WTC

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Ten years on from the day the 9/11 terrorist attacks changed so much for so many people, the world's leaders and millions of citizens are pausing to reflect...

On this day I pause and go through my photos and memories of our visit to The World Trade Center.

It was SEVENTEEN YEARS ago when we visited the WTC, as can be seen from this shot taken by our eldest daughter May-N with a 35 mm Nikon AF compact.

It was shot from Ellis Island, which was a good place to capture the New York skyline with the two imposing twin towers.

1994 was a good year for us, I was working in Singapore and we were having a time of our life; a two weeks holiday in The Big Apple!

Photographs are like a time capsule, looking at them brought back the happy time when we were posing with the Twin Towers :)

WTC were two very imposing building indeed, they were so huge and tall that when you were at ground zero it was downright impossible to take a full shot of the towers!

Take a look at the shot below, it was shot with a 14 mm ultra wide lens... the closeness of the two building will give any catastrophic a nightmare!

With the construction of 7 World Trade Center in the 1980s, the World Trade Center had a total of seven buildings, but the most notable were the main two towers, each 110 stories tall, stood over 1,350 feet (410 m) high, and occupied about one acre (43,560 square feet) of the total 16 acres (65,000 m²) of the site's land.

During a press conference in 1973, Yamasaki (WTC designer) was asked, "Why two 110-story buildings? Why not one 220-story building?" His response was: "I didn't want to lose the human scale." - Wikipedia

Standing directly under one of this monster and looking straight up at all those gleaming aluminum pillars fading into the cloud gave you a real surreal feeling.

I shot this looking up with the Canon 14 mm ultra-wide on an EOS 1 on Kodak Gold film.

Questions were raised about the effectiveness of the aluminum cladding, did it's failure caused the two towers to collapsed?

Stories at the 911 Blogger dot com make for interesting reading!

May and Ming took a breather under the cooling shade created by the two gigantic towers.

The plane! The plane! Not the same plane, duh! This was 1994 ;)

WTC3, right; also known as the World Trade Center Hotel, the Vista Hotel; dwarfed by WTC1 and WTC2.

Although most of the space in the World Trade Center complex was off-limits to the public, the South Tower featured an indoor and outdoor public observation area called Top of the World Trade Center Observatories on its 107th and 110th floors.

The Top of the World was an indoor and outdoor observation deck that delivered a 360 degree view of New York City, allowing visitors to see up to 50 miles away with clear skies.

Part of Manhattan seen from the observation floor of the WTC.

Visitors would pass through security checks added after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing,then were whisked to the 107th floor indoor observatory at a height of 1,310 feet (400 m).

The columns on each face of the building were narrowed on this level to allow 28 inches of glass between them. The Port Authority renovated the observatory in 1995, then leased it to Ogden Entertainment to operate. Attractions added to the observation deck included a simulated helicopter ride around the city.

On a clear day, you can see forever! This spectacular view, hopefully will be recreated from the new rebuilt WTC!

The famous three bridges of New York City, from the top; Williamsburg Bridge, Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge.

This stunning view was shot with my Leica M4-P with a 90 mm f2 Summicron lens on Kodak Gold 200 negative film.

Finally, a view of the Twin Towers seen from the top of the Empire State Building at night. This picture was never been post :)

Like a rivers of fire, main streets in Manhattan leading to the towering WTC.

The New York night scape was shot with a Leica M4-P, 50 mm f2 Summicron lens; on tripod.

Famous Last Words...

On reflection, New York is one city you MUST visit; if there is only ONE city you are able to visit before you die, let it be The Big Apple!

Family outing at Central Park. Candid capture with EOS1, 70-210 zoom.

Where else can it be? China Town in New York!

Somewhere near SoHo, shot from the top deck of tour bus.

Macy's in New York, claimed to be the world's largest store! 14 mm Canon ultra wide.

My boxes, my home; my castle... Times Square.

Somewhere in Battery Park, 14 mm ultra wide on EOS1.

Readers near Central Park, Leica M6T with 90 mm Summicron.

Sunset over New York, Leica M6T with 35/1.4 Summilux.

New York gulls, beside the ferry terminal for Ellis Island.

Looking up at the glass ceiling at the American Museum of Natural History. M6T with 35/1.4

The iconic Empire State Building franked by two lesser skyscrapers. 17-35 Canon.

Beautiful tiles at Little Italy, next to China Town.

The famous Plaza Hotel where they filmed "Home Alone".

Hobo at SoHo, notice the cast iron building!

Art seller outside Central Park. 14 mm right up close!

The Trump Tower, shimmering in the late afternoon sun.

Pictures of early migrants to New York, at Ellis Island.

G.O.D., last seen in New York ;)

Old folks relaxing in a tiny "park", China Town; NY.

Owner of an art gallery in SoHo, New York City.

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