Rangefinder Magazine
November 2001/Columns

Insight/On the Cover

As this is being written, it’s been a little over three weeks since the attacks of September 11. No one was unaffected by the events of that day and everything now is different. We are different as individuals, the country is different, the government and politics are different and the future will be decidedly different. What remains intact is the spirit and character of Americans, jolted to attention by these obscene acts of terror. We show ourselves to be united in our outrage and compassionate in our grief for the victims. We are in awe of the heroism of New York City’s Fire and Police Departments and we are generous beyond belief in our efforts to buoy the families of the victims.

The photographic community has provided us with a cascade of images that define our national grief. I am still haunted daily by the full-page image that appeared in the L.A. Times on September 12. The photographer, Stan Honda, made the image at what is now called “Ground Zero” of a businessman in a trench coat carrying a briefcase. The man is walking briskly, as he might do if September 11 had been a normal morning. He’s covered in white ash, as is everything in the scene, and at first glance the image could be confused with one of the season’s first snowfall, except for the incredible sadness and desperation written on the man’s face. It is a fitting icon for this national nightmare.

Our photographic community has done more than inspire, however. Fujifilm recently donated $1 million to the relief effort (see page 40) and on a grass-roots level, studios such as Doug Gordon’s in Long Island have been running senior promotions to help raise money for the families of the victims. Acts of generosity like these and countless others too numerous to mention will help us all to heal.

Bill Hurter
Editor

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPHER: Jane Wingate CAMERA: Nikon F3 LENS: 35–105mm Nikkor zoom lens FILM: Fujichrome Velvia EXPOSURE: 2 seconds at f/22 COMMENTS: Autumn in New England is famously spectacular, and nowhere are the colors more intense than along the many swamps that dot southern New Hampshire. One early October morning, when the leaves were at their peak, I set up on the edge of a swamp, ready to shoot the first light. Shortly after sunrise, just before high thin clouds moved in, I spotted these swamp maples that grew along a beaver dam. Lit by the early morning sun, the fiery gold and crimson leaves blazed against the soft blue sky and the blue-black water.

Ed: For those of you not familiar with Wingate’s New England ways, she is a long time Rangefinder contributor who relishes the beauty and serenity of her New Hampshire autumns. As a resident of the southern part of the state, she has her own personal swamp right in her own backyard, which is where these images were made. Remarkably, this summer she sent some new images of wildflowers made in the same Wingate swamp. In summer greenery, the place looks entirely different. For more information, “When the Swamp Maples Turn,” beginning on page 32.