The Falling Man

9.11.01 "the falling man" by Richard Drew

On the terrible and disastrous day the world trade center towers fell, Richard Drew was able to capture a still moment. Putting behind the catastrophe that had just happened, he took a simple yet complex photo. A man seconds before his death, free falling into fatality and in complete control of his mind. The picture went viral, it was all over the newspapers and magazines, besides the picture of the explosion the media showed this image, the falling man. Drew knew this was an artistic masterpiece with so much more meaning behind it, yet he could not believe how perfect the shot ended. Funny story, Richard Drew did not know about the picture until later, when he saw the photo sequence.

How else was he as a journalist going to express what he saw if he did not have that physical evidence, "you can't rely on your memories but you can rely on your pictures" said Josef Koudelka (1960's photographer).  With a series of photos, the photographer found out a lot about the man being photographed.

His identity up to this date is unknown but he is believed to have been an employee at the windows on the world restaurant, which sat atop the north tower. At the time and for history he was seen as a hero, as someone who faced his fears.

It caused quite a controversy in peoples everyday life, it was one of the few images that showed someone seconds before death. Because of that, the image was kept low key for a certain period of time. People were still sensible on the topic and the photographer was critiqued in various amounts of occasions. Yet in an interview he said "Iv'e never regretted taking that photograph" standing strong with the meaningful shot he took. 

The photo has become one of the most influential pictures of all time, appearing in magazines all over the world.

Times Magazine 100 influential photos