On September 11, 2001 the unthinkable happened. Unfortunately, we have been directly affected by the tragedy.

We worked at WTC 1 on 46 floor, and our equipment (digital camera, lenses, batteries, etc.) were usually kept there, as well as original photos of the NYCfoto images. Everything has been lost on that terrible day. Of course, it is nothing in comparison to the lost lives, but still sad. NYCfoto.com has been hosted in Texas at that time, so we didn't loose anything that was stored there. We also had most of the original photos backed up at other locations, some of the galleries (only photos at high resolution) have been lost...

Both authors of NYCfoto, Sergei and Daniil were unhurt physically, as they usually arrive to their WTC office after 10am. The loss of life would be much greater if planes would hit around noon. WTC is packed with people at that time, and a lot of them would not be able to get out in time. At 8:50am not many were already at their desks. Fortunately, everyone we know who worked at WTC were unhurt and were able to escape.

Nevertheless the shock of the disaster has affected us in some way, probably greater than those who didn't spend a lot of time at WTC. We are greatful to be alive and sorry for the lost lives in the disaster.

With the help of some NYCfoto members we were able to restore most of our equipment and were able to continue taking photos of the greatest city.