Nikon photographer captures iconic 9/11 photo with Nikon F4 camera
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To commemorate 25 years since 9/11, I would like to share this transcript and video below of an interview with photographer Robert A. Cumins who shot one of the most iconic photos of 9/11 using a Nikon F4 film camera.
What follows is the transcript taken from the above video:
As the country marks the 25 years since the 9/11 attacks, a photographer who documented the horror of that day reflects on how he captured a defining image of the tragedy and the significance of the photo today.
Bob Cumins is behind the wheel of his car just as he was the morning of September 11th, 2001 when he flipped on the radio. So I turned it on and I'm listening to a helicopter report from WCBS News 880. Something is going on.
At the tower, we are still looking at smoke billowing out of tower number one. It was 8:58 A.M and Cumins' instincts as a professional photographer kicked in.
He'd had a long career working in the Middle East documenting presidents and prime ministers, so he went home here to his balcony. How far are we from lower Manhattan? As the crow flies 15 miles. With his camera and a roll of film, he looked through the viewfinder at 9:03 A.M. and at that point I saw a plane in lower Manhattan. I figured I'll take a picture of the plane juxtaposed against the skyline. So I made 2 shots. He took this a split second before the 2nd plane made impact. So it was the first picture you shot. It was the 1st picture. He had to wait until the film was developed to see it as a professional.
I was put here to make that picture. You never imagined that the most historic photograph of your life would be taken from your home, right from the balcony. People magazine published Cumins's photograph on the cover within days. Does it matter that you shot it on film? I'm glad I shot it on film. It can't be challenged. He showed us the original roll of film from his archive with 19 frames. The second one, you see the tail of the jet. That analog record is maybe even more important 25 years later. In today's world of conspiracies and what have you and fakery with digital, the film is it. For Cumins, they are images that live in his mind. One split second after this picture was taken, 2000 lives are gone, a moment in history captured through his camera.
Interview with photographer Bob Cumins who took a photo just a split-second before the second plane made impact during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 using his Nikon F4 camera.
Bradley Blackburn, CBS News, Verona, New Jersey.
Interview with photographer Bob Cumins who took a photo just a split-second before the second plane made impact during the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 using his Nikon F4 camera.