This photograph would be categorized as an aftermath photograph. This shows what the New York skyline looked like for the days that followed the attack. The thick layer of smoke seemed to hover of the city for days like a terrible, unlucky black storm cloud.
This photograph was taken by Thomas Hoepker from Brooklyn, New York (Magnum Photographers, 67). It is unusual because it is considered both documentary photography and artistry in photography. In the top portion of the photograph, you see the skyline, partially covered by smoke. The smoke is so thick you can hardly see the buildings. It looks as though there is a terrible storm that is only over Manhattan because you can see the clear blue sky in the upper right hand corner of the photo. Most of the buildings look
very dark. My attention is drawn to the one white building in the middle of the skyline because it is so bright.
The Brooklyn Bridge is pictured o the left side of the photograph. In the middle part of the photograph is a blanket of green, hovering over the cemetery. This green blanket is like a mirror image of the blanket of smoke that is covering the city. The numerous tombstones in the cemetery are broken up by the tall, vertical structures. These tall monuments seem to have almost the same placement as the buildings above in the skyline.
It is as if the photographer cut the photograph into two horizontal parts--the top part of the photo representing devastation and the bottom part representing death or what was to come next. The top portion is very dark, yet the bottom portion of the photograph seems to be light.