January 6, 2007

From Bob Gomel, of Houston, a photographer for the weekly Life magazine in the 60s...

"Your [discussion] of Fortune's Special [9/11 Issue] in Watching the World Change reminded me that [Fortune's] inside back-page "Archive" [that same issue] was my picture of the NY skyline during the blackout of 1965, before the World Trade Center was built. (SEE PHOTO BELOW)

"Unlike 9/11, almost no one [back in 1965], professional photographer or amateur, took pictures of that phenomenon. Life editors searched the seaboard for images. Only [long-time Life photographer] Henry Grossman and I had venture out. My double-page opener, 'By the Light of the Silvery Moon,' was a milestone in news-picture publishing, in that I double-exposed the film to include the moon in my frame. [Life editors] George Hunt, Ralph Graves, and Roy Rowan debated its use for hours [before deciding to publish it].

"My appreciation for writing such a moving book."

NEW YORK CITY BLACKOUT, 1965
Photo (c) Bob Gomel for Life,
republished in 2001 in Fortune's 9/11 Issue