Holger Biermann — Leaving Today. 9/11 New York

Review by Lee Halvorsen •

New York City, Manhattan, September 11, 2001. In just a few hours Manhattan went from the daily norm to horrendous, tragic chaos and terror with a rising spirit of unity and support. A writing journalist at the time, Holger Biermann was in the City, walking the streets with thousands of others and unknowingly discovering his new life’s passion and career as a street photographer. “Leaving Today” is a collection of his photos from that day and the following months as the City began its healing process. The book as an art object is comfortable to hold, pleasing to look at, with gripping images capturing a spectrum of emotions: a field manual for street photography.

The foreword by Freddy Langer, travel editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, describes Biermann’s intuitive ability to quickly connect with people and his skill and speed capturing images of those connections. As an introduction, Biermann recalls his 9/11 early morning subway ride into Manhattan when people suddenly started talking about an “accidental” aircraft collision into one of the Twin Towers. He left the subway and walked into pandemonium. Although a writing journalist, he usually had a camera with him and that day was no different. He was quickly out of film but luckily found a deli open where he bought four rolls of color slide film. The book includes both color and black and white images, the color taken on 9/11.

Biermann walked to the Twin Towers, a journey he’d made before; he saw the second plane hit. His press pass allowed him through police barricades. He saw police officers and firefighters responding, exhausted but determined. He watched and made images of people gathering, fleeing, staring, most in shock. He walked to Times Square to read the news on the big scrolls and discovered he was covered in white ash. No phones. No internet. Biermann was taking photos through it all.

Most, but not all, of the photos taken on 9/11 are in color; some are in black and white, page 44-45 for example, but as a general rule, most of the B&W images are from the following months as New York City began its recovery. Biermann was immersed in the emotion of the time and began photographing people and places representing the passion and sentiments emerging after the attack. In those months he discovered other photographers who brought him to the International Center of Photography where he became a teacher’s assistant and was able to fine tune his newly discovered craft as a street photographer.

The images from that day provide emotional and environmental context of a shocked but determined people in the midst of a traumatized landscape. The ash-filled skies in the early morning hours surrounded masked figures framed by buildings, bridges, and roadbeds. People watching the burning towers, staring at nothing, fleeing the ash and the fire and the screams. Biermann funneled that emotion and their stories onto his film.

In the months after the attack, Biermann walked through the City watching people cope with the aftereffects and made images of their stories; the stories of fear, puzzlement, survivor’s joy, determination, and more. “Leaving Today” is a compelling collection of Americans coping with an unspeakable tragedy. If you have a chance to buy this book, jump at it.

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Lee Halvorsen is assistant editor, writer and visual artist living in Virginia.

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Leaving Today. 9/11 New York (second revised edition) by Holger Biermann

Artist: Holger Biermann, lives and works in Berlin

Foreword: Freddy Langer, travel editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung until 2024

Publisher: Blotto Books

Website for purchase and overview at Blotto Books

Printed by Druckhaus Sportflieger GmbH, Berlin

Book design, Troppo Design, Berlin

Language: German, English, and French

Softcover, 128 pages, open thread-stitched binding, 68 images, 20,4 x 27 cm, ISBN 978-3-9813607-2-1

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