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The Radio Call I Never Forgot
Today marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11. During the attacks, I was a young, lonely EMT volunteering for Brooklyn College EMS. The city knew us by our call sign, 93J. We got activated to respond and assist at the World Trade Center. That day, for the first time in my life, I heard the 10-code 10-13 come over the radio: emergency, officer down, need help now. I have never forgotten it.
That day changed the course of my life, the way it did for so many of us. So many choices I’ve made since, even entire careers, trace back to that moment. Like a lot of people who lived through it, I thought seriously about enlisting in the armed forces. For reasons I still can’t fully explain, I never did. But something else took root in me instead: an enduring, almost overwhelming respect for the men and women who wear a uniform — the same respect that, years later, shaped me into a first responder turned photographer.
Why I Believe in the People Who Serve
I am a firm believer in the people who serve — law enforcement, EMS, military, every branch, every color of uniform. These are people who deserve our respect and admiration. It’s a career, yes. But nobody puts on that uniform hoping to get shot, hurt, or killed, and not make it home to the people who love them. Their spouses, their children, their parents are all waiting. We do this work because we believe in it. There is no real money in these careers. What there is is honor.
How That Day Shaped My Work Today
My own path has carried me through EMS, nursing, and photography, not one after another, but woven together. That combination has given me the privilege of working alongside people from every ethnic group, religion, and background imaginable. I count that as its own kind of gift, one that 9/11 indirectly gave me by pointing me toward a life of service in the first place.
It has also shaped how I show up behind the camera. Years of answering 10-13s and standing at bedsides in the ICU taught me how to be present in people’s moments: nerves before a first dance. Exhaustion and joy of a newborn session or the quiet weight of a family gathering everyone into one frame. At Picture Perfect NY, I try to bring that same presence to every wedding, maternity session, and portrait: full attention and the understanding that this moment doesn’t come back around.
A Gift That Understood the Meaning
Recently, a client gave me the card pictured above, a 2026 Detectives’ Endowment Association card marking the WTC 25th Memorial. She understood something important when she gave it to me: it was never about “getting out of tickets.” It’s about what was, what is, and what will always be. I count it among the most sentimental gifts I’ve ever received.
Tomorrow, on 9/11, I’ll think about 93J, about the radio call I never expected to hear, and about everyone who answered it: the ones who came home, and the ones who didn’t.
Never forget.
If you’re planning a session and want a photographer who understands what it means to hold a moment carefully, reach out to Picture Perfect NY — I’d love to hear your story too.
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