#547 TWENTY-FIVE YEARS
FEATURING PHOTOJOURNALIST JASON FLORIO AND FILMMAKER PAUL BERRIFF
Twenty-five years after September 11th, a generation has grown up knowing that day through photographs, television footage and the recollections of those who were there. In this special edition, I walk with my friend, photojournalist Jason Florio, who at the time of recording, was preparing to return to New York, where in 2001 he found himself running up Vesey Street as one of the towers fell behind him.
We talk about going back, what remains clear after a quarter of a century, what has blurred, and the importance of first-hand memories as an event passes further into history. Also in the programme, filmmaker and photographer Paul Berriff recalls filming alongside New York firefighters when the South Tower collapsed, knocking him unconscious while his camera continued to record. Two photographers who witnessed an extraordinary moment in history, and the stories behind images that, twenty-five years later, remain with us.
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Join us in Venice for the Venice ‘26 retreat, photographing a city built on water, light, and ritual as winter settles across the lagoon. Together we’ll wander through early-morning markets, quiet canal edges, hidden monasteries, and the weathered backstreets of Castello and Cannaregio, with time to slow down, take photographs, and build creative confidence in a city that reveals itself gently when the crowds disappear. Places limited.
Matthew Power was an American writer and journalist whose work took him from riding freight trains across North America to reporting from Afghanistan, India, Cambodia and the Amazon. A contributing editor at Harper’s, he also wrote for GQ, Outside, The New York Times and National Geographic Adventure. He died in Uganda in 2014, aged 39, while reporting on an expedition along the Nile.
Neville Elder is a British-born photographer, writer and filmmaker who began his career shooting for British newspapers in the 1990s before moving to New York in 2001. His editorial work has appeared in publications including The Times, The Independent, Stern, Newsweek and Time, and his career has since expanded into documentary filmmaking and teaching.
Paul Berriff is a British photojournalist, documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose career has spanned more than six decades. He was filming with the New York Fire Department on September 11th 2001 when the South Tower collapsed, leaving him unconscious beneath the debris. His work has taken him into major news events and dangerous situations around the world, and he has survived several extraordinary close calls during his career.
Bill Biggart was an American photojournalist who covered conflict and social issues in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Berlin and his home city of New York. On September 11th 2001, he photographed the attacks on the World Trade Center, continuing to work after the South Tower collapsed. He was killed when the North Tower came down, becoming the only professional photographer to die while covering the attacks. His cameras were recovered four days later, and the memory card contained photographs made right up to the final seconds of his life.
The Stage Door Delicatessen sits at 26 Vesey Street in Lower Manhattan, directly opposite the World Trade Center site. A fixture of the neighbourhood for more than 40 years, it serves classic New York deli food including pastrami, corned beef, brisket and breakfasts. In the aftermath of 9/11, its position overlooking Ground Zero put it right alongside the enormous recovery effort taking place across the street.
The Contax G2 arrived in 1996 as a high-end 35mm autofocus rangefinder, built by Kyocera and designed around a superb range of Carl Zeiss lenses. It offered autofocus, automatic film advance, aperture-priority exposure and shutter speeds up to 1/6000 sec. Production ended along with the Contax camera line in 2005, and the G2 has since become a particularly sought-after film camera.
Tina Brown is a British-born journalist and editor who became one of the best-known figures in magazine publishing. She edited Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, later launching The Daily Beast. She is also the author of The Vanity Fair Diaries and The Palace Papers, and founded the Women in the World summit.
MUSIC LINKS: Space Doves wrote today's playout song Free Heart Odyssey. Music on the show is sourced primarily from Artlist and also features in Michael Brennan’s Spotify playlist GoFoto. For Apple Music users, follow this playlist.
Kelvin Brown’s flickr Photowalk inspired group - join by invite by clicking on to THIS LINK.
THE SHOWPAGE GALLERY
JASON FLORIO
Photographs copyright Jason Florio. Not to be reproduced or used without express permission from the photographer.
VIDEO LIBRARY
The following videos or subjects are referenced within today’s show.
