Among the more disturbing things I saw on September 11 was people posing for photographs in front of the skyline. I saw this at least 3 times over the course of the day on the piers in Hoboken.

In the early moments, while the towers stood in flames, I saw a group of what looked like tourists, standing on Pier A with their backs to NYC, smiling while their friend snapped a shot.

The couple in this photo is obviously sharing what they feel is a historic moment together as they smile for the camera. I can't comprehend how they could possibly feel this is appropriate. Have they compleatly divorced themselves from reality that the smoldering ruins of downtown NYC can be used as a framing device for a portrait? Is it the impulse to prove that they were there?

I hadn't posted this image earlier because it's so morbid. But now I think it says something about the photographic impulse that needs to be understood and questioned.