The City and the Storm

We sent photographer Iwan Baan up in a helicopter as Hurricane Sandy lifted and produced the image that, for many New Yorkers, told its own story. Because most other air traffic was grounded, the controllers allowed the helicopter a much higher ceiling than usual, giving Baan a far better vantage point than he’d otherwise have. We see laid out before us the familiar silhouette of lower Manhattan, inked out; a visual sinkhole – and then, to the north, slicing across as if with a razor, the dividing line that demarcates a city blazing with light.