Stacy-Marie and Sean with their family who flew in from Trinidad & England to celebrate with them.

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My roommate (also a freshman from California) and I slept through the first plane crashing into the World Trade Center, only to be awakened by the blaring of both our phones (landlines) ringing and ringing over and over. I groggily answered, who could be calling both of us this early in the morning. My mother was frantically on the other end asking why we were sleeping through a terrorist attack. A terriorist attack? Huh? A plane crashed into the WTC and they are saying its a terriorist attack. It must be an accident. They are really tall you know… Awake now, my roommate and I began to get ready for class, glued to my the news on my television.

At some point, my roommate left our dorm for class only to return after the second plane hit and both towers had fallen. She left again to go give blood and I left with a group of friends and my disposable camera, of course, to go to campus. Having spent the morning watching it all on the news, not expecting the damage to be so destructive, we wanted to feel for ourselves what had happened. So we walked 10 blocks downtown on Broadway, against the hoard of people covered in soot walking uptown, away from the fallen towers.

As we walked, a massive cloud of dust was rising high above downtown Manhattan. My disposable camera could not quite capture the cloud for what it really was. And when I finally developed the photos, I was disappointed that the images just looked like a really foggy day.

So in 2007 when I found the photographs below, I couldn’t help but feel excited. They felt like the photos I failed to capture. I found them one day. I had been walking around Park Slope and I came across some books that someone had left on their stoop to share with the community. I chose to take The Alienist by Caleb Carr, even though I wasn’t completely interested but since it was free it looked good enough. Once at home, as I was adding the book to my shelf the prints fell out. Three of the images had been captured on September 11, 2001. I couldn’t believe it. On closer look at the photos, I noticed that they were taken at Washington Square Park and on West 4th Street. The photographer was on the NYU campus exactly where I was when they captured these images.

These photographs have become a gift to my memory. And I am so grateful for the photographer who forgot they were in that book. If you are reading, write and I will send them to you. (PS I remember the street I found them on, so no fakes!)

x AK

This shot taken from the Staten Island ferry was on the same roll of film.

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Jun sees his bride, Shanel, for the first time after her father walked her down the aisle.

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Jill + Dave kiss in front of the rainbow created by the lake’s fountain.

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Follow the blog @brooklynbride for modern stylish wedding tips. And follow me @msAKnowles and my journey in Texas!

x AK

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♥ AK

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After graduating from NYU, I attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies where I studied Documentary Photography. Photography had always fascinated me but it wasn’t until my last semester in undergrad that I finally enrolled in my first photo course, “Intro to Photography.” The high cost of the camera that was required for the class kept me away. But I knew that I would never have another chance to take a photography class for free. So I finally took the class. (Although technically, it wasn’t free since full-time students already pay to take those credits whether they use them or not.) During this time, a friend noticed my enthusiasm for the art and told me about her friend who had completed the Salt photography program. So I applied and was accepted.

In some ways, deciding to attend Salt was my way of postponing the inevitable. Getting a job. I had spent 4 years in college and still had no idea what career path to pursue. Once I returned to the city, friends immediately asked “Now that you’ve attended photography school, what are you going to do with it?” Since I still had not completely committed to photography, peer pressure made me commit to an administrative position at WireImage. But through that job, I was able to meet professional photographers and observe the business side, like sales and contracts and bookings (the part they don’t teach you in school). I started to assist photographers and shoot different events with them, some red carpets and celebrity parties, and also some weddings and bar mitzvahs. One of the photographers even hired me to go to Nigeria on assignment as a photographer!

From there, I accepted a job at Management Artists Organization as a Photo Producer/Assistant Agent. I loved this job. Loved it! I produced photo shoots for many foreign fashion magazines. A few of my favorites were an editorial for the Vogue Italia Black Issue, Gwyneth Paltrow in GQ UK, and Mariah Carey in ID Magazine. Finally, I was on the right career path! Or so I thought… Then the recession began. The photographers I worked with were booking less jobs. And I was laid off. Completely heartbroken, I had no clue what to do next. The only thing I was sure of was that I needed to pay my NYC rent, I owned some really expensive photography equipment, and I had the most fun assisting photographers at weddings.

So thats where it all began. But there were still so many other things for me to figure out, like “how in the world do I convince someone to hire me to shoot their wedding??” I will save that story for the next installment. Here are some of the images that were included in my final projects at Salt.

♥ AK

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Here is a look at some of their lovely work that I captured.

x AK

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