Liberty and World Trade Center

Times staff photographer Fred R. Conrad took this picture of what were, at the time, two of New York’s biggest attractions. To photograph the Statue of Liberty’s torch between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, Conrad found a vantage point on a dock near Caven Point, N.J. There, with a 300-millimeter lens in hand, he composed this image.

He was one of eight photographers on assignment for The Times who were exploring black-and-white photography in and around New York City that week. “Color is pretty, so you get pretty shots,” Conrad wrote in the accompanying article. “In black and white, you have to have a subject.” His advice for shooting in New York: “If you don’t get your picture on one corner, wait – or go to the next corner. Just leave the camera on automatic and don’t worry about the technical part; worry about the pictures.”

With an extender on his 300-millimeter lens to give him the reach of a large telephoto lens, Conrad captured Lady Liberty’s torch perfectly between the illuminated twin towers. “The photo has the geometrics of the tower and the organics of the statue,” said Conrad. “I liked the cohesion of this human form against something urban.” He added, “People identify with it. It has become a symbol because of the events that have transpired.”