The story behind amazing WTC pics

“I’m an elevator man, not a photographer.”

Those are the words of Scott Lahmers, technical specialist for ThyssenKrupp Americas, who is currently working on installing 74 elevators and 9 escalators in the One World Trade Center, Tower One, in Lower Manhattan.

In today’s fourth episode of The Weekly Flickr, we feature the collection of photos Scott took, very unexpectedly, on December 18 when he captured the last two escalators being brought into the monumental building.

“We didn’t expect the escalators to be hoisted that day because of the weather,” Scott says in the accompanying video of the two escalators which will serve the observation level more than 100 floors above the ground.

“We don’t usually take escalators that high,” he says, explaining that transportation of escalators is most often done on the ground or below ground. “So to see an escalator go over a hundred stories in the building is a little unusual.”

ThyssenKrupp Elevator - One World Trade Center Escalator Hoisting

The process to hoist each 38,000 pound escalator took 15 to 20 minutes, Scott says, and another 30 minutes to bring into the building at the top. There was a crew of elevator constructors on the ground to attach the rigging and another crew at the top to guide the escalators inside.

ThyssenKrupp Elevator - One World Trade Center Escalator Hoisting

“ThyssenKrupp has about 65 people working on the project on the site,” Scott says. “When I took the photos it was to memorialize or document the day for us.”

Little did he know that when he would post them online they would go viral and be picked up by a number of news organizations.

“I never anticipated the appreciation from other people, from other sources,” says Scott. “To be frank, when I posted them, I hadn’t even looked at the photos. So it was a surprise to me when the feedback started coming.”

But takings the photos and being involved in the World Trade Center project is not just about him.

“It’s about what One World Trade Center signifies for our country, for the people that work there, and for the people that lost their loved ones in nine eleven,” Scott says. “The project is a memorial to the families and the people that lost their lives on 9/11. And all the men, women that are working on that site.”

ThyssenKrupp Elevator - One World Trade Center Escalator Hoisting

For him and his colleagues working on the World Trade Center, there will never be a more important project.

“It’s an honor for me to work on One World Trade Center,” he says. “It’s symbolic for our strength and resolve to be free, to be a free country.”

View all of Scott’s photos in the One World Trade Center Escalator Rigging set from ThyssenKrupp Elevator Americas, and see how the top of the One World Trade Center was installed in the Freedom Tower Spire gallery.

Watch previous episodes of The Weekly Flickr: The Weekly Flickr wishes you a happy New Year | Budding photographer finds living in surrealism | Breezy Point will be back

Share your photos in The Weekly Flickr group for a chance to be featured in an upcoming episode, and tweet about this video series with #theweeklyflickr.

Posted by Arnold Chao
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Dear Tube, Happy Birthday!

Also available in: Français
Underground

The Sole Purpose of Human Existence Way in Arched people

Underground

Rochelle Going Down

Tube

iPhoneography 385 >Underground World | London Series< underground Going Underground Red Woman In Tube

Exit

The London Tube started service 150 years ago, and was the first metro of the world. With more than three million commuters and visitors using its service every day, it’s the second largest underground train system after Shanghai’s.

Happy Birthday Tube! May you continue to provide reliable transport and be the subject of many exciting photos of your architecture, people’s journeys, emotions and experiences.

Celebrate the Tube with us: Post your London Underground photos and share them with @Flickr using #LondonTube150. We will feature another selection of photos on the weekend.

Photos from Mark T Simmons, Dani3D, Miodrag Bogdanovic mitja, Mark_Deacon2, maggyvaneijk, fotobes, [~Bryan~], Mauro Ballabeni, 52 grams, The National Archives UK, and edscoble.

Explore more London Tube photos from other Flickr members.

Posted by Kay Kremerskothen
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Island from James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’

Hashima

Residence (Colour)

Gunkanjima

Gunkanjima-11.jpg

The James Bond film franchise reached $1 billion in the international box office with the latest film “Skyfall” at the end of 2012. Much like the previous films, Mr. Bond outwits foes in an array of eye-catching shooting locations, and one particular Japanese island stands out for its shabby condition: Hashima Island (端島; meaning “Border Island”). The gem of urban exploration also goes by other names, including Gunkanjima (Battleship Island in Japanese) and Ghost Island.

According to Wikipedia, coal mining was the basis of its industrialization that began in the late 1800s. But Japan’s energy demand switched to petroleum, resulting in the eventual abandonment of the concrete-packed island in 1974.

Explore more of the ruins from this location at these Flickr destinations: Battleship Island gallery | Battleship Island:軍艦島 group | Hashima Island on Places: Nagasaki Prefecture.

Photos from Stefan the Cameraman (aka “Skyfall” visual effects photographer), picturenarrative, Chris Luckhardt, klOrklOr, and OrigamiKid.

Posted by Arnold Chao
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Bushfires ablaze in New South Wales and Tasmania

Also available in: Deutsch, Français

Bushfire rage

Here is an update on the fire south of Bicheno. Wind feels more southerly so at least it's a little cooler... #bicheno #bushfire #tasmania Bushfire Smoke Over Kingston, Tasmania

Tallong Hillside Sunset

Long Point Fire 2/1/12 Long Point Fire 3/1/12

Hell's gate

For several days now, powerful bushfires have been devastating the Australian states of Tasmania and New South Wales. Temperatures above 40°C (104°F) and strong winds of over 100 kph (62 mph) challenge local firefighters do their best this summer to bring the inferno under control. Read more on the Australian bushfires on Yahoo!7 News.

Our best wishes to all of you affected by the bushfires – stay safe!

Photos from ToniFish, NannaWoo, cjbj, rjrgmc28, and Kel O’Shea. Also check out Kel O’Shea‘s complete set Long Point Fire.

Posted by Kay Kremerskothen
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Fantastic fields

Also available in: Deutsch

a new carpet

The Amphitheater of Colors, Dongchuan, China

Hitchen Lavender (Explored)

Five Hay Bales.

Red Sea

Vivid captures of striking colors found in rural areas worldwide.

Featured agricultural and countryside locations: South Monrovia | Dongchuan, China | Hertfordshire, U.K. | Yorkshire, U.K. | Oregon, U.S.

Photos from Wael Massalkhi, William Yu Photography, jankmarshall, Tall Guy, and Benjamin Postlewait.

Posted by Arnold Chao
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The Weekly Flickr wishes you a happy New Year

Happy 2013!

In this edition of The Weekly Flickr we wanted to showcase how the many members of the Flickr community around the world spent the first day of the New Year.

We asked, and you shared your images from parades to polar bear swims to enjoying family, friends and the great outdoors.

 

After you’ve watched the video, be sure to check out our galleries: Part I | Part II | Part III

Want to be featured on The Weekly Flickr? We are looking for your photos that amaze, delight, and inspire. Share your photos with us in the The Weekly Flickr group. Tweet us at #theweeklyflickr.

Posted by Thea Lamkin
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Riding the horizon line

Also available in: Français

The caravan

Pace

Rahm, IN

Saul and Krystelle

We love how the distinctive positioning of the border between sky and land accentuates the vastness in these pictures and sublimely isolates the subjects.

The first four places featured:

Reno, Nevada

Hofgeismar, Germany

Pienza, Tuscany, Italy

Rahm, Indiana

Photos from cr8visions – Robert Boisson, RainerSchuetz, Lorenzo Capolupi, capwell, and Sam Le (Sunny 16 Photography).

Posted by Arnold Chao
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Happy 2013!

New year's resolution in San Francisco   New Year's resolution: A 52 week project...  (Week 1)

New Year's Resolutions

A happy, healthy, and successful new year to all of you!

Photos from Cedric’s Flickr, .darkchamber., and MyLifeAsKelsie.

Posted by Kay Kremerskothen
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Golden moments

Also available in: Français

Flamingos !!!

Nochebuena. Feliz Navidad / Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas - Joyeux Noel - Bom Natal - Buon Natale

The golden moment

The sunrise over the East Sea - EXPLORE

Black And Tan

Extraordinary snapshots saturated with yellow and orange variations, including sunset and sunrise photos of: India’s Pulicat Lake, Sabah, Malaysia, and Portsmouth Harbour, U.K.

Photos from bmahesh, José Rambaud, jonjacob2010, tokism, and TWJp.

Posted by Arnold Chao
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Illusion ideas with forced perspectives

Also available in: Français

V Forced perspective 300ppi

Hands Free

Monty Python

DSC_0733

Sweet Revenge!

Hats off to the practitioners of toying with foreground-background optical illusions, or otherwise known as forced perspectives.

See and share photos like these in the Forced Perspective group.

Photos from Breon Warwick, RetroRed, Alan Travers, Armando Alvarez B., and Geee Kay.

Posted by Arnold Chao
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