Bolivar Arellano wasn't even supposed to be at the World Trade Center that morning. He was scheduled to cover a political event. But when the first plane hit, the instinct of a seasoned photojournalist took over. He grabbed his gear and headed toward the smoke. What he captured over the next few hours became some of the most visceral, painful, and historically significant documentation of the September 11 attacks.
Honestly, looking at Bolivar Arellano 9/11 photos today feels different than it did back then. In 2001, we were in shock. Now, in 2026, these images serve as a raw, unedited bridge to a day that reshaped the world. Arellano didn't just take pictures of buildings; he captured the impossible choices people were forced to make.
The Man Behind the Lens
Bolivar Arellano's story didn't start at Ground Zero. Born in Ecuador in 1944, he moved to New York in the early 70s. He cut his teeth at El Diario La Prensa, the city's legendary Spanish-language daily. By the time 2001 rolled around, he’d seen it all—war in El Salvador, unrest in Nicaragua, even the 1993 WTC bombing. He was a guy who knew how to handle a police scanner and a 35mm camera simultaneously.
On September 11, he arrived at the site before the second plane hit. He watched the unthinkable happen through a viewfinder. One of the most haunting things he ever discussed was seeing people jump. He counted them. Thirteen. He saw thirteen people choose the air over the fire. That kind of thing stays with you. It’s not just a "photo op"; it’s a soul-crushing reality that haunted him for decades.
The Famous "Last Picture" of Ladder 7
One of the most famous images associated with his name is a shot of firefighters walking toward Tower 2. They look focused. Brave. Professional.
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- The Subjects: Six men from Ladder 7 and others from Ladder 118.
- The Timing: Roughly ten minutes before the South Tower collapsed.
- The Outcome: Every man in that frame was killed.
Arellano titled it "Their last picture alive." It’s a heavy title for a heavy image. It’s a stark reminder that while we look at these as "historical artifacts," for the families of those men, it's the last time they saw their loved ones standing tall.
Getting Too Close: The Injury at Ground Zero
There’s a famous photo of Bolivar Arellano that day, too. It was taken by another photographer, Matthew McDermott. It shows Arellano standing in a street choked with paper and grey dust, his right leg bloodied and bandaged.
When the South Tower collapsed, Arellano was close. Too close. He suffered a deep gash to his knee and ended up in the hospital. But even as he was being helped, he was still holding his cameras. That’s the thing about old-school photojournalists—they don't stop until the film runs out or they physically can't move.
The 2025 Plaque Discovery
Fast forward to very recently. In September 2025, a strange story made the rounds in New York news. A social media director named Sheena Pisarro found a heavy plaque in her apartment that she’d overlooked for seven years. It had a photo of two firefighters embracing and a piece of twisted steel from the WTC.
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On the back? A label for the Bolivar Arellano Gallery.
It turns out Arellano had organized a massive exhibit and fundraiser shortly after the attacks, raising over $50,000 for first responders. The plaque belonged to photographer William C. Lopez. Thanks to Reddit and Arellano’s son, Robert, the piece was finally returned. At 81 years old, Bolivar was there for the reunion, still moved to tears by the memories of that day.
Why Some Photos Remain "Hidden"
There’s been a lot of talk in online archives, like the r/911archive community, about why more of Arellano’s high-resolution work hasn't been blasted across the internet.
It’s not a conspiracy. It’s respect.
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Arellano has been very vocal about the trauma of his work. He witnessed things—graphic, horrific things—that he feels don't need to be "viral content." While much of his archive is digitized and held by the Library of Congress, he’s been hesitant to release the most graphic shots out of respect for the victims' families. It’s a nuance that gets lost in the digital age where everyone wants to see everything immediately.
He once said in an interview that he prayed for the people he saw falling to "grow wings." That’s the headspace he was in. He wasn't just a witness; he was a human being experiencing a collective nightmare.
The Transition from Film to Digital
Technically speaking, 9/11 was a weird crossroads for photography. Arellano was still shooting 35mm film negatives, but the world was shifting.
- Immediacy vs. Quality: He had to get his film developed before anyone could see what he’d captured.
- The Archive: Because he shot on film, those negatives are physical historical objects. They were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art and the Library of Congress.
- The Metadata: We know exactly what time these were taken because of the sequence of the rolls, providing a chronological map of the morning's horrors.
Actionable Insights for History Enthusiasts
If you're looking into Bolivar Arellano 9/11 photos for research or historical memory, don't just look for the "shock" images. Look for the stories of the people in them.
- Visit the Library of Congress Online: Search for "Bolivar Arellano" in the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC). You can see the official records of the "Ground Zero, World Trade Center Photo Exhibit."
- Support Photojournalism: These images exist because a person put their life on the line. Support local news and documentary photographers who continue to do this work.
- Check Out "September 11th: Through The Eyes of Photographer Bolivar Arellano": This is his 2006 book. It’s the most complete collection of his perspective on the day.
- Verify the Source: A lot of photos get misattributed on social media. If you see a photo of firefighters on 9/11, check if it's the Ladder 7 shot by Arellano. Accuracy matters for the sake of the families involved.
Next time you see one of these photos, remember the guy with the bandaged knee and the police scanner. He didn't just take pictures; he carried the weight of what he saw so the rest of us wouldn't forget.
To explore the specific catalog of these images, your best bet is to navigate the Library of Congress's digital collection under LOT 13521. This collection includes not just Arellano's work, but the collective output of the photographers he hosted in his East Village gallery during those first raw years after the attack.