Watch Portraits from Ground Zero

Portraits from Ground Zero is a heart-wrenching television show produced by the cable network A&E. It features interviews with Andrea Booher, a photojournalist who covered the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. In this poignant tribute to the victims, their families, and the heroes who risked their lives to save others, Booher shares her story as a member of the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team. Her images captured the attention of the world, and her experiences working among the rubble and debris of the Twin Towers left a lasting impact on her.

The show opens with a series of brief interviews with Booher's colleagues, providing a bit of context for what's to come. They recount her dedication and tirelessness as she documented the tragedy, which claimed the lives of over 3,000 innocent people. We hear from firefighters, police officers, and other first responders who were on the scene on that fateful day, providing a visceral sense of what it was like to face such an unimaginable disaster.

As the program progresses, Booher takes center stage, recounting her own experiences and sharing some of her most powerful photographs with viewers. She tells of how she arrived on the scene just hours after the attack, not fully understanding the extent of the damage until she saw it with her own eyes.

The images she captured are hauntingly beautiful, capturing the raw emotion of those who were affected by the tragedy. She shares photos of firefighters pulling people to safety, workers dragging debris away from the ruins of the buildings, and grieving families searching for lost loved ones. Each image tells a story, and Booher is able to offer insights and context that help to illuminate the human side of this tragedy.

Throughout the show, we see clips of other news coverage and interviews with other photographers and journalists, adding more depth to an already moving subject. There are also interviews with survivors and family members who recount their own experiences and talk about how they've coped in the aftermath of the attacks.

Booher's own narrative is central to the program. Her stories are particularly poignant and illuminating. She talks about the exhausting, tedious work of digging through the rubble, fighting against the heat and the smoke, all while being keenly aware of the gravity of the situation. She talks about the camaraderie she felt with her colleagues, and how they formed their own tight-knit community. And she talks about the psychological toll the experience took on her.

One particularly moving section of the show features Booher talking about her relationship with a fireman who was her colleague on the search and rescue team. He was one of the first people she met on the scene, and they formed an instantaneous bond. Booher tells the story of how he ultimately died in the line of duty, sacrificing his own life to save others. Her pain and sorrow are palpable, even years after the event.

Booher's experiences are also contextualized by interviews with others who worked at Ground Zero. We hear from a construction worker who talks about the massive effort it took to clear the debris from the site, and from a FEMA representative who discusses the logistical challenges of coordinating rescue efforts.

Portraits from Ground Zero is a deeply emotional show that does justice to the events of September 11, 2001. It is a powerful tribute to those who lost their lives that day, and to those who put themselves on the line to save others. Through interviews with Booher and others who were on the scene, viewers gain a deeper understanding of the human side of an event that will live in infamy. It is a show that will leave a lasting impact on those who watch it, and it is a fitting tribute to the victims and the heroes of that tragic day.

Portraits from Ground Zero is a series that ran for 1 seasons (1 episodes) between September 1, 2011 and on A&E