Iwan Baan's Post-Sandy Manhattan Shot Makes ASME Cover of the Year

Congratulations to New York Magazine and Iwan Baan, one of our favorite architectural photographers (and 2012 Golden Lion Winner): The American Society of Magazine Editors has chosen the cover of the November 12, 2012, issue of New York Magazine depicting the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York City as "Cover of the Year" in the seventh annual ASME Best Cover Contest.

“The City and the Storm” Shot on the Wednesday evening after Hurricane Sandy hit, Iwan Baan’s photograph of Manhattan, half aglow and half dark, captured the larger story of a powerful city rendered powerless. A true viral phenomenon, the image became an instant icon of the event—a magazine cover that many New Yorkers have saved for posterity. In fact, a poster version was offered for sale by the Museum of Modern Art.

“What really struck me, if you look at the image on the left, you see the Goldman Sachs building and new World Trade Center,” said Baan in an interview with Poynter last November. “These two buildings are brightly lit. And then the rest of New York looks literally kind of powerless. In a way, it shows also what’s wrong with the country in this moment.”