N.J. photographer giving WTC photos to those affected by 9/11 attacks

Tom Flynn recalls looking beyond his potted plant and desk light from his corporate Exchange Place office and gazing at One World Trade Center gleaming across the Hudson River. 

The view became the impetus of a year-long photography project capturing images of not only the new tower, but also different locations around Jersey City and beyond each day. 

"I probably wouldn't have gone forward with this if I didn't have a desk that was staring at the World Trade Center all day," the 57-year-old product manager for Advance Digital said of his project called "Daily Distortion."

Flynn got started last October, snapping photos of Jersey City and other towns throughout the state. He then used a program called Picmonkey to distort the images to make them resemble water color paintings. For the month of February, Flynn put a surrealist twist on photos of towns around the country via street view from Google Maps.

"It's definitely maturing as it's going along," said the South River resident, who formerly worked out of The Jersey Journal headquarters in Journal Square. "It was more cartoon-y in the beginning."

Advance Digital is affiliated with NJ.com and The Jersey Journal. 

Photos were first posted to a Facebook page each day, but Flynn has since expanded to a website where prints are available for sale.

As the project nears its completion, Flynn has decided to give back to the area that has given him so much inspiration by giving away personalized 8-by-10-inch prints of the World Trade Center to those who were affected by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

"I thought what about these World Trade Center ones? I didn't feel comfortable selling those," said Flynn. "I was hoping that some people would feel a connection to them because I feel a connection to them.

Like most, Flynn still vividly remembers the day of the 9/11 attacks. At the time, he was working at AT&T.

"The first thing I thought was, my dad's not there," said Flynn, whose father had formerly worked in the towers. "My coworkers had some family there. So it was really pretty depressing....It was just a crazy day."

Flynn is extending his offer to first responders or those who lost someone during the attacks 14 years ago. Personalizations could range from "In memory of..." or "Thank you, [name], for your service in our time of need."

"I'm not going to ask you to prove if you're eligible. You know if you are," Flynn said in an e-mail.

While Flynn has since changed desks and no longer has a direct view of the building that first inspired his photo project, the inspiration lives on in the pictures.

Those who are interested should e-mail Flynn at Flynn2020@gmail.com and specify which print they would like and how they'd like them personalized.