i was working on a personal portrait series of fdny firefighters. officially the department could not help, but i was referred to prominent charitable fundraisers who offered to contact several ladder companies, and all were eager to participate. after several successful photo shoots, i received a call asking would i please do a portrait session of the fdny chaplain in my tribeca studio— and of course i agreed. this would have been sometime in 1995 or 1996. in walked mychal judge, radiating a combination of personality, sprituality, sincerity and intensity that i had never encountered before. he was wearing his franciscan robe and carrying his fdny dress uniform on a hanger. as we worked, his mischievous sense of humor helped to keep the session both relaxed and lively. perhaps halfway through, my wife came home carrying our then-2 year old son, an instant family bond was formed, and father mychal became a permanent part of our lives. many visits followed at our loft and his church, and suffice to say that although we lived just a dozen blocks from ground zero, losing him as official victim 0001 was probably the hardest part of the 9/11 catastrophe for us.