On October 27, 1995, the day before The Great China Skywalk,
Jay Cochrane stood on a sliver of wire, a quarter of a mile high over the rushing water of the Yangtze River. I had never seen him perform, and didn’t know what to expect. As we watched, Jay moved his feet back and forth, getting the feel of its many strands. As he moved farther out the wire, the assembled crowd seemed to stop breathing. Everyone was absolutely still and quiet. Jay stopped and ever so slowly, walked backwards, toe to heel, back to earth. It was spellbinding.
These pictures would never be recreated. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience.
And it was my job to bring these images to the world outside of China. As a photographer with the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, I had photographed many events around the world. But this was different. This was from Fengjie, China, a twelve hour time difference from New York City and a serious step back in both infrastructure and press freedom.
