A photographer for the Bloomberg Photo Service, was stationed about 15m from the finish line at the Boston Marathon as the April 15 explosions occurred. Ma took the photo of wheelchair-bound Jeff Bauman moments after he looked into the eyes of the man who

and sent out a two-word Twitter message – “I’m OK.” – for everyone else.

I contacted Bloomberg News, and the photo editor, Graham Morrison, encouraged me to regain my composure and transmit the images I had captured.

I was running on pure adrenalin and had no idea what to do, but Morrison’s reassurance and counselling through all of the trauma and chaos helped me stay grounded. After securing an internet connection nearby, I pushed my photos to the wire.

I sent more e-mails and made more social media posts to let people know I was okay, and then headed back toward the scene, taking some more photos along the way.

The outpouring of support from the photojournalism community has been incredible, whether it be from people I’ve known for years or someone I just met that day.

I can’t express enough how grateful I am to have such supportive brothers and sisters in my corner every step of the way.

I tracked down the last runner I photographed before the blast and gave her a hug.

Down to a matter of seconds, it really was a miracle she was stand- ing there unscathed. I have never been so happy to see someone I had not met yet.

At about 9pm the next night, I saw a familiar face on the New York Times website. Jeff Bauman, whose horrific injuries had kept me awake the night before. He had survived and was stable in hospital.

Knowing that he had made it lifted the heavy cloud that had engulfed me. His recovery will no doubt be long and difficult, but he is still with us.

What struck me most about the horror of the situation was not the devastation and the chaos, but the fact that so many people ran toward the danger to help those in need without giving a second thought about themselves.

That seems to be a recurring thread in everyone’s recollection of what happened, and it can’t be repeated enough.

As a member of the media, I will inevitably receive negative comments and criticism about the photos that I took, because some people disagree about what the public should and should not be able to see. I understand that. Yet as a professional witness, I don’t know how else to show not only the evil of the world, but also the compassion and humanity that ultimately overcome it, like the actions of the first responders and volunteers who dived headfirst into the smoke to save so many lives that day. – Washington PostBloomberg