Call Them Sisters, Call Them Brothers - Vivian Maier's Fotos

[northward Profile Private messageWebsite]

Vivian Maier passed away in 2009. She left more than 150 000 pictures behind which she never displayed or published. Many of these pictures were unprocessed at the time of her death. A large number of her pictures still await publishing.
Her life and work is one of the strangest stories in the history of photography. It is all around in the media, if you are interested.
Most of her pictures are taken in the 50s and early 60s in New York and Chicago. But she was also widely travelled and visited many countries in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Recently an exhibition with some of her finest pictures closed in our city with an unprecedented success. It left me speechless and wondering how she could have done this. Even the technical quality of her shots is unbelievable, how could she come up with negatives so perfectly composed, exposed and focused in all these street scenes...

Already many count Vivian Maier as one of the greatest photographers ever. And undoubtedly she has furthered the cause of humanity and deserves recognition for that.
Music: Call Them Brothers - Regina Spektor and Only Son
Nothing Offensive, 3min46sec
Wolf

http://www.photodex.com/share/northward/kbmgpmg4

[seektheburd Profile Private message]

Northward,
Caught my interest. Thank you so much for sharing. Afterwards, I had to google for more information. Such a fascinating collection of life on the streets. The trends of that era forever preserved. Thanks again. I really enjoyed your show.

Hugs, Stephanie

[heckydog Profile Private message]

A very enjoyable show and the music was something I had not heard before. It was a good choice. Kind of reminded me of Of Monsters and Men.

For anyone interested in her life, there's a dvd available titled "Finding Vivian Maier" and it's a fascinating documentary. She definitely had a dark side but sometimes that goes along with being a genius too. Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 94 and I give it 4-1/2 out of 5 stars on my "Rotten Joe's" scale.

I grew up in New York in the 50's and moved back to the Chicago area in 1963. That's what got me curious about her in the first place. . . . . . . but I'm pretty sure Vivian and I didn't cross paths

I'm glad I investigated her further and I hope your show will get others to do likewise.

Joe

[Astra Profile Private message]

Wolf,
thanks for pointing this out -
..... you are right, these photos are truly AMAZING !!!
Alex

[Aida Profile Private message]

Hi Northward,
As a fan of street photography who loves the work of Cartier-Bresson & Diane Arbus among others,
I was really interested in your presentation of Vivian Maier's work. I had never heard of her
before, until I watched your Producer video. Amazing! Thanks for posting your video.

After watching your video, I googled her. Tons of info. Wow! Such fascinating photos.
Not just amazing photographic work but Vivian Maier herself is a most fascinating & complex individual.


Thanks again for posting your video,
-aida

[northward Profile Private messageWebsite]

Thanks everybody for commenting. I made some further excursions on the www and found interesting stuff on Youtube, e.g. some newscasts of a Chicago TV station between 2010 and 2012. Today these constitute interesting flashbacks on a developing photographic sensation. Or try this for a comprehensive account in HD, made in 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GWMs1SEWnc

On a personal note: One reason I'm so dazzled by Vivian Maier's work is the fact that I myself for a while tried to work with the same camera Vivian used for the majority of her pictures: the twin-lens Rolleiflex. My mother-in-law gave it to us in the mid 80s. She could not use it anymore after many decades and hundreds and hundreds of shots, family, travel, skiing, hiking, sailing. She was an active lady, one highlite being a car trip from Sweden to North Africa just before the outbreak of World War 2.
Even though the Rolleiflex bought in 1938 was in good working order, I failed miserably with it. Guessing exposure and trying to focus the camera by means of a dim side-switched mirror-image in the viewfinder was too much for me. I couldn't even do it in calm nature shots. How anybody could take more than a 100 000 well-exposed, perfectly focused, superbly timed and pleasingly composed images - mostly in quick-response street situations - is just beyond me...