Vivian Maier

KillRamsey

Hall of Famer
Location
Hood River, OR
Name
Kyle
Is this old news? Have you all heard about this woman?

http://www.vivianmaier.com/

Synopsis: A nanny in NYC was also quietly a serious photography hobbyist with an incredible eye, starting in the 1950's. She quietly took tens of thousands of pictures and boxed up the negatives in her room. She seems to have used a Rolleiflex TLR and a Leica? None of the people who considered themselves her friends had any idea whatsoever about this hobby - they all describe her as being incredibly closed off and secretive. A few years ago someone bought the whole lot of negatives for $300-something at auction, and when they began to scan them, they realized the woman had been a genious (she died in the first decade of the 2000's at 83 years old after a fall on ice.)

I'll be totally honest. This is perhaps the most evocative and alluring street photography I have ever seen from one person. Sorry if it's old news, I'd never heard of her before and I'm floored.
 
She would! She would use the flippy Oly type of EVF. I have one of the books that Malouf (or whatever that bloke's name is) published. Some very very nice photos.
 
Good one Ray. I think the Vivien Maier score is more like finding a stash of unreleased tapes of Monk playing New York nightclubs in the late 40s. The Monk LPs I sell are cool and all, but they were mass produced. This guy didn't find a second set of prints from Vivien Maier, he found her entire body of work.

Even finding a really good collection is nothing that one can retire on. Also, I'm known for paying people good money for good records. This guy just stumbled upon a goldmine.....and he wasn't even looking for it!
 
I have one of the books of her photos. There is some really good stuff and some ok stuff. (I think the ok is better than my good by a long ways)

What I do enjoy the most is just the fact that the photos are from another time. I don't want to see one more street photo of someone occupied with a smart phone. That has become the Antelope Canyon of street photography for me. I just don't ever need to see it again.
 
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