One of the most fascinating stories I have heard lately has been the one about the photographic street images of Vivian Maier. The story itself is quite romantic. Rather than me tell it, have a look at this news clip:
The images themselves are truly wonderful to see. They provide a candid view of Chicago between the 1950's and the 1990's. Until they were discovered at auction, the images had never been shared before. According to the blog set up to share the images, there are over 100,000 of them - mostly medium format negatives, prints and even undeveloped rolls of film. The kicker is that they were bought for around $400 at auction. How come interesting stuff like that never comes up for auction when I go?
John Maloof is apparently luckier than me, as he was the one who bid on the images. He is now working to document and save Vivian's images. I can't even imagine how monumental this task must be, but I am glad he is doing it. Visit the site, and prepare to fall down a virtual rabbit hole.
I also love that Vivian shot with a Rolleiflex. I have to wonder if she was able to get the images she did since the Rolleiflex is held at waist level to compose the image, not to your eye like a modern camera. To me, this would seem to be a more stealth way of getting these images without drawing attention to the photographer.
The discovery of this body of work has only heightened my desire to get my hands on a Rolleiflex. If anyone has one kicking around that they'd like to part with, let me know.
In the meantime, this is tempting me to go back to Chicago to see her exhibition.
