Every time I point my camera toward a reflective surface and shoot a portrait of myself, I think of one woman: Vivian Maier. I have a particular affinity for amateur photographers, as you might have guessed from this post yesterday. While I can appreciate the folks like self portraitist Cindy Sherman, I find myself drawn to the photographs of a woman who was never famous for her work. Maybe it's because I'm an amateur photographer myself, but I'll take an amateur's photo over a Cecil Beaton any day.
If you're not familiar with Vivian Maier, here's a little background.* Born in 1926, Vivian Maier worked as a nanny in Chicago for 40 years. While her profession was nanny, Vivian's livelihood seems to have been photography. Starting in the 1950's and spanning over four decades, Vivian amassed nearly 100,000 negatives. Ms. Maier captured everyday scenes in her street photography. She took photos of herself in shop windows and mirrors and shot quick snaps of the kids she nannied. For an amateur photographer, Vivian had a keen eye for framing an image.
The remarkable part of the story is that no one was aware that Ms. Maier had a hobby. She lived her life taking care of other people's children and later, when she fell on hard times, some of those children took care of her. Apparently Vivian was a quirky and private woman who never shared her photos with others. Nor, as far as I can tell, did she seek publication with her images. In fact, it wasn't until after her death in 2009, when the stockpile of photos and negatives were uncovered in a thrift store in Chicago, that her talent was recognized. With such a vast library of images, Vivian's work is not only beautiful, it's absolutely significant. There may be no better way to see how we used to live than to look through 40+ years of street photography and self portraits ... all snapped by a one woman.
Now, from a 21st century perspective, with a camera on the little phone that fits in the palm of your hand, snapping photos and capturing daily life hardly seems remarkable. Back in the 1950's, when Vivian first started snapping photos, cameras were cumbersome, expensive and required film and technical knowledge. While it seems like every other person is an amateur photographer today, they were few and far between back in Vivian's day.
I have a lot of respect for Vivian Maier. While I'm never far from my camera, I post just about every single photo to Flickr, Instagram, Tumbler, Twitter or Facebook - or some combination thereof. Sometimes I don't know whether I'm shooting for myself or for others. Mostly, I take photographs because I'm trying to document the world through my eyes - not because I think it's noteworthy, but because I want to be able to look back at it later. I have a terrible memory (just ask The Mister) so it's always a delight to look back at photos and relive the experiences. "Oh that's right!" You'll hear me say. "I remember that now!"
I imagine that Vivian Maier was shooting photos for much the same reason. Perhaps if she had been born in 1976, she would have been a mad Instagramer trying to stand out among the masses. Or perhaps she would have kept a low profile and kept her pictures to herself.
To you, Vivian Maier, wherever you may be, I hope you know what you have become an inspiration. I hope you know that every time I snap a pic of myself, I think of you.
*Information culled from Wikipedia and VivianMaier.com
Images: Top: VivianMaier.com; Bottom: Jason Loper
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