Who Was Vivian Maier?

What if you were invisible? With a curious mind... 

and a restless eye... fixing upon the snippets of daily life that play all around you? 

Would you stop and notice?  Would you see yourself there... 

captured within those fleeting moments?  

Would you hope to leave some kind of record?  To insist that you were part of it, too...

Would you see opportunities as they beckon... and give voice to your sense of whimsy...

And when you pause to reflect, would it be reassuring...

Or would you prefer to remain invisible... 

lost within the mystery of who, what, and where?

Street photography is a passion. Or perhaps an obsession. There's the thrill of the hunt. You never know what you'll find. And once you commit yourself, not just to look but to really see, it's as if you are rediscovering life itself. Everything speaks to you, awaiting your glance. I'm sure that's how it was for Vivian Maier. 

If you haven't met, I'd like to introduce you. A former nanny, she passed away in obscurity. On her days off she haunted the streets of New York and Chicago, leaving over 100,000 photos, many still undeveloped. Much of her work was rescued by John Maloof and these images came from his website. There's also a new book of her photographs, which has received excellent reviews, available here. And her work is currently on exhibit at the Chicago History Museum and reviewed here. I'd like to thank my colleague Bob Burnett for recommending her to me. Vivian Maier had an wonderful eye for the telling moment and was fearless about capturing it.