My professional photographer friend recently introduced me to Vivian Maier via this video he posted on Facebook. It is a fascinating story and worth the time to hear the story of her discovery.
You can read about her life and view some of her work here. The story of the discovery of her work and subsequent events is entertaining and worthy of a full “Storage Wars” production.
I have been drawn to Vivian’s story on several levels. Beyond her autobiography, there is the technical side. Her work was done mostly with a twin lens Rolleiflex camera. No zoom lens, auto focus, light meter, digital programming or other accoutrements of modern equipment. The composition and lighting is amazing. Because most of her negatives were never printed, she apparently did not have or use the opportunity to enhance her work in the printing process. She was an amazing photographer. Of course, photography as an art requires more than technical skill and equipment.
Vivian had “an eye for photography”. It is that quality which is most impressive and a source of envy for me. She was able see and capture images in mundane and ordinary street scenes, imperceptible to most people. What Vivian’s images evoke in me is an acute sense of my failure to see and appreciate the wonder and uniqueness of life experienced in the ordinary. It would be wonderful to be a photographer of her stature, but my real desire is to be able to see and appreciate the kinds of things that she captured in her thousands of images.
Vivian’s story leaves a lot of questions. Why would she spend her life photographing street scenes and never share them? Because most of her images remained negatives, did she even reflect on her work to any significant degree? Was her work a daily record of a spiritual journey or just a means to self-gratification never intended for any other purpose? Was her photography the equivalent of being a relentless marathon runner?
No matter what her motivation, her images challenge me to lean into life, open my eyes and capture moments otherwise lost amid distractions I have mistakenly thought to be more important than life itself. To do so, is to live an abundant life.
