All photos by Vivian Maier.
Vivian spent most of her working life taking care of other people's children. On her day off, in New York and Chicago, she took her hasselblad into the streets, and looked around. After her death in 2009, boxes of negatives were happened upon at an auction (proceeds from her belongings would go to pay delinquent rent for her studio apt). Some of Maier's photos are so familiar, you can hear the sounds of the street around her subjects. With this sense of familiarity, for a woman standing at a cross walk with bags, we realize we don't know her, though we may see her everyday. Therefore, we stare at the photo wanting to see more of the familiar figure's life, don't we? My limited understanding of life (and photography) lead me to believe this is what makes a good photo. All city dwellers, I think, can identify with the observer, Vivian Maier. http://www.vivianmaier.com/
