Wow! I was out last night at Barnes and Noble and of course, looking through the photography magazine section. I picked up Photo Techniques Magazine. I once subscribed but don’t now, but I still pick it up and leaf through because they invariably have something interesting.
Anyway, there was this great article about Vivian Maier with a few of her photographs. They are really great. Nobody knew who she was and her work wasn’t recognized until she had passed away. It has been saved and resurrected into a tour-de-force of images akin to Helen Levitt or Cartier-Bresson. Vivian has her own style and appears to move through her environment almost invisibly. The self portraits are so simply beautiful and creative. Like playing as a child.
Her work has been assembled into a terrific body of work and will be showing in several galleries around the world. There is also a book coming out which I preordered and it won’t ship until mid November.

A quote from the magazine article:
“As much as we would hope our being defined as “artists” is a result of our work alone, the art is only a sliver of the formula. What is accepted as art and who is defined as an artist is as much about marketing our narratives as it is about anything else.” -Fame is Narrative, The Photographs of Vivian Maier, Kevin Moloney

Vivian Maier Website

Photo Techniques Magazine

Please check this work out and consider the significance of keeping your hand in it, no matter what fame or notoriety comes from it. This is an astonishing story and the more you find out the more interesting it becomes. Go to the website and discover this unknown artist.

In case that isn’t enough, watch this video:

So, this time I just need to get started putting something down.  This is really an exercise for me to get out more and photograph.  If you find this and want to comment, feel free.

I am starting with a few images I created over the past few years and will just take it from there.

Seattle 5-Point Laundry. Located in a beautiful square under the monorail and near Chief Sealth statue.

Seattle This dredging barge and tug were sitting pretty and mostly still for a long exposure under an overcast sky.

Seattle 1st Avenue in Belltown. Army Surplus store that has been there for a long time. They still know how to have fun with their stuff. You gotta get out there occasionally to see why they’ve dreamed up. Camo bikinis?

Here he is the namesake of Seattle. Raising his hand in peace and friendship. He negotiated a peaceful settlement and coexistence with the white settlers. A beautiful little park dedicated to his memory.

A Wallingford Icon for years. Durn Right!