Chicago Street Photography // Vivian Maier

I've been trying to write this post for 15 minutes and I keep deleting and trying again and deleting and, well, you get the idea. I have no words for what I'm about to share with you. These images are completely mesmerizing and breathtaking. And up until a couple years ago, no one even knew they existed.
The hero of the story (John Maloof) randomly purchased a box of photo negatives at a Chicago auction. He took these negatives home, began scanning and soon realized he had stumbled across something really special. He called up the people who'd purchased the other boxes from the auction and soon had 90-95% of Ms. Vivian Maier's catalog.
He's spent the time ever since scanning, cataloging, preserving and creating a well-deserved buzz around Vivian. Not only is he working on preserving her work but he's putting together her biography. He's learned that she arrived in America from France in the early 1930's and worked in New York. At some point she moved to Chicago and became a nanny. So far most of the photos he's discovered are from the 1950's - 1970's and were taken on the streets of Chicago. It seems that she had no formal training but she did study other photographers work. According to some previous employers of hers, Vivian was a "Socialist, a Feminist, a movie critic, and a tell-it-like-it-is type of person. She learned English by going to theaters, which she loved. She wore a men's jacket, men's shoes and a large hat most of the time. She was constantly taking pictures, which she didn't show anyone." Doesn't she sound intriguing? Just wait until you see her photos:



There are heaps more on his blog and he's updating it often. I wait with bated breath! (PS. That's the photographer herself in the last row, in the mirror.)