Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier

Context
Vivian Maier (February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009) was an American street photographer born in New York City. Consistently taking photos over the course of five decades, she would shoot most of them in Chicago and New York City. Vivian Maier had a dark room where she would produce black and white photos, however she did end up progressing onto coloured pictures. She would mainly take pictures of people and landscapes but she replaced these with objects when she began taking colour pictures. Maier’s photos also betray an affinity for the poor, arguably because of an emotional kinship she felt with those struggling to get by. Her travels to search out the exotic caused her to seek out the unusual in her own backyard as well. 

Photography

This photo taken by Maier shows a man holding a mirror and her reflection can be seen in it but his isn't as visible. This photo makes you think because when you look into the reflection on the mirror you see a woman but the woman can't be seen behind the mirror. It took me a while to realise that the reflection of the woman was actually Vivian Maier behind the camera. This can also be perceived as surreal because when you look in the mirror you would expect to see the man's reflection. The photo relates to the context of Vivian Maier because she was into taking pictures of the less fortunate and the streets of America. This relates to this because she has taken a picture on a street which looks like a poorer area and she has shown a man working who looks less fortunate as his clothes show us that he is poorer. This image links to reflection because the main focus of the image is the mirror. I can use ideas like this in my work but in a different way because I can get people to hold mirrors so I can take pictures of their reflections.

This photo taken by Vivian Maier shows her to be taking a picture in a window looking out on her reflection so she  is the main focus of the image. This photo is clever because when we look at the image we see peacefulness because it looks like nothing is going on but when we look in the background we can see cars and people so we change our opinion and imagine the noises of a busy street. This photo links to the context of Vivian Maier because she was a street photographer and she has incorporated the street in the image and she took pictures mainly of the street. This image links to reflection because we are looking at a reflection. She has taken this picture well because although it is in a window we can see her clearly. I can take her ideas from this image by taking pictures in windows or mirrors showing myself but with a good background like the way she has.

This photo taken by Maier shows a woman and two children walking down a path with their reflection being shown in a puddle. I like this photo because although the image is black and white it doesn't look dull or unhappy because we can see the sun and the children in the image look like they are having fun. This photo links to the context of Vivian Maier because she was a street photographer and she liked to take pictures of the less fortunate. This was taken on a street and the people in the photo don't look like they are rich. This image links to reflection because we can see the peoples reflection in the puddle clearly. The reflection is the main focus of the image because the puddle is in the majority of the image. I can use ideas like this in my work because I can take pictures of reflections in puddles or water.

Progression

To progress this photographer further I will try to incorporate some of her ideas in my work such as the street photography and the reflections.