The Photography of Vivian Maier

Hummingbirds in our area normally begin migrating southward in early September, but we leave a single feeder hanging outside the kitchen window until November just in case. Yesterday morning we were rewarded when a female arrived for a fill-up: she stayed for several hours, alternating between a cotoneaster shrub and the feeder. I'm glad my wife looked outside when she did: otherwise, the tiny bird would have remained undiscovered to us.

There's a parallel between our feathered visitor and those talented photographers who remain anonymous during their lifetimes, their photographs unseen by the public until one day after they're gone someone happens to look in exactly the right place, and there they are.

Vivian Maier (1926-2009) is one such photographer. Her work would have remained hidden, too, but for John Maloof. John is a Realtor® in Chicago, a writer (he's co-authored a book on Portage Park with Daniel Pogorzelski, available from Amazon here), and a photographer. He was at an auction searching for historical materials when he purchased Maier's archives. "I was looking for old neighborhood photos for a project. I saw negatives of Chicago and purchased them because they were interesting, and also I was hoping to find local images…there were no local photos but I did have a great find."

That included over twenty thousand negatives (mostly medium format) and, amazingly, nearly one thousand undeveloped rolls. "I'm down to about 600-700 rolls of 120 film now (12 or 24 expsures per roll)," he says. "They're Tri-X, from the 1960s to mid-1970s, and require a couple of minutes longer to develop. Some come up faded here and there, but, all in all, they're salvageable. It's been exciting and still is."

The greatest excitement, however, is the quality of Maier's work. John has started a blog to showcase her photographs and, as he learns more about it, her life and times. A visit is well worth your time.