Looking back I wished I had the maturity (and foresight) to know that I should have taken more photos of my childhood – the neighborhood, the stores, the neighbors and those I interacted with – documenting life in Northeast Philadelphia in the 1970 – 1990’s. Sure there are the photos of my first day at school each year in my Catholic school uniform with my friends and photos of the dogs we dressed up (all kids do this right?) but missing are the photos of life all around me. Back then, the camera had flashcubes (yes, squares that plugged into the 110 film cartridge camera) and the really neat invention was the Polaroid One Step camera with instant photos that magically developed in front of your eyes.
But as much as the “instant” world was starting to appear, lost was the daily struggles all around us. The gas lines of the 70’s that alternated by license plate numbers on odd and even days, the labor strikes my dad was involved in, the Hands Across America line up we participated in on Frankford Avenue. If only I had a camera to capture the moments of the community, the societal events of the times and the emotions of people. As I travel now armed with a myriad of cameras – phone, blackberry, DSLR – I’m hungry to capture it all – to find the hidden gems but they seem few and far between in the world of selfies, facetime and social media. Try as I might, I’m a dabbler in the photography arts (see my #FriFotos) which is why I was so engrossed in the Oscar nominated documentary, Finding Vivian Maier.
Who was Vivian Maier?
Vivian Maier was a street photographer in Chicago, well actually, she was a nanny in Chicago who took photos and was undiscovered. She documented life in Chicago in the 1950’s – 1970’s with over 100,000 photos! Her Chicago street photos are powerful and the ones shown in the film so perfectly capture a time and place. For me, when you can feel the essence of the person in a photo, it is powerful. Her story is a complicated tangled web of mystery and each turn in the film is fascinating as are the interviews with those who thought they knew her. In 2007, when a man buys a box at auction containing negatives hoping to find a photo for the historic society, what happens next is just unbelievable. His dedication to discovering more of this private woman makes you wonder how your story would be told if your life was in boxes. The New York Times has a review of the film here. The movie had me on edge for all 83 minutes, I wanted to learn more, see more and yet I was sad that it was in death that her artistry came to light and with weird rules in the museum world, her work hasn’t been given more recognition. Hopefully, this film will expose more to her work.
Capture the Times
One key to Vivian’s photographs was the special camera she used so you really didn’t know she was taking your photo. Today, we can’t be that stealth but we can try to frame the photo in our mind and see if the camera captures it the same way. So I’m now trying to be more present and take photos of Philadelphia as I see it happening – the buildings going up, the ones torn down, the street signs, the vendor carts which have now morphed into food trucks, etc. I want to look back and see the changes in the city – see how the photo captures my memories.
A Photo Project for All
My friend, Christian, is a travel photographer who travels the U.S. and for his series “Vintage America” he is recreating photos that his grandfather took on his road trip many years ago – the results are pretty fantastic. His project had me digging through photos I took when I first started traveling to see if I could do a project like that. It’s a great idea that anyone can do here at home or on the road. When my niece and I visited the Louvre with THATLou, I had to take her photo in front of the art – I love that she can now recreate those photos when she is older.
So instead of bingeing on television this weekend, rent “Finding Vivian Maier” and be transported back to Chicago through the talented street art photography and let me know your thoughts. Does it inspire you to change the way you take photos or see the world?