Vivian Maier

Born in New York City, Vivian Maier was an American street photographer who lived from February 1, 1926, to April 21, 2009. Maier was born in the United States, although she spent the majority of her formative years in France. In 1951, Maier made her way back to the United States, where she started work as a nanny and carer for the remainder of her life. However Maier had an interest in photography that she delved into during her free time. She continued to take pictures for five decades, the majority of which were taken in Chicago and New York City. When Maier died in 2009, thousands of rolls of undeveloped film were discovered. Since Maier's death her work has been shown in exhibitions all over the world.

Columbus Circle, NYC, 1954

To have taken this photo, Maier would have been only a matter of a few metres from these men, It's impressive that she was so close to them whilst still being able to properly expose and focus the shot. In lots of photos I have noticed she was always trying to get closer and closer with an eye at the composition and when she was “detected” and the subject established eye contact to her, she pressed the shutter. I love that this shot has been completely filled with architecture and life, she has captured the essence of these subjects very well. When I look at the background I notice the Coca Cola advertisement and the New York City water tank, Maier has managed to include so much detail in this single shot. The candid nature of the expressions on the subjects faces are not particularly flattering but that is what makes this shot so interesting.

My Work

F/9.0 1/320 ISO:3200

F/6.3 1/1000 ISO:250

F/7.1 1/80 ISO:200

F/7.1 1/100 ISO:720

F/9.0 1/320 ISO:3200

F/6.3 1/1000 ISO:1250

F/6.3 1/100 ISO:1250

f/5.6 1/80 ISO:200

f/5.6 1/160 ISO:250

f/7.1 1/100 ISO:200

f/5.6 1/1000 ISO:3200

f/7.1 1/500 ISO:200

f/7.1 1/200 ISO:200

f/5.6 1/60 ISO:200

Radial Gradient Edit

For the next photos I edited them in a similar way but used a Radial gradient mask on Camera Raw to allow my photos subject to stand out. Some of my shots ended up being a bit too busy to allow the subject to really shine through, so altering the contrast subtly for the area highlighted in the Radial gradient mask meant that this could be enhanced.

Selecting the area with a large amount of feathering gives a subtle gradual contrast that doesn't distract from the main body of the image.

f/7.1 1/200 ISO:200

f/7.1 1/500 ISO:200

F/8.0 1/160 ISO:100

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