Vivan Maier

Vivan Maier was a reclusive person who took hundreds of thousands of photos during her life. She worked as a nanny for income and in her free time took photos. Maier didn't exhibit or share her photographs with many, if anyone. And her photos may have been lost forever if they weren't discovered by John Maloof in a real estate auction.

In 2009 Maloof bought a bin of 10,000 of her medium format negatives. Maloof was looking for photos of the Chicago skyline, Maier's home town, and unknowingly stumbled upon her photos. since then he has devoted his time to scanning negatives and spreading the word of Vivan Maier.

When Maloof discovered Vivan Maier's photos in 2009 Maier was an unknown photographer. But, after posting a few of her photos on some websites there was an insane amount of internet buzz generated around her.

I heard about it and was excited about it. read here.

only 1/10 of the available negatives, 10,000 of 100,000, have been scanned; and a lot less have been published or exhibited. the more photographs i see taken by Vivan Maier the more i obsess over her genius.

Maier could possibly be one of the best street photographers ever. and, just think her photos might not have ever seen the light of day. The negatives could have sat in the bins and turned to dust..

i look at these photos and its hard to believe they are real. its simply amazing and a great story.

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