Vivian Maier: A Photographer Found

I became interested in this photographer after seeing a documentary about her.The photos are vivid slices of life in American cities during the 1950s through about 1980. I feel that I could almost fall into them, as through a window into another world. The day I got the book I spent hours paging through them. Some made me recall memories from my childhood. The photographer’s sense of humor, of human emotion and perception, comes through in so many of the photos. You’re always drawn in, to ask, what is going on here? Why did she take this picture? You’re seeing the world through her eyes. I went through the book again last night. I’m hungry for more. I may try to find a different book of her photos. They are hypnotic.Who was she? A mystery. A sad and lonely person who gave the world a great gift.

I am obsessed with Vivian Maier's work and story. I have the other 2 books by Maloof and the 2 based on the images from the Goldstein collection. This is by far the best book to date. The pages are larger than any of the other volumes, and the quality of the images is much better than those in the other volumes. This is the first time that many of the images have appeared in print, especially the large number of color prints. The introductory essay provides a thoughtful overview of Vivian's life and places the work within its contemporary context. The only thing that disappointed me is that a number of my favorite images were not included in this volume. Even though I've seen a lot of Vivian's work over the past year or so, the images in this volume took my breath away. They are touching, funny, odd and quirky snapshots of our humanity and give us an opportunity to gaze with respect and admiration at people who we might otherwise pretend not to notice.The only thing that I was unhappy about was the Amazon packaging. Amazon does a pretty poor job packing heavy art books for shipping. This is the 2nd book that has arrived with a damaged corner because it slipped around during shipping. Regular books don't need any extra cushioning, but larger and heavier books do.

Every page was interesting and many, many were captivating. Her work was equal to Arbis.Orkin,Lange,Stein,Watkins,Ratllef,Lyon and there's a little bit of Weegee in there too. Her self portrait's, mirror's, store window's, shadow's for the most part. Close up of people,distant shot's, old folk's, kid's.lover's,slum people, worker's, sign's and a few celebrities. from 1950 through the 1970's. The first group of pages is her bio and how the photo's were discovered. Book:12X10 over 280 pages, B & W and some in color. I think this is the best of my collection of photography book's. It was worth $45 dollar's no disappointment at all just masterful photo's for the most part for me to enjoy for a long,long time.

As a street photographer myself I was excited to receive this new book about Vivian Maier. I have been following her work for a few years and already own several books about her work. I was impressed with the layout of this book. Vivian's self-portraits were interspersed throughout the book, to remind us of the very private person who was shooting these images. I was very impressed by the way the images complimented each other, this took a lot of work and forethought. My approach was to study the photograph on the left page and then study the one on the right page to try to determine why they were paired together. The results were intriguing and delightful! I will use this book as a teaching aid for all my new students.

I own four books on Vivian Maier and this one is by far the best. It is formatted well large pages with photos sized to have a border gives me a chance to view the whole photo. I hate edge to edge in books. IMO no sense getting this for mobile viewing. I think photos are best seen in print.Vivian Maier was an extraordinarily patient photographer is what I glean from how she was able to get so many "hits" per roll of film. Only twelve exposures per roll and she was able to get multiple great shots per roll on her Rolleiflex camera, though she did use 35mm as well.The fact that she was never know for her pictures in her life is is a sad reality and tells me that you can be the most talented photographer in the world and never receive recognition for it.

The best of Maloof's books about Vivian Maier. The prints are larger, and better quality, that the earlier volumes. The selection overlaps a bit with his earlier books, which would be annoying if it weren't for the fact that this book does a better job of presenting them.If you already have the earlier books and want to see more, buy this book. If you don't have any of her books yet, this is the best of the Maloof's books to get. You'll also likely ant some of the other collections' photos, so make that your second pihpchase, if you want ant more.If you already have Maloof's earlier books, and you are going to be upset because a handful of photos from those appear here, then don't buy it (or sell your others, first). But keep the self portraits book long enough to compare the photos there with the few that are also here. You will see that these are sharper, with better contrast, and larger in size -- revealing more detail and nuance -- and you won't be sad to be getting a few of the same photos yet again.

While viewing her expansive film camera legacy you will amazed by her technical skill... timing, dynamic range, depth of field, composition. But, what is most impressive is her storytelling. You will find familiar, as well as uncomfortable stories within your own head, which Ms Maier captures. It becomes a series of personal essays for the viewer.

This is a gift and I’m looking forward to being able to look through it later.