A website about a cache of negs found at an auction that belonged to a russian imigre Chicago woman who took photos in the 50s and beyond in Chicago. Wonderful story and wonderful pictures. I love this kind of thing ;-)
Jon

http://www.vivianmaier.blogspot.com/

excellent ! thanx ;-)

Brilliant, and very moving too. Most of the photos are amazing. When you stumble across such page you get aware how street photography is important, to catch Zeitgeist from time that is gone, as well as everlasting moods (that also comes from the magic of b/w).

Thanks for posting that Jon.

Excellent photographs. Thanks for sharing!

Jon,
What fantastic photos..Thank you....I immediately want to see more when I look at those.
This week I took out many books from the library and have been looking at them..for a half an hour a day. They are old pictures, many well known. What strikes me so clearly in almost all of them..and it is true in the ones from Vivian - they do not seem sterile. I notice they often do not follow 'rules' AT ALL. :)) It is so refreshing.. I am beginning to see things like rules of thirds as contrived..What I loved about Vivian's photos was how authentic the expressions were, and they were all from ordinary everyday things. They are the kinds of pictures that you can look at for the next hundred years and more..They may not be perfected and shinny as with Photoshop..but they are still alive..and they speak..loudly..Classic images..Great..Thanks again.

Phyllis

Documentation is a major thing for me in street. If we don't do it - people in the future will have nothing to look back on.

Great John thanks for sharing.

An amazing story, almost like a fairy tale, and beautiful documenting images... Thanks for sharing this!

Superb find Jon, there is something fantastic at looking at a bygone era. Street photographers are important.

My pleasure folks ;-)

I loved the endearingly naive comment from the finder of the negs. To paraphrase, that even though he went and bought the same camera as she used, he couldn't get pictures like hers!
I mean, he pointed it and pressed the shutter, what more is there? ;-)
Her work reminds me of Helen Levitt somewhat, but then that may be just the era as much as the style. I hope they find out more about her.
It makes me want to go to auctions and find some treasures.
Jon

There have been stories in China recently of old negatives and film reels being found from the golden age of film and photography in China (1920's-1940's). Most are turned over to the museums for restoration and exhibition. There is a strong photographic stream in the history of China and the last article I read stated that there are rooms full of handed in film that needs to be processed and dealt with as time and resources permit.

Some was smuggled out of China before the cultural revolution to avoid destruction and is only now being found again as people forgot about it/where it was hidden.