Saul Leiter started shooting color and black-and-white street photography in New York in the 1940s. He had no formal training in photography, but the genius of his early work was quickly acknowledged by Edward Steichen, who included Leiter in two important MoMA shows in the 1950s. MoMA's 1957 conference "Experimental Photography in Color" featured 20 color photographs by Leiter.
After that, however, Leiter's personal color photography was, for the most part, not shared with the public. He became better-known as a successful fashion photographer in the 1950s and 60s. All the while, Leiter continued to stroll the streets wherever he was (mostly New York and Paris), making photographs for his own pleasure. He printed some of his black-and-white street photos, but kept most of his color slides tucked away in boxes. It was only in the 1990s that he began to look back at that remarkable color work and start to make prints. His sense of color and densely compressed urban life represents a truly unique vision of those times.
Leiter, who is 84 and still quite active, came to Paris for the opening of his show. He is humble and unassuming and intensely curious about things around him. In an interview for the new book, he said:
"I started out as a fashion photographer. One cannot say that I was successful but there was enough work to keep me busy. I collaborated with Harper's Bazaar and other magazines. I had work and I made a living. At the same time, I took my own photographs.
"I spent a great deal of my life being ignored. I was always very happy that way. Being ignored is a great privilege. That is how I think I learnt to see what others do not see and to react to situations differently. I simply looked at the world, not really prepared for anything."
At the press conference in Paris, Leiter confided that he often purchased inexpensive color film that was past its expiration date: he loved to be surprised by the odd shifts in color that would result. He also told funny stories about Robert Frank and his friend Diane Arbus. "Robert complained to me one morning over breakfast at the L&M that he was going back to Switzerland because there was nothing interesting to photograph in America!" (at this point Leiter pauses to laugh) "Then he went out and made The Americans!" Leiter also recounted how he turned down Steichen's invitation to participate in the now-famous Family of Man exhibition: "It seemed to me that that exhibition was less about photography, and more about things that I wasn't sure of."
Sta.sh
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`ChewedKandi has certainly gone out of her way to keep the vector community on the right path. Always making sure that her talents are infinitely scalable, Sharon has put her bezier curves to excellent use, and firmly anchored herself as an inspirational leader. We're absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for June 2013 to `ChewedKandi. Congratulations, Sharon! Read More
Hope 
Comment ça va ??? l'installation suit son petit bonhomme de chemin !
On est installé à Saint Henri. Joli quartier post industriel qui change pas mal.
Je ne connais pas encore Fred Herzog mais le peu que j'ai vu me fait penser à Hopper. Ca a l'air vraiment bien.
A quand une chasse d'image dans Montréal ensemble ?
Je recherche des magasins pour le développement des mes négatifs. Tu sais où je pourrais en trouver des bons et professionnels ?
Thanks a lot, great work !