Homage to Vivian Maier

I want to honor Vivian Mair (1926-2009) for Women's History Month. Maier was an unknown street photographer who took over 150,000 photographs of architecture and people in Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. She never published any of her photos during her lifetime. After she died in 2009, collectors discovered thousands of her prints, negatives, and unprocessed film of her work stored in boxes and suitcases.

Maier was born in New York City in 1926 but spent her childhood between New York City and the French alpine village of Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur. In 1951, Vivian left France to go to New York City, where she became a nanny in New York City and Chicago. She was considered a real-life Mary Poppins by the children she cared for—Vivian, often with her charges in tow, photographed street scenes with her Rolleiflex camera. Vivian traveled worldwide, photographing Los Angeles, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Yemen, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Italy, France, and Switzerland.

Vivian's signature photos were self-portraits of reflections in mirrors and windows of buildings, which could be considered the first “selfies” seen in black-and-white and color. In honor of Vivian Maier, I am including photos of my reflections in the windows of Denver buildings. You may see more of Vivian’s photos at Vivian Maier Photography.

To honor Vivian Maier, I have posted some reflection selfies I took during my street photo walks in Denver, Colorado. Please note: I did not use my normal focal length of 40mm or 42mm because I wanted to photograph myself in a reflection, as Vivian did during her photo walks. Try taking some reflection selfies for yourself and post them if you can or links to your photos in the comments below.

Reflection Selfie

Canon R6 Mark II; Canon RF 24-105 f/4 L; 65mm, f/8; 1/200 sec.; ISO 125

Reflection Selfie

Canon R6 Mark II; Canon RF 24-105 f/4 L; 24mm; f/8; 1/200 sec.; ISO 100

Reflection Selfie

Canon R6 Mark II; Canon RF 24-105 f/4 L; 76mm; f/8; 1/80 sec.; ISO 1250

Reflection Selfie

Canon R6 Mark II; Canon RF 24-105 f/4 L; 24mm; f/8; 1/60 sec.; ISO 6400

Reflection Selfie

Canon R6 Mark II; EF 40mm f/2.8; 0.3 sec.

Sources

Vivian Maier Wikipedia

Official Website of Vivian Maier

JFK Assassination

On November 22, 1963, the President was aboard Air Force One for a brief flight from Fort Worth to Dallas, Texas. Dallas was the third stop of a two-day, five-city tour of Texas. While Kennedy had not yet announced his candidacy for reelection in the 1964 Presidential election, an announcement was expected.

Approaching Dallas’s Love Field

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/200th of a second

Approaching Love Field

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/200th of a second

Despite capturing the American public’s imagination with comparisons to King Arthur’s Camelot, Kennedy’s reelection was not assured. Conservative Southern Democrats were upset by Kennedy’s brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy's, moves toward pushing civil rights for Black Americans still living under the rule of Jim Crow racism. Kennedy and his political advisors knew Florida and Texas, with their electoral votes, would be critical for a successful reelection campaign in 1964.

After speeches to crowds at the Fort Worth Texas Hotel and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Kennedy landed at Love Field for a speech at Dallas’s Trade Mart. The presidential motorcade left with First Lady Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife accompanying the President. Crowds of onlookers lined the presidential motorcade route, hoping to catch a glimpse of the President and First Lady riding in an open convertible.

Love Field’s terminal viewed from a taxing aircraft. Air Force One may have had a similar view after landing.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/250th of a second

Approximately how Air Force One may have viewed Love Field’s terminal.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/320th of a second

At 12:30 PM, the motorcade turned off Houston Street and moved to Elm Street at Dealey Plaza. As the motorcade passed the Texas School Book Depository, shots rang out. The first shot hit an oak tree. A second shot hit the President in the neck, and a bullet struck Governor Connally in the back. The third shot struck President Kennedy in the head, mortally wounding him. The motorcade sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where the President was declared dead at 1:00 PM.

Lee Harvey Oswald’s view of Houston Street as the Presidential Motorcade approached the. Texas School Book Depository.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/2.8, 1/800th of a second

Lee Harvey Oswald's view of Elm Street as the Presidential Motorcade moved past the Texas School Book Depository.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/2.8, 1/320th of a second

Onlookers’ vantage point of where President Kennedy’s limousine was when the first bullet struck him and Governor Connally. The X marks the sport of the first shot to strike the president.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/320th of a second

The spot were the first bullet struck President Kennedy and Governor Connally. The Texas School Book Depository is in the background.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/9, 1/160th of a second

Onlooker’s view of the spot where the President’s limosuine was when the second bullet struck President Kennedy. The grassy knoll is in the background.

Canon R6 Mark II, EF 40mm, f/2.8, 1/4000th of a second

The spot where the second bullet struck President Kennedy. The Texas School Book Depository is in the background.

Canon R6 Mark II EF 40mm, f/9, 1/250th of a second

Witnesses claimed to have seen a rifle pointing out of a corner window on the 6th floor of the School Book Depository. Abraham Zapruder captured the assassination with his home movie camera. Zapruder’s film is probably the most dissected and studied film in history. Other witnesses claimed to have seen smoke and a man running from the grassy knoll at Dealey Plaza, starting many conspiracy theories that arose in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination.

A view of the old Texas School Book Depository from Elm Street. Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper hide is the window on the building’s far right side just above the tree. A box can be seen where Oswald propped the rifle he used for the assassination.

Canon R6 Mark II EF 40mm, f/9, 1/250th of a second

Another view of the former Texas School Book Depository from Dealey Plaza . Oswald’s sniper position is the window on the far right, second from top.

Canon R6 Mark II EF 40mm, f/9, 1/320th of a second

Abraham Zapruder’s vantage point where he filmed President Kennedy’s assassination.

Canon R6 Mark II EF 40mm, f/9, 1/250th of a second

An initial search of the Texas School Book Depository yielded an Italian-made Mannlicher-Carcano rifle with a telescopic sight. The investigation led to a recent hire at the School Book Depository, Lee Harvey Oswald, as the prime suspect of the shooting. Oswald claimed he was innocent and was set up as a “patsy.” Oswald never stood trial because Dallas Night Club owner Jack Ruby assassinated him on November 24, 1963. The Warren Commission, created by newly inaugurated President Lyndon Johnson, determined Oswald was the lone shooter of President Kennedy.

Lee Harvey Oswald's snisper position on the 6th floor of the ole Texas School Book Depository. This location is now a museum dedicated to President Kennedy’s assassination.

Canon R6 Mark II EF 40mm, f/2.8, 1/250th of a second

Sources

JFK Library

Map of the Assassination

UVA Miller Center

Michael E. Miller (October 27, 2017). JFK assassination conspiracy theories: The grassy knoll, Umbrella Man, LBJ, and Ted Cruz’s dad. The Washington Post.

Sixth Floor Muesum

BBC History Magazine article about the JFK assassination

Taking it Point-and-Shoot Old School

Recently, there have been articles about the resurgence of point-and-shoot cameras that were popular in the early 2000s before smartphone cameras displaced them. Reasons for this renewed popularity include producing photos smartphones cannot replicate, younger people turning away from overprocessed photos today’s smartphones produce, and a backlash against the impact Artificial Intelligence is having in photography.

Nikon Coolpix S9900 36mm, f/8, 1/200 sec, ISO 125

New fans of point-and-shoot cameras have found they are great for walking around, shooting street photography, or traveling. Many point-and-shoot cameras can only take JPEG images, but a few higher-end ones can shoot RAW. The lower-megapixel images produced cannot match photos shot with phone cameras, which is the appeal of point-and-shoot cameras. Today’s point-and-shoot photographers value the experience over the phone’s photo quality. Photos from older point-and-shoot cameras are not overprocessed like photos from phones. Also, using point-and-shoot cameras makes their users think about their compositions because these cameras don’t have the storage capacity of today’s phones. My current iPhone 16 Pro has one terabyte of storage, while the SD card in my point-and-shoot camera has only eight.

Nikon Coolpix S9900 164mm, f/7.6, 1/40 sec, ISO 125

Nikon Coolpix S9900 193mm, f/8, 1/80 sec, ISO 125

Very few point-and-shoot cameras are manufactured today, so the best places to purchase one are secondhand photography sites, such as KEH or MPB, or some local camera stores that may have used cameras. Due to the low supply and increased demand for point-and-shoot cameras, prices are rising. Fortunately, I didn’t have that problem.

Nikon Coolpix S9900 43mm, f/5.3, 1/125 sec, ISO 125

The point-and-shoot camera that occupied a space in my closet was a Nikon Coolpix S9900. Introduced in February 2015, this point-and-shoot camera proudly claimed a Nikkor 30x wide optical zoom full high definition with vibration reduction capabilities printed on the camera for customers eyeing it at the store. The official stats state the Nikon Coolpix S9900 is a 16-megapixel camera with a 1/2.3 inch CMOS sensor that produces JPEG images at an ISO range from 100-6400 and shutter speeds ranging from eight seconds to 1/4000 sec. The focal length of the Nikkor lens ranged from 25mm to 750mm with a maximum aperture range from f/3.7-6.4. The autofocus capabilities include contrast detect, multi-area, center, selective single-point, tracking, single, continuous, face detection, and live view. The image stabilization is optical. Subjects are sighted through a three-inch fully articulated screen. The Nikon Coolpix S9900 has video capabilities with 1080p resolution, not that I would use it anymore since I currently have video cameras that can shoot up to 8K.

Nikon Coolpix S9900 84mm, f/5, 1/15 sec, ISO 400

When it came out, the Nikon Coolpix S9900 had impressive photo and video capabilities for a point-and-shoot camera, and it still produces excellent images today. All I had to do was order a replacement for the lost battery charger for $16.13 on Amazon. The original EN-EL 19 lithium-ion battery was charged with no problem and worked as if it were still new. I now carry the point-and-shoot camera on daytime walks around the neighborhood and other places I don’t want to bring my Canon R6 Mark II camera and heavy RF-L lenses. The Nikon Coolpix S9900 has made me a better photographer because it trains me to look for photo compositions when I thought there would be none. The camera’s small size allows me to shoot street photography, whereas my mirrorless camera can intimidate many potential subjects. Resurrecting my Nikon Coolpix S9900 has reintroduced me to a whole new world of photography and is making me a better photographer.

Nikon Coolpix S9900 84mm, f/5, 1/13 sec, ISO 400

All photos were shot using a Nikon Coolpix S9900 and edited using Lightroom. Artificial intelligence was used in editing the text for clarity of this blog post but the content was written by me.

Sources

Coleman, T. (2024). I used my vintage point-and-shoot for the first time in years - here’s how it compares to my Pixel phone. TechRadar

DP Review (2015). Nikon Coolpix S9900 overview. DP Review.

Murashima, C. (2024). Why Gen Z loves the digital compact cameras that millennials used to covet. NPR

Richards, S. (2024). Got an old digital compact camera in the attic? It might be better than you think. Digital Camera World