Figure 1 – A tribute to Vivian Maier, self portrait in a convex mirror, Cambridge, MA. (c) DE Wolf 2014.

I’ve had my eye on this photographic possibilities of this convex parking lot mirror for some time, and maybe haven’t really got it yet.  But the “self portrait” aspect was fun and the curved lines remind me of an old fun-house mirror, distorting and twisting reality.  Most of all this photograph reminds me of  the silent street photographer Vivian Maier, whom we have spoken about before.  I even tried to trim it down to her 2 1/4″ x 2 1/4″ format, but it didn’t work compositionally.

Ms. Maier loved taking selfies in mirror.  There is a certain magic to it. And I think that Vivian Maier reminds all of us amateur photographers of the essential raison d’être for taking photographs that is for the love it. It is not just for the love of the act of photographing or of the final product.  It is for the love of light and the tricks it plays for the visually perceptive, and it is for the shared camaraderie of all who love it with us.

Canon T2i with EF70-200mm f/4L USM at 75 mm, ISO 1600, AE-Priority  Mode 1/3200th sec at f/5.6 no exposure compensation.