Meet "street photographer" Vivian Maier.
You really should read her story.
These particular photos are from early 1950's, New York City.
I love these for the same reason I hate looking through boxes of old postcards at antique stores (if you've never done that, you should). It reminds me of how elusive time really is, and how little we have of it. To put it bluntly, it freaks me right out.
Every old photo of young people who never really believed they'd get old, but they still did. And those trivial things they thought mattered so much - it turns out they never mattered at all. (Let's all take a moment to think of what a phonetically weird world mattered is. I mean, really.)
Fifty years sounds like a long time. It's not. Think of how fast this past year went by, times that by 50, and before you know it you're in 1961. We're not different or more special than these people, even if sometimes we like to think we are.
Lucky for us we have iPhones, which make it a heck of a lot easier to find the best pizza in a 5-mile radius without having to talk to a stranger when you're in a hurry. But we also have to put up with Lady Gaga, so... I think they've got us beat.
You know what else? I need to buy a nice camera while I'm here in The Big Apple. I want to capture some 2011 street people.
