Birthday Post

I’ve been meaning to write something about Saul Leiter since I discovered him during my last visit in London but somehow I never did.
It’s my birthday today and I opened a present I got from Catherine on Friday. It was a lovely, little book with Leither’s photographs so I thought, right, this time I need to put some of his amazing photographs on my blog!
I must say, it’s been a while since I was moved so much with distinctness of photographer’s view.
It was a discovery to see his unusual and abstracted compositions, all with painterly quality that came from his background, as Leither started as painter. Apparently the artist combined those two techniques in the most literal way in his painted photographs of nudes on which he has actually applied layers of gouache and watercolor.
Martin Harrison, editor and author of "Saul Leiter Early Color”, (which I highly recommend) writes, “Leiter’s sensibility…placed him outside the visceral confrontations with urban anxiety associated with photographers such as Robert Frank or William Klein. Instead, for him the camera provided an alternate way of seeing, of framing events and interpreting reality. He sought out moments of quiet humanity in the Manhattan maelstrom, forging a unique urban pastoral from the most unlikely of circumstances.”
It’s that sensitivity and ability to find that melancholic beauty of human’s presence in the most unpleasant even environments that always amazes me and sharpens my senses.
I hope you’ll enjoy his photographs and find them inspiring as I did.
I decided to take only colour films to NY as we’re going there for two weeks soon.
I hope I will be able to post some interesting photographs, this time showing more mature and perceptive view on the City.






As for my birthday, thank you to all my friends and family for beautiful and some unexpected wishes coming from all around the world :)
If I could wish something for myself... it would be most of all more moments like the one on this picture below. This time in more sunny and exotic place :)