Book Review 002: Elliot Erwitt, Paris

What can I say about one of the most humorous photographers in the world? Elliott Erwitt lives in Paris born to American parents and a member of Magnum photos since 1953. He worked most of his life as photojournalist and is often called a visual humorist. Although humor has never been highly regarded in the visual arts, Erwitt’s photographic puns constantly find animal and man on a comic stage.

‘’The main thirst of Erwitt’s work lies in his comic profound awareness of the gap between nobility and reality or between subject and setting which blunder unpredictably into rhyme or battle with each other’’ – Vicki Goldberg, one of Photography’s more profound commentators. I read this while browsing through Raymond Meritt’s book ‘The Dog in Photography’ by Taschen Publishers (a wonderful book, one of my prized possessions). I guess each of those words resonate with what I feel about Erwitt’s work and simply couldn’t agree more.

‘The best things happen when you just happen to be somewhere with a camera’ – Elliot Erwitt. Erwitt has shot over 70 years and that includes John F Kennedy at the White House, Fidel Castro in Cuba and Richard Nixon in Moscow. He also has shot Marilyn Monroe and French Feminist and famous author Simone De Beauvoir. Another of his famous images is of Josef Koudelka, another fellow amazing Magnum photographer. He really embodies the quote ‘always wear a camera’ by Thorsten Overgaard (Danish Street photographer).

Being someone who love the people, city, food and everything in Paris – the first book I got of him is naturally titled “Paris’’. And the cover of the first photo is one taken in Place Du Trocedero where a man with Umbrella is hoping over overlooking the Eiffel Tower backdrop and a couple getting their umbrella rattled by wind while the man holding his arching partner. One of my favorite images by him – so poetic. The book all black and white, beautiful grained photos. He was out there capturing daily life and that’s why I resonate with his photos so well. He takes out the daily mundane things that often goes unnoticed and turn them into something extraordinary.

Another one of my favorite pages in the book is the set of 18 pictures taken consecutively at probably the Jardin Du Luxembourg (I have been here, such an amazing Jardin really!). The 18 pictures provide an entire story of how a lady is waiting for her partner to the partner interacting and taking photos and the lady dancing and hugging and eventually leaving. All the photos are taken from the same spot, I wonder how long it took to photograph the entire sequence. But that only goes to show the foresight that Erwitt had. As I’m writing this, I’m going over the book and once again its just so beautiful seeing his images. There is also a 2-page layout of all magnum photographers with their distinctive fishing jackets, Leicas and between them they hold some of the world’s most prized and famous and most storied and seen photographs.

I think what is distinct between his photographs and many other photojournalists is the ability to make one smile, evoke a pleasant sentiment towards life. Photojournalism is almost mostly synonymous with wars, events and many other stories that bring to light the sad and depressed, but his photographs are actually quite the opposite. They are endearing and very lovable. It would be hard for one not to break into a smile while viewing his photographs. His images of dogs are some of my favorites. Although I have never owned a dog before, it’s my favorite animal (besides Dolphins). The way he photographed dogs is almost as if the dogs understood him, he captured them in their rawest forms. Some images made the dogs appear as fashion models like the ones you would see on a Vogue Photoshoot.

The book is wonderfully sequenced, it’s the size of a typical diary. All the images are in black and white taken in and around Paris. Although this is the only Erwitt book I have, I’m in the midst of acquiring other books by him most notably ‘Personal best’. When I do that, would definitely be writing a review of that. Besides that, thank you for reading this far and I hope to bring to you more of my favorite photography books as well as my travel stories (whenever Covid permits).

Book Review 001: Vivian Maier, Street Photographer

Vivian Dorothy Maier was an American nanny who incidentally became a photographer. She was born to a French mother and Austrian father. She used to shuttle between the states and France and finally in 1951, she moved to New York. John Maloof (her curator and the person who owns about 90% of Maier’s works) describes her as:

‘She was a Socialist, a Feminist, a movie critic, and a tell-it-like-it-is type of person, she learned English by going to theaters, which she loved…..she was constantly taking pictures, which didn’t show anyone.’

I first came across her works in the documentary film ‘Finding Vivian Maier’ – I think you can watch it on Youtube. It was so interesting just reading about someone who was working as a as a nanny professionally and while tending to her daily tasks she photographed New York. What was more interesting was the fact that she was able to photographs tons and archive each and everything roll of film she shot. Which was one of the main reasons why I think Maloof found it so easy being able to put them up. Definitely credit goes to Maloof, who is a historian and believing in the value of Maier’s work. If not for him, I don’t think we would be able to witness her amazing work.

In terms of photography technicalities, she started using a modest Kodak Brownie box camera (with 1 shutter speed, no aperture and focus control) and then went on to use the Rolleiflex 3.5T, Rolleiflex 3.5F, Rolleiflex 2.8C, Rolleiflex Automat, Leica II1c, Zeiss Contarex, Ihagee Exakta and others. Mind you these are amazing cameras but there are still most definitely more difficult to use than the film and digital cameras we have today. However, I don’t thing being an expert in using them were her goals but instead it was more of capturing daily life. Most of these cameras are designed in a way to be used at waist-height which is evident from most of her pictures. I have tried using similar approach in my own works and its very instinctual approach which yields really amazing results if the focus is right. For Maier to get the focus right, catching the most intimate moments crisp as one can get only goes to laud her skills in the medium as well as her ability to captures ‘decisive moments’.

Now about the book – Vivian Maier, Street Photographer – one of my first few purchases when I received my first paycheck as an employed person straight out of University. The book is clothbound and contains 136 pages and first published in 2011 by powerhouse Books. This is one of the 2 books based out of her discovery. The other titled ‘Self-portraits’ which I’m obviously trying to get my hand on as well. Back to the book – it’s a very humane book that contains pictures that are distilled from 150,000 or so negatives. I believe the pictures are mainly from France and the United States but I think there might be more from her other travels as well. The pictures are very raw and moving and the stories that could be derived from her pictures is only possible after continuous hours, rolls of just taking photographs. It’s a habit I really had inculcated in myself when I was in Paris where I always wore a camera and shot anything and everything but here in Singapore, not so much – but I will really try my best into getting back that habit.

Maier’s eye for details and I think her images made the medium of photography very accessible.

I think about Maier’s work from time to time and the impact that she had on me and many other street photographers. Usually she embodies what the essence of photography is – which is to continuously shoot, document everything and anything and archive it and expect nothing in return other than the thrill of getting all the aforementioned activities done. Many a times, we tend to forget that – the current generation of photographers or shall I say Instagram-driven photographers (even me when I was starting out was to get more followers and likes) and not enjoy the entire photographic process. However, I can finally say that, those things don’t really matter to me anymore, I post a photo because I want others to see it and that’s about it. I maintain a website so It can be my physical portfolio when I eventually apply for photojournalistic jobs. I have a scrapbook of all my travels to archive memories and pieces of items and memories that will hold it’s value down the years when I’m old and weary. I do photograph because I enjoy it and I think it will help me note down life. Even in the documentary, it was hotly debated whether or not Maier wanted her work to be published or not. Part of me thinks it shouldn’t be published but the other part of me strongly thinks that her work even if its posthumously shown around the world – it should still be exhibited. Simple reason for that – her work is set in a time which is constantly being erased in the hypergrowth, capitalistic driven and also a society which has slowly become desensitized to what happened in the previous decades. So yes, her work actually helps pause time and helps us reflect a time which is slowly becoming distant.


If you have come thus far, I’m really happy and thankful. This is the start of my weekly series where I reflect upon a photobook of my favorite photographers and just pen down my thoughts – more than anything, I think it’s good writing practice. If you are reading this, you are probably my friend or relative as I doubt a stranger reading this – let me know either ways what you think and on what I can improve on. If you haven’t already, should get a hold of Maier’s book on Amazon or other bookstores and publishers.

My Thought Process

Although I sincerely believe that photography has no rules, I follow a simple rule ‘If there is a photograph to be made, I would take it’. I do get in people’s face, I’m ready to be punched or hurt in the process. Yes its very Gliden-esque style of photographing. But also at times, I take the backseat, seating in a cafe for hours, sipping cafe Americain and photographing passerby doing the most ordinary things and trying to make sense of it. I try not to be rigid in what I shoot, I feel our lives are already so fixed on societal norms that if there was one thing I would like to be more say more ‘fluid’ it would be photography. At the same time, I’m very aware of the context and ensure that I’m protecting their basic human rights.

As I photograph almost anything, I compile each scene, each person to be part of my own documentary. At my old age, I want to be able to pull out a frame and reflect back on the memories tied to it - hence calling it ‘documentary’ is apt. I want it to give insights to my sights, my thought process.

About Me

So after much hesitation, I have decided to create a website. I do sincerely hope that I would religiously maintain this site. It would be my official site for all things formal and informal. I’d imagine myself to be a private person who likes his own space but am full of life around the people I love and close with. I get overly attached to people and am not afraid to show my feelings (at times however I do). Despite my own flaws and insecurities, photography and traveling are two things which makes me enjoy life slightly more and document everything around me. If I am travelling, you would find a camera around my neck at all times. I enjoy all aspects of the medium - photography. I shoot almost anything - from architecture to weddings to random everyday scenes but mostly street photography.

When I first picked up a camera, I didn’t know where to find inspiration from. It was at an age where Instagram was brewing fast. And since everyone was following suit there, I wanted to be different. So I scoured the internet and came across this website called ‘Magnum Photo Agency’. I can honestly tell you ever since I discovered the photographs of Magnum photographers, I just knew what I wanted to do in my life (so cliche, but it’s true). There, I discovered one particular photographer - Christopher Anderson and his photo essay on Haitian refugees sailing to America blew me away. I was lucky to have met him in person as well as his book ‘Cop’ signed by him in Paris in 2019. Slowly I discovered more photographers in Magnum - Henri Cartier-Bresson, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas, Raghu Rai, Alex Webb, Jim Goldberg and more. Reading the vast plethora of global issues that these photographers covered made light of the importance of such a medium. I then knew I want to document the world around me and bring into prominence any issue I find relevant. Thus far, I have photographed the protest against Gender violence (Paris), Iraqi protest (in support of the Bhagdad protests against the regime), Catalan protests, Algerian and Lebanese protests (due to the civil problems in the respective countries) and ‘Greve Generale’ in Paris against the the pension reforms in France. I feel very passionate when I’m able to cover such stories.

I love the city of Paris where I was privileged enough to study in Dauphine University for 4 months. Those 4 months were the best (yes ‘THE BEST’) times of my life thus far. I am also a recent graduate of Psychology and Marketing from Singapore Management University (SMU) and I have a full-time day job. Would not like to give everything away but in essence l do hope to turn this passion into a career some day. Let’s keep the conversation going, be it in person or through photographs.

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