As a female photographer myself, I also find inspiration in other women street photographers. I can connect somewhat emotionally and relate as a woman, not just as a photographer. I would like to share my ideas in this new series called PhotograpHER. I will be discussing women photographers that inspire me and share with you how I connect with them. In this installment, I will be discussing Helen Levitt. In the following weeks, I will be looking at photographers such as Vivian Maier, Susan Meiselas, Diana Markosian, Carolyn Drake, and Bieke Depoorter. So stay tuned!
Introduction
Helen Levitt was a USA based photographer, well known, especially for her New York street photography. Levitt was born in Brooklyn’s Bensonhurst neighborhood to a Russian-Jewish immigrant family on 31 August 1913. As a teenager, Levitt wanted to be an artist but felt she “could not draw well.” When she came across an exhibition of the Pictorial Photographers of America, an association founded in 1916 which presented photographers as artists who created soulful works of art comparable to paintings, she decided that she wanted to start taking photos.