Self-Portrait by Marti Friedlander

 

I didn't know that the fabulous photographer Marti Friedlander had written a book about herself until I fell over it by accident in the library catalogue.  And I'm so glad I did.  She writes very well indeed – the book is called Self-Portrait. 

The book is also chock full of great photos – for many of which Marti explains their context. 

 

So a little about her to whet your appetite to read the book….  Marti lived in an orphanage in London with her sister from the age of 3.  She was a sickly child – having major digestive problems that weren't solved until surgery many years later. 

 

Fatefully she met a New Zealander (a refugee from Germany) in London and ended up living over half her life in New Zealand.  It is her sense of being an outsider that allowed her to see what images to take.  Her images are, above all, truthful even if not always kind.  She never uses flash or reflectors/lights etc.  She believes that the best photography uses natural light. 

 

Marti strongly believes you should never form part of a crowd – because in her view the crowd is often wrong.  She also believes firmly in living in the moment and not in the past. 

 

Tragedy struck her when she had a still born little girl and could not have other children.  The book doesn't dwell on this or other difficult aspects of her life – such as what happened to her parents. Marti Friedlander is an intensely private person. 

Note the butterfly on the house!

 

I hope you have enjoyed the photos.