The story behind "American Girl in Italy"

...it was in Florence that she met Jinx Allen (now known as Ninalee Craig), a painter and fellow American. The two were talking about their shared experiences traveling alone as young single women, when my mother had an idea. "Come on," she said, "lets go out and shoot pictures of what it's really like." In the morning, while the Italian women were inside preparing lunch, Jinx gawked at statues, asked Military officials for directions, fumbled with lire and flirted in cafes while my mother photographed her. They had a lot of fun, as the photograph, "Staring at the Statue", demonstrates. My mother's best known image, "American Girl in Italy" was also created as part of this series.

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Vivian Maier, Street Photographer

Wow, I haven't been this excited about a new book in a very long time. From the very first photograph I saw by Vivian Maier I knew she was going to become one of my favorites. Most photographers hope to get a 5 star image with every 25th frame click or so. It seems like Ms. Maier spent almost every waking minute photographing (from the stories of how many undeveloped negatives that have been discovered), but I feel like she had a much better average.

She was a natural born photographer.

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New York, 1963 - Lee Friedlander

• Perfect timing
• It captures the diversity of culture in a city
• Feels anonymous and it makes me feel like a voyeur

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Hotel des Archeveques de Lyon, Eugene Atget

Don't you just want to be inside this photograph? Where do those open doors lead? It makes me feel like the possibilities are endless, but that curiosity is just a little bit terrifying. One of my favorite photographs from one of my favorite photographers.

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"Non-conformist" Photographer, Danny Lyons

Check out The Light Factory's current exhibition.

Ten of Lyon's black-and-white photographs from the '60s are on display as part of The Light Factory's exhibit, "Streetwise: Masters of '60s Photography." The exhibit, organized by The Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, features the work of eight other photographers, including Diane Arbus, Lee Friedlander and one of the most influential figures in photography, Robert Frank.

Exhibition closes January 22, 2012

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