I was very happy to attend the late American photographer Saul Leiter‘s retrospective exhibition at the Bunkamura Museum in Tokyo earlier this year. Prior to this I had very limited knowledge of his work but as I made my way through the exhibition halls it soon become apparent to me that I have been missing out on the work of a photography giant.

Saul Leiter got his first camera when he was 12, and during the 1950-70s he worked as a fashion photographer, contributing images to magazines like Elle, Vogue, Queen and Harpers Bazaar.

His fashion pieces are classy, elegant and beautiful, but what really captured my attention were the mundane street photographs of New York he shot in his own leisurely time.

A recurring visual technique he likes to employ both in his fashion pictures and personal works alike is the use of reflected imagery by way of mirrors and reflective surfaces. His expert and creative use of depth of field and negative spaces result in exceptionally interesting compositions and intriguing aesthetics.

(above) “All Above Saul Leiter”, the catalogue for the exhibition that is also on sale on Amazon Japan. It collects all the pieces that were on display and is a great book to get a comprehensive overview of his work. Below are previews from the book.

This catalogue for Saul Leiter’s retrospective exhibition held at the Bunkamura Museum in the summer of 2017 is a nice, compact volume to get acquainted with the photographer’s huge body of work. Highly recommended.

There are also a number of publications covering his work, the most popular one likely Early Color.

All About Saul Leiter ソール・ライターのすべて Photography book Details :

– Dimensions – 8.4 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
– Soft cover, 256 pages
– Full color, in Japanese & English

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