Saul Leiter: The Painter Who Carried A Camera

In the rain-slicked streets of 1940s New York, while his contemporaries were pursuing stark black-and-white imagery, Saul Leiter was quietly revolutionizing street photography with splashes of color that would remain largely unknown for decades. His story is not just about photography – it's about the power of seeing the world differently, even when no one else notices.

A Painter's Eye in a Photographer's World

What separated Leiter from his contemporaries was his painter's approach to photography. While others sought to document the drama of street life, Leiter composed abstract paintings with his camera. 

The Color Pioneer

In an era when serious photographers worked exclusively in black and white, Leiter embraced color as early as 1948. He was among the first to recognize that color wasn't just for commercial work but could be a powerful artistic tool. His use of Kodachrome film captured the subtle hues of New York City:

"I never felt the need to do what everyone else did. If I was a baseball player, I would have been very happy to bat .280 and stay in the major leagues rather than bat .375 and be everywhere."

Hidden in Plain Sight

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Leiter's story is how long his work remained relatively unknown. While contemporaries like Robert Frank and William Klein achieved fame, Leiter quietly continued his work, amassing a collection of over 40,000 color slides. It wasn't until the late 1990s that his color photography began to receive widespread recognition.

"I very much like to work on long series. There's something about taking masses of pictures. You go through and edit them down, but sometimes there are ones that haven't got 'it', and I like those because they create a kind of tension."

Essential Images

The Quiet Revolutionary

Saul Leiter's legacy teaches us that revolution doesn't always announce itself with fanfare. Sometimes it comes quietly, in subtle colors and shapes, in reflections and fragments, in the patient observation of beauty in everyday life. His work reminds us that there's no single "correct" way to practice street photography – the most important thing is to remain true to your vision.

As he famously said:

"I believe there is such a thing as a search for beauty – a delight in the nice things in the world. And I don't think one should have to apologize for it."

Thoughts

Leiter is a true pioneer of color in street photography but I think more important than that, he is the archetype of today’s photography which is judged by the number of likes, comments and engagement an image gets. Leiter celebrated and valued his relative anonymity during the period he was shooting. Sure, now he is one of the most well known and respected street photographers, but this was not always the case. I think we can all learn something from this - we can all focus on making the work that we enjoy, the work that we like and the work that brought us to this world in the first place. Rather than worry about how others will perceive or pass judgement on our work, let’s focus on producing what we are passionate about. There’s a lesson to learn from Leiter - whether you agree with my interpretation or have another of your own - I think from studying him and the photographer he was, we can learn so much.