Self-Portrait

From a childhood spent in London's rough East End to a half-century in New Zealand photographing winemakers and artists, children and kuia, Marti Friedlander has lived a life marked by adventure, travel, and its fair share of challenges. It is also a life that has been defined by the art of observation and capturing on film. In __Self Portrait__, the renowned photographer tells her story for the first time. As clear and unflinching in her prose as she is in her photography, Friedlander describes growing up in a London orphanage, being Jewish, working in a Kensington photography studio, marrying a New Zealander, the challenges of moving to a new country, and a life spent photographing the ordinary and the extraordinary, from balloons and beaches to politicians and protests. She also explains how, with a stranger's eye, she captured the transformation of New Zealand life over the last half century. This is a rich meditation on one woman's photographic journey through the 20th century. From a childhood in London's East End to half a century in New Zealand photographing wine-makers and artists, children and kuia, Marti Friedlander has lived a rich life – one defined by the art of looking, seeing, capturing on film. In Self-Portrait, Marti tells her story for the first time. As unflinching and clear in prose as in her photographs, she describes growing up in a London orphanage, being Jewish, working in a Kensington photography studio, marrying a New Zealander and moving to a challenging new country. Here she spent her life photographing the ordinary and the extraordinary, protests and politicians, balloons and beaches. Seeing with a stranger's eye, Marti Friedlander describes how she captured the transformation of New Zealand life over more than fifty years. This book is a rich meditation on one women's photographic journey through the twentieth century. "From a childhood in London's East End to half a century in New Zealand photographing wine-makers, artists, children and kuia, Marti Friedlander has lived a rich life, one defined by the art of looking. In Self-portrait, Marti tells her story for the first time. As forthright and revealing in words as in her photographs, she tells of growing up in London orphanages, being Jewish, working in a Kensington photography studio, marrying a New Zealander and moving across the world to a challenging new country. Here she began to photograph the ordinary and the extraordinary, protests and politicians, balloons and beaches, capturing on film the transformation of New Zealand life over more than fifty years. This book is a rich meditation on one women's photographic journey through the twentieth century."--Publisher's information