Jay Maisel

Jay Maisel, born on January 18, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, is famous worldwide for using natural light to take photographs. He has been taking pictures since the 1950s and uses his knowledge to make ordinary pictures spectacular. Before, he developed his film with the dye transfer process, which started in the 1940s and was used through the 1970s. It took time and know-how to do it right. Now, he uses a Nikon D1 digital and prints them out on an Epson 1270. He has influenced many contemporary photographers.

He attended a high school for art, then worked with realist artist Joseph Hirsh, who always asked him where the light was in a certain picture. After that, he attended Cooper Union and Yale. He studied art at both. After graduating from Yale, he knew he was going to be a photographer because ?in a cowardly or lazy man's way,? he wasn't sure he could paint. This is an artist who always has his camera with him, taking pictures of whatever catches his eye.

One special thing to him was the World Trade Center. To him, it was New York. He remembers being in his dark bedroom and staring at their gleaming lights. He loved to see and photograph them. He watched them go up, and along with the nation, shook as they tumbled down. After that, he would find himself crying occasionally and was concerned someone would ask what's wrong, but he always had an answer ready, ?Nobody I knew, but I lost everybody. We all lost everybody.?

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