4 days ago
Michael Anderson, street photographer who captured soul of Birmingham, dies
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Michael Anderson, whose lifelong attention detail and aesthetic lent themselves well to careers as a florist, a decorator and, most notably, a photographer who became a common sight along the streets of Birmingham over the years, has died. He was 74.
Jean-Jacques Gaudel, an artist who had been friends with Anderson for over 40 years, confirmed that Anderson died on May 28, three weeks after being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.
'The doctors wanted to do surgery, but he didn't want to do that,' Gaudel said. 'He didn't want to go through that and go through chemo and chose to have no surgery and go straight to hospice.'
In the last few weeks of his life, Anderson lived with Gaudel and his wife at their home, where friends would come and go to visit until the very end.
'He was very much at peace with death,' Gaudel said. 'He amazed me in many ways. There was no going back, no regrets. He was happy. He was at peace with his life.'
Anderson grew up in East Lake and reportedly studied music at Birmingham-Southern College. After spending some time in San Francisco, Anderson came back home to the Magic City sometime in the 1970s, where he worked as a florist at Park Lane Flowers.
Even then, Anderson's ornate style was already widely known around town, with even The Birmingham News doing a profile of his old apartment on Highland Avenue, which he furnished with a grand piano, a French antique china cabinet, a Victorian fainting couch, paintings he had done himself, Oriental rugs and a Louis XVI-style desk.
'I just know how I like for things to look,' he told The News in 1984.
For a time, Anderson also worked as a decorator in town, but had caught the photography bug. By the time he retired over a decade ago, he took his new passion and dove into it full-time, constantly wandering across both Birmingham and the state capturing the people, places and things he saw.
One of his constant companions on these photo trips was Larry O. Gay, himself a renowned street photographer known in many Birmingham circles.
'Most all the time, we tried to capture the beauty and promote the arts in the city,' Gay said. 'We tried to show the people of Birmingham all we have here.'
A particular subject Anderson took joy in capturing was people, whether at concerts, festivals or just living their ordinary lives.
'He tried to get the gleam in the eyes, get to their souls through his photos,' he said.
Virginia Jones was another person who felt blessed to be part of Anderson's small circle of friends, often going out to lunch every Friday and spending the rest of the day taking photos and talking about Paris, a city they both loved.
'Sometimes, we would just drive around until something caught our eye,' Jones said. 'He saw the beauty in things.'
Over the years, Anderson shied from trying to support himself on his work, often sharing the countless photos he took on his Facebook page and with friends.
'It was never about the money,' Gay said. 'He just enjoyed life.'
Gaudel said Anderson was equally skilled as a pianist, playing piano and organ at different local churches and functions.
'I wish people would know about him as a musician because that was a real talent,' he said. 'He was just a star.'
However, more than art, Anderson's real love was just being around people, getting to know them and celebrating them.
'He was really just living life to the fullest and embracing the city,' Gay said.
For Gay, Anderson's legacy will continue to live on in the countless photos he took over the years.
'He tried to make everything look good in a photo, to capture the essence of it,' he said.
Gaudel said there are plans to have a celebration of Anderson's life sometime soon.
Many of Anderson's photos can be found on his Facebook page.
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