I just finished reading Annie Leibovitz’s self titled book, Annie Leibovitz At work. The thing I find interesting is how she writes about her first hand accounts, the good and the bad, from her first days starting out as a young and fresh photographer leading to the present day, and seeing how she evolved throughout her life as a photographer.
Annie Leibovitz At Work - Random House New York
This book really paints a human face to the person behind the camera, that even someone who has to be in control for most of the time also has those very human moments, of doubt, self discovery, triumphs and failures. The bottom line is you truly feel that she has a strong passion for photography, and this passion carried her throughout her entire carrier, and still does to this day. Pushing and adapting throughout all the technical advancements, ranging from, black and white photography, to colour slide, colour film, to digital, 35mm SLR’s to medium format and so on, exploring many genres in photography such as, journalism, band photography, portraiture, all the way to the theatrical celebrity photography that we all have seen from one time or another. This book helps to put her extensive career as a photographer in to context.
Many photographers don’t like talking about their carriers, at least on a publication level, and that is what I find refreshing and appealing about this book. If you’re an aspiring photographer, photographer, or are simply someone who enjoyes photography, I definitely recommend this book.
There are two photos of Painter and Spoken word performer, William S. Burroughs by Annie that stands out and resonates, and which strikes a deep cord in me.
William S. Burroughs - Photo By Annie Leibovitz
William S. Burroughs - Photo by Annie Leibovitz
I love these photos for their sheer simplicity, in terms of technical approach, the use of natural light that makes W.S. Burroughs glow, and everything else, the unimportant, fades to absolute darkness. There is allot of honesty and respect shared in both the photographer and subject, this is something that can never be acted out, which enforces my belief, that good portraiture doesn’t have to be complex, nor should it, portraiture is simply a conversation, an exchange, between photographer and subject, and if either of the two are not comfortable with another, it will be recorded by the camera.
