What I've Learned from Annie

Last weekend, I read Annie Leibovitz's latest book, At Work. It is an auto-biography of sorts, concisely sharing behind the scenes views of her more famous works and assignments. It was somewhat of an odd book for Annie - far more text with her images taking a much smaller role. Even the writing style is different. More choppy and random in nature. Still, this isn't why one studies Annie - you study her solely for the inspiration afforded by exposure to her work. And even if the vehicle of her writing isn't the best out there, it's important to remember that the destination is what matters.

Annie opens the book talking about her first forays into photography, and the respect a photographer must have for the camera. "If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant." She also compared photography to painting (her original field of study). She recalls being drawn to the immediacy of the print over a painting, and how that suited her impatience (something I can relate to).

She stresses honesty in pictures, preferring candid shots to the posed. But when posing is required, it should maintain that sense of honesty. She talks about her favorite pic, which happens to be of her mother... "[she] is looking at me as if the camera were not there." I think Mr. Cartier-Bresson would second this.

But, what struck me the most was how the camera became her social vehicle. Painting can be isolating, but photographing people forces one to be social - there's no way around it. This strikes a huge cord with me - as someone who was shy in his youth, getting behind a camera gave me a way to interact with others without the anxiousness my shy side would often produce.

All in all a good read for the Annie fans out there.

D