Annie Leibovitz at Work
by Annie Leibovitz
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List Price: $40.00
Our Price: $23.24
Your Save: $ 16.76 ( 42% )
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Manufacturer: Random House
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 770.92
EAN: 9780375505102
ISBN: 0375505105
Label: Random House
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2008-11-18
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: 2008-11-18
Studio: Random House
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: When Night Is Falling
Comment: I find it nice and pleasant to see, but a little disappointing because I expected it to be better. The story is romantic and the acting of the two actresses is very good but not enough to develop and to go into the depth of the metaphor of circus&life.To me it's sounds as if something is missing....
Customer Rating:
Summary: Annie Leibovitz at Work
Comment: amazing insight and pictures.
the physical quality of the book is the best i have ever seen.
the paper is so durable it is obviously made to be looked at over and over for a lifetime or two or three.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Xmas gift
Comment: Xms gift for my son, 24, very interested in photography. I think he appreciated the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ANNIE LEIVOVITZ AT WORK
Comment: It's a wonderful book. I recomend it for everyone who enjoy not only photograph but art in general.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Photographer Talks
Comment: Tina Brown, formerly of "Vanity Fair" supposedly once said that Annie Leibovitz was the Barbara Striesand of photography, inferring that the photographer was difficult to work with. I would sooner say that she is another Barbara, Barbara Walters of photography since after forty years in the business, she is now more famous than many of her subjects.
In her latest book Leibovitz writes extremely well about her life as a photographer from her first job with the magazine "Rolling Stone" as well as her work at "Vanity Fair" and other magazines. She takes a photograph or photographs for each chapter and then writes about that picture, how it came about, what difficulties were involved, anecdotal information, etc. For example, we learn that after she photographed the naked Keith Haring painted like one of his works (from the chapter entitled "Conceptual Pictures") that they actually went outside where she photographed Keith again on the streets of New York. Ms. Leibovitz covers Nixon's resignation, the O. J. Simpson trial, her time as a photographer for the Rolling Stones, Mikhail Baryshnikov's dance company and of course includes chapters on her two most famous images, the naked John Lennon embracing the clothed Yoko Ono and the very pregnant Demi Moore. My favorite chapter is about Leibovitz's photo session with the Queen of England where she puts to rest the rumor that the Queen stormed out of the shoot. Apparently the photographer found the Queen politely grumpy-- well, she is 80 and was wearing clothing that weighed 75 pounds-- but in the end quite delightful. What I found most disconcerting is that Leibovitz-- like practically everyone else-- has finally given in to digital photography. For example in three out of the four photographs of the Queen included here the photographer through the wonders of computers has superimposed Elizabeth on a different background. It is obviously a brave new world where even the professionals alter an image to meet their fancy.
Ms. Leibovitz's conclusions are shared by most photographers: that there is no such thing usually of a photographer's getting into the soul of a model, that she only has a brief slice of that person's life to work with; therefore, one would get the best, most revealing portrait of someone she knows very well. It is no coincidence that one of Leibovitz's favorite photographs is one of her mother. And smiles are almost always phony. The photographer says she has reluctantly come to the conclusion that the cliche that the camera loves certain people is true. "I realized when I studied pictures of Marilyn Monroe that it almost didn't matter who the photographer was. She took charge. It seemed like she was taking the picture." Leibovitz names Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve and Johnny Depp as other examples of people the camera loves in the chapter entitled "Presence and Charisma."
The funniest photograph in this book has to be Al Sharpton sitting under a hairdryer with his hair in curlers at the PrimaDonna Beauty Care Center. One of the cleverest is that of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon photographed in drag in 1995 for "Vanity Fair's first hollywood issue as a tribute to their roles in "Some Like It Hot." My least favorite photograph-- from Leibovitz's first book I believe-- is that of the seventy-five-year-old writer Robert Penn Warren, whom she convinced to take his shirt off. "I wanted to see under his skin, to see his heart beating, his lungs pumping." Apparently, with the exception of Queen Elizabeth who would not venture outside for a portrait, Ms. Leibovitz is good at getting subjects to do whatever she asks. I do not believe, however, that disrobing an old man lets you see inside him.
I own several of Leibovitz's books of photography; this one certainly is one of my favorites. The photographer will almost convince you that a picture is not worth a thousand words. She writes in a free, conversational style that is most seductive and comes across as pretty much ego-free for one whose name and photographs are pretty much household words. She is also free with advice and information-- unlike some famous photographers- for young photographers as she discusses equipment and answers the ten most-asked questions.
I cannot imagine anyone who would not be fascinated by Leibovitz's latest book.
(I meant to give this book five stars but cannot correct my error after I preview my review.)
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Editorial Reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: When Night Is Falling
Comment: I find it nice and pleasant to see, but a little disappointing because I expected it to be better. The story is romantic and the acting of the two actresses is very good but not enough to develop and to go into the depth of the metaphor of circus&life.To me it's sounds as if something is missing....
Customer Rating:
Summary: Annie Leibovitz at Work
Comment: amazing insight and pictures.
the physical quality of the book is the best i have ever seen.
the paper is so durable it is obviously made to be looked at over and over for a lifetime or two or three.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Xmas gift
Comment: Xms gift for my son, 24, very interested in photography. I think he appreciated the book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: ANNIE LEIVOVITZ AT WORK
Comment: It's a wonderful book. I recomend it for everyone who enjoy not only photograph but art in general.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Photographer Talks
Comment: Tina Brown, formerly of "Vanity Fair" supposedly once said that Annie Leibovitz was the Barbara Striesand of photography, inferring that the photographer was difficult to work with. I would sooner say that she is another Barbara, Barbara Walters of photography since after forty years in the business, she is now more famous than many of her subjects.
In her latest book Leibovitz writes extremely well about her life as a photographer from her first job with the magazine "Rolling Stone" as well as her work at "Vanity Fair" and other magazines. She takes a photograph or photographs for each chapter and then writes about that picture, how it came about, what difficulties were involved, anecdotal information, etc. For example, we learn that after she photographed the naked Keith Haring painted like one of his works (from the chapter entitled "Conceptual Pictures") that they actually went outside where she photographed Keith again on the streets of New York. Ms. Leibovitz covers Nixon's resignation, the O. J. Simpson trial, her time as a photographer for the Rolling Stones, Mikhail Baryshnikov's dance company and of course includes chapters on her two most famous images, the naked John Lennon embracing the clothed Yoko Ono and the very pregnant Demi Moore. My favorite chapter is about Leibovitz's photo session with the Queen of England where she puts to rest the rumor that the Queen stormed out of the shoot. Apparently the photographer found the Queen politely grumpy-- well, she is 80 and was wearing clothing that weighed 75 pounds-- but in the end quite delightful. What I found most disconcerting is that Leibovitz-- like practically everyone else-- has finally given in to digital photography. For example in three out of the four photographs of the Queen included here the photographer through the wonders of computers has superimposed Elizabeth on a different background. It is obviously a brave new world where even the professionals alter an image to meet their fancy.
Ms. Leibovitz's conclusions are shared by most photographers: that there is no such thing usually of a photographer's getting into the soul of a model, that she only has a brief slice of that person's life to work with; therefore, one would get the best, most revealing portrait of someone she knows very well. It is no coincidence that one of Leibovitz's favorite photographs is one of her mother. And smiles are almost always phony. The photographer says she has reluctantly come to the conclusion that the cliche that the camera loves certain people is true. "I realized when I studied pictures of Marilyn Monroe that it almost didn't matter who the photographer was. She took charge. It seemed like she was taking the picture." Leibovitz names Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve and Johnny Depp as other examples of people the camera loves in the chapter entitled "Presence and Charisma."
The funniest photograph in this book has to be Al Sharpton sitting under a hairdryer with his hair in curlers at the PrimaDonna Beauty Care Center. One of the cleverest is that of Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon photographed in drag in 1995 for "Vanity Fair's first hollywood issue as a tribute to their roles in "Some Like It Hot." My least favorite photograph-- from Leibovitz's first book I believe-- is that of the seventy-five-year-old writer Robert Penn Warren, whom she convinced to take his shirt off. "I wanted to see under his skin, to see his heart beating, his lungs pumping." Apparently, with the exception of Queen Elizabeth who would not venture outside for a portrait, Ms. Leibovitz is good at getting subjects to do whatever she asks. I do not believe, however, that disrobing an old man lets you see inside him.
I own several of Leibovitz's books of photography; this one certainly is one of my favorites. The photographer will almost convince you that a picture is not worth a thousand words. She writes in a free, conversational style that is most seductive and comes across as pretty much ego-free for one whose name and photographs are pretty much household words. She is also free with advice and information-- unlike some famous photographers- for young photographers as she discusses equipment and answers the ten most-asked questions.
I cannot imagine anyone who would not be fascinated by Leibovitz's latest book.
(I meant to give this book five stars but cannot correct my error after I preview my review.)
Book Description
“The first thing I did with my very first camera was climb Mt. Fuji. Climbing Mt. Fuji is a lesson in determination and moderation. It would be fair to ask if I took the moderation part to heart. But it certainly was a lesson in respecting your camera. If I was going to live with this thing, I was going to have to think about what that meant. There were not going to be any pictures without it."
—Annie Leibovitz Annie Leibovitz describes how her pictures were made, starting with Richard Nixon's resignation, a story she covered with Hunter S. Thompson, and ending with Barack Obama's campaign. In between are a Rolling Stones Tour, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Demi Moore, Whoopi Goldberg, The Blues Brothers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keith Haring, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Patti Smith, George W. Bush, William S. Burroughs, Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. The most celebrated photographer of our time discusses portraiture, reportage, fashion photography, lighting, and digital cameras. Amazon Exclusive Essay: Annie Leibovitz on Photography
 In 1977, when Jann Wenner, the editor of Rolling Stone, asked me to prepare a fifty-page portfolio of my pictures for the tenth anniversary issue of the magazine, I decided not to simply make a selection of photographs that had been published. I looked at everything I had done since I started working. It was a revelation. For one thing, I had no idea that I had accumulated so many photographs. You lose track of them when you’re working every day. And you see the work in a different way when you look at it from the distance of time. You get a sense of where you are going. You start to see a life.
I had the opportunity to edit my work most thoroughly when I prepared two retrospective books, Annie Leibovitz: 1970–1990 and A Photographer’s Life: 1990–2005. It was thrilling to see that first book laid out chronologically. To see the pictures historically. The second book, A Photographer’s Life, was assembled immediately after the death of Susan Sontag and my father. Editing the book took me through the grieving process. The books are pure. They are mine. The magazines I work for don’t belong to me. It’s the editor’s magazine, and the editor has every right to use the material the way he or she wants to. It isn’t just that art directors and editors at magazines make selections that I wouldn’t necessarily make. Which they sometimes do. Or that they run pictures too small. Or that they put so much type on the pictures that you can’t see them anymore. Magazines have quite specific needs. It’s a collaboration only so far, which is true of almost all assignment work. When I began working on my new book, I thought it would be a pamphlet of maybe forty pages or so. I intended to take ten of my photographs and dissect them. They didn’t have to be my most famous pictures, just pictures that I cared about. But as I began going through the material I realized that I might as well be more ambitious. I started to think that I would try to answer every single question anyone has ever asked about how my work is done. To defuse the mystery, and the misconceptions. To explain that it’s nothing more than work. And learning how to see. So my forty-page pamphlet became a 240-page book with over a hundred photographs in it. It is written for someone like the person I was at the beginning of my career, when I was in art school. A young me. I didn’t know which road I would take. Whether it would be a commercial road, a magazine road, an artistic road, a journalistic road. It’s written for that person. Someone who is interested in photography but isn’t sure how they want to use it. The book is more emotional than I had imagined it would be. But, most importantly, it is my edit. No one is going to care about, or understand, your work the way you do, and if you are going to explain it you have to be able to present it the way you want to. That’s what a book can do better than any other medium. See Annie Leibovitz's 15 favorite photography books. (Photo credit Paul Gilmore)
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