Photographer Annie Leibovitz

To me Annie Leibovitz is an American icon. I recently watched a documentary on OWN- Oprah's network and got to know her and her photography better. I love photography so of course I have an interest in talented photographers. To me there is an art, an ability to "see" that is present in great photographers. Annie Leibovitz has that ability to see and her photography is quite poignant.

She has photographed many famous people such as John Lennon with Yoko Ono, Meryl Streep, the Kennedys of whom she is shown photographing Maria Shriver and family in the documentary. She has a down to earth way about her while she also can penetrate human nature and see what others miss. She used to photograph for Rolling Stone magazine and now works for Voque and Vanity Fair. She recently released a new book called "Pilgrimage" which I was able to see her photograph some of in the documentary.

image from: wikipedia

In the movie "Avatar" they say I SEE YOU. This is what talented photographers have an ability to do: SEE. I love photography and about a year ago purchased my first DSLR camera and have taught myself to use it. I also have taken a class which I mention below that has been helpful. When I photograph I use my intuition and what I see, beyond what is there. Annie Leibovitz does this in her photography. I seem to understand intuitively perspective and angles and seeing something that I want to express in a photograph when I share it. I want to capture the beauty that is there to bring an expression to it, to infuse it with my vision. When I see this in photography I am transported by the photographs. Annie has that poignant way of capturing moments. She comes up with creative ideas such as putting Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub filled with warm milk so that her face, arms and legs were sticking out. I love her creativity!

I watched Annie go to some of the places that are in the book in the documentary on her I watched that was on OWN network. You can see some examples of photos in this book at Amazon.com. It contains homes of famous people, landscapes and more.

"Extraordinary images. When I leafed through Pilgrimage, I was astounded....I urge you to take a look at this remarkable and powerful book."

--Anna Wintour, Vogue

This book has portraits of well-known figures–Johnny Cash, Nicole Kidman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Keith Richards, Michael Jordan, Joan Didion, R2-D2, Patti Smith, Nelson Mandela, Jack Nicholson, and William Burroughs–appear alongside pictures of Leibovitz’s family and friends, reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early Nineties, and landscapes.

I wanted to put a few of my photographs on her larger so you can see them closer up. There is so much beauty just outside in nature. This is a moment I captured.