Recently, I showed one of my photography classes the fascinating Annie Leibovitz documentary, Life Through a Lens. In it, Leibovitz tells a story about the worst Rolling Stone cover she ever made. One with Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and other notable seventies music icons. Leibovitz took the safe road and made an average portrait, and her mentor at the time didn't hold back in expressing her disappointment with this important yet missed opportunity, which in turn inspired Leibovitz to make some of the finest portraiture in the history of photography from that moment on. I was feeling the same way recently after shooting moe. at Halloween - not impressed with my work in the least. Eager to improve, a Felice Brothers show proved the perfect opportunity to right my photo wrongs. This was a poignant show for many reasons - the intimacy of this converted old movie house into an interesting venue, the fact that I had amazing access to the band, and that I pushed myself to see things differently this time. Check out the complete gallery HERE.
4 comments:
Pure magic Heather ! Nothing to reproach about these ! Simply stunning, the whole gallery...
So glad I stumbled on your pictures one day a few months back, by chance. Your students are lucky I think...
Nice work, Heather.
Great post and photos, Heather. I always love your photos. Glad you're still stretching to improve. I have the same feeling about my work. Blah. Interesting story about Leibovitz. She ran into the same problem when she photographed the Queen of England a few years back. She again back down to pressure not to be too extreme and was criticized for taking the safe road with a lackluster portrait. It's an up-and-down road I guess.
a beautiful image, to say the least, Heather. superb work, as usual. :) I love your description of your thought process and internal struggles, disappoint in your own work/ not living up to your own lofty expectations, and how you pushed yourself to ultimately arrive at this image. we are our own greatest critics...
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