I didn’t study photography at school or university. To be honest, if you showed me a selection of famous photographs and told me to name the photographer I would probably only get a couple right. ( an Ansel Adams shot of Yosemite and the Afghan girl by Steve McCurry)
I am however trying to broaden my knowledge of great photographers. Not knowing where else to begin I thought I’d start reading about one of the most famous – Annie Leibovitz.
I surfed over to Amazon.com and ordered a big compendium of her work: A Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz A Photographer's Life 1990-2005 by Annie Leibovitz
The book is a mix of commercial portraits, and far more personal images from her own life. Shots of her family, and pictures from her various travels around the world are woven between photographs of Nelson Mandela, Carl Lewis, Bill Clinton, Michael Jordan, Brad Pitt. and R2-D2.
There is a brief introduction and simple captions. I would have liked to have read the story behind each image, but the focus is kept (and perhaps rightly so) on the images.
It’s a great book, but I did get a feeling similar to when I bought Aretha Franklin – Greatest Hits (1980-1994) and discovered that Respect, Chain of Fools, and Think were on the earlier CD I should have bought instead.
It’s my birthday next month, and my parents asked if there was anything I wanted. I said I wasn’t sure, but next time we chat I’lI know exactly what to say: a copy of Annie Leibovitz Photographs 1970-1990 and some 60’s Aretha.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 
While I was still living in England, and before I had a camera I bought for some reason a series of magazines called ‘Masters of contemporary photography’ from a charity shop in Cambridge.
C1974, the series seemed to focus on American photogs and included a foray into the shooting world of Mary Ellen Mark and Annie Leibovitz (“Two women explore the modern world and the emotions of individuals”). Most of the men featured in the series got a mag to themselves.
The male photographers covered in the set I bought were Paul Fusco & Will McBride, Elliot Erwitt, Art Kane and Duane Michals. I had never heard of any of them.
The Series focussed on the photos and gave a rather quaint (from todays digital perspective) technical section at the back of each related to explaining the photos themselves.
A fantastic series if you can find any on your rambles anywhere. The Leibovitz mag includes some great grainy shots of the stones on tour and her memories of the time.