It would be easy to have an ego the size of New York City with a resume like hers. She’s tall, slender, and doesn’t give a hoot about superficial things; such as, how her hair looks. Refreshing, honest, with a good sense of humor—it’s smart, like her.

Annie Leibovitz’s honesty, vulnerability and purity catch one off guard. Possibly the best known and most successful photographer of our time, a celebrity in her own right, she has photographed the movers and shakers of the last five decades. It is a status symbol to have an image taken by this unpretentious, gentle woman.

For some, it can be daunting meeting one of your role models…someone who inspires you. Meeting her was as comfortable as the blue jeans and hiking shoes she was wearing. The four hours flew by, leaving a want for more Annie.

It was fun to watch her “handle” questions from her adoring audience. The one’s who asked those big, deep questions…the one’s meant to show her how smart they were, you know, the pontificators; who she treated with her special light touch. She was self-deprecating—yet added a touch of irony to her answers. It was a beautiful thing to observe. The mindless or nosy questions were skillfully evaded by using a sense of humor. PR people could take lessons from Leibovitz. She is as fascinating to watch as her photographs are to view.Seeing her so vulnerable, in front of her hometown peeps in Berkeley, Calif., was a surprise because looking at the portraits she has photographed, it is evident she is no wallflower. (Don’t hold being from Berkeley against her but perhaps now you will appreciate her ability to answer questions skillfully even more. Some of the audience went on a bit when “asking” her a question.)

Leibovitz had a healthy upbringing, with a loving family and siblings, and many days spent seaside as a youth. As an adult, her career took off fast and has brought her all around the world.

Nicholas Pavloff, master black and white photographer in the Bay Area, belonged to a photography group with Leibovitz, said, “She had a keen eye right from the start. She immediately felt comfortable behind the lens when she began photography.”

Liebovitz’s book is stunning…an eclectic mixture ofher famous professional images to snapshots ofher family.  It is a treat to keep this book on thecoffee table and each day, mingle over a fewpieces of her work.A Good Book and an Afgan, Perfect Mix

With the short days and longer nights winter brings us, plus the plunging thermometers around the country, it is my recommendation to pick-up “A Photographer’s Life 1990-2005” for many evenings of enjoyment. The blue linen, eight pound, 472 page book is a beautiful auto-biography that keeps one eagerly anticipating what is coming next. It is a baby boomer’s delight, bringing one down memory lane of moments and periods that have in part shaped and defined us.

Admiring the gorgeously refined photos of Scarlett Johannsson, Nicole Kidman, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Brad Pitt and Al Pacino, to name but a few, is like mulling fine wine in your mouth. The photographs are rich, eliciting the desire to absorb each one, by lingering over each frame. It matters not who the subject is; she finds an essence that sparks off the page of everyone who has gotten in front of her camera.

Leibovitz holds nothing back in this manuscript. She takes us on a journey—her journey of life, love, grief, loss, joys, and work. We get to experience the death of her long time love, Susan Sontag, the birth of one of her precious daughters, and even her naked and pregnant body. She moves from using color to black and white flawlessly, from celebrity to travels across the continent, peppered amongst photos of her

siblings, nieces and nephews. Mixed in, are her parents playing at their beach house, and then followed by her first passion, landscape photography. This makes for an interesting and diverse essay that is joyously unpredictable. You have no idea where you will be taken on the next turn of the page.

Viewing the book brought forth great feelings of admiration for her body of work, and a sense of knowing her almost better than my best friend. Also, a sense of pride regarding her many accomplishments, laced with empathy, and sadness for her losses.

This book needs to be experienced firsthand. It is as worthy of your time as John Steinbeck, Mark Twain, or William Faulkner classics. You won’t be the same when you are finished

with the must have book. It touches the heart unlike any other book I have been with in a

very, long time. What a wonderful nostalgic, celebratory, and reflective view of all of our lives.

“Annie Leibovitz, A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005” was released in October of 2006; yet, revisiting it with friends recently reminded me why it was one of my favorite purchases. This is a great book to cuddle up with during the up and down weather of spring. Grab your afghan, sip some tea, and spend time with each page of this book.