inspiration

Inspiring Artists: Annie Leibovitz

(wikipedia.com)I've loved photography all my life, I remember one day I was doing homework in the kitchen and my mom started talking to me about this photographer who just waltzed right into rolling stone, portfolio in hand and walked out w/ a job and her first assignment, to shoot john lennon.

From that statement on, I knew I was completely and 500% in love with this photographer. Could you imagine that passion, that drive, to now know what you're doing but to go after it anyway. Fearless.

When I get obsessed with things, I like to know everything I can possibly can. I was doing some research on Annie Leibovitz and came across an amazing magazine article from New York Magazine 1983! Before I was even born & on google, that's tight. Anyways... reading these words & knowing her journey now. I just can't tell you how much she inspires me.

She moved to America, went to school for painting, bought a camera and two years later and started shooting the world's biggest celebrities. CAN YOU IMAGINE?! In this article, she talks about being in a rut and her world "looking empty", and how she wanted to quit. ANNIE LEIBOVITZ the woman who took Lennon & yoko's last photograph 5 hours before he died, even has her down days, weeks and months, alas there's still hope for us.

Here is a quote that I thought were pretty mind blowingly inspiring.

"The future of photography is color. No one has played with it enough, espeically in portraits. The brighter and more crass, the more I like it.

WOW. I can't even imagine. 1. Not having color in portraits, my life I'm sure would be ruined. Here she went outside of the comfort zone & what was norm & just did the damn thing, TAKE THAT. WOOH. If that doesn't get your blood pumpin', I don't know what will.

Stop doing what everyone else does. (preaching to myself), it's ok to be you, it's ok to be bizarre and quacko, because all artists are quacko and if all artists tried to immitate other quackos, we would just have one huge collection of the same quacko and what fun would our world be then? NO fun.

If Annie wouldn't have marched into Rolling Stone, the world would be without some of the most stunning and epic images, not walking into that office. The next time you don't take opportunity by the balls, remember, you could be denying the world of some of the most iconic images they have yet to see.

Read the article here.