by E. Joyce Glasgow - SGN A&E Writer

Legendary photographer, Annie Leibovitz, visited the University of Washington campus on October 24th in support of her new book, “A Photographer's Life” (2006). Known for her distinctive and memorable portraits of celebrities in Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair, this time she turns the camera inward, on herself and loved ones, documenting the period of her life between 1990 and 2005.

The impetus for this book came from two dramatic, life changing events that happened in 2005. First, the death by cancer of her 15-year-long life partner, famed writer, Susan Sontag, followed by the death of her beloved father five weeks later. Leibovitz showed photographs from the book and got choked up, trying to hold back tears, when she showed a photo of Sontag in silhouette in the ancient city of Petra, Jordan. She conveyed to us that Sontag received her bone marrow transplant as she was close to death, here in Seattle, at the Fred Hutchinson Center and spent time in University Hospital. Leibovitz had passed the hospital on her way to her book event and seeing the hospital, combined with the rainy Seattle weather, brought back intense and bittersweet memories of Sontag in her last struggle for life. She apologized and said that it had been a difficult day. Members of the audience were quietly but audibly moved to tears in empathy with her in her grieving process.

She also showed photos of the She also showed photos of the daughter that she gave birth to at age 52 in 2001 and her parents, who were married for over 60 years before her father's death. She shared photos of twins that she had with the help of a surrogate mother 3 years later and simple, relaxed portraits of Susan Sontag. During the question and answer period, Leibovitz said that she missed pictorial publications like Life Magazine and wished we could see more of them again. She also said that she has begun to do digital photography along with film and that she is enjoying her digital results. When asked how she interacted with her subjects to get great pictures, she said it was sometimes easier to get a good portrait from people who may be more uncomfortable in front of the camera than with those who really like to have their picture taken. I asked her what it was like to carry a baby and give birth in her fifties. She replied that she had been a very “young” fiftyyear- old and had taken good care of herself. She said, however, that after giving birth she “became” her age. She also experienced hormonal activity that was new to her and that -- as a normally depressive person -- she said, these euphoria inducing hormones led her to a revelation: “Ah- this is what it's like to be happy”. She said that she started trying to talk every woman and man she knew into having a child. At 57, she is enjoying being a mother to her three small children.

Among Annie Leibovitz's other numerous photographic publications are: “Olympic Portraits” (1996), “Women” (1999), “Nudes” (2001), “American Music” (2003), “Photographs—Annie Leibovitz 1970-1990” (1991) and “Stardust: Annie Leibovitz 1970-1999 (2000).

This event was sponsored by the University Book Store. For a schedule of future author appearances visit: www.ubookstore. com Boy, I want to like this film. Really, I do. The cast is great. There are some very moving moments, as well as a lot of funny lines. The soundtrack took me straight back to junior high. But I constantly found myself glancing at my watch, and it wasn't because of the ginormous coffee I drank that morning. Well, not only because of. But Running With Scissors is too disjointed. It's difficult to keep up with its pacing; it seems schizophrenic, and not in a good way. At first the film tries to paint a portrait of a quirky but charming dysfunctional family. Then it slips into the uncomfortable territory of divorce, of the screaming and throwing knives ilk. Think The Royal Tenenbaums meets The Squid and the Whale with less funny. Both Fiennes' and Bening's characters add elements of danger that belong in psychological dramas, and the movie tries to end its life as a docudrama, wrapped up with a neat, feel-good bow. I'm in favor of busting genres, but Running is awkward and feels more like a movie of the week than the subject matter deserves. It's a disappointment as a film, but at least it made me want to read the book.