Annie Leibovits is a world renown American photographer.  Her photographes are mostly of celebrities like John Lennon and Brad Pitt.  When Annie was first starting with Rolling Stone, her photographs were very genuine because she spent days and weeks on end with the people she was photographing.  The celebrities even said after that  they felt that Annie was a part of the group and did not think twice when she was taking their pictures.  And that is why her earlier photographs look and feel more natural than her newer photograps.


 
http://citypaper.net/blogs/criticalmass/2008/12/05/annie-leibovitz-on-shooting-the-rolling-stones-concert-at-the-spectrum-1975/

During the 1980's, Annie shifted course and started focusing on more of the staged shots of celebrities.  To me, these photos were the ones that really brought out the personality of both Annie and of the celebrity themselves.  Annie really knows how to capture the essence of the person she is photographing.

http://www.theage.com.au/ftimages/2008/06/20/1213770891708.html

James Natchway's photographs are the complete opposite of Annie's photographs.  Natchway's photographs are of war, poverty and the bad sides of the world.  And that is the biggest difference between the two photographers.  In Annie, you tend to see the good side and with Natchway you see the bad.  Natchway is like Annie in that he becomes a part of the group he is trying to photograph.  He's not trying to rush things and be noticed by the people he's photographing.  Natchway is trying to give his subjects the respect they deserve.  And so the feelings that Natchway captures in his photographs are very genuine and very in the moment and real.

http://pequesherezade.blogspot.com/2009/12/la-injusticia-de-vivir-en-este-mundo.html

http://www3.atword.jp/lamp/page/2/?img=link

  The one common thing that both Annie and Natchway share though, is they have both dedicated their lives to thier work.  They really care about what they are trying to do and they let thier photographs do all the talking.

My Engergitic Okaasan

My Okaasan is a spritly 70 year old who always seems to be doing something.  It seems to me that my Okaasan cannot really sit still in some form or another.  She's always talking and asking me questions.  Or if we are out doing something, she would be taking pictures of something she found really interesting.  The picture below is one that my Okaasan took of herself as she, my Otoosan and myself went on a trip to ancient ninja house that was about two hours away from our house. 

Everything my Okaasan does, it seems like she always has a smile on her face.  These next pictures are ones I took of my Okaasan as we were talking after dinner.  I asked her if I could take a few pictures of her and she agreed whole heartedly after I tried to explain why I was taking them in Japanese.  Usually after dinner, I would practice my Japanese with both my Okaasan and Otoosan, who are both very patient and willing to help me try to learn Japanese.  This night though, the television was on and the program we were watching was about a family who was really obsessed about the Hansin Tigers.  My Okaasan was a little shocked to see all the Tigers merchendise the family had.  The two of us were calling the family huge Hansin Tigers otaku, since that was the best way I could describe them in Japanese to my Okaasan.  In the end, my Okaasan was happy with the amount of Japanese I spoke to her that night.