Pure

WOW. I liked the "babies-in-flowerpots" Anne Geddes, so I picked up her new book Pure. It's stunning. The babies and the women are just breathtaking. This book seems to be a departure from her previous stuff. For one thing, besides babies, it also explores and celebrates pregnancy. (Anne Geddes even makes stretch marks look beautiful--one photo of a very pregnant tummy is taken from an angle that shows the pattern of the woman's stretch marks like the markings on a tiger or the stripes on a watermelon, or the whorl of hair on Geddes's birds-eye-view photos of the tops of babies' heads.) My favorites are the photos where images of babies are superimposed on images of women's bodies, showing how they fit inside. There are even a couple photos showing babies juxtaposed against images of pelvic bones and spinal columns. It's really illuminating. But mostly it's just beautiful.

I'm not much for the cutesy babies-as-vegetable-and-flower motif of Geddes' earlier works. But, I randomly flipped through this book and loved it! I was truly surprised.The photos, reminiscent of different stages of birth, are beautiful AND artistic. They celebrate the creation of life and the true beauty of babies (rather than imposing "cutsey-ness" on them). Bravo! I would recommend this book as a gift of any woman that is expecting. It will make her feel special and beautiful as she goes through those sometimes difficult nine months.

PURE is filled w/beautiful photography of newborns. For anyone tired of babies in flowerpots, be sure to check out this book before you judge it. I was suprised by this book and really love what Anne Geddes has done in this one.

I confess I was expecting more darling babies in flower pots--after all, Anne Geddes has built her name with "cute" baby photography.PURE, however, is totally different, more powerful, and GREAT. Instead of photographing babies in a cute but posed way (baby as pumpkin, baby as flower, etc.), these photographs are all about photograping babies as BABIES. Some photos look as though they were taken in the womb (an illusion created with lighting and background). Others are delicate photos of the itsiest newborns. I love the photos with a man's strong hands and a delicate baby's head..it's a contrast of strength and vulnerability.I saw her on 20/20 and they showed how some of these photographs were done. Unbelievable! Check this one out.

Having been a longtime fan of Anne Geddes work, I was amazed by the powerful images included in her new work PURE. The revealing images include some photographs made to look like they are actually taken in the womb-absolutely breathtaking and inspiring.