Immediate Family

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Summary: Some beautiful, some very dark ...
Review: I've owned this book for a few years and still look at it occasionally. Mann is a masterful photographer and technically is an even more masterful printer. She is adept at staging her children in these poses for maximum impact. My favorites were the ones that brought back some of my sweeter childhood memories. Since purchasing this book I've learned that many of the photos have become bestsellers in the fine art world and that some are worth as much as $6000 each now. Mann is very popular and was chosen as Time's favorite photographer recently. There are a few of the photos, though, that bother me - some seem to suggest harm to the children and even death. I'm not sure why those are included - except perhaps for their "shock value". A fine book overall though and I would purchase it again.

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Summary: CHECK OUT these photos! Sally Mann is... um... the Mann.
Review: POSSIBLY MY FAVORITE BOOK! I carry this book with me everywhere I go. I bring it with me on two-day trips. It's ridiculous. Sally Mann is an incredible photographer and in this book, contrary to previous criticism, she photographs her children in DECENT and human, natural poses (nudity reigns, but tastefully so). She is by far my favorite photographer and, as a photo major in college, constantly cures me of those dreaded uninspired days of my life. Every time I flip through this book, I'm crazed with new ideas and inspiration. Not to mention awe.

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Summary: Photo's which remind us of our search for identity.
Review: Sally Mann is a master at capturing emotion. Her family photographs bring the observer back to the days of self discovery and the search for ones own identity. They remind us that the search is ever lasting and provoke pride in that notion. Her children appear independent and mature, however, there are subtle messages in the photographs which remind us of the often false face we present to the camera--to the world. I recommend this book to anyone in search of themselves and/or nostalgic of childhood.

Rating:
Summary: Rich and honest images
Review: The summers of one's youth in the Blue Ridge are unmistakable. The heat comes up by ten. You head to the ponds and rivers for relief. By the blazing arc of midday you play jacks or Uno under an oak. Evening comes; hotdogs are grilled for miles, and an immense cool falls like a hush between the pines. Mann captures this reverie with utmost grace in her unalloyed images of her children. In Mann we discover a eye keen to the wonderful contrasts of black and white. Some images offer striking, ambiguous detail; others approach portraiture.
If her children's nudity draws criticism from those of a certain political stripe, I can only surmise it comes from that small, unlucky handful of Virginians who did not have the opportunity to march outside on an August dog day with nothing on. Frankly, it's all you want to wear in August whether you are eight or fifty eight.
These images tug strongly at the heartstrings of, not just those of us lucky enough to have spent our youths in rural Virginia, but anyone who has deep set memories of childhood and place. A rich and lasting collection.