Rating: 
Summary: It is porn. And it is art.
Review: As a photographic enthusiast, I'm not expert enough to expound on all the ramifications of Ms. Merritt's work. All I can offer is my opinion as a human being, as a man, and as someone who likes a wide variety of photography.The images in this book spoke to me. I found them startling and refreshing, much like when I hear a song that forces me to call the DJ and ask, "Who is that?". I like photo work that balances the posed and the spontaneous; the raw and the refined; the erotic and the intellectual. And because Ms. Merritt is not schooled in photography, because she is creating images that already exist in her head and express her individuality and sexuality, I found the photos in "Digital Diaries" pleasingly honest. Whether it's music, movies, or photography, I appreciate honesty the most. Contrived or calculated works of art may appeal to the brain, but Ms. Merrit's in-your-face photography hits the gut as well as the head. I would've liked to see more photos - with a little more of a range in style and content - but Natacha Merrit boldly pushed some boundaries in this attractive hardcover. I hope she continues to express herself however she sees fit.
Rating: 
Summary: A strangely sterile document of abstract narcissism
Review: DIGITAL DIARIES suffers from the kind of directionless most people in their twenties feel (of any generation, not just the Boomers or Gen-Xers or whatever they're called these days) and as such seems to reflect the only world Ms. Merritt truly knows: the world she sees reflected in her mirror. To be sure, she has a few exhibitionistic friends along for the ride, but the images Ms. Merritt has captured rarely transcend the merely salacious, and seem, in the final result, just indulgent. Images such as those contained in DIGITAL DIARIES can be found in almost any trendy magazine (adult and otherwise)at any newsstand and, as such, they seem rather uninspired. (Consider how Madonna's book SEX still, in some ways, shocks, perhaps now that Madonna Louise is a mother.) Moreover, DIGITAL DIARIES makes one wonder just what is being "communicated" in this "diary", what is actually revealed about the author. It has no narrative thread (perhaps one is not possible) and that may not even be a fault. But I think it all comes down to whether the reader has an interest in a very attractive young woman's adventures in photographing herself mostly in the bathroom. Truth must be said, though, that many photographs are quite artfully done. But in the final analysis, DIGITAL DIARIES is but another document stemming from the narcissism of the 1990s. (Then, too, I also wonder what kind of book DIGITAL DIARIES would be if Natacha Merritt looked, instead, like Ed Asner. I don't think many of us would want to spend $30 looking at photos of Ed Asner in the tub.)
Rating: 
Summary: Extremely Sexy
Review: I found this book to be extremely sexy, sensual and refreshing. It will appeal to the natural voyeur in anyone and I hope it encourages more people to go get a digital camera and do the same. Hats off to Natacha!
Rating:
Summary: Erotic, beautiful, and well put-together.
Review: I think it's particularly impressive for a woman as young as she is that she seems to have embraced her own sexuality and used it for herself, to please herself, and to become well known and respected. Through her work comes a self-awareness and thoughtfulness I find very impressive. And I think it effectively challenges the frequently cited mantra about women inescapably being sexual victims and particularly refutes Dvorkin's claims that all sexually explicit imagery is inherently abusive to women. It's clear that, even at 21, Ms. Merritt is in charge and controls each situation and the men she photographs are props for her, rather than the other way around.
Rating: 
Summary: Minnesoter
Review: Lucky, pretty, self-exploitative narcisst needs rent, and money for coke. Yawn. I have better porn, er... "art" under my mattress.
Rating:
Summary: A raw and honest look into a young woman's sexuality
Review: Natacha Merritt's Digital Diaries is less an art book of nude photos than a raw and honest look --- some would say peek --- into a young woman's sexuality. It is not just a look, but a visual documentation of sexual experimentation including both a casual sexual situations and more fetishist imagery.
Digital Diaries is also very sexy just like its author-photographer. Natacha doesn't convey a shy personality, but actually comes off as a very liberated and aggressive young woman. Her book is not for everyone and certainly not for someone who doesn't have an open mind. Those who are willing to explore the many faces of sexuality, they can't go wrong by acquiring Ms. Merritt's Digital Diaries.
Rating:
Summary: Porn/art? What's the problem? It was all once PORN!!
Review: Newton, Mapplethorpe, Outterbridge, Man Ray, Brassai, Brandt, Weston, Stieglitz.....
It was all porn, right?
I am a big fan of the publisher (for putting out edgy and thought provoking material) and the general style/commentary.
I have had an interest in this book ever since I read a story on how it was made. it was a creation of the publisher more than the artist. Girl meets digital camera, takes pictures, find mode of expression, artists admire, work evolves, publisher hears about it and prints it. Anyone who is any sort of photographer would agree that the images in the first portion of the book are essentially ...[fluff]. But the expression is honest and raw. What more could you ask for? If you have a problem with Porn, don't buy the book. If you want Porn, it would be a waste of money to buy the book. If you have a problem with genitalia, don't even look at it. If you want an honest, raw, and different view of human sexuality though someone else's eyes, this is the book for you. It's refreshing that someone is making these images, someone is printing them, and that someone is thinking about them. Ps. It is a bit short and disorganized. Good for the collection, but not for the personal library.
Rating: 
Summary: art?
Review: People either love this book or hate it. I LOVE IT. One reviewer said that it was "porn disguised as art". Whatever. Contained within the pages of this well put together book, is pure...art.
I slowly flipped through the pages and absorbed every sensuous,...pixel of Natacha. THIS GIRL KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING.
Some reviewers complained about the quality of the pictures (there are prominent and obvious pixels in some of her images)- duh- that is the effect and the image that Merritt was trying to achieve.
This book is an excellent coffee table book (...- I'm thinking about getting one for every room of my home!). It's cover is stunningly beautiful and the book itself is put together very well.
Have an open mind and GET THIS BOOK. Merritt is brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, and some way artistic !!
Review: Poor photographic tecnics, but some naiveness in the pics create a beautiful book!!. Natacha have a very expressive eyes and total acceptation of his body and her sexuality!. Not for everyone but a delightful entry into the new digital photography!!.
Rating:
Summary: Raw reality
Review: This book is like several that I've seen recently that are trying to portray real life in a new way. It seems this has been part of photography's goal all along. But there have been many stages. At first, just taking a photograph made it show reality. Now, Looking at those first photographs through a 21st century perspective, we would say that they don't depict reality very well. I mean, how often do you stand completely stiff and stare in one direction and make no facial expressions? So photography moved into a more expressionistic form, which has led to many movements, and led to air brushing, and symbolic representation of emotion. Now, we have Digital Diaries. I think this book embraces the "low tech" image because that is what we now see as real. I realize there is irony is that statement, since Natacha uses only the most advanced cameras. But the result is often pixelized, and a bit washed-out, and very raw looking. Her compositions are haphazard, and spontaneous. The average person is used to seeing themselves on low-tech video screens in the store, on their own cameras, etc. in this exact way. So Natacha's aesthetic touches real life. It shows her sexual exploits and adventures in the way we see ourselves. We don't wonder how she does it, because we could do it too. But she did it. I know this is a movement that had begun already, but I have to say it's the first time I've seen it such a stomach-turning erotic fashion. I also recommend "My Wife" by Petter Hegre, which is a different spin on seeing real life in a new way through photography.
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