A Royal Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II by Annie Leibovitz
With April 29 fast approaching, it seems that every news segment on television nowadays is accompanied with updates on the upcoming Royal wedding of Prince William of Wales and soon-to-be Queen-in-waiting Kate Middleton. Before everyone else is captivated by this Royal wedding fever, a few words and pictures should be devoted to the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is presented here in all her grandeur and elegance as photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Ms. Leibovitz was the first American commissioned to take the British Monarch's portrait, and these four outstanding images are the result of that assignment three years ago.
This particular photo shoot wasn't without controversy, although the problem had to do with a trailer to a TV series documenting a year in the life of the Queen. Apparently, some executives decided it would be better to edit the trailer so that it appeared that the Queen was angrily storming out of this photo session.
In reality, she was walking into the shoot. It was a rather misleading interpretation, and as a result, some people high up the ladder were forced to resign their posts.
In reality, she was walking into the shoot. It was a rather misleading interpretation, and as a result, some people high up the ladder were forced to resign their posts.
The above photograph shows the Queen on the grounds of Buckingham Palace, giving her a sort of pensive and brooding mood. In reality, Her Majesty was photographed indoors and the outdoor scene was added in later digitally. Given the time frame and other constraints that Ms. Leibovitz had to work with, this photo and the other pictures were done very well.
You can find out more about this particular photo shoot in her most recent book, Annie Leibovitz at work. Vanity Fair has an excerpt that you can read over here. You can also view this video taken from the same documentary mentioned above.
Queen Elizabeth II has reigned for 59 years, and all four photos show her resilience, vitality and majesty in the best light. It is therefore fitting that this post should come just before her Diamond Jubilee celebration next year.
Check out this previous post on Annie Leibovitz's photography. For those of you who stumbled upon this post looking for photos of the upcoming Royal wedding, you can indulge yourself over here or here. More of Ms. Leibovitz's work can be found in her book A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005. Her workflow describing her photo shoot with Queen Elizabeth as well as other notable subjects over the years can be read found in Annie Leibovitz at Work.
Categories:
Annie Leibovitz,
Portraiture
0 nhận xét:
Đăng nhận xét