Sally Mann

I have seen this video on Sally Mann once before, and even after viewing it this second time, I'm still unsure of what to think of her. I admire that she takes pictures because she enjoys it, and that there is not an intentional greater meaning that she is trying to communicate. She took pictures of dog bones because she took one and liked it, so she decided to take more; in her mind she is taking pictures because it is what she enjoys doing. I suppose how someone feels about her can be attributed to the culture that the viewer was raised in. It is hard for me to imagine taking pictures of my children like that in today's times because of all of the potentially negative things that might happen. But if I try to put myself in the context of where she is living, and how she was raised, then I understand her mindset behind the photographs; they were her children and they were nearby, so using them as a subject in her work was a no-brainer. I disagree with her daughter in that I believe the pictures of the immediate family is what she will be remembered for most; but I did enjoy looking at her landscape photographs, and the process behind creating them. I think it's admirable in today's digital times that she continues to take pictures using older methods, especially the collodion prints. It seems like it would be very fun to try and make prints in this manner, and I like her outlook of hoping she doesn't screw up completely, but maybe just a little bit to make it more interesting; this outlook just speaks more to her making these images for fun. Controversy or no controversy, her pictures are beautiful compositions that I enjoy looking at.