Product Description

Anne Geddes's "technically and aesthetically exquisite photographs [are] imbued with grace and hope." --Library Journal

Now Anne Geddes's critically acclaimed Pure is available in a new size.

Similar in scale to the reissues of Anne Geddes' Down in the Garden and Until Now, Pure is now available in three formats--the original hard- and soft-cover editions and this elegantly giftable 5" x 6" trim size.

Four years in the making, Anne Geddes' Pure offers breathtaking images that intimately evoke the wonder of the first precious days and weeks of life. With eyes tightly shut, in wrinkly new skin, and unaffected by the world around them, newborns are captured in their purest form as Geddes' explains, "to emphasize the fact that they are vulnerable, fragile, and very precious human beings."

"Real women in the full bloom of pregnancy radiate serenity and promise. Mothers enfold babies in their arms--highlighting the beautiful bond between them and revealing our shared humanity."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #764401 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 216 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Black and white newborns and mothers are featured in full color in Australian photographer Geddes's latest postpartum spectacular. It has been more than five years since Down in the Garden, Geddes's bestselling set of stylized babies-as-flowers. These 123 new color and b&w photographs offer a variety of mother-and-child poses and guises, many of which, through the ingenious use of body stockings and some careful camera work, simulate pregnancy: here are babies in fetal position on mother's stomach, held in place by flesh-like mesh; babies surrounded by strange, womb-simulating white fluff; babies projected into Mars-like pulsing red-yellow backdrops suggesting a living womb. The effect is unsettling, to say the least. There are also more conventional shots of newborns precariously balanced on women's backs or nestled at the breast, and simple, intense closeups of sleeping infants. Single words appear en face to the full-page photos: "DELIGHTFUL," "MIRACULOUS," "DELICATE," "CHERISHED." What aren't they doing? Screaming, eating, moving or looking expectantly at the viewer and demanding something they cannot yet verbalize. These babies are like Geddes's other preferred subject, flowers: beautiful, silent, content. Yet fantasy and idealization are as much a part of life as gritty verit‚: Geddes's books have sold 15 million copies in 50 countries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
This sumptuous large-format book deals exclusively with the subject of birth and calmly sleeping babies. The 123 black-and-white and color photographs feature infants held by mothers or fathers, twins cuddling together in various poses, women carrying infants, and many other imaginatively rendered tableaux. The variety of the photographs is remarkable, especially given the singularity of the subject, and each one is beautifully executed. A few of the photographs are a bit stylized, but the theme of the book as a whole succeeds admirably. Geddes (Down in the Garden), whose earlier photographs of babies gained widespread popularity, set out to make this volume "a celebration of the very essence of new life-the beauty, innocence, and promise of every newborn." Aptly titled, this collection of technically and aesthetically exquisite photographs is imbued with grace and hope. It will be a welcome addition to all photography collections but will also be enjoyed by anyone who simply likes babies-what can be sweeter and more charming than a newborn contentedly snoozing in its mother's arms? Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.
Raymond Bial, Parkland Coll. Lib., Champaign, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author
Anne Geddes is one of the world's most respected and acclaimed photographers. Her classic images of newborns grace greeting cards, calendars, books, stationery, and photo albums. With two New York Times best-sellers to her credit, Anne has enjoyed worldwide critical and public acclaim.

Customer Reviews

Something new and daring from Anne Geddes
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.

Amazing!
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.

Beautiful book
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.