Sally Mann's photographs have been a part of my visual education since I took a diploma course in photography in the early 1990s, so I was excited to see that she had written her memoir - and it turns out she's an excellent writer as well as a great photographer! There's a great deal of interest in this book, not only about Sally's own life and work but also about her family history, the troubled history of the Deep South of America, art, life, and a lot of death! I had the great privilege, years ago, of meeting Sally, briefly, at a book signing at the Photographers' Gallery in London. I remember telling her how I'd long admired her work, yet never in my wildest dreams imagined I would ever meet her (I sometimes fantasise about meeting my artistic heroes!). It's apparent to me now that that was because, without giving conscious thought to it, I associated her so strongly with the landscape of so many of her photographs that seeing her anywhere else - especially somewhere like London - seemed so improbable as to be almost against all natural law! She did indeed seem out of place; quiet, perhaps a little nervous (though that was just as likely due to my over-enthusiastic gushing admiration causing her discomfort!!). In "Hold Still" Sally speaks about her love of her wonderful home, and it becomes evident that she and her land are inseparably fused. Her passion for that land, that place, certainly made me want to visit Lexington, Virginia. Sally's best known photographs remain her beautiful family portraits, and I found it fascinating to learn how some of the images in "Immediate Family", which all appear so...well, immediate, in fact took hours and days and weeks of work and refinement in order to achieve the perfect result. Perhaps more impressive still is the fact that some actually were spur of the moment, quickly made photographs, when Sally's preferred equipment is the type of large-format camera that takes considerable setting up. (My only niggle about "Hold Still" is the small format of the book, meaning that the many included photographs are printed very small, but I suppose a larger book would be a very expensive thing. I still regret that I couldn't afford to buy the book of Sally's magnificent landscape photographs, those years ago when I met her...). I have to say I loved reading "Hold Still", and countless times I wished I could discuss things with Sally, or simply say, "yes, YES!", because she was expressing, so eloquently, things that I have thought and occasionally attempted to express myself; arguments about art and artists, and memory and mortality, and so many things which I found myself delighted to share views on with Sally Mann. I could, as part of this review, offer some opinions on some of these subjects here, but, for two reasons, I shan't: first, because commenting on too many aspects of a book that fills approximately 570 pages would take far too long, and, second, because I would essentially just be repeating and agreeing with pretty much everything, but with far less eloquence, skill and erudition than Sally demonstrates - so I'll simply say, read "Hold Still" !

A fascinating insight into the life and work of a photographer who spent years of her professional life dealing with controversy raised by her subject matter. I liked the fact that it wasn't all about that. In fact it had a small part to play in a life that has been wild, demanding and complex. I love how Mann interweaves her thoughts about work with her thoughts about her life and that sometimes the two things are inseparable.