Down In The Garden

by Anne Geddes

Babies as snoozing hedgehogs. Babies as beatific butterflies. Babies as tiny fairies dwelling in a magical garden. These are the inhabitants of Anne Geddes' gorgeous book Down in the Garden, an extraordinary ode to tiny babies and the enchantment they bring to life.In Geddes' Down in the Garden, the world-famous photographer has captured newborns in a variety of mythical poses: brightly colored flowers with babies peeking out from behind them, sleeping babies snuggled inside bright green peapods, sprightly gnomes with darling baby faces. All come together to make Geddes' Down in the Garden an artistic masterpiece unlike any other.This small hardcover edition of Down in the Garden features all the striking images from the internationally best-selling full-size volume in a more intimate, gift-size package. Complemented by gently humorous text, the images in Down in the Garden reflect Geddes' appreciation for the beauty and innocence of babies. Her unique imagery immediately communicates her deep and abiding love of children in a universal language understood by people everywhere.

Genres: Art, Photography, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Coffee Table Books, Childrens

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Anne Geddes, MNZM, is an Australian-born photographer, currently living and working in New York.
She is best known for her baby photographies and photographies on motherhood.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Ge...

Reviews

[Klara Gonciarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

adorable and quite iconic. the origin of capturing babies as flowers, animals, insects; editing fantasy.

[Books Ring Mah Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

WHY GOD, WHY?
This kind of crap is suitable only for the walls of a pediatrician’s office. Even then, as you wait for the doctor, you think, "maybe I should take my child somewhere else."

[carpe librorum :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

As fantásticas imagens de bebés desta fotógrafa dispensam apresentações. Criadora de cenários, personagens e histórias fantásticas, esta autora revela o lado mais ternurento destas criaturas já de si tão gostáveis. Seria impossível não me render a este livro, concentrado de fofura e garantia de sorrisos:






Para além da fotografia, os textos e a paginação são excelentes, repletos de pormenores deliciosos.

[Avis Black · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hideous schmaltz in awful taste.

[Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful babies show n in a delightfully imaginative way!

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toddler E loves looking at the photographs of babies in this oversized coffee-table book. They are pretty cute for the most part, though I find a few pages/poses/themes mildly disturbing (a whole page-spread of earthworms with infant faces, uncomfortable-looking chrysalis babies sleeping with their heads hanging rather sharply to the side, babies sleeping inside hollowed-out chilly-looking watermelons). But that's just me. My kiddo eats them up and keeps exclaiming happily over all of them. 😄

[Rossella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libriccino dolce come nettare. Peccato solo che sia stato stampato in un formato piccolo che non permette di godere appieno delle deliziose espressioni dei visini di tutti questi bimbi appena sbocciati alla vita.

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this and the photography

[Sean Savage · Rating 1 out of 5]

A nightmare.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the photos in this book!

[Lady Slipper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel so bad for all the babies! Most of them look very uncomfortable, and who wouldn't in those outfits. 🤨

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ingenious and beautiful, this is a book that will lift your soul!!

[RoseBud · Rating 5 out of 5]

why was this my most prized possession at the age of 5?

[Nathan Albright · Rating 3 out of 5]

For many years, I thought that I had managed to escape the creepy and uncomfortable phenomenon of naked baby photos, until I saw as a teenager that my father, who was our family's photographer, had taken all kinds of photos of me as a baby, including my first bath. For very personal reasons, the sight of naked baby photos makes me extremely uncomfortable, to the point of being viscerally disturbed. That makes reading a book like this, which is reputedly about gardening [1], an unpleasant experience because it is actually a coffee table sort of book from a photographer who takes pictures of babies and very small children up to the age of three or so who are in gardening related costumes or scenes, sometimes naked and curled up, or dressed up like gnomes or fairies or butterflies or even worms. What may have appeared cute to the photographer herself, who is known to be a photographer who specializes in infants, ends up seeming to be in the uncanny valley for someone like myself.

In terms of the contents and presentation of this book, this is a very straightforward volume. There is an introductory text that reminds the writer that the author is an unlikely fan of gardening because while she can appreciate gardens aesthetically, she does not wish to take the time to work in them, but rather uses them as a backdrop for her love of taking baby pictures. In terms of its overall presentation, the book has very glossy photos, as well as text that is occasionally formatted in distinctive and artistic ways [2]. This is precisely the sort of book that people who enjoy baby photos would keep on a coffee table as a way of encouraging oohing and awwing on the part of their friends and houseguests. Although I am not someone who tends to find a great deal of enjoyment in looking at photographs of babies or small children, I am aware that many parents are very interested in such sorts of art, so there are likely many people who would appreciate such a work. I must admit that I'm not the target audience for this book, but I am willing to accept that as a frequent reality.

As someone who reads a lot of books, sometimes I ponder what it is that makes someone create the sort of book that they do. Some books, most books in fact, are not mysterious at all in terms of their purpose and conception. I tend to read fairly straightforward nonfiction books for the most part, and appreciate it when the reason for works is clear. When it comes to imaginative fiction, there are often clear reasons autobiographically speaking for works as well, and as a literary critic of some practice I appreciate having at least some glimpse of the importance of biography when it comes to works. This book, though, is somewhat mysterious in its conception. It is very difficult for me to imagine why someone would want to take dozens of pages worth of photographs where babies are dressed in strange costumes. Perhaps it is something that I would not understand, even if I am someone who enjoys wearing my fair share of humorous historical costumes, at least. Those who enjoy this sort of book will enjoy this sort of book, if it makes any sense.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[2] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress...

[Jodie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these big picture books. I love children & babies. And I love Anne Geddes photography skills. She's so talented.

[Barb Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great and creative photographs of infants. Beautifully done.

[Sarom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love looking at this book with my daughter Kay. The pictures are so beautiful. We also love reading it together as well.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it has cute baby pictures.

[JG (Introverted Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mom bought this for me a year or so ago. It's an adorable coffee table book!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read it with my son and he especially liked the baby acorns and the baby pumpkins.

[nona ★ · Rating 5 out of 5]

💕