Nicole Kidman | Photograph by Annie Leibovitz

I found myself in Sydney at a loose end so headed over to The Museum of Contemporary Art at Circular Quay to view the travelling Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life exhibition.  Despite being in the exhibitions last day’s, the gallery was still fairly packed: with a line out the door.

The exhibition took up the entire top floor of the museum. There were a variety of styles, sizes and types of prints. I wasn’t so sure where to start. So I just started somewhere. I was surprised by the images that really captured my interest: there were a series of images from Sarajevo which I found really moving; and a series of family portraits and personal photos. I could have stared for ages conjuring my own versions of what their life might be like. I really wanted to know more about the people contained in the images and thought about the for ages afterwards.

The only downside to the experience was the way the pictures were framed. They were framed behind high-shine glass that in the gallery light turned them into mirrors. I found it frustrating watching myself looking at the pictures – and I think that took away from the subtle details in the photos. It was an annoyance, but didn’t ruin the experience.

The Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life 1990 – 2005 exhibition has now closed at MCA but many of her images are readily recognisable from Vogue and Rolling Stone.