THURSDAY MORNING PHOTOGRAPHY CORNER

By Debbie Bulloch



After our last exploration of photographer Man Ray's avant-garde work, it is fitting to now take a look at a photographer whose work is more accessible.

Man Ray grabs the viewer's attention by presenting him with unsettling images of vaguely familiar objects; our featured photographer, Edward Weston, just wants the viewer to see what the lens itself sees. As Weston himself put it, "I want the stark beauty that a lens can so exactly render presented without interference of artistic effect."

Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was an American photographer. For his 16th birthday, Weston’s father gave the future great photographer his first camera, a Kodak Bull's-Eye #2. From that moment on, a life-long love affair with photography began. During his early years, Weston’s favorite hangouts were Chicago parks and a farm owned by his aunt. Weston’s work met with quick success. In 1903, when he was only 17 years old, the Chicago Art Institute exhibited his photographs

In 1906, Weston moved to California, where he decided to stay and pursue a career in photography. In 1910, Weston opened his first photographic studio in Tropico, California (now Glendale). In addition to his photo work, Weston wrote articles about his unconventional methods of portraiture for several high-circulation magazines.

In 1922, Weston experienced a transition from pictorialism to straight photography, becoming "the pioneer of precise and sharp presentation." His pictures included the human figure as well as items of nature, including seaside wildlife, plants, and landscapes. Tina Modotti, his professional (and romantic) partner, often accompanied him to Mexico, creating much gossip in the media.

After 1927, Weston worked mainly with nudes, still life — his shells and vegetable studies were especially important — and landscape subjects. In his photography Weston liked to use the smallest lens opening, usually as small as f/64. The small lens opening, or f-stop, resulted in great depth of field, making a photograph appear evenly sharp from foreground to background. Weston also achieved great sharpness by not enlarging the negative. In order to be able to avoid having to enlarge the negative, Weston did most of his work using a 4 by 5 inch or an 8 by 10 inch view camera; he then contact prints from his 4x5 or 8x10 negatives.

8X10 View Camera



4X5 View Camera



In 1932, Weston co-founded Group f/64 with Ansel Adams, Willard Van Dyke and others. The detailed, straight photography that the group espoused was in opposition to the pictorialist soft-edged methods that were still in fashion at the time.

Edward Weston was one of the true regenerative artist: an awakener of the eye and the evolving mind it serves. Regeneration was a quality that Weston brought to photography for more than three decades, defining both the limits and the generosities of his medium.

Point Lobos, in the Monterey Peninsula was one of Weston’s many subjects. The grand natural beauty of the Monterey Peninsula in general, and Point Lobos in particular, held a powerful attraction for Weston. He returned to it again and again. In 1948, stricken with Parkinson's Disease, Weston made his last photographs at Point Lobos State Reserve.

I frequently travel to the Monterey Peninsula, including Monterey, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur (which is not technically in the Monterey Peninsula, but close enough to share many of its characteristics). The rugged beauty of the area is awe-inspiring. The deep dark woods, the craggy shoreline and the roaring ocean are the muse that has inspired many great American artists including novelist John Steinbeck (East of Eden and Cannery Row), poet Robinson Jeffers (Tamar and Roan Stallion) and of course photographers Ansel Adams and Edward Weston.

In 1937 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation awarded Weston a fellowship, the first given to a photographer. In the year 1937 America was still struggling through the Great Depression. Weston himself was struggling economically. During this time Weston survived by selling his photos for he humble price of $7-10 each. (Now they have gone up a staggering 1,000,000% in value.) The $2,000.00 fellowship (which was a lot of money at that time) allowed Weston to engage in a photo-odyssey through California. During that time, Weston travelled all over California capturing the state’s raw essence and unmatched beauty in the nearly 1,400 negatives that he created.

Edward Weston died in his house on Wildcat Hill in Carmel Highlands in Big Sur, California on January 1, 1958, at age 71.

Weston’s career spanned crucial years in American photography; a restless pursuit of his art created a body of work that ranged over nudes, still lifes, industrial scenes, portraiture, landscapes, and any other subject that touched Weston’s visual imagination. He is generally recognized as one of the greatest photographic artists of the 20th century. Weston’s pioneering photographic vision has been the inspiration of countless professional and amateur (like me) photographers.

Here is a gallery of some of my favorite Weston's photographs.



















All Edward Weston photographs are protected by copyright. The copyright owner(s) fully reserve all rights to the photographs.

Here are my attempts at capturing Weston's "vision"



















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