Edward Wetson.

Edward Weston, (born March 24, 1886, Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.—died January 1, 1958, Carmel, California), major American photographer of the early to mid-20th century, best known for his carefully composed, sharply focused images of natural forms, landscapes, and nudes. His work influenced a generation of American photographers.

Weston’s Tecniques.

With both his photography and his procedures in the darkroom, Weston liked to keep things as simple as possible. All of his prints were made as contact prints – prints made by placing the film negative emulsion side down, in contact with the piece of photographic paper, encased within a simple frame of sorts before being exposed to light. This meant that every print was 9 ½ x 7 ½ inches, the exact size of the image area for an 8x10 negative. In the cases where Weston used a 4x5 negative or smaller – most often done when photographing people – he would borrow a fellow photographer’s enlarger and create new negatives so as to still contact print. This creation process would often take an entire day as it was a very extensive process. Because of his masterful approach in the field, very little adjustments – such as dodging and burning – were needed for each negative, allowing him to print rather quickly.

Weston and Pictorism.

Weston’s photographs were softly-focused and much more abstracted than what most people know his work looking like today. The entire idea behind pictorialism was to create photographs that closer resembled paintings, given that the former were not yet considered a true artform. It wasn’t until his visit to the ARMCO Steel Plant in Middletown, Ohio in 1922 that Edward Weston renounced pictorialism, officially marking a major turning point in his career. He now maintained a new emphasis on abstract form and sharper resolution on detail, things which he would have gawked at only a year prior. Weston later wrote, “The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.”

I find Weston’s work one of the kind. It is incredible the attention given by his eye to the simplest objects and how their shapes can appear something else by taking a closer look to them and the right point of view. I love the contrast generated on the pictures and the work with the lights. The focus on the abstract shapes found in simple things such as vegetables. I find myself very inspired by his work since i enjoy working with closer up objects and playing with their shapes, giving people the need to truly focus in what is going on the pictures.

Photography Project.

Confirm copying