Landscape Photography Influences - Edward Weston

Edward Weston (March 24, 1886 - January 1, 1958) was an American photographer, and co-founder of Group f/64. Most of his work was done using an 8 by 10 inch view camera.


His photographic practice was broad covering portraiture, nude, still life and landscapes. He is perhaps most well known for his still life work. He photographed forms such as artichoke, shells, and rocks, using large-format cameras and available light. These images are close ups which were captured with great precision in order to reveal, in his words,  "an essence of what lies before the ... lens." 


The subtle use of tones and the sculptural formal design of his works have become the standards by which much later photographic practice has been judged. Ansel Adams has written: "Weston is, in the real sense, one of the few creative artists of today. He has recreated the matter-forms and forces of nature; he has made these forms eloquent of the fundamental unity of the world. His work illuminates man's inner journey toward perfection of the spirit." This is heady stuff!  Weston himself was seeking total realism in his work, but also he intended his photographs to represent more than just a literal depiction of the subject - "This then to photograph a rock, have it look like a rock, but be more than a rock. Significant representations - not interpretations."


Weston adopted the same approach to his landscape work. His tended to exclude temporal and transient effects of light, atmosphere, and movement in order to concentrate on revealing the object 'in its "deepest moment of perception."


I have reviewed two Weston books and several websites. The first book is a biography Edward Weston, His Life, the second is a compilation of his work published by Taschen Edward Weston (Icons Series). I must confess that I find Weston difficult. I admire greatly the quality and precision of his work. The composition and technical precision are superb, and there is much I could learn from this. However, for me his images lack emotional content. Perhaps I am misreading this or perhaps this is just what he intended. 

His landscapes seem to me to be almost like his still life photographs - very precise but at the same time very clinical. Below are a few examples of his landscape work. From the top the images are Dunes Oceano, White Dunes, Grass against Sea and Point Lobos. My evaluation of Weston may well be influenced by his choice of subject. His landscapes are not grand and imposing natural vistas. Rather they are extracts selected by Weston from the broader scene.  


My next port of call in reviewing the work of Group f/64 is to spend some time on Ansel Adams. This may cause me to look again at this post.