Kelp, Monterey Coast, 1930
Potato Cellar, Lake Tahoe, 1937
Oceano, 1938
Singling out one photographer that has been the most influential to my own work is not a simple task. There are many great artists from whom I've found inspiration. The one photographer who has most impacted my work is Edward Weston. One of the co-founders of Group f/64, Weston focused on precise and sharp presentation of natural forms such as landscapes, plants, and the human figure. Primarily concentrating on straight photography, Edward shot objects for what they were without subjectivity. His amazing attention to formal detail has made him recognizable, by many, as one of the greatest photographic artists of the 20th century.
Through my own photography I strive to view the formal subtleties of my surroundings, as Weston did. A lot of my work seems to deal with formal details of common objects that often go unnoticed. It's not my intention to solely focus on formal elements of objects, but I believe to become a great photographer, it's an essential skill to have.
"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." - Edward Weston
1 comment:
Your summary at the end was well put. I'd encourage you to think about how formality and concept can co-exist without one taking a back seat to the other.
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