Motivation Monday - Edward Weston

"Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual." - Edward Weston.

Edward Weston (1886-1958) used lighting and angles to make everyday objects look different and interesting. He also did a great deal of work with nudes in the later years of his career. Most of Weston's work was done using an 8x10 inch view camera. He was given his first camera when he was 16 and started taking photographs. His favourite hangouts when he was young were Chicago parks and his aunt's farm and he was first exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago in 1903. His comprehensive legacy includes the incredibly detailed Daybooks he kept regularly from the mid 1920s to 1934. These books allowed for a very intimate glimpse of his personal life, his views on photography and his methods and techniques for his work. Edward Weston is generally accepted and recognized as one of the greatest photographers of the 20th Century. One of the most inspirational aspects of Weston, to me personally, is his ability to take an every day object, like the shell in the middle of this post, and make them look so incredibly interesting and unique. Some of his 'everyday' photos take a little while to decipher and for the viewer to determine what the image actually is. I also enjoy his quote, "Consulting the rules of composition before taking a photograph, is like consulting the laws of gravity before going for a walk." I primarily like this quote because I feel the same about the rules of composition, they can create a well-liked photograph, but should be second nature and not something that you need to consciously think about before taking a shot.