Imogen Cunningham Vs Edward Weston Essay

Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston were two influential pioneers of photography. Through the images they created, photography became accepted as an art form in and of itself. Without the work of these two, the field of photography might have become an entirely different landscape than it is today. As both Cunningham and Weston were members of the same photographer’s society, Group f/64, their images share some artistic qualities and have similar philosophy behind them. Despite this, there are many fundamental differences between their artwork, such as subject matter, inspiration, and composition. By examining the works of Imogen Cunningham and Edward Weston, we may find these differences between them among the similarities.

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It is difficult to categorize many of his photos, but he has a large number of close-up still lifes and landscapes. His close-ups are also varied, with many shots of different vegetables and shells. Despite the variety of his subjects, Weston’s photographs have several features in common. Most were taken with high detail and sharpness. Much like Imogen Cunningham’s photos, Weston appeared to use a large f-stop to capture all the detail the scene had to offer. Each detail in every square inch of the photo is equally important, adding a different layer or impression to the overall image. Another common feature possessed by several of Weston’s photographs is the dynamic way light is used. The light and shadow are intense, blending together in ways that make even ordinary objects somewhat abstract. The effect produced by the light feels so deliberate, it is almost as if Weston directed every photon to its proper place. The parts of the subject that were obscured in the shadow add to how abstract many of Weston’s photos were. While Weston’s use of lighting was impressive in many different types of photos, where it perhaps shined the most was in his still lifes. His still lifes also had several other features in