History of Photographers 13 & 14

Edward Weston

Edward Weston is considered to be one of the most influential photographers of all time. The 40 years he spent on photography paid off, he had a very modern approach to photography, mainly photographing items he found intriguing, still lifes and nudes. His most famous photos are the ones he took of the trees that surrounded the town he resided in California. He only stopped doing photography when he developed Parkinson's disease and could no longer work. He worked in many different photo studios before finally opening his own in 1911. In 2010 two of Weston's photos were ranked as some of the most expensive photographs sold. 

This photo called "Nautilus" is famous by Edward Weston. I like this photo quite a bit because of the plain quality it has. It's just a shell and yet it is still an interesting photo. It takes talent to be able to make such a plain object look like a piece of art. I also like how the shell is darker around the front and not as light as the rest of the shell. Its something about the way the shell looks that makes this photo interesting.

I also like this image taken by Edward Weston. It's odd and unique and gives a weird feeling to whoever observes it. Weston takes extremely unique and weird objects and photographs them in such a way that it makes them look intricate and unique. I like that he is able to create art out of such strange objects.

 

This photo is entitled "Inspiration" and is my least favorite photo by Weston. I feel the name has no deep hidden meaning, what could a crushed vegetable have to do with inspiration? Weston has taken his weirdness to the very next level and I think it is a bit too much for this photograph. 

Lewis H. Hine

 Lewis Hine is mostly known for his use of photography when trying to help change child labor laws and social reform in the United States. Hine studied sociology and photography and learned to combine both to help people in need. He photographed many different working places with many different working conditions all to make sure that working people were treated correctly and to expose companies that were not treating their employees as such. In the Library of Congress there are over 5000 photographs of social reform taken by Hine alone. He is kind of like the original Mike Carroll, using his photography to help people in need.

I have mixed feelings about Hine's photography. His photos are all brilliant in certain ways but they are more documentary photographs than ones taken for artistic purposes. The photo here doesn't hit a nerve when looking at the blank faces of the people traveling to Ellis Island, it doesn't make your heart skip a beat. The photo is merely a moment in history showing little significance.

I like this photo because it can be interpreted many different ways considering the angle of the man when he is turning the lever. To me this man looks curled as if he is in an almost upright fetal position. This gives the impression that this man has been a mechanic all his life and this is where he is most comfortable. The photo is taken carefully and everything is crystal clear in this image, yet another reason why I liked it. 

This photo could have been so much more spectacular if the lighting was only a few shades lighter. The man's shadow also obscures the view, though maybe this was meant to be artistic. The picture just looks funny to me and at an odd angle which I don't like. This is perhaps my least favorite Hine photo because of the potential it had.