“Anything that excites me for any reason, I will photograph; not searching for unusual subject matter, but making the commonplace unusual.”
- Edward Weston
Following on from researching Imogen Cunningham and wanting to further experiment with black and white and more abstract imagery, I wanted to look into Edward Weston's work. While Cunningham often focused on sharply detailed botanical studies, Weston focused his work on shells, peppers, leaves, landscapes, and more - often forcing the viewer to slow down and spend time looking before fully understanding what they are seeing.
Born in 1886, America, Weston is considered one of the most influential photographers in the development of modern photography. He originally began photography in a more traditional pictorialist style, where images were soft focused and made to resemble paintings, however over time he moved towards extremely sharp, highly detailed photographs that focused on realism, form, and composition.
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This effect particularly interests me within my own project as it directly links to my theme of attention and noticing change. Weston’s work challenges the viewer to look beyond immediate assumptions and instead focus on the smaller details, textures, shapes, and tonal variations within nature. By making subjects initially difficult to recognise, the viewer is encouraged to become more present and observant rather than simply glancing at the image and moving on.
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I also find that his use of black and white strengthens this effect further. Without colour acting as an immediate identifier, the focus shifts entirely onto form, contrast, texture, and lighting. This allows natural details to become much more exaggerated and noticeable, often making ordinary objects appear unfamiliar or sculptural. I am interested in experimenting with this within my own work, particularly through close up compositions, selective framing, and decontextualising natural subjects so they become more about shape and detail than the object itself. I think this could help develop my project further by encouraging viewers to pay closer attention to elements of nature they would normally overlook.
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Additionally, in my very first mindmaps and initial ideas for this project I had noted that something I wanted to explore was the idea that familiarity dulls awareness. I feel with colour, that familiarity is strong and allows viewers to subconsciously ignore what they are actually looking at because they have seen it so many times. With black and white however, there is a lower chance of instant recognition, allowing viewers to almost see these things for the first time again.
One of Weston's most iconic photographs is Pepper No. 30 (1930), a black and white still life image of a pepper photographed extremely close up. At first glance, the subject is difficult to immediately recognise due to the tight framing, dramatic lighting, and abstract composition. Rather than appearing as a simple vegetable, the pepper takes on an almost sculptural and human like form, forcing the viewer to spend more time observing the image before understanding what they are looking at.
Weston uses a very controlled composition, filling almost the entire frame with the pepper so there is little surrounding context. This decontextualises the object and removes its ordinary function, allowing the viewer to instead focus on shape, texture, and tonal contrast. The curves of the pepper create flowing organic lines throughout the image, giving it a soft and almost fluid appearance despite being a still object. The lighting is highly directional, creating deep shadows and bright highlights which exaggerate the folds and contours of the pepper, making it appear almost like carved stone or fabric rather than food.
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The black and white colour palette is particularly important within this image because it removes colour as an immediate identifier. Without the recognisable green, yellow, or red tones normally associated with peppers, the viewer is encouraged to pay closer attention to the details of light, shadow, texture, and form. This creates a more immersive viewing experience where observation becomes necessary rather than optional.
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Conceptually, I am interested in this image because it links strongly to my own project surrounding attention and noticing details that are often overlooked. Weston transforms an everyday natural object into something unfamiliar simply through framing and observation, proving that ordinary subjects can become visually interesting when viewed differently. I think this idea could influence my own work, particularly through experimenting with close up imagery, abstraction, and selective framing to encourage viewers to slow down and engage more deeply with natural forms rather than instantly recognising and dismissing them.