Presentation Post

        The research over Edward Weston was very fascinating. I discovered that he first began to take pictures in Chicago, and his first published works were done in 1903 at the Art Institute of Chicago. He later moved to California and opened a portrait studio, where the Western landscape became his principal subject. One significant fact about Weston was that he was one of several photographers who formed the f/64 group. I thought this was interesting because a wide aperture was needed for how big of a camera Edward Weston had. I then learned that he was well known for his landscapes, still lives, nudes, portraits, and genre scenes. 

The writing aspect of the presentation was fairly simple. After researching, I broke my research into sections and created slides that would correspond to the research. I tried to add the bare minimum number of words, so that the pictures could be the main thing on each slide. I did create a speaking document, aside from the slideshow, that would help guide me while presenting my slideshow. 

While researching about Edward Weston, I made sure to write down which photographs were mentioned the most, in order to include his most well-known work. Then, I specifically looked up his most famous photographs to make sure I didn’t miss any. I then organized them by when they took place to make sure they were in timely order. Lastly, I made sure they all fit under the subjects he was most well-known for (his landscapes, still lives, nudes, portraits, and genre scenes), because I didn’t want to include anything out of the ordinary and wanted to focus on what he took pictures of the most. 

I think my presentation went pretty well. My presentation was exactly ten minutes long, so I successfully accomplished the time requirement. I think I presented confidently, and I was also able to answer a question at the end about the f/64 group. 

After completing this research project, I found that I actually learned quite a bit. For starters, I learned about Edward Weston and his overall impact on the photography world. He helped revolutionize photography so that it became an important component of modern art. He also helped influence an entire generation of American photographers. When researching, I was also able to view professional critics and how they analyzed his work, which helped me learn more about formal elements of photography. I was then able to incorporate this new knowledge into my own formal analysis of one of his photographs.