Early 20th Century Fine Art Photography in the US

Brett Weston

This is a photograph by Brett Weston, who is the son of the Edward Weston, a co-founder of Group f64. I choose this photograph because I thought it was a good example of what the American photographers were doing in the early 20th Century. Photographers were taking pictures that were sharp, in focus, had extreme vantage points, used framing, and different camera angles. The f64 group used the smallest aperture which then gave them a maximum depth of field and therefore maximum detail. The vantage point allows for the trees to frame the picture and it also has a very large depth of field. This picture is very sharp and very detailed, it almost feels as though you're standing right in the water looking down the tree line.

Exploration & Landscape

I found this picture to be innovative for several reasons. I Like how the photographer used the trees in a couple different ways. I feel like the two big trees in the foreground really break up all the negative space of the sky and also the way they frame the center and highest point of the mountain. If you look closely, the background trees have formed a path that helps lead the eye down towards the mountain. The picture seems to have been taken at dawn by the way the fog is still lifting. I think the fog also plays a key roll in the picture, it helps break up the rough textures of the trees and mountain giving the picture a nice balanced feel.