What Would Edward Weston Do?

This Blog started as a way to fill some time without putting too much personal information on the Internet. Yet, because I am still unemployed and waiting for the “Economic Stimulus” to stimulate something in my field, I have time on my hands that I’d like to do something productive with. I’ve talked previously about my volunteer work at the Park, I also garden and workout. But what could I be doing as a photographic focus? Obviously finish the basement darkroom, but what about the image capture side of life. I have at the same time several and yet no particular projects…….

I was reminded of the story behind Edward Weston’s Pepper 1930. He was doing portraiture at that time and working from a home studio near Carmel, CA (He had started out as a portrait photographer in Los Angeles). Needing to be nearby the house so as not to miss an employment opportunity, he looked around for things to photograph. He ended up with a series of iconic close-up photographs, one being Pepper 1930.

So I do know what Edward Weston would do with house-bound free time. And in fact one of my best photos, 'Welcome' was a casually taken around the house picture. I usually dedicate one of my Holgas to this Task. Here I was experimenting with Ilford ISO 3200 film in my Holga (I usually use the recommended ISO400). I wanted to see how much this film improved the results for low-light conditions inside the house.

Camera: Holga
Film: Ilford ISO 3200 (shot at 1600) I love the grain!
Developer: D-76
For ISO 400 I use Rodinal for my Holga Shots