Although largely known for his nudes, particularly on locations, Weston was a prolific black and white still life photographer capturing a range of subjects, often solitary within the frame.
This series of Nautilus shells show a subject filling the frame quite beautifully with the use of negative space around the outside to isolate that subject. The details are exquisite with the lighting and contrast actually being quite satisfyingly neutral. The use of the Nautilus shell is attributed to the desire to replace the human skull as a slightly less grim momento mori or reminder of the inevitability of death.
Easily one of his most famous images, the pepper on the left here is beautifully mirrored by the nude to the right. The combining and mirroring of organic forms in both composition and lighting make for an interesting and dynamic dichotomy.
Weston, E. (2020). Edward Weston. https://edward-weston.com/edward-weston/
Andrews Masters Journey 