Título: Edward Weston
Seção: Writings
Background: Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 - January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." Over the course of his 40-year career Weston photographed an increasingly expansive set of subjects, including landscapes, still lifes, nudes, portraits, genre scenes and even whimsical parodies. It is said that he developed a "quintessentially American, and specially Californian, approach to modern photography" because of his focus on the people and places of the American West.

Conteúdo: Weston was a prolific writer. His Daybooks were published in two volumes totaling more than 500 pages in the first edition. This does not include the years of the journal he kept between 1915 and 1923; for reasons he never made clear he destroyed those before leaving for Mexico. He also wrote dozens of articles and commentaries, beginning in 1906 and ending in 1957, and he hand-wrote or typed at least 5,000 letters to colleagues, friends, lovers, his wives and his children.  In addition, Weston kept very thorough notes on the technical and business aspects of his work. The Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, which now houses most of Weston's archives, reports that it houses 75 linear feet of pages from his Daybooks, correspondence, financial records, memorabilia, and other personal documents in his possession when he died.  Among Weston's most important early writings are those that provide insights into his development of the concept of previsualization. He first spoke and wrote about the concept in 1922, at least a decade before Ansel Adams began utilizing the term, and he continued to expand upon this idea both in writing and in his teachings. Historian Beaumont Newhall noted the significance of Weston's innovation in his book The History of Photography, saying "The most important part of Edward Weston's approach was his insistence that the photographer should previsualize the final print before making the exposure."  In his Daybooks he provided a

user: Was Weston a writer or were things written about him?

assistant: Weston was a prolific writer.

user: What did Weston write about?

assistant: he hand-wrote or typed at least 5,000 letters to colleagues, friends, lovers, his wives and his children.

user: Was weston a published writer?

assistant: He also wrote dozens of articles and commentaries, beginning in 1906 and ending in 1957,

user: Did he ever write any books?

assistant: His Daybooks were published in two volumes totaling more than 500 pages in the first edition.

user: Were his Daybooks successful?

assistant: the University of Arizona, which now houses most of Weston's archives, reports that it houses 75 linear feet of pages from his Daybooks,

user: Did he write anything besides the daybooks and article and letters?

assistant: Among Weston's most important early writings are those that provide insights into his development of the concept of previsualization.

user: What were those writings?

assistant: "The most important part of Edward Weston's approach was his insistence that the photographer should previsualize the final print before making the exposure."

user: Was this a popular theory?

assistant: He first spoke and wrote about the concept in 1922, at least a decade before Ansel Adams began utilizing the term, and he continued to expand upon this idea