Just returned from the Getty Museum today, and for the first time in a long time, I feel the promise of the collection that has made Getty’s name in the photography world, has truly been realized with this exhibit of Edward Weston’s body of work entitled Enduring Vision. Oh sure, years ago they made the biggest purchase of it’s time, 7.2 million dollars, of a photography collection. But where was it? Slowly brought out in small shows, it was a tease. Good tease, but we all knew there was more. And here is a good chunk.
Open now til November 25th, 2007. If you are in LA, it’s a must see.

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Now Edward Weston is one of the prime influences in my photographic life. I’ll never forget reading his daybooks and imagining the serenity of spending a day with a view camera, waiting for the light, exposing sheets of film with f/64 as a goal for achieving maximum depth of field. Back in the day, I visited the Harvard Fogg Art Museum, when, for an exchange of a drivers license, a huge stack of original Weston prints was given to me for viewing.

No guards, no gloves. Just an easel to place an image at a time. The beauty of the prints in the uncovered interior light of the museum was an experience I will never forget. This was the life for me.

But things change. 35mm Nikons got me where I wanted to go. With people. With events.

The photographs and the writings of Edward Weston will always be an influence to me though. The purity of vision in a real world still entices.

This exhibit at the Getty awakened that feeling in me again, many years later.

The selection of vintage palladium prints, along with silver prints from a time when there was rich silver content,coupled with a dead-on description of the various eras of his life and work, is an overwhelming reminder of the influence of Weston. His photographs making the ordinary extraordinary, such as the Peppers#30, will be a part of photography legend forever.

This exhibit of work, primarily from the Getty collection, is housed in the new photography wing of the Getty, where you can wander the walls, and stop off at display cases, showing things like pages from family albums, and early commercial work.

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One of the jewels of the show is the original layout of the book that Weston intended to publish but never came to pass in his lifetime. With this exhibition, the book ” Edward Weston’s Book of Nudes ” has finally been published. And it is stunning with 70 duotone and 1 color plates.

So the giveaway this week are the Daybooks of Edward Weston. Perhaps one of you will find the same inspiration I did.

This week will see a shortened email with call outs to the site. A friend of mine told me that he thought the emails were all of photoinduced.com. Made me think. We’d like to see everyone here. And give you just what you want.

REMEMBER: TO GET IN ON THE GIVEAWAY YOU MUST BE ON THE NEWSLETTER EMAIL LIST!!

Here is the way the giveaway will work this week: it’ll be hit reply, put “Daybooks” in the subject, add a shipping address, hit send and #25 reply will be sent the book. Free. Gratis. ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD!
And of course those on the NEWSLETTER list will see a bonus item in the email.
UPDATED!! The bonus item this week is Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Book. The 26th person to put “Kelby” in the subject line of the return email, will be sent that book. As always make sure you send a mailiing address in the email.

Cheers!
Damon Webster