Blog Post 5- Analysis of a photograph

Photographer: Edward Weston

Photograph: Shell (1927)

When the artist took the photo, he was interested in the color change on the outside of the shell, the entrance, and the shell itself. I believe this is because the white and gray color scheme of the opening and the outer shell suggests a sense of openness and coolness, and also because the black background and only the shell seems to highlight the sharpness and softness of the picture.

If I had taken this photo I would name this photo “Lighthouse on a Cliff”. If you were to simply look at this photo, it would look like a seashell, but to me, it seemed like it was taken from above, as if it were a lighthouse. The wide, white space of the seashell looked like a large, open beach, and the sharp edges looked like stairs, and where the stairs led to looked like a lighthouse on a cliff. Therefore, I would name it “Lighthouse on a Cliff”.

In the photo, the artist emphasized thin lines that emphasize the sharpness of the seashells. The curves add softness and flexibility. Although there are curves in the photo, the sharp angles at the ends create an angled feel between the smooth lines. The image appears to be composed of rectangular shapes surrounding a circle. There’s no clear pattern to the photo, but the sharp half-moon shapes repeat in the circular sections, giving the image a sharp feel similar to the angled sections of a seashell. The photo gives the impression that the outside of the shell is smooth, but the broken outer part of the shell and the black particles like grains of sand give it a crunchy feel. Since this is a black-and-white photo, it helps to emphasize the seashells by making the background darker and the seashells lighter. The outside of the shell is white and the center is gray to focus on the object. This photo mainly emphasizes the shell itself.

• Citation: Weston, Edward. “Shells.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Photography and Media, www.artic.edu/artworks/120835/shells. Accessed 7 Feb. 2025.