Today we are pleased to share the work and words of Cara Weston.
Would you please tell us about yourself?
I have been exposed to photography or in the photography world since as long as I can remember. I worked for my father Cole Weston and my uncle Brett Weston and was the director of Weston Gallery for many years. I am a mother of two fantastic daughters and I have two wonderful grandchildren. I love to garden and work around my house and I love to travel and photograph.
How did you choose photography as a way to express yourself?
I think it was hard to avoid photography in this family. I didn’t truly get serious about photography until my mid thirties. I was around photography and working for my father and uncle, but it was not encouraged for me to be a photographer. In my family I have always felt photography was for the men and not the women. I took my first darkroom/photography class from Henry Gilpin at Monterey Peninsula College. The work I did for my father and uncle was mounting a spotting photograph, not printing. I also modeled for my uncle Brett for his underwater nude series. It wasn’t until later in life that I felt secure enough to go out and photograph for myself as a woman in this Weston Family.
Who has influenced your creative process?
I was influenced by many great photographers like Eugene Smith, Brett Weston, Edward Weston, Ruth Bernhard, Imogen Cunningham just to name a few. I always thought I wanted to be a photo journalist until I had children and realized that this was not a good career for raising children. Brett Weston’s dedication to his work and his eye for abstraction influenced me a lot. Edward Weston’s capture of nudes and form also influenced me greatly. Eugene Smith’s images with so many stories behind the images got me excited about what photography could show and tell about the world around us. There was not just one photographer or artist who influenced me, there were so many great artists who showed me what was possible behind the lens.
Please tell us about an image (not your own) that has inspired you.
I think there were many images that inspired me. Early on Eugene Smith’s “Walk to Paradise” triggered something in me. The image he took of Juanita looking into the camera along with many other images he took as a photo journalist. As a woman I always felt a connection to the nudes taken by my grandfather Edward Weston. I used to spot the various nudes on the dunes (mostly Charis) and I wanted to be that woman on the dune in the hot sun. Finally, at 65 years of age I ran out on the Eureka dunes took off my clothes and did just that!
I love plants and growing them, so plants and still life’s by Imogen Cunningham and Edward have always drawn my attention.
How do you work through times when nothing seems to work?
Ah yes, those times when nothing seems to work or inspire! Usually I know this too will pass and if I just go out and take a walk, garden or read a book that creative process will soon return. The key is not to be hard on oneself and to know sometimes we need a break.
Photographing is like meditation to me. My mind stops thinking, and the seeing and emotions take over. Patience is the key to working through those doldrums. I feel everyone is creative and sometimes we need a break from the creative process. This is a healthy thing to do. A recharge!
What part of image-making do you find the most rewarding?
My favorite part of image making is taking the image. I feel the most rewarded in the moment of capture. I feel the most excitement. My next favorite part is getting the final print on paper and being content with the end result. Everything else in-between can be frustrating and exhausting at times.
What tools have you found essential in making of your work?
My trusty Canon 5D with three lenses, and now my iPhone are my essential tools. My Epson printer also plays a big part with the magic it can do. Good music while printing also helps.
Is there something in photography that you would like to try in the future?
At almost seventy I am feeling like I don’t want to start doing a bunch of new processes in my work. I struggle with this a lot because I see so many wonderful artists doing so many different things with their photography. I almost feel there are too many options today. I even find the digital process has given me too many choices. Between apps, photoshop, and papers I get overwhelmed at times.
I love seeing what others are doing with their images, but I think I will just keep it simple and try to see the world as I see it with very little manipulation. As I get older I want more simplicity in my life. I think I will keep my photography simple and straightforward. One process I have always liked is platinum prints, so I might venture into that at some point in time.
How does your art affect how you see the world?
I don’t think my art affects the way I see the world, I think the world affects the art I produce. I am always looking and seeing images, whether I am in nature or in line at the grocery store. Everything I see is telling me a story or is asking to be interrupted in my brain as a photograph. I am always looking at forms in contrast of each other or what an image does in different lights or angles. It is a puzzle to put it together in my mind.
What’s on the horizon?
What is on the horizon? That is a tough question. At this moment in time: Peace, solitude and the ongoing exploration of the world around me. I plan to travel as much as I can, enjoy my children and grandchildren and keep photographing the world as I see it.
Next year I plan to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain and only take my iPhone for photographing. I will have a small backpack with only a few essentials while walking for 40 or more days…..This will be a very different type of trip for me. Hopefully I will capture many images along the way. A time of reflection, walking and whatever else comes my way.
Thank you Cara.
To learn more about the work of Cara Weston please click on her name.
Keep it simple -your art shows that in perfection!so honored to see your beautiful images!! And keep on walking… and also walking talking with me 🥰
Outstanding work — thank you Cara — LOVE your abstracts!
Stunning images! The first two images are new to me and took my breath away. (don’t worry, just for a moment) . Congratulations on this article !