Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976) is an American photographer who worked with portraits and botanical still life throughout her career. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in chemistry, Cunningham studied fine art in Dresden and moved to San Francisco, where she worked alongside other prominent artists such as Maynard Dixon and Ansel Adams. She was a member of the renowned f/64 group, exploring new photographic methods such as double exposure and montage printing.
Her works provide an amazingly detailed and intimate look at botanicals, capturing their beautiful organic shapes, curves, and edges. I noticed that when the subject is dark, the background is light, and vice versa: this lighting allows for the best contrast to capture the intricacies of the plant formations. The composition is also pleasing to the eye and guides the viewer naturally to observe details that are often easily overlooked.
I enjoy the sharp and soft edges when combined with harsh lighting: creating an almost ethereal, otherworldly ‘portrait’ of these botanicals. It’s as if each of these photographs captures the plant’s essence, or personality, which makes Cunningham work’s all the more alluring.
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