58 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {due west} Imogene Cunningham joined him, capturing the unique geography of this area in the straight, sharp-focused, framed technique that differentiated them from the “pictorialists” of the past. Start your historic photography tour with the Weston Gallery, which is located on 6th Avenue, parallel to Ocean Avenue, Carmel’s main street. One of the oldest photography galleries in the world, it focuses on rare fine vintage as well as modern and contemporary photography. Now run by Matthew Weston (Edward’s grandson) and his wife, Davi, the gallery features all of the major names in the medium: Ansel Adams, Carmel-by-the-Sea has long been a magnet for artists working in a variety of media, from painting to sculpture to prints. A walk around this charming, one-mile-square village reveals an astounding number of art galleries (almost 100). Visiting them all would be overwhelming and certainly implausible in just a one-day outing. But narrow your scope to the medium that has become a signature for this coastal town—photography—and you will be amazed by how much you can learn about the region’s history and the evolution of the West Coast Photography Movement. Although photographers began capturing Monterey Bay’s white sand beaches and wind-swept cypresses in the late 19th century, the history of contemporary photography from this area really begins with Edward Weston. Weston had an illustrious career that included a Guggenheim Fellowship (he was the first photographer to be given the award) and lived in various places around California. In 1929, he moved to Carmel and began taking blackand-white photographs of the magnificent coastline around Point Lobos. Soon, colleagues like Ansel Adams, Wynn Bullock and ABOVE (clockwise): Edward Weston Dry-Mounting, Wildcat Hill, ca. 1940, by William Holgers; Spring, 1943, negative by Edward Weston, printed later by Kim Weston. (Spring is the only Edward Weston negative allowed to be printed, all of the remaining negatives are retired.); Edward Weston, ca. 1940, by William Holgers. PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF THE HOLGERS FAMILY / COURTESY OF KIM WESTON, WESTON PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY OF THE HOLGERS FAMILY
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