[Read Part 1 Here]

“… and after a supper enlivened with fresh avocados we lay back against our rolled-up sleeping bags, stretched our feet to the fire, and lolled in indolent ease.^[1] 

Note: Unless stated otherwise, all photographs and archival materials illustrated in this post are currently owned, or were owned in the past, by Paul M. Hertzmann, Inc. All photographs by Edward Weston © Center for Creative Photography [CCP], University of Arizona.

Exploring Edward Weston and food without including his campfire cuisine would be akin to camping without a campfire. The topic surfaces everywhere, from personal writings to newspapers and periodicals to the narrative of such books as California and the West. Most unexpected of all? Weston’s unpretentious camping recipes—comprised largely of canned ingredients!—found their way into a decidedly sophisticated cookbook, Merle Armitage’s 1939 Fit for a King.

Weston relished camping—hardly surprising since it offered a deep connection to nature, minimized travel expenses and satisfied his lifelong preference for simplicity in all things. From the earliest days in Tropico through his subsequent life in Carmel, Weston sought and invariably found inspiration in the outdoors. Yet, access to both nature’s intimate and sweeping photographic possibilities often required forays into remote and rugged terrain where amenities were few and far between. These conditions, especially relevant during his Guggenheim Fellowships (1937–1939) and Limited Editions Club Leaves of Grass (1941–1942) journeys, influenced not only his art, but his approach to travel.