Edward Steichen was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. His work ranged from the muffled(沉闷的；模糊的) light and shadow of his early landscapes to the snappy(明快的；时髦的) glamour of his fashion photography and celebrity portraits (Greta Garbo, Charlie Chaplin, Anna May Wong). He had trained, however, as a painter immersed in Parisian Postimpressionism(巴黎后印象派).
爱德华·斯泰肯是20世纪最具影响力的摄影师之一。他的作品跨度很大，从早期风景摄影中朦胧的光影，到时尚摄影和名人肖像（葛丽泰·嘉宝、查理·卓别林、黄柳霜）中明快的魅力，无所不包。不过，他最初接受的是画家训练，浸淫于巴黎后印象派。
Steichen’s experiences during World War I, serving with U.S. forces in aerial-photography units, left him with a crisis of faith(信仰危机) in modern painting. He felt that, in turning away from nature, it had lost the “basic discipline” of engaging with an objective world shared by others.(他觉得，现代绘画背离自然，丧失了与众人共享的客观世界相接触的“基本训练”。)
一战期间，斯泰肯在美军航空摄影部队服役，这段经历让他对现代绘画产生了信仰危机。他觉得，现代绘画背离自然，丧失了与众人共享的客观世界相接触的“基本训练”。
Seeking a corrective, he turned to the golden ratio (commonly approximated to 1.618), recognized since antiquity as both appealing to the human eye and visible in natural growth patterns.(为了寻找一种矫正之道，他转向黄金比例（通常近似为1.618），自古以来人们就认为它既悦目又可见于自然生长模式中。) A classic example is the spiral seed-packing pattern in a sunflower head.
为了寻找一种矫正之道，他转向黄金比例（通常近似为1.618）。自古以来，人们就认为黄金比例既悦目，又可见于自然生长模式中。向日葵花盘中的螺旋种子排列便是经典例子。