Like many fine art photographers in the early 20th century, Imogen Cunningham employed soft focus and idyllic poses at the start of her career. By 1917, however, she began to develop an innovative, sharply focused, and straight- forward style. This more objective photographic approach did not require a sacrifice of artistry, but instead celebrated what Cunningham and her peers viewed as the modernist heart of the photographic medium. Snake in Bucket 3 is a sensuous study of nature conveyed with a crystalline clarity, delighting in the beauty of the snake’s delicate coils and decorative pattern of scales.