The Solitude of Ravens

Only yesterday did I discover the works of Masahisa Fukase. His life story is a tragic tale but his photography strikes a deep chord with me. A work from his later life entitled The Solitude of Ravens is a powerful and gripping collection of visual imagery. Unfortunately a copy of the book is not currently within my budget but it has just rocketed to the top of my "must have" list of photographic literature. I can only google the images out of the webspace and stare in awe at what appears on my monitor.

This is photography, raw and powerful. This is a soul laid bare through the capturing of an ancient totem animal.

images from Ravens

That I cannot capture like imagery is a failing of my art.

A brief history of his life leading up to Ravens and beyond can be found here. I highly recommend giving it a read. http://www.utata.org/sundaysalon/masahisa-fukase/

Oddly enough, only a couple of days before discovering his work I captured the photo below driving home as dusk fell. It is my search for imagery such as this that makes me admire how simply and dynamically Masahisa was able to create the photos he did. While my photo is pleasing to me I am almost shamed to mention it in the same breath as the work of a master. Even more so that the birds in my photo are pigeons, not ravens. :)  Ironically they were circling the parking lot of a One Hour Photo and from time to time landing to rest on the roof.

not to be confused with the masters works...