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...

In the beginning...

Photography. The art of capturing light onto a chemical or physical or electronic medium to in some way preserve a small sliver of time in the form of a two dimensional image. A hobby for many, a profession for some and a mystery to most.

For myself photography has turned out to be the singular medium in which I have been able to express myself artistically. I cannot paint or draw. I sing horribly and the skill for musical instruments eludes me. My poetry is best left unread and forgotten. But the art (and it is most definitely an art) of taking up camera and lens to create a pleasing image is something that I believe I have had some modest success with. At least for my own enjoyment as my images are pleasing to me.

I viewed a short but wonderful online video recently (which I unfortunately cannot now find) in which a photographer was expounding upon the nature of our craft and one thing he said stuck out for me. It was something to the effect of we dont take the picture for ourselves, we take the photographs for 'them', out there. 'Them' in this case being the great unwashed multitudes of potential viewers of our image. The non-photographers, everyone else. I'm not sure I agree with this. Maybe it is a loftier ambition and a great act of selflessness to endeavor to create solely for the enjoyment of others. I fear I am not so noble. As for now I shoot for that rare zen like feeling I sometimes reach when holding my small camera and turning the old lens until all the disparate parts of light and composition and technology come together to give me the potential image, if only I have the skill to capture it. It is a selfish act my art. The image has always been for me. And recently for my young daughter, who I hope will enjoy these images her father has captured in the years to come as she grows older. If any of 'them' like my photo as well then that is an extra thing, unlooked for.

For matters such as this, and so many others I wish to explore pertaining to photography, I have decided to start this blog. For a long time I have posted to many different forums and online resources. I have answered many other peoples questions concerning technique and gear and generally tried to share my experience with my time with photography. So maybe my photography is not as selfish as I wold believe. But I desire now to share my experiences in a more personal way. A more philosophical way. I hope this blog will be the channel for that.

The focus here will be all things photographic. From techniques to past masters to gear...anything will be fair game. I will share insightful links that I find as I crawl about the webspace looking for interesting tidbits and I may post things that are on my mind that day. I hope any future readers here will find my contributions both interesting and varied.

Welcome to f/otography. I am the f/otographer and I hope you enjoy the time spent here.

I WANT YOU....to take more photographs! :)