research log

photographer research - the sky

fukase masahisa

Fukase Masahisa is a photographer based in a studio in Hokkaido. his work usually has quite a dark theme. he usually shoots in black and white, capturing different scenes in contrasted images. his earlier work includes a series called 'kill the pigs, 1961' where he spent time in a slaughterhouse and documented the environment. his later, more famous work is a  series called 'the solitude of ravens' 1986, where he took photos of the birds in groups and on their own.

 

this photo shows a group of ravens perched in a tree. i like this photo because it is quite dark and grainy which gives it the feel of an old fashioned horror movie. to achieve this effect, he may have used a high ISO or quite an old camera, possibly film. this image remind me of when you see a group of birds perched in a tree and a loud noise causes them all to fly away.

Masashisa may have used a tripod but the photo still appears blurred as it may be moving in the wind and the birds are usually constantly moving.

this photo shows a raven on its own landing on a post. the background is quite hard to make out but the plants behind look like brambles which resemble barbed wire. this makes the image appear quite sinister and dark. the raven is slightly out of focus which makes the features more difficult to distinguish, and gives the impression of movement. However i like the image because of the composition ans the way raven stands out.

this photo shows a man dressed in a black robe, posing in an abattoir. the cow that is pulling on his clothes looks very young and some may consider it cute. this cow may be one of the may that are going to be slaughtered, or is possibly the calf of a cow that has already been killed. this gives the photo a dark and sad meaning. in the background, there also looks like there are dead animals and live ones who are probably unaware of the fact that they are unlikely to make it out.

the mans cloak is jet black, and swamps him entirely. black has many connotations, one of the most popular associations of the colour is death. this adds to the dark and melancholy scene.

this image shows  the outline of a raven made of many tiny dots. this is an interesting image as there are different ways that he could have created it. one of which could be that he used an editing software to cut up a photo of a raven, however at the time this was taken, the software is unlikely to have been developed yet.

the connotations behind this image could be the unity of a group of ravens. this is shown in the way they stick together and work as their own society. each individual dot could represent a single bird. the raven is in flight which could suggest that they stick together as they travel. the way that the dots all come together to make one big bird could suggest that without each other, they are incomplete. these birds are very intelligent and can form emotional bonds with each other, this image reflects that.

this image shows a group of ravens sat in a tree. they are perched very closely together which links to the other photos from this photographer and how he displays the unity of the birds. the image gives the illusion of movement as the tree is visible through the birds, giving the impression that the branch is swaying. this is an interesting effect and challenging to explain. the photographer couldve used a long exposure, but i am unsure of how he avoided motion blur. he couldve also layered two photos on top of each other, slightly changing the opacity to bring the background image through.