I shot this photo while laying on the ground. Is the crow landing or taking off? The following, written on a scrap of paper, was found tucked under a windshield wiper on my truck. It was unsigned. From an old Scottish rhyme 1 Crow bad news 2 Crows myrth 3 Crows a wedding 4 Crows a birth 5 Crows for riches 6 Crows a thief 7 Crows a journey 8 Crows for grief 9 Crows a secret 10 Crows for sorrow 11 Crows for love 12 Crows good day after.

The Association of Crows and Ravens FAQ refers to the term, "a murder of crows," as "the persistent but fallacious folk tale that crows form tribunals to punish the bad behavior of a member of the flock. If the judgment goes against the defendant, that bird is killed (murdered). This is a portrait of how I imagine a judge at such a tribunal. ** While this is a portrait of a living, breathing crow, click on the photo to view an imaginary  tribunal ,  using stuffed crows as the cast of characters **

A young man that purchased this image said it was the first piece of art he had ever paid money for. I was honored. He said the photo reminded him of monks going to their morning prayers. Crow's cousin, the raven is sacred to St. Benedict. According to legend, St. Benedict had gone into isolation to fast. At the point of starvation, a raven  brought him food.  At St. Martin's College in Lacey, WA, is a beautiful Simon Kogan sculpture  of St. Benedict with a large raven on his shoulder.

Stealth Crow

Juvenile Crow

Crow Lights

These photographs are ©copyright 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003,  Carl Cook. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, including Internet use. These photographs are protected by and registered with Digimarc.

Exhibition quality  prints may be available of images on this page. For prices and information, please click HERE. For information concerning editorial usage or for qualified commercial usage, or for comments and questions, please email clcook@olywa.net

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