Ravens and crows have a poor reputation in many cultures, as they’re associated with death, warfare, trickery, and bad luck. This reputation, along with their black feathers and chilling cry has made them a common part of scary movies and literature. From Alfred Hitchcock’s horror film The Birds to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem “The Raven,” the birds regularly appear in popular culture as bad news.
But in fact, crows and ravens are remarkable for their high intelligence and excellent memory. They’re not mindless harbingers of death, but rather persistent, problem-solving creatures that have adapted to living with humans. While they might’ve once been only present on battlefields and other scenes of death, they’ve since adjusted to living in the heart of cities, amidst traffic, busy sidewalks, and confusing noises.
Researchers have only begun to discover how intelligent ravens and crows are. To get an idea of their problem-solving abilities, check out this interesting TED talk by Joshua Klein about the intelligence of crows. Though Klein doesn’t mention ravens, they are as intelligent as crows, too.
Nevertheless, for photographers, crows and ravens are still ominous subjects that can give photos a haunting atmosphere. They’re a great subject to shoot around Halloween when you’ve had enough of jack o’lanterns and costume parties. Your photos will be moody enough for the holiday, yet also appropriate to display year-round, as crows and ravens aren’t limited to one season.
Photos of Crows and Ravens
Here are a few ideas to consider when photographing crows and ravens, along with 20 inspirational examples.
Silhouettes
Crows and ravens are excellent subjects for silhouettes. Because they’re almost completely black, they can create silhouettes even when the lighting isn’t ideal for silhouettes. Perched against the sky, their dark outline can give images a sense of foreboding. For tips on composing images with silhouettes, check out our post about silhouette photography.
Waleed Shafi – Sunset silhouette
Dun.can – Dusk
Claudio – Crow
Shawn Kent – Not Quite a Murder
Gokulnath – lights
Fred Veenkamp – Spread your wings…
NancyJayParis – Crows on powerline
Close-Ups
Because of their intelligence, ravens and crows can be fascinating birds to watch. If you observe them for long enough, you might be surprised by their ingenuity and clever way of dealing with obstacles. Their keen minds are sometimes apparent in close-ups, as their sharp eyes look into the camera.
milo bostock – RAVEN PORTRAIT
Becky Matsubara – Common Raven with Coot’s Head
Brian Uhreen – The Crow
m01229 – Raven at Bryce Canyon National Park
hedera.baltica – Nutty crow
karen johns – crow and willie wagtail
Action Shots
Like silhouettes, action shots of ravens or crows flying can have a sinister feel. Whether you’re photographing a single raven or a large group of crows (aptly called a “murder” of crows), your photos can give the impression that something grim is about to happen.
Krystian Olszanski – 49/365
Hash Milhan – Crows – Towards the sun i fly, not as Icarus.
Srividya Balayogi – Crows and Clouds
Roland Tanglao – take off eh :-) !!!!!
armelle chapman – In Time
MICOLO J Thanx – A Murder of crows
Cat – chasing crows III
Have a cool photo of crows or ravens you’ve taken? Share it with us on Instagram or Flickr, so we can appreciate it!
