Photography Atelier

Michael Fager

The Song of the Mystic

My photography is an exploration of the natural world, both its beauty and the impacts humans have on it. This work is a view of the natural world in an urban landscape.  I am seeking out the beauty that people just do not see.  I work through photographs, some landscape, some close up, some of wildlife, and occasionally people.  I want to show what I see and what I think is important, to understand its beauty and tell its story.

Through photographs I hope not only to illustrate the Mystic River, but to tell its story, the song of the Mystic.  It is a song that whispers to those who take the time to listen.  It comes quietly, among the noise and tumult of the city, to those who row its waters at dawn, or paddle in the cool of the evening.  It is contained in the struggle of the herring finding their way to its quiet waters or the silent yet spectacular journey of the eels.  It is a song as grand as an eagle, or as simple as a leaf floating on its surface.  It can be as exuberant as a child swimming at the beach on the lake, or as subtle as a fox padding along its bank.  It is a song that comes to those who reach out to know and preserve the natural essence of the Mystic.  Yet the Mystic’s song is a song that has persisted through all of the wounds we have inflicted upon it.  The goal of my work is to preserve the Mystic’s song.

Artist Bio

Michael Fager, who is based in Somerville, began as a photographer at 18, and has been mostly self-taught. In the early years he aspired to be a photo journalist, publishing photos in various regional newspapers.  While his life went another path, he never lost photography. He entered the world of digital photography in 2012.

Michael grew up in Wyoming where he developed a passion for wildlife and the natural world. As a trained naturalist, Michael uses photography to see and interpret the natural world in both urban and wild places.  His goal is to show the beauty of places that others overlook.

Contact Michael Fager