shashasha

“Independent Mysteries,” Michael Magers’ first photobook, combines photographs taken in the past ten years of the New York-based photographer. Shot mostly in Japan but also in places such as Cuba and Haiti, his images convey the poetry of the moment and the beauty lingering within everyday life. Trained as a documentary photographer, Magers knows not only how to approach his subjects but also how to tell stories with single pictures. While unconnected in time and place, the series of black-and-white photographs in Magers’ “Independent Mysteries” binds together into a coherent look at the world, told in portraits of workers, snapshots of Tokyo’s nightlife and quiet compositions of nature observations.

Crucially, the photographs in “Independent Mysteries” are interspersed with written contributions by collaborators such as Cuban musician Daymé Arocena, photographer Larry Fink, author Matt Goulding, musician and poet Matthew Shultz, and many more.

For more information on Michael Magers' "Independent Mysteries," we recommend this interview by the British Journal of Photography.