Meditative Photos of Hermits and Their Woodland Homes

By Alison Nastasi

Aug. 30, 2014

Christopher McCandless, Henry David Thoreau, Ted Kaczynski, Noah John Rondeau—our image of society’s hermits and woodland wanderers is a strange one. Naive idealist, poet, serial murderer, and eccentric. Documentary photographer Danila Tkachenko sought to understand the radical lifestyle better and ventured deep into the woods. “While exploring their experience, it is important for me to understand if one is able to break free from social dependence and get away from the public to the subjective—and thus, to make a step towards oneself,” he writes. Tkachenko’s Escape series, first spotted on Fubiz, documents the life and surroundings of people who remain alone in the wilderness for decades, far from civilization.

Photo credit: Danila Tkachenko