*Death and decay explored with rain drops on a colorful autumn leaf.*

There’s a long tradition in fine art photography where nature and still life genres come together. It’s the kind of photography that explores metaphors of death and decay.

It might be an image of a dead animal or, as we see in the above photo, an image of a colorful fallen leaf near the end of autumn.

While often melancholy, and some times a tad morbid, I think the best of these images are those that deal with the reality of life and death.

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Photography that Transcends Object

Images that transcend object are at the heart of fine art photography.

From the point of view of a fine artist the objects depicted are not always what's most important.

That’s because great photography goes beyond subject matter to explore notions of meaning and metaphor.

It was sad to see this wallaby skull lying on the ground in an abandoned gold mining area in Central Victoria, Australia.

I know not whether this poor animals demise was due to natural causes or otherwise.

In any case sadness gave way to a deeper enquiry as to the nature of things, which lead to the making of the above image.

While undoubtably a still life image, showcasing a wallaby skull, the photo is also a metaphor that explores death and decay.

For me that’s what makes it particularly interesting.

*Still life photo of a Wallaby skull exploring luminance, death and decay.*

Photography Is The Search For Luminance

To make the photo I placed the wallaby skull on top of an old rusty piece of metal which I then placed on to the bonnet of my car.

I’m not at all keen about handling anything that’s dead. Fortunately all put the skull remained, picked clean by birds and insects.

I had a bottle of water with me and, although I was thirsty, I put it to good use to clean the skull of dirt.

It was very hot so the water evaporated quickly, but the now clean skull began to glow as it reflected light from above.

Because the light was so bright I made sure to move my car into open shade prior to setting up the image.

This allowed the light to illuminate the subject without burning away the finer details within the skull.

A sense of luminosity, where the subject seems to transmit rather than reflect light, was central to the image I had in my mind's eye.

*Memories of Empire within the South Park Street Cemetery in Kolkata, India.*

Photography Is Where Opposites Collide

There are so many ways to explore the notions of death and decay in our photos.

I made a series of images in the South Park Street Cemetery in Kolkata, India.

Without wanting to be disrespectful I’d say the cemetery is itself a metaphor for the city of Kolkata (i.e., Calcutta).

It's beautiful, it's atmospheric and it's in a state of decay. If ever a city spoke to me about the fall, without the trees, it's Kolkata.

It was a very hot day that found me stumbling around the South Park Street Cemetery. It was deserted, except for an attendant I met at the gate on my way out.

Nonetheless I had a great time exploring the Cemetery and making photos of many of the site’s tombs and graves.

The South Park Street Cemetery is full of memorials to politicians, military officers and other notables living in Kolkata during the time of the British Raj.

Kolkata is a great place to visit as it showcases the contrast between the dominant and prevailing Hindu religion against that of the once great British Empire.

An hour wandering around the cemetery is a great experience as it provides a glimpse back to a time now long gone.