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Sidewalk Elegies
 
Pigeon. In the street outside Imperial War Museum, London.
 
Sparrow (?). Coughlin Park walkway, Winthrop MA
 
Mouse. Lexington Park playground, Somerville MA
 
Pigeon. Hancock and Elm, Cambridge MA
 
Sand sharks. Boston Harbor at Castle Island, Southie.
 
Mouse. Office in Cambridge MA.
 
Squirrel. Central Cemetary, Beverly MA.
 
Squirrel (detail). Central Cemetary, Beverly MA.
 
Mouse. Candia NH.

I'm not sure when or why this started, but for the past couple years, as a general rule, I photograph every dead creature I see. More than a general rule, really: I feel compelled to photograph them; almost because they were unnoticed in life, I feel they should be noted in death. And, I'm just fascinated by them -- if they look intact and unharmed, I wonder why they died; if they're damaged or decayed... well that's fascinating in its own right.

 

 

These are the more peaceful images; while I tend not to photograph mangled roadkill or the flat carcasses of animals repeatedy run over by cars, I do have other photos in this series that are....well they show the unkindness of the elements and other wildlife to the dead, and I haven't included them here because their luridness adds a violent sting to the contemplative mood of the set.

All images copyright 2005-2007 Bonnie Borthwick. All rights reserved.
COMMENTS
Caitbrowne said at 2:14 p.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
This is very interesting.
Dclark said at 2:25 p.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
Very intresting.
The cycle of life goes on and on, yet we still shy away from it. We should embrace death with the same passion that we do with birth.
Keep them coming.
Paul said at 6:04 p.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
Uh, creepy. :-S
Bonnie_B said at 7:21 p.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
The sand sharks were strange and sad. There were more -- maybe 8 or nine in all, all in the same small area. You happen upon something like that and you wonder what happened...well, I do - I have to say asked around but no one knew what was up and surprisingly, my friend and I were the only ones who seemed to think it was odd that all these dead sharks had washed up to the shore. Either people are weird, or I am ;-) Thanks folks for your comments!
Engelgrafik said at 11:29 p.m. on Jan 21, 2007:
This is great, Bonnie. I think it's a noble tabblo. Many years ago, my friend Hiram Santiago once took a beautiful photo of a dead owl on the side of the road in Tallassee. He wrote a little poem in Spanish and placed it next to the owl. I take pictures of dead animals as well but I find that the color seems to distract a bit. Hiram's photo was in glorious large format black and white. When I converted my photos to black and white, they seemed more powerful.
Bonnie_B said at 4:28 p.m. on Jan 22, 2007:
I've considered converting these to b&w, Jeff, and it's something I still want to do some day to just see how they look. One of those 17,000+ "when I have time..." things. On the London pigeon, I love the red feet and the eye, but on the others, color clearly adds little if anything.
Siagian said at 10:00 a.m. on Jan 23, 2007:
very interesting. i indirectly flirted with the idea of death too in my last tabblo.
Banafsheh said at 1:10 a.m. on Jan 26, 2007:
The sand sharks usually get to this position because of sonar or perhaps polution. It's a huge issue. This a great project ,try to get to the point of your reasons of shooting images.
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