Hinge on wooden gate with old nails and staples
Monochrome Madness,  Ruins,  Themed galleries

Gallery: seeing decay in black and white

Henry Miller

So it’s great that Dawn has chosen this as a theme for the Monochrome Madness challenge. Decay often creates fascinating details, textures and patterns. Whether it’s the peeling paint on an old barn or the rust on an abandoned vehicle, such signs of aging can be incredibly photogenic.  

While I could have chosen to include decay in nature, I’ve opted instead to show the decay in manmade objects. Buildings, boats, cars … all succumb to decay eventually.

All these shots were edited with Nik Silver Efex Pro, and for many I chose quite a harsh filter setting to emphasise texture and decay.

Front of an old Ford truck

By the side of the road near Yakima, Washington State


Front grill and bonnet of a car

Rusty car in Fork, Washington State


Headlights and radiator grill of an old car

Rusting metal pipes

Rusting equipment with pipes and chimney

House with broken windows and metal hoarding

Block of flats with outside wall removed

Crumbling stone steps in a narrow passage

Worn wooden building with a broken window

Building with roof missing, empty windows and street art mural

Abandoned warehouse in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar


Metal sign advertising baking powder

Fence with paint cracking and peeling

Peeling paint in Sibiu , Romania


Broken wooden posts upright in sand

Building with broken shutters and wooden props

Peeling plaster and rusty wall lamp

High wall with open arched windows and large crack between them

Ruined castle tower and long grass

Man looking up at a ruined castle

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