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

Gallery: seeing decay in black and white

April 5, 2024 / 39 Comments

I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.

Henry Miller

Dereliction and decay are natural subjects for black and white photography. The lack of colour adds to a sense of aging, perhaps because we associate it with the photos taken by past generations. Also, the textures of decay stand out more when colour is subtracted.

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

Rusty Ford in the Shafer Museum, Winthrop, Washington State

Rusting metal pipes

Old farm machinery at Karen Blixen’s home near Nairobi, Kenya

Rusting equipment with pipes and chimney

Abandoned mining equipment in the Valle de la Luna, Atacama Desert, Chile

Old house in Sofia, Bulgaria

House with broken windows and metal hoarding
Block of flats with outside wall removed

Partly demolished flats in Sofia, Bulgaria

Staircase in a ruined house in Al Hamra, Oman

Crumbling stone steps in a narrow passage
Worn wooden building with a broken window

In the Maskavas district of Riga, Latvia

Building with roof missing, empty windows and street art mural

Abandoned warehouse in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar

Metal sign advertising baking powder

Rusting advertising hoarding, New Mexico

Fence with paint cracking and peeling

Peeling paint in Sibiu , Romania

Broken wooden posts upright in sand

Old mooring posts, Keyhaven, Hampshire, England

Building with broken shutters and wooden props

Earthquake damage in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal

In Cartagena, Colombia

Peeling plaster and rusty wall lamp
High wall with open arched windows and large crack between them

A large crack in the Bibi Khanum mosque in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland, England

Ruined castle tower and long grass
Man looking up at a ruined castle

Corfe Castle, Dorset, England

You might also enjoy

Black and white landscape with red tinted Japanese gate

Gallery: seeing Japan in black and white

January 26, 2023
Carvings of lions and cherubs above a doorway

Gallery: seeing Lviv in black and white

May 24, 2023
Man wading with a fishing net

Gallery: seeing Madagascar in black and white

November 16, 2023

39 Comments

Do share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!