The Fetus Photograph


Since many people asked, here is the color version of the fetus image.


Which one is better ? which one has a better impact ?

This incident happened few months ago in the Anamalias. We heard news that a Lion-tailed macaque was hit on the road and we rushed to the spot. The image you see below was that. We took it to the local Valparai vet and when he was performing the post-mortem he found the fetus inside. Of course both the mother and fetus were dead. The doc put the fetus in a small plastic jar and thats where I photographed the fetus just before it was put in the freezer.

Unfortunately on the same day three other Lion-tailed macaques were hit near the same place. We suspect it was intentional as there have been only one roadkill in the last 3 years and suddenly four on one day in separate incidents.

Click here to see the mother (Caution : It’s a gory image)

15 Comments

  1. veshy · October 3, 2008 Reply

    that is so incredibly sad 🙁 I think the colour version has a more moving impact, because the colour implies a sense of clinical immediacy, a kind of way of showing that the picture was recent, whereas the sepia suggests that the moment has already passed on and therefore becomes less worrying.

  2. Anonymous · October 3, 2008 Reply

    definitely color version has more impact 🙁
    sad news.

    You suspect it was intentional.. what could be the reason to just kill an animal? I guess all the parts of the animal was intact on post-mortem.

  3. Anonymous · October 3, 2008 Reply

    I think by blurring/pixellating the blood on the gory image, both these images could be used for a very effective media campaign.

    TOP: this photo and some facts like age of the baby, scientific name and some cool trivia.

    Bottom: the less gory image and information that it perished with its mother as a victim to reckless driving. 🙁

  4. tejasd · October 3, 2008 Reply

    Prefer the sepia one.

    This is a lot stronger, and a lot scarier.

    That red blood line on the skull is particularly moving

  5. nfpgasmask · October 3, 2008 Reply

    Definitely the color version. Fantastic photos of such a sad story.

  6. admin · October 3, 2008 Reply

    I thought the color element in the image was distracting and hence tried the sepia one. But I guess each one has their pro’s and cons.

    p.s – Btw i noticed you are from calgary. I lived there for a year in 1993

  7. admin · October 3, 2008 Reply

    Yep.. it was just to kill the animal. Maybe someone do not want them in their private property 🙂

  8. ashbirder · October 4, 2008 Reply

    sad and yet fascinating in a way..

  9. veshy · October 4, 2008 Reply

    This is true, I suppose the nostalgic sepia lends allows one to focus on the aesthetic beauty of the shape and form as well. Oh, and yes, I moved to Calgary in 1994 but I was very young then 😉 Calgary is a lot different from how it was over a decade ago, more congested and sprawling these days.

  10. bindu11 · October 4, 2008 Reply

    The color picture is a lot more flesh and blood, and makes the baby look so much more vulnerable – you just want to reach in and keep it safe. The b&w one feels like the past – that not much can be done now. That’s just my opinion …

  11. anushsh · October 6, 2008 Reply

    Oh my God, this is really sad. Roadkills seem to be exponentially increasing. I spent the last 4 days in Dandeli. And there the roadkills seems to be with the Snakes. Even on the roads where mostly the forest dept jeeps travel, we found snakes roadkilled. Its really sad.

  12. deponti · October 6, 2008 Reply

    awful. But to me the colour image has the greater impact.

  13. Anonymous · October 6, 2008 Reply

    I get it!

  14. redobsession · October 9, 2008 Reply

    why would someone kill them?

  15. Anonymous · November 5, 2008 Reply

    i like you pics

    i am newbie to photography, i admire your creation. Simply inspirational.

    http://sikkimpic.blogspot.com/

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