We see a car crash on the side of the highway and peer ever-so-closely at the scene, trying to catch glimpses of a pale arm hanging from an open door dripping with blood.

We watch with flinching horror the scenes of death and devastation as the news flashes brutal scenes of bodies, half-torn apart, lying on blackened streets.  We hang around the dark alleyway at the scene of a brutal crime, just behind the yellow glaring police line marked ‘DO NOT CROSS' in bold black, hoping to see the corpse before they zip the plastic bag shut; hoping for that seductive look into the darkside of life; wondering with our morbid curiosity what kind of horrible mutilations were performed upon the dearly departed before they died.  We picture in our minds a young girl—so alone—in love with the idea of her own beautiful death, and we watch as she slits her frail pale wrists and stains the bathtub with her blood.

Michael Edlen has captured moments like these—snapshots of cold brutality —that are so graphic and vivid, they are all but real.

Through his eyes we are the voyeur, the obscene sadist who thrills in visions of dark morbid beauty and the serenity of death.  This is the story of a man, his camera, and a fascination with death.

"I will tell you a story how I first got started.  I only started doing this about a year ago.  One day I decided to capture some images of dead women.  The main reason I did this is because I have always been fascinated with death.  My first photography experience happened the last snow fall of last year in Denver."

"I spoke to a friend of mine about the idea of a girl being bound, killed and thrown into a dumpster.  She loved the idea, but, unfortunately neither one of us had the time to do it.  I was sitting at this Cafe where I worked and she came in and said she felt like doing the pictures right now.  I did not know a lot about cameras or photography so I had a local photographer here in Denver (who happened to be at the cafe also) show me the lighting aspect while my friend got her make up ready."

"When she came out of the restroom, I added the last touch and that was the dark line around her neck.  We went outside in the cold and she climbed in the dumpster.  As soon as the shutter to the camera opened and closed for the first time and I saw this beautiful dead girl laying in the snow in the bottom of the dumpster I fell in love with photography."

"Since then I have moved from the different aspects of death to more of the strange things like the nails going down a persons spine.  I have become very interested in every aspect now from fetish to fashion.  Each one has its own great qualities.  It would be silly to narrow it down to one and close my eyes to the rest.  I am still continuing to do the death series but I have a lot of other things planned out.  I am currently working on a comic book and also working on a foot fetish page as a webmaster and photographer.  My goals are to be published and to have my work in galleries."

Creatively, Michael's influences have been Joel-Peter Witkin, Richard Kern, Helmu Newton and Floria Sigismondi, as well as a few really good friends and one or two enemies.

His grandmother has been the catalyst of his photography, motivating him by constant praising and encouragement.

Sean Hartgrove, an excellent fetish photographer has given Michael pointers and tips along the way.

Michael's dreams, hopes, fears, loves and hates can be summed up into one word: PEOPLE.  Although this is his first publication, Michael hopes to submit his work to other magazines and one day see his work hanging on the walls of a gallery.  If you are a publisher interested in Michael's work, or if you simply want to see more of his disturbing photography, you may visit his website Morbid Art.  Michael can be reached via email at: spykstra@netherworld.com