The County Medical Examiners - Forensic Photography

Organs in situ, flashbulbs burst, it makes the still life glisten
Immortalizing bisected innards meticulously dissected apart
Tissue samples documented with a camera by the proprietor
Of anatomical scientific photographic art

The forensic photographer preps the lighting as I soften up his subject
The 35mm camera and ring flash will capture every subtle textual nuance
The flash system uses shutter speeds of 1&250 to eliminate
The reddish yellow tinge fluorescent overhead lights tend to illuminate

Taking care to avoid reflective glare
And including wound marker measurement scales
Using ISO 64 Kodachrome® color temperature film
Duplicates the gory mess in wondrous detail

Tools of the trade: tripod, ring flash, and lens
Snapshots of grume: sanguineous celluloid to offend
The corpse holds its pose, each picture taken twice
One with and without an Autopsy ID Number plate
The forensic photographer shoots the results of each slice
It's the cold end of life that his art imitates

Putrefactive apertures and fetid f-stops
Shutter speeds and scalpels, vignettes of viscous slop

As medical evidence presented in a court of law
The film is developed by officers of the court
Prints are circulated for trade medical journals
Negatives are housed and filed deep in the morgue

From the crime scene splashed with tissue and bone
To the autopsy suite, under saw, clippers, and knife
To the funeral home where the cadaver is shown
Bodies are photographed more in death than in life