GOBLES, Mich. -- Photographer Townsend Artman finds great beauty in wildlife, and animals are often his subjects.

But unlike most wildlife photographers, the creatures he captures with his camera are usually seen lying dead on the side of a road.

Although he considers himself an artist and not an environmentalist, Artman said he feels for the subjects of his unusual photographs.

"It's a horrible thing to have happen to these animals, caught up in man's highway of death," he said.

Artman conceded that his work is a hard sell -- his asking price for each photo is between $5,000 and $10,000 -- but he'd like people to view it with an open mind.

"I see irony, humor, gruesomeness, beauty," the Gobles resident said. "It's rich in those areas. It's OK if not everyone gets it. There are a number of artists who were out of the mainstream."

Artman first became inspired to photograph roadkill about a year ago, when he came across a dead skunk in the road as he drove his daughter to a day care center.