Doors Around The World
I tend to have unusual subjects as the focus of my camera lens. When others are calculating and contorting to achieve the right angle to get all of the Eiffel Tower in a shot, I'm streets away looking for the shot that has a glimpse of the tower between buildings, maybe even out of focus evoking a narrative in the viewers mind.
One of my unusual subjects would be doors. Yes, I said doors. There is something almost magical about them. Ok, stay with me and let me explain.
First of there is the obvious. Behind any given door is a potentially great story, perhaps about a struggling family or mad genius separated from the world by this mysterious device known as a door.
Take for example this shot of a weather beaten door along the side streets of Cannes, in the South of France.
When you hear French Riviera visions of expensive cars, luxury hotels and conspicuous consumption float around.
But this simple door with its hidden story and blue house number caught my eye. In my mind I imagined an artist attracted to the beautiful coast, buying this humble place and refusing to move over the decades even as the profile of the city evolved.
However the story is only part of my attraction to doors. Doors are portals, a man made construct that transports us to another place. Now that may seem dramatic as being transported from your hallway to your apartment may not seem magical but your brain doesn't know the difference.
What I mean is the simple act of walking through a door triggers our brains to wipe the slate clean and prepare for a new experience.
The practical example of this "Doorway Effect" is walking from your living room to the kitchen to get something and NOT remembering what it was when you get to the kitchen. No it's not you getting old or the lingering side effects of weed, it's most likely this effect.
And you may know from reading my blogs how much I love the idea of preparing for and embracing new experiences.
The shot to the right is a close up shot of a peep hole as an eye in a door in Madrid. How appropriate.
The door was clearly the whimsical yet thoughtful work or an artist but who knows who the owner was.
The full shot below reveals the Asian influences.
Talk about portals. Can you imagine what is behind that door? It evokes images of Japanese high tech gadgets, or abstract art installations in a wildly creative studio that would impress Warhol.
In the end it could be as normal and boring as a simple home with a funky door.
This is a shot of a door-knocker in Genoa, Italy.
The metallic hand in a sea of green laminate was a shot I couldn't pass up.
This strip in the coastal town had many large elaborate doors of polished wood and in this case high gloss on metal.
It was the either a business or the residence of someone with means but buying into the stereotypes of the mafia I decided to just keep it moving even though we weren't in Sicily.
Watching the Sopranos is the closest I'd like to get to the mob.
Santorini, Athens was the site of this door secured with a padlock and large rocks. It was one of my first doors shots and perhaps the birth of my fascination with doors.
What was behind this door? To add intrigue to the mystery was that a Greek warning written in blue next to it?
Probably not, but the fact of not knowing, the belief that this is a portal that we are banned from drives the interest and the curiosity.
At least for this photographer.
I don't expect others to share this quirky interest but it is great to see the differences from country to country and imagine the stories as I make my own.
Look out for my travel photography book of doors and benches in the coming months.
One of my unusual subjects would be doors. Yes, I said doors. There is something almost magical about them. Ok, stay with me and let me explain.
First of there is the obvious. Behind any given door is a potentially great story, perhaps about a struggling family or mad genius separated from the world by this mysterious device known as a door.
When you hear French Riviera visions of expensive cars, luxury hotels and conspicuous consumption float around.
But this simple door with its hidden story and blue house number caught my eye. In my mind I imagined an artist attracted to the beautiful coast, buying this humble place and refusing to move over the decades even as the profile of the city evolved.
However the story is only part of my attraction to doors. Doors are portals, a man made construct that transports us to another place. Now that may seem dramatic as being transported from your hallway to your apartment may not seem magical but your brain doesn't know the difference.
What I mean is the simple act of walking through a door triggers our brains to wipe the slate clean and prepare for a new experience.
The practical example of this "Doorway Effect" is walking from your living room to the kitchen to get something and NOT remembering what it was when you get to the kitchen. No it's not you getting old or the lingering side effects of weed, it's most likely this effect.
The shot to the right is a close up shot of a peep hole as an eye in a door in Madrid. How appropriate.
The door was clearly the whimsical yet thoughtful work or an artist but who knows who the owner was.
The full shot below reveals the Asian influences.
Talk about portals. Can you imagine what is behind that door? It evokes images of Japanese high tech gadgets, or abstract art installations in a wildly creative studio that would impress Warhol.
In the end it could be as normal and boring as a simple home with a funky door.
The metallic hand in a sea of green laminate was a shot I couldn't pass up.
This strip in the coastal town had many large elaborate doors of polished wood and in this case high gloss on metal.
It was the either a business or the residence of someone with means but buying into the stereotypes of the mafia I decided to just keep it moving even though we weren't in Sicily.
Watching the Sopranos is the closest I'd like to get to the mob.
What was behind this door? To add intrigue to the mystery was that a Greek warning written in blue next to it?
Probably not, but the fact of not knowing, the belief that this is a portal that we are banned from drives the interest and the curiosity.
At least for this photographer.
I don't expect others to share this quirky interest but it is great to see the differences from country to country and imagine the stories as I make my own.
Look out for my travel photography book of doors and benches in the coming months.
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