Doors

As we slowly shift seasons from winter to spring, with the change that is constant in life, I think of doors and the allegories they represent.

Doors of some sort have been used by humans (and other animals) to keep the cold and heat in or out, to protect food and material goods, and to keep predators from entering.  Doors hold mystery and uncertainty, as in reality, one does not know what lies beyond a strange door.  In movies, protagonists are locking doors behind them, but frequently leave doors open, which invariably allows the villain to enter.  In modern society, one of the most common references or sayings is "one door closes and another opens."   So doors also represent excitement and possibilities.

Every time I photograph a door, a story unfolds in my mind and I want to enter.  The first two are from beautiful Brugge or Bruges (Dutch and French spellings), in Belgium.

I was really mystified by the door below on the Greek island of Crete.  

The door at the Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and the doorway in Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico are incredible demonstrations of modern and ancient form and function.

A wooden doorway at Fort Ross State Historic Park in northern California, opens to a magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean.

What stories doors hold!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image

sent across the pond

Our friend, Victoria, emailed photographs from a friend she had recently visited in Scotland.  So I thought I would bounce a few back to him in this morning's blog.

These were shot during two different trips, one in February when all the inn keepers to a person asked why we were visiting during February, and one in April five years later.  The one thing that may be obvious from these images is the fact that the light is very low.  In a latitude that far north (between 56 and 58 degrees), the sun doesn't rise until 8:30 or so and sets around 3:30 in February, so I had to make the best of those hours.  These were scanned from Fujichrome Velvia slides.

Below is the Glenfinnan Bay of Loch Shiel, in western Scotland, where a monument to Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) was built in 1815.

The light was extraordinary when I took this photograph of the Glenfinnan Viaduct.  I don't recall this but apparently film of the Viaduct was used liberally in the early Harry Potter films.

Low sun is again apparent below in an image made on the Isle of Mull in west central Scotland.

Here's to you and your friends, Peter!

until next Monday,

DB

a passion for the image