Doors

One of the areas I'm exploring is making images of common things, but I really hesitated when I considered making images of doors.  Doors are ubiquitous.  Over the years, I've seen many, many presentations of images doors.  My Google search of "photographs of doors" returned over thirty million results, including plenty of images.  I felt as though making images of doors would be trite.  When walking in the villages and cities in Normandy, as well as in Paris, I suppressed my hesitation when I saw such richness in the common door.

Doors clearly define a boundary between what is desired to be private and protected from general passage.  The message conveyed by an open door varies depending on the degree of openness.  A fully open door conveys a welcoming message and usually engages most of my senses.  I can see what is on the other side, hear the sounds or experience the silence, feel the breeze, take in the scents.  A door that is slightly open may engage my senses, but causes me to be cautious in a way I would be before diving into a lake.

Even though doors present boundaries, they melt away when imagining stories instead of barriers.  Imagine the story of the person who chose to hang lace curtains on the door, but chose lace with a pattern of an ocean floor and dolphins rather than a traditional pattern!  Doors with ornate hardware or painted in striking colors tell stories of craftspeople and owners desiring something more than basic function.  Modern locking systems on old doors reinforce the purpose of privacy and protection, and tell a story of how our world has changed.  I hope I'm able to see beyond the commonality of doors and things like them and create images that tell interesting stories.

An old, weathered door at the Mont Saint-Michel Abbey.