Wednesday 28 March 2012

Doors & Doorways

More than once in my life, I was faced with the decision of which direction to take, where to go from here; sometimes, the choices and their probable consequences were rather clear, while at other times, I wasn't even sure of what the different doors were that I could open (or leave shut), let alone what was in store for me behind them.

For years now, I have turned this fascination with doors and doorways (in the actual physical as well as in the metaphorical sense) into a little hobby: I take pictures.

Oh, great, we wouldn't have thought that, I hear you say. Yes, I know, there are many pictures on my blog, most of which I have taken, some of which I nicked. But so far, there have been precious few of doors and doorways. The reason is that, until a few months ago, I used to put all my doors and doorways into an album I had created on my MySpace profile specifically for that. Now, MySpace is pretty much dead, I'm afraid to say - at least it is in the narrow realm of communication and creativity I was using it for. My old profile there still exists, and so does the album, but nobody ever looks at it over there, and so I have transferred it to my photobucket site instead.

You can view the whole album here, if you like; so far, I have only transferred the pictures but not added all of the titles or descriptions yet. One thing you can be sure of, though: all of these are mine, I haven't nicked any from anywhere else on the internet; I have been to all those places in person, and each of the doors and doorways have, to me, a special appeal.

Let me show you some of my favourites (the whole album contains more than 60 pictures, but don't worry, I am not going to post them all on here!):

The rim of a field, not far from my parents' allotment; I laid flat on my tummy to take this one, and imagined what the world would look like if one were part of the Little People.


Entrance to a cave somewhere in England (at the border between Yorkshire and the Peak District, I think). 


Fountains Abbey, near Ripon, Yorkshire. Yes, this is very touristic and the very same view has probably been the subject of countless pictures, but I couldn't help wanting to capture it for myself.


A narrow alley in a small town in the Provence, south France.


Let's stay in France for this one, too; a door in a door in Nice/Nizza.


The Castle of Schwetzingen and its grounds are well worth a day trip from where I live.


A bit closer to home now; this is at the zoo in Stuttgart.


What could be more intriguing than a gate formed entirely by nature?


Not just the size makes this door particular (I reach maybe up to a third of the height of this door, if that!), but also the material in which it was once covered: leather, nailed to the wooden panels with heavy iron nails. This is part of the large complex of Maulbronn monastery (UNESCO World Culture Heritage), dating back to the mid-1200s.


Yorkshire again; this is in a small and very picturesque place called Masham.


Back to my home town, in an old cellar usually not open to the public, but we were allowed in while we were on a guided tour. I do recommend guided tours for everyone in their home towns - I bet you'd still learn a lot of things you had not known yet about the place where you live!


Ludwigsburg (my home town), view towards the inner courtyard of the palace.


I do not pretend that I always take the right door when there is more than one possibility, but I usually regard going through doors an adventure - sometimes deliberately chosen for that quality, but sometimes I have been pushed through a door rather roughly and had to deal with whatever I found behind. So far, I have managed to face up to the consequences of each door in my life that has opened in front or closed behind me, and I hope that I won't lose that ability anytime soon.

24 comments:

  1. What a treasure your collection of photographs of doors is, and will become only more so. I've always loved the mysterious nature of liminal space, in art and in nature......

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    1. Yes, I hope to keep adding to them, although my approach to taking photos has slightly shifted from when I first started, and I feel somehow less creative nowadays.

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  2. What beautiful photos! I like how you compare life in doorways!

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  3. I looked at all your photos, thanks for letting me see them! You have a really good eye. You know, you should make a Calendar out these photos. (You have enough for several years!) :-)

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    1. Kay, thank you! Yes, there are enough for 5 years... but who would want a calendar with nothing but doors in it?

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  4. May you keep the ability to make the best of the door you choose, find (or are pushed through).

    The view along the grassy trail and Maulbronn monastery are my favourites - who could fail to love the monastery door?

    The cave entrance is annoying me. I was sure I recognised it as being on the Ingleton Waterfall walk (have you ever done that?) but it doesn't appear on Google and my photos are unscanned slides in the loft.

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    1. Thank you, John!
      No, it is not Ingleton, I've never been there. I have looked it up in my England photo album (see http://s524.photobucket.com/albums/cc327/MeksPics/England/ if you are interested) and the cave is in the Peak District near a village called Castleton. We went on a hike there with two of my aunts and uncles, and I loved every minute of it!

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  5. I like this post - both the photos and the metaphor! With the photos, I saw a few places I want to visit, that monastery in Maulbronn being one of them! And I loved the cave entrance! I think doors are wonderful - we have a whole collection of door and rooftop photos . I never tire to look at them.

    And metaphorically speaking, to me there's never a right or wrong door to choose, just doors that will lead my life into different directions. Some of the ones I thought were "wrong" turned out to be the best door I could have chosen. Life is funny that way...

    I hope you are doing well!! xoxo Silke

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    1. Dear Silke, thanks, I am doing very well and hope the same is true for you - I have not been to your blog in a while, but I think I will go and get myself up to date with your latest news :-)

      Und wenn du das nächste Mal in Deutschland bist, komm in meine Gegend und wir machen zusammen einen Ausflug nach Maulbronn, das ist gar nicht so weit weg von hier.

      Lieben Gruß, Meike.

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  6. Took the tour of your doors last night and think you have an impressive collection. I hope you will continue to add to it, but I know what you mean about losing your creative desire in regard to doors. I've gone through just such a hiatus with my writing. For several years it was a burning passion and then, all the sudden, it sputtered out.

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    1. Yes, Jill, and I think this is a natural thing happening; when something has served its purpose, it takes a back seat. Sometimes we never need a certain creative (or physical) outlet again, and sometimes we don't actually "need" it again but we want to and manage to rekindle the flame because that certain activity brought us so much joy or we discover to have a real gift for it.
      Maybe if you did start your own blog, Jill, the burning passion for writing would come back :-)

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  7. I know what you mean, so many paths we can take in this life.

    I absolutely love your photographs. They have such balance. You have a good eye for detail.

    Hope you are well,
    e

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    1. Thank you, Elizabeth! Balance - I don't know; many times, my pictures are not straight even though while I look through the camera, I am convinced I am holding it straight :-)

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  8. Have you seen the movie The Adjustment Bureau? I think you'll enjoy their door travelling where they're literally transported to different places.

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    1. Can't say I have heard of that movie, Denise, but I remember having read "Neverwhere" by Neil Gaiman many years ago (I have only just found out that the TV series existed before the book - usually, it is the other way round, isn't it? I didn't even know there was a TV series!), and one of the main characters is a girl named Door, with the ability to open doors and other things.

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  9. Well, I am most intriqued by the cave entrance. Fox? Badger? Did you see a lampost or doorbell??
    xx
    julie

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    1. No doorbell or other such things visible, but it could be quite a cosy little home for a family of fauns :-)

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  10. This is such a lovely Post !

    besos Storm

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  11. Lovely serie...
    Best regards from Paris,

    Pierre

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  12. I, too, love doors and windows and have a large collection of photos of both. I also love and have pictures of people looking out of windows or through doors. I'm sure that a psychologist would tell a lot about me from that. I popped over and had a look at your new album. I hope you keep adding to it.

    Like Silke some of the doors I have walked through in life and thought that I had arrived in the wrong place have turned out to be good doors. So often in life it's how we react to the path we are on because so often we can change negative experiences into positive ones with some effort on our part.

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