The doorway series
doorways 1 
Don’t ask me what it is about doorways...
Some of the first photos I ever took (around jr. high age) were of objects with bold shaped light-vs.-dark patches. I took a ridiculous number of shots of the wall lamp just inside my bedroom door plus part of the door opening. I tried every angle, composition, and light value combination/variation possible. I loved the juxtaposition of the round shapes (the lamp and its shadow) vs. the linear-angular shapes (of the doorway & door shadow). I also loved the smoothness and contrast of the various “panels” of tone created by these objects and the lighting.
Now here I am, ever so many years later, still finding lines, shapes, angles, and various shadings of color fascinating in juxtaposition and in abstraction. What I like most about the abstraction, however, is that it’s not completely abstract (which, to me, would spoil the purpose of the abstraction). What’s fun about it is that much of the association with the entity of origin can be retained while certain elements are partially isolated and given a different relationship or suggestion of relationship. This also means there is no “right” way of viewing such a photo (though I would say that there are wrong ways of viewing it). The suggested relationships are open for exploration/interpretation.
There is another reason I like lights and doorways. Light, of course, has lots of associations: guidance, illumination, clarity, boldness (juxtaposed with its constant companion, shadow: obscurity, darkness). Doorways indicate passage, entrance, exit, shutting out. Combine these elements and you get suggestions about life: open doors, closed doors, doors opened, doors left shut, doors behind which there is clarity and light, doors behind which there is mystery and shadow. Or combinations of these. I also like the metaphor of the door hinge and the door knob. The hinge is what allows a door to open or close; the knob, of course, operates the mechanism by which the door can be opened or shut by an outside (or inside) agent.
Enjoy this series; I welcome your comments.
Don’t ask me what it is about doorways...
Some of the first photos I ever took (around jr. high age) were of objects with bold shaped light-vs.-dark patches. I took a ridiculous number of shots of the wall lamp just inside my bedroom door plus part of the door opening. I tried every angle, composition, and light value combination/variation possible. I loved the juxtaposition of the round shapes (the lamp and its shadow) vs. the linear-angular shapes (of the doorway & door shadow). I also loved the smoothness and contrast of the various “panels” of tone created by these objects and the lighting.
Now here I am, ever so many years later, still finding lines, shapes, angles, and various shadings of color fascinating in juxtaposition and in abstraction. What I like most about the abstraction, however, is that it’s not completely abstract (which, to me, would spoil the purpose of the abstraction). What’s fun about it is that much of the association with the entity of origin can be retained while certain elements are partially isolated and given a different relationship or suggestion of relationship. This also means there is no “right” way of viewing such a photo (though I would say that there are wrong ways of viewing it). The suggested relationships are open for exploration/interpretation.
There is another reason I like lights and doorways. Light, of course, has lots of associations: guidance, illumination, clarity, boldness (juxtaposed with its constant companion, shadow: obscurity, darkness). Doorways indicate passage, entrance, exit, shutting out. Combine these elements and you get suggestions about life: open doors, closed doors, doors opened, doors left shut, doors behind which there is clarity and light, doors behind which there is mystery and shadow. Or combinations of these. I also like the metaphor of the door hinge and the door knob. The hinge is what allows a door to open or close; the knob, of course, operates the mechanism by which the door can be opened or shut by an outside (or inside) agent.
Enjoy this series; I welcome your comments.
posted by Bonnie at
10:59 PM
2 Comments:
A search of the ESV Bible results in 167 occurrences of "door" in scripture, including Matt 6:6, Luke 13:24, John 10:9, 1 Corinthians 16:9, Revelations 3:8 and 3:20, and, no doubt, others that might be considered as significant as these.
By
Martin LaBar, at 8:38 PM
Thanks, Martin!
By
Bonnie, at 2:13 PM
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