This week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, hosted by Sylvia, is all about doors and doorways.
Doors. We open and close them dozens of times each day. We use them to organize our space. To get access. To open to the world. To protect from the world.
But there are also doors that won’t open. They are not in use anymore or they’ve never been in use. They seem to be there to hide rather than reveal something.
The most interesting doors are not the ones that open and shut incessantly, but the ones that make you wonder why are they there for. The ones that, rather than opening to something beyond themselves, seem to be turning in towards themselves.
Like this red door matching the red flowers just beneath it and the two windows upstairs, covered by wooden boards. Everything is neatly arranged and clean as if the people from the household had just left the scene. But there’s no way in or out. The flower pots on the ground block the access and suggest the door hasn’t been used in a while.

Or this little door from Lisbon’s Alfama district, surrounded by azulejos, the painted ceramic tiles so typical of the city, and the picture of St. Anthony, the patron saint of Lisbon.

Or this wooden door of what used to be a small chapel house in the woods. The ceiling is gone and the vegetation has taken over, growing wildly on top of the walls. There is no inside anymore to which the door would give access. It’s just the forest outside connected to the forest inside the walls.

Or this mural painting in Brussels, of a husband leaving the house while his wife is welcoming her lover upstairs. Among all the physical doors to the left and to the right, this painted door is by far the most visible. It’s a door whose role is not to allow access to the house but to open it to the outside world. It’s a statement made with the language of doors, windows, and passageways.

There are visible doors that remain closed forever. And there are invisible doors that become visible only when they close. I wrote about this in a previous post.
I was obviously attracted to the Lisbon photo but they are all very special indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Sofia! The one from Lisbon is very dear to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A+ for finding such unique doors and a unifying theme Florin. Your doors are wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, Tina! 🙂
LikeLike
Are these all your photos? They’re great!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jeroen! Yes, I only post my photos.
LikeLike
Interesting – and I love the mood created in all your photos. The Lisbon house and Meise, Belgium really caught me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always a pleasure have you visiting here! Thank you!
LikeLike
♥ Happy midsummer to you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
same to you! 🙂
LikeLike
Florin, I really enjoyed seeing and reading about introverted doors! So hard to pick favorites but if I had to it would be the little chapel house in the woods and one with the red door since it poses many questions. Each is unique in its own way and has its own story to tell. A great post, thank you for sharing these!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks to you Sylvia for hosting this competition so gracefully!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lovely photo taken in Ghent, Belgium. I love how the various elements break the monotony of pure symmetry. I agree with you that doors are rich in symbolism.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Alessandra
LikeLike
They are all very choice doors and I love your reading of each one. They may no longer be in use but they have a story which makes them curious. Love the graffiti art one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great response to this challenge Florin. I really liked the red doors and windows. There must be another entry somewhere. Everything looks so neat.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOVE that chapel in Meise, AND the mural. Outstanding.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks so much, John!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow – each of your door photos seems like a story prompt – and love how you wrote about them esp the first – with those red doors
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you, happy to have you visiting! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
☀️😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love your collection, Florin. Unique and wonderful!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks so much 🙂
LikeLike
The photos are so well made. The Brussels photo is interesting! The husband looks a tad scary..!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful ones. And I enjoyed the words that go with each image. Delightful stories. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, I’m glad you liked them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful photos. delightful essay. I have a major Doorway fixation myself. You’ve inspired me to dig back for some of those photos. (Nowhere as fine as yours!) Sorry the Like button isn’t letting me register my reaction.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks a lot, it’s kind of you. I must also say that I’m very drawn to your way of telling stories and with your interest in stories and what they can do to us.
LikeLike