the doors of deutschland

At our end-of-semester photography critique, the guest critic asked me, “what’s with the doors?” While I still don’t think there’s any deep, artistic or poetic meaning behind my love for doors, I can’t say I’m not compelled to photograph them. They’re all so different and so special.

Like the turquoise doors I found in Berlin, intricately designed and painted with fun colors.

Or the green door in Hamburg, celebrating its proximity to the harbor…

…or the one in Bremen, playing beautifully with its building’s orange walls.

Even a gray door managed to look exotic due to some clever architectural shaping. (and i do love gray.)

And I think this gorgeous wooden door is the one I’d be happiest to walk through every day!
The letter slot, labeled “BRIEFE”, makes me smile… Briefe means “letters” so it’s entirely ordinary, but I’m always thrilled when I know words without thinking.

Of course, Berlin is renowned for its plethora of graffiti, and these doors certainly didn’t escape.

But when the colors contrast so vividly, one can’t help but begin to consider the graffiti tag as a form of art.
Really… I’m loving the aqua + sea green + tomato soup color scheme here.

And despite my love for my camera, I didn’t take a million pictures on this trip. For once, I let my eyes do the exploring without a viewfinder. It felt good. But I’m glad I have my doors, and my subway tiles, and pictures of all the delicious snacks I ate. It was a wonderful adventure. There are still a few more Germany tales to be told but I promise, we’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming soon. I have so many projects to share with you!