Door of Mysteries

It’s been quite the first winter in New England.

Temps dropping into the single digits at times. Lots of wind. A fair amount of snow.

Most of that has melted as of this week.

And we’re seeing mid 40s to low 50s during the day.

A stark contrast from just two weeks ago or thereabouts when we had our last significant accumulation.

I’ve been forcing myself to get out and photograph more lately.

February’s composition was a lovely find on one of these excursions.

I frequently take Church Street home on my walks. It’s a narrowish road that, you guessed it, runs past one of the many places of worship in my city.

Without doing more homework, I’m guessing this was one of the first church’s built here, as there are a ton more that are far grander.

I don’t give this particular scene much thought most days. I prefer the view on the other side.

But I was quickly captivated by the stark contrast between red door and frozen ground on this occasion in the early morning hours.

I also rather like the line of snow framing the stone archway.

I took photos right then and there on my phone, and I rather liked the results.

But I also wanted to get something on my dedicated camera and returned to the spot later in the day.

I thought that the light would be soft enough by then, but I was mistaken. Lots of bright sun causing the tree out of frame in the church yard to cast a strong shadows on the door.

There was a decent amount of cloud cover, however, so I managed to grab some frames that didn’t include the silhouette of tree limbs.

I feel like there could be quite a lot going on behind the weathered door. It screams keep out.

Or perhaps only a chosen few get to glimpse what lays on the other side.

Red is such a powerful color. It tends to dominate scenes. And it can evoke a lot of different feelings.

Passion, of course. Warmth.

Also aggression. Violence. And so on.

I wonder what this arresting scene conjures for different people.