Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes
Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes. Capturing images ecapsulating time, memories and the beauty of decline.
Whether made of wood or metal, these aged door surfaces often become layered over time with paper – posters, stickers, and personal messages; frequently embellished with graffiti.
Each door has its own story to tell and its own unique charm. By capturing fine details through a close-up approach; they compel you to examine their form, colour, texture and marks of human intervention.
In a small way, they contribute to Venice’s reputation, as a city of unmatched beauty marked by romantic decay and an atmosphere cherished by travelers, writers, poets, and artists over the centuries and to this day.
Introduction
Crafting images that are both more personal and unique, while encapsulating the “essence” of Venice.
Relevant Photo-Tips
A selection of old doors taken over four decades
A celebratory poem, “Old Doors of Venice”, inspired by the beauty of decline.
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Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes. Introduction
Venice is among the most photographed cities in the world. A simple online search for “Images of old doors in Venice, Italy” produces a plethora of results, including personal blog entries and image-centric websites like Pinterest and Getty Images. Without any intended criticism, typically, photographers opt to capture the entire door, its frame, and often parts of the building, or its broader context within the street or canal. I certainly cannot resist taking these types of images myself.
However, as an amateur but seasoned photographer, I am driven by the ambition to craft images that are both more personal and unique, whilst still aiming to capture and reveal aspects of Venice that artists, writers and poets term its “essence” or “soul“.
How, then, can one convey a more distinctive viewpoint of this remarkable city, within the confines of this specific subject?
This post is about adopting a less conventional approach, diverging from the usual, by moving much closer to the subject matter; to uncover the intricate details of shape, texture, and colour; that are surprisingly mostly overlooked by other photographers of this historic city.
Photographing Venice involves capturing old doors and service boxes, creating images that are not only personal and distinctive but also embody the “essence” of Venice.
In the less frequented and often narrow backstreets of Venice, especially in the traditional working-class neighbourhoods; one can still find aged wooden and simple flat metal doors on both residential and commercial buildings, bearing the marks of decay and neglect. These doors frequently feature a mix of fascinating, though simple, antique hardware and the occasional modern addition, like a round Yale lock and padlocks.
Another focus of my interest, is on the metal service boxes for electricity, which are either set into the walls or freestanding, and very occasionally those for gas supply and post.
Away from the main tourist spots, the streets are quieter and less distracting; allowing for greater focus. By capturing fine details through close-up photography, they compel you to examine their form, colour, texture and marks of human intervention. This underscores Venice’s reputation as a city of unmatched beauty marked by scenic deterioration, which lends the romantic atmosphere cherished by travelers, writers, poets, and artists for centuries.
Beyond the financial aspects, one reason I favour visiting the historic city during winter is the enhanced saturation and contrast of colours on such surfaces when they are damp. During these colder and wet winter months, you also tend to gain a heightened perception of both the permanent and transient elements of Venice, situated in its lagoon environment.
Whether made of wood or metal, these aged surfaces often become layered over time with paper – posters, advertisements, and personal messages, sometimes embellished with light graffiti. It is captivating to return to Venice over the years, discovering the same elements and witnessing their evolution.
As time passes, influenced by atmospheric elements, rising damp, the saline environment, and the touch of passersby; these paper layers and graffiti merge with the original decaying surfaces; creating distinctive visual prospects for photographers. By getting close to the subject, composing carefully, and making adjustments during post-processing in image software, you can produce images reminiscent of abstract art, using the “mixed media” painting techniques. Images where layers of paint, paper, and graffiti blend into the wood and metal surfaces that encapsulate the notions of time and memories.
Scenes often deemed unsightly or bothersome on these old doors and service boxes, can be transformed into captivating images with distinctive character; revealing that beauty can manifest in the most unexpected forms.
A few relevant Photo-Tips
- In winter in the narrow backstreets, they are often in shade and quite dark, so a tripod or monopod is essential to get a reasonably sharp image. If available, make sure to use anti-vibration software in the lenses or camera body. On, the latest top of the range phone systems, you can now take perfectly exposed and sharp night scenes, revolutionizing very low-light photography.
- For taking these types of images, photograph the scenes head on, and in flat and even lighting conditions; to give the most impact. Heavy shadows across the image, tend to spoil this type imagery. Also, you don’t need so much depth of field, to retain sharpness across the image plane, and can therefore use a faster shutter speed.
- Always, use a grid system on the viewfinder or phone camera. If you have to tilt your camera up or down, or are not quite square on, I have learnt to give a bit more space around your chosen composition in the viewfinder; inorder to correct any vertical or horizontal distortions in your processing software.
- Where you have a lot of deteriorating paper melding into the surface, make sure on exposure and during post-processing to retain the wonderful gradation in the highlights. Also, parts of the applied paper always lifts or curl up in places; which gives the images a 3-dimensional quality, even on screen. Carefully printed on the finest textured matt papers and framed behind glass; they can match the “tangibility” and impact of a traditional painting.
Photographing Venice: A collection of images featuring Old Doors and Service Boxes.
OLD WOOODEN DOORS
OLD METAL DOORS
AN OLD GAS AND POST BOX
ELECTRIC SERVICE BOXES
“Each wood and metal door has its own story to tell and its own unique charm, and are a testimony to the rich history and culture of Venice”
Finally, here’s a celebratory poem, inspired by the beauty of decline.
“The Old Doors of Venice”
In Venice, where the waters softly flow,
Old doors stand tall, their stories left to show.
Once radiant shades that dazzled in the light,
Now faded, peeling, crumbling in the sight.
The paintwork, cracked, reveals the wood beneath,
A tapestry of time in each motif.
Textures rich with history’s gentle hand,
Each layer tells of life upon this land.
The passing years have left their subtle trace,
In every line and weathered, worn-out face.
The doors, they whisper secrets of the past,
Of moments fleeting, memories that last.
And metal doors, with rust that slowly spreads,
Their surfaces now tinged with orange-reds.
Once strong and proud, now softened by decay,
They stand as sentinels of yesterday.
Through sun and storm, through calm and tempest’s roar,
These doors have stood, a testament of yore.
In Venice, where the old and new entwine,
The doors reveal the beauty of decline.
Links (internal–external)
My posts on “Photographing Venice”
Photographing Venice – Transforming decaying walls into art.
The Street Artist Blub in Venice
Depicting Venice – Ian Coulling
Depicting Venice 2 – Ian Coulling
Depicting Venice 3 – Ian Coulling
Venice – Developing a personal vision
Insanely beautiful doors from Venice | 27 doors 🇮🇹 (youtube.com)
Beautiful Venice doors! From a city that has been around for decades! (youtube.com)
Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes
Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes Photographing Venice – Old Doors and Service Boxes