Gates and Gateways

This photograph is very good. The high contrast light-fall has been expertly captured from this angle. Naturally, our eye looks immediately at the brightly lit metal gate. The fact that much of the gate is not visible, nor the surrounding environment, adds to the drama. It has a depth of character that we associate with well art directed film scenes. The shadows provide subtle information, the cool hues balance the warmth of the red gate.

Thus, the balance of the minimal information with the greater scene, collectively provides a strong, dramatic rendition of a timeless structure and place.

A nonedescript corner of the Cornish countryside provides little of interest at first glance. Once put into the context of a photography context addressing "gates and gateways", it grows with significance and meaning.

Nestled amongst the growing spring vegetation is the remnants of a decrepit timber gate. Broken, useless it is transitioning from a once functional structure to its original organic state.

This reading of the photograph could be used as a metaphor to much of how we use natural substances for functional purposes: that once no longer useful they are left to literally rot.

That slightly pesimistic note to one side, the formal structure of the photograph is excellent. We note the crumpled gate, the hole in the base of the trunk, the patch of lush green, our eyes then follows the embedded leading landscape lines towards the top right corner of the frame. Here we glean the swing of the trail and glimpse a speck of sky beyond. This is important as it refers to the original premise of my reading: that our existence is but part of a process, a journey.

I may have taken this analysis further than intended. My point is that photographs can (should) provide meaning, narratives, within the information framed by the camera.

This photograph has a wonderful compositional structure. The relationship of the lines and shapes of the gate are neatly balanced in relation to the background information of land, sea and sky. This indicates that the photographer is paying attention to all the elements within the frame. I always look to balance the big, dominant, most obvious elements within a scene, and then work to refine the finer details. This photograph provides an excellent example of this approach.

The result is a thoughtful photograph of a coastal gate. We can see the details of the gate (the lichen, rust and all) and are well aware that the gate is the subject (note the shallow depth-of-field to emphasise this – the background is clear but soft.