Tilted doors, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006 by Phil Douglis

Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Forty-Three: When doors, arches and gates express ideas > Tilted doors, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006

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29-DEC-2006

Tilted doors, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006

Some of the structures in Marrakesh's ancient medina have settled over the years, tilting the frames surrounding the doors. The buildings themselves seem to lean a bit as well. This image uses doors to incongruously tell the story of an aging city. They will never demolish these buildings. They are what people come from all corners of the earth to see. If they did rebuild, they would probably make sure the new doors were tilted just as much as these are.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/100s f/4.0 at 7.4mm iso100 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	29-Dec-2006 02:50:35
Make	Leica
Model	V-LUX 1
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	7.4 mm
Exposure Time	1/100 sec
Aperture	f/4
ISO Equivalent	100
Exposure Bias	-0.33
White Balance
Metering Mode	multi spot (3)
JPEG Quality
Exposure Program	program (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis		17-Jan-2007 22:41
I was hoping you would feel the darker side of man in this image, Ceci. The labyrinth that is old Marrakesh is full of places that are locked away behind walls and doors. But think about why. This is a walled city, built that way to keep out invaders. For hundreds of years, the only way to stay alive was to build walls and doors that kept people out. What we see here is a remnant of those times. It is the medieval nature of this place that makes it such a magnet for the imagination. You might not relish a visit here, yet thousands come from all over the world to walk these narrow streets, and savor what you see as an unsavory place. It seems to be slowly sinking -- finally giving way to nature after all of those years.

Guest		17-Jan-2007 22:13
Some kind of antipathy rose up in me with this interesting, tilted, crowded image, with its implacable, iron-studded, closed door seeming to symbolize the power and control of men, the claustrophobically narrow passageway to the left, the debris, the graffiti, the stains and the flaking surfaces. The colors are warm and earthy; but I get a sense of human inflexibility and fundamentalism, with an attending odor that such a spot might have -- either of wafting spiced cooking, or other elemental "fragrances." Though I have been in similar places in India, I would not much like to see them again.

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