Project Proposal

“Doors”

By Peter Carlsson

When I moved to Ireland in 2005, many things positively surprised me. In my project I want to concentrate on one of them and show to the people an ordinary thing that very often remains unnoticeable.

When I first walked on the streets of Galway, I admired very colourful doors, which sometimes were small like for dwarfs. Different colours, sizes or shapes of the doors are not that common in Poland, where I come from, so that’s why they grabbed my attention instantly.

In the project I would like to photograph the doors, their locks, handles and anything else that associates with the main object of shooting. Ideally I would use daylight to expose all the interesting details about the chosen doors.

With this simple idea I want to show to the people that object like door can put lots of optimism and positive energy in everyday life. However, I intend to include contrasts in the photobook in which my work is going to be presented. By saying contrast I want to mean both great looking doors and the ones that are “grey”, scratched and not well looked after. In this way everyone will have a chance to notice how important this small detail can be in our lives. I feel that showing only a pretty looking doors would not expose all of my intentions. The way my project is going to be presented hopefully will prove that our doors are our personal displays. I hope that my photobook will induce some reflections in everyone, who watches it and the one who never cared how his or her door looks like, will make a change.

The picture presented in this proposal shows the doors of Europe, but in this project to achieve the expected outcome, I am going to take a few strolls around the Galway City and find the doors that match the criteria I described above. I have some places in my mind from my previous observations and I plan to start with them. I am planning to take photographs between November and January and I will be looking for dry, but not very sunny day to avoid over exposure. I am aware that everything can be adjusted in camera settings or in the photoshop in post-production, but I have learnt so far that it’s easier to work with the photos, which are taken in the best possible quality.

The most suitable time to take the best shots will probably be in the morning and before lunchtime. The streets are not too busy and there are good chances that the doors I choose will not be constantly opening and closing. This time is very convenient, as the shooting will not be interrupted more than necessary.

There will be no people involved in my project other than me, which means I have to work on my own initiative. However, I will treat the subject of my work with the same importance, as working with the human beings. As a result, I am expecting to see a photobook, which will inspire the viewers to design their doors in the most creative way.

I had never had an opportunity to capture doors in the way I have planned in this project. It will definitely be another chance to develop my photography skills, but also to discover new features in my camera. I like challenges and this project is certainly one of them. I am ready to face it.