The Garden and the Door

I don't pass by St James Church often, but I have chanced by at least twice in the past two weeks, and I noticed this small garden near the church entrance leading to a rather fetching doorway. In actual fact, I don't believe this entrance is used any more in favour of a more commodious one in a newer addition.

In one of these pass-bys, I was on foot and stopped to chat with a lady who was working the garden at the time. I shouldn't have been surprised that she still carried her English/British accent, for the English are somewhat known for their fine flower gardens.

I told her I would try to return with my camera, and about a week or so later, I kept my word, not that she would know. I returned in the early evening when the sun was lowering but not so low that the garden would be shaded by trees across the way. At least that was my hope, but it turned out that I could have gone even a little earlier.

As charming as both the garden and door were, I didn't find it easy to get a good photo. Perhaps I would have done better if I had been prepared to trammel all over the plants, but I wasn't.

This wide angle photo may be my favourite of the half dozen or so attempts that I made. I like how the two flower beds and the pathway and fence all lead to the doorway. I think I also like the purple flowers in the immediate foreground. Unfortunately, I couldn't get them totally sharp due the wind which wasn't affecting the yellow rudbeckia as much. As in some of the other following photos, I do wish that I had more breathing space at the top of the doorway.

I think the above attempt works a little better than the next composition where I changed the angle to get the background grasses to the right in the frame. However, I do like that the breathing space over the doorway.

The next two were taken with a normal and fixed lens. I think the first is my second favourite of the five that I have processed. Due to the angle, the flowers lead just about up to the door, thus obscuring the asphalt path. I would have preferred to get the whole doorway in the frame, but I couldn't manage it at this distance and with this lens. Or perhaps I could have done it but didn't; I am not sure.

Finally, I tried a photo from farther back with a longer zoom. Once again, it would have been better to get the whole light in. I try to get it right, but I fail too often.

I am glad that I thought of doing this little shoot. It is somewhat remarkable that I actually remembered to go back there and that I picked a reasonably good time of day for it. All in all, none of the photos are perfect. The photos that I like best for certain reasons tend truncate the doorway at the top. Sigh. I guess I'll never figure this out.