Portals from the Street

This week, we’re stepping through the frame — or at least photographing it.
Your challenge: Portals.

Think doors, windows, alleyways, gates, thresholds, arches — any opening that suggests a passage between one space and another. These are the visual and symbolic moments where one world ends and another begins.

Portals are everywhere in the city. But not all of them are obvious — and not all of them are used the same way. Some are grand and ceremonial. Others are hidden, broken, or barely noticed.

What to Look For:

• Doors of all kinds — open, closed, ajar, broken, ornate, industrial and commercial — and those rolling, graffitied shutters if closed
• Windows — lit up, reflecting the street, framing a subject inside or out
• Alleyways — dark, narrow, mysterious, or unexpectedly beautiful
• People entering, exiting, waiting in the frame—door or camera frame
• Thresholds — stairs, steps, ramps, things that lead you inward
• Visual metaphors — contrast between inside and outside, light and dark, open and closed

Tips:

• Perhaps use the portal as a frame within the frame — place your subject inside or behind it
• Shoot from both sides — look at what the portal reveals, and what it hides
• Look for texture and detail — chipped paint, old hinges, worn handles
• Let mystery guide you — what lies beyond the door? Who just disappeared down that alley?
• Any camera will do—point-and-shoot, film or digital, or even smartphone. Heck, shoot Polaroids and scan them later. Work with what will get the job done.

Bonus Challenge:

Photograph a series of portals that share a theme — color, shape, mood, or function. Try to create a visual rhythm across your images.

This assignment is less about the object, and more about the invitation it holds. A good portal photo invites the viewer to ask: What’s behind that? Who just went through?

Frame the moment. Open the story. Find the portals.

Let's meet at The YMT MTR Exit C and work south. Lets split up individually, or maybe pairs, but there's too many to swarm as one.

There's a lot of stories (and doorways) around there, including the Tin Hau Temple and walking the side streets of Temple St Market and the wider area. I've attached a map of the area and our starting and ending meetup locations. (Green circle YMT Exit C, red circle is the regroup location, and blue is just a suggested shooting area—but course you can go anywhere.)

Let's reconvene at 3:30. There's a reservation under Robert—
MOBIN (International/Coffee Shop+), Shop 2, G/F, Eaton HK, 380 Nathan Road, Jordan 佐敦彌敦道380號香港逸東酒店地下2號舖

Sometime soon, please post about 5 of your best to this Event. Please don't name them, but please leave praise or constructive comments to as many others as you can—this is the kind of feedback we all need.