Stargate

[David Paterson]

I'm building a heavily-Japanese-influenced garden in a quiet corner of our grounds. This is a night shot (b/w conversion, toned) looking outwards from the garden through the "torii" - the gateway or entrance. In a real Japanese garden, temple or shrine, the torii tells you that you are entering special or sacred ground.

[Akira]

You captured serene atmosphere which fits really well with torii, which is enhanced by the starry skies.  I also like the blue-gray tone.  Even though you revealed that it was a b/w conversion, it looks like a full color image.

[elsa hoffmann]

I like it  - some mystical thing about the image, and the colour works for me too

[David Paterson]

Thanks, Akira and Elsa.

You both used words which exactly fit - "serene' and "mystical". It always was a quiet and peaceful corner, tucked away beneath a huge beech-tree, but when the torii went up, it suddenly acquired a new serenity. And to go and sit there in the dusk or during the night is a kind of mystical experience; everyone I've taken there feels it.

[golunvolo]

I love how the torii silhouette brings peace and harmony to the otherwise chaotic frame. To my eye the graphic nature of the frame fits also with the "Japanese" influence.

[Gary]

Thank you for sharing. I love the image and I love what you're doing in that special corner. Wishing I was there absorbing the serenity.

[Frank Fremerey]

Europeans were always fascinated by Japanese gardens.

It seems to be another Eastern "Form with a meaning" like martial arts or the tea ceremony

[David Paterson]

Thanks, Paco, Gary and Frank. I'm glad you like this image because it means a lot to me.

Frank - I also wonder if the ancients hit on some sort of powerful, elemental shape with the torii. They do seem to work some quiet kind of magic, creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility wherever one exists. Either that or it's all in my imagination.   

[Jakov Minić]

David, that's a lovely silhouette!

[Frank Fremerey]

Frank - I also wonder if the ancients hit on some sort of powerful, elemental shape with the torii. They do seem to work some quiet kind of magic, creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility wherever one exists. Either that or it's all in my imagination.   

For brits it should not be difficult to  identify as a Wicket: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicket

[David Paterson]

Thanks, Jakov.

But Frank - a wicket has THREE legs.

[Frank Fremerey]

But Frank - a wicket has THREE legs.

look at the upper part. The third leg does not reach the floor, but that does not reduce its  wicketness