Some childhood interests fade with time. Others quietly follow us through life.
Looking at this photograph from my 1983 visit to Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, I realize just how long I’ve been fascinated by doors.
Even as a kid, there was something about an interesting doorway that captured my attention. Where did it lead? What was on the other side? Why was it designed that way? And these certainly weren’t ordinary doors. The magnificent Ghiberti Doors at Grace Cathedral, cast from molds made from Lorenzo Ghiberti’s famed Gates of Paradise in Florence, were elaborate enough to stop a curious kid with a camera in her tracks.
More than four decades later, apparently not much has changed.
Travel through my camera roll today and you’ll find doors from around the world—brightly painted doors, weathered wooden doors, enormous cathedral entrances, tiny doors tucked along cobblestone streets. I still photograph them. I still wonder about the stories behind them. That childhood fascination eventually became part of how I see the world as a professional photographer, always noticing the architectural details, textures and little scenes that others might walk right past. That same curiosity has expanded to the street art, murals and photo spots I seek out when I travel—the kinds of details that can turn an ordinary walk through a city into one of my favorite photography experiences.
But something has changed.
In 1983, the doors were enough to fascinate me. In 2026, I want to know what’s beyond them.
I’ve developed an entirely new appreciation for the soaring ceilings, stained glass, stonework, craftsmanship, history and extraordinary architecture found inside the world’s great cathedrals.
That fascination with architectural details follows me wherever I travel. During my recent trip to London, I found myself looking up and photographing the architectural details that are so easy to walk past without noticing. Now, looking at this old photograph makes me want to return to Grace Cathedral—not simply to photograph these beautiful doors again, but to walk through them.
And perhaps recreate this photograph while I’m there.
Looking back at photographs from that 1983 trip has made me see San Francisco differently, too. Revisiting my view of Alcatraz more than four decades later showed me just how much our perspective on a place can change, even when the landmark itself remains familiar. Grace Cathedral is another place from that childhood trip that I would love to experience again through adult eyes.
There’s something wonderful about discovering that the things which fascinated us as children can still fascinate us decades later. Sometimes our interests don’t disappear as we grow up.
We simply learn to open the door and explore a little farther.
Throwback Thursday question: Is there something you loved photographing or noticing as a child that still captures your attention today?
