A black metal grill, or gate, bars the way leading to a courtyard or cloister beyond, with white stuccoed arches, in Spanish neocolonial style, in San Antonio, Texas. The canopy of some trees visible in the background, providing some color. With copyright notice, img top-right.

in response to the prompt 'Barrieren' for the daily/nightly #FotoVorschlag
©TonyNuspl2022
#urbangaze
#SecretSpaces
#AmateurPhotography
#AmericanRegionalism
#cellphonephotography
#AndroidOptics

#secretspaces

"Hoarfrost, Sky-Portal" ©TonyNuspl2013 from a series "Nature Without Her Diadem" (2013-2023) re-post from 2023 on Fadebook #NegativeSpace #FotoVorschlag #SecretSpaces #landscapephotogaphy #treecanopy #Zen #photographers A disused deck balcony, with a wood railing, in the foreground. A clearing in the tree canopy, in winter, in the middleground. A bleak sky, in the distance. With a very muted pallet, almost a monochrome photo. With a broad black matte frame. Copyright notice, bottom-right.

"Hoarfrost, Sky-Portal"
©TonyNuspl2013
from a series "Nature Without Her Diadem" (2013-2023)
re-post from 2023 on Fadebook
#NegativeSpace
#FotoVorschlag
#SecretSpaces
#landscapephotogaphy
#treecanopy
#Zen #photographers

A large dilapidated brick building, standing three stories tall with white columns and chipped white painted accents. The windows are missing and trees, and bright green vines grow all over in front of and up the sides of the building. A chain link fence blocks access to the building. This was one a bustling insane asylum in the heart of Connecticut.

For over 60 years thousands of patients came here because they had "lost their minds."

During their stay, many of them lost their lives.

#eastcoastkin #februarty2026 #FairfieldHills #photography #nature #reclaimed #forgotten #hospital #haunted #hauntedct #secretspaces #ghosts&phantoms #urbangaze

A hidden corner of the deserted garrison at Cape Spear, Newfoundland #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #capespear #Ghosts&Phantoms #eastcoastkin #abstractia #rust #FebruArty2026 #forgotten

Two circular mirrors framed in a painted panel. The face of a woman wearing a hat is reflected in the mirror on the left.

A friendly apparition in the mirror for #PalacesandGardens #GhostsandPhantoms #Secretspaces #photography #dailyphoto #out&about

a hidden cabinet, a cozy window, something to read - a place to get away from the troubles of the world. A small chamber inside the vast Château de Beynac, Dordogne, France for #secretspaces, #palacesandgardens

#eastcoastkin #mono #blackandwhite #classicmono #photography

Looking up into a 'priest hole' at Speke Hall in Liverpool. This is seen through the tiny aperture at the end of the spooky corridor photograph I posted this morning. Used a monochrome filter for this version as I've posted it only a few months ago for another theme. Built for the resident Catholic priest to hide from religious persecution if the house was raided. The entrance is a secret door in the wall leading to a narrow space near the chimney. From there this 'staircase' (ladder) provided further escape into a hidden roof space. Religious persecution happened particularly during Elizabeth I's reign and Catholic families took great risk to continue to covertly practise their faith. Photograph shows a softly illuminated wall made from huge handmade pieces of stone, against which at ninety degrees is a narrow wooden ladder up into a roof void. The space is claustrophobically small.

Staircase to Survival
for #PalacesAndGardens theme of #SecretSpaces

The alt text provides further detail.

#EastCoastKin #photography #priesthole #survival #stairs #SpekeHall #Liverpool #dangeroustimes #hidden
(iPhone camera)

A photograph taken from the edge of Granville Island near the Kids' Market looking up at Granville Bridge. The massive concrete structure is for going over the island (technically a weird peninsula) rather than to it. Beneath it, a small bit of water is visible between the boardwalk and the opposite shoreline. The waterway narrows with lots of long grasses, reeds, and several willow trees underneath the bridge. The name is a holdover from the townsite of 'Granville' which the colonial government in 1870 named to honour/kiss the ass of Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville and, at the time, Secretary of State for the Colonies (unsurprising sidenote: The 1st Earl Granville was also very creatively named Granville 🙄). In 1886 it was renamed Vancouver after explorer George Vancouver. In contrast to the European tradition of slapping the names of random white dudes on everything, indigenous Squamish names focus on natural features/geography. The area which now includes Vancouver was known as "K'emk'emeláy̓" which means "place of many maple trees". The village nearest the peninsula (which was a popular fishing site) is "Sen̓áḵw" which translates as "the place inside the head of False Creek".

Granville Bridge shot from Granville Island.

I love the way the willows tuck under the bridge. Such a busy spot, but it feels so hidden away.

#AlphabetChallenge #WeekEForEponymous see #AltText

#UrbanGaze #SensoryArt #Bridges #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #Scape #ArtYear #Photography

Plaster ghost sitting on a stone wall amid trees, grass overlooking a body of water

Castello di Vezio in Varenna on a sunny day with its ghosts overlooking Lake Como #photography #secretspaces #Ghosts&Phantoms #forgotten #eastcoastkin #travel

A black and white photo of a path running through a shrubbery. It arrives at a dark, arched doorway in a wall built to look like an old ruin. Up above the doorway on the left is another ruined arch in the wall. Behind the wall there are trees and their foliage.

One from the archive for today's Palaces and Gardens prompt: "Secret Spaces"

Biddulph Grange Gardens, Staffordshire, November 2012

#PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #BlackAndWhite #Photography #Gardens #EastCoastKin #ThrowbackThursday

The Largo di Torre Argentina is an archeological site in the center of Rome that includes four Roman temples, and was the site where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. Today it houses a volunteer-run shelter for homeless cats.

Largo di Torre Argentina, Rome, Italy (2008) 🏛️🐈
📷Pentax K10D w/Pentax DA 18-55mm Lens
#UrbanGaze, #PalacesandGardens, #SecretSpaces, #Ghosts&Phantoms, #ColorADay, #YellowThu, #Pentax, #FebruArty2026, #Photography, #EastCoastKin, #Rome, #TravelPhotography, #PhotographersofBluesky, #CatsofBlueSky

Ightham Mote, in Kent, a moated mansion built in the 14th century. The stone entrance tower is reached via a small bridge over the moat. The house is pictured on a sunny day with blue sky and a shadow cast over the front right of the building from a tree. Cromwell’s men were unable to locate the house, buried deep in the countryside, to root out what was thought to be a hot-bed of Royalists. The Mote was owned by the Selby family who were Catholics. As such the house had a priest-hole, a secret escape route hidden behind a chimney, and a secret chapel. The house is said to have many ghosts but the most renown is the Grey Lady. One story of the haunting goes back to 1605 and the Gunpowder Plot. Dame Dorothy Selby, resident of the manor, was allegedly walled up by angry conspirators after her letter warning of the plot fell into the hands of the King. In 1872, workmen, investigating an unusual coldness in that area, discovered the sealed-up room and inside found a skeleton. However, there was nothing that could be done to rid the area of its coldness. Links to the plot have subsequently been dismissed and other theories of the haunting offered, including a murdered servant girl. The manor is said to be one of the most haunted places in England. The crypt is below the water level of the moat and prisoners kept were often disposed of by opening a sluice gate. There was also a trapdoor added during the Wars of the Roses in the floor of a tower room where suspicious visitors could be dropped into a dark hole and left to starve. The room above the main gate is said to be haunted by the ghost of one such visitor. Source: Ghosts of the Southeast, a web site describing haunted houses in Southeastern England.

A dark and narrow corridor of oak polished flooring hemmed in on both sides by old wood panellling, and lit from above by lamps hanging from a white painted ceiling. Ightham Mote is said to be haunted by the ghost of a Grey Lady among many other apparitions, making it one of the most haunted houses in England. Camera: iPhone 15 Pro

#PalacesAndGardens
#SecretSpaces #Ghosts&Phantoms
This is Ightham Mote a medieval moated mansion in the Kent countryside, said to be one of the most haunted places in England. We visited last year and saw nothing but who knows. *Story in Alt text

#NationalTrust
#PhotographersOfBluesky
#EastCoastKin

The image shows a castle ruin on a green hill, with a large lake shrouded in mist behind it. The Story: The Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, is believed to be an animal or group of animals living in Loch Ness, a lake in Scotland near the city of Inverness. Nessie is usually described as a plesiosaur, up to 20 meters long. Its existence could be explained as that of a cryptid, an animal inaccessible to humans and therefore unexplored, similar to Bigfoot and the Yeti. Zu sehen ist eine Burgruine auf einem grünen Hügel, dahinter ein großer See mit Nebelschwaden. Zur Geschichte: Das Ungeheuer von Loch Ness, auch Nessie genannt, soll ein Tier oder eine Gruppe von Tieren sein, die im Loch Ness, einem See in Schottland, in der Nähe der Stadt Inverness leben. Nessie wird üblicherweise als Plesiosaurier beschrieben, mit einer Länge von bis zu 20 Metern. Ihre Existenz wäre als so genanntes Kryptid erklärbar, ein dem Menschen unzugängliches und somit unerforschtes Tier, vergleichbar mit Bigfoot und Yeti.

The theme today at #PalacesAndGardens
is #SecretSpaces and bewildering
#Ghosts&Phantoms exhibits.

Here is Urquhart Castle at Loch Ness in Scotland, more in Alt Text.

Monochrome image of a debris strewn space between tombs at the St Louis Cemetery No 1 in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. This is the oldest surviving cemetery in New Orleans, with most tombs above ground due to the high water table and risk for flooding. Amongst others buried here is Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. It is touted as one of the most haunted cemeteries in the US. The image shows the rough and broken walls of vaults that stand taller than the viewer. The alley between contains broken pieces of brick and cement and an empty planter. The sky above, in contrast, is light and clear with puffy clouds.

Between the tombs.
Saint Louis Cemetery No 1, New Orleans

#PalacesAndGardens
#SecretSpaces
#GhostsandPhantoms
#FebruArty2026
#forgotten
#ClassicMono
#EastCoastKin
#photography
#UrbanGaze

#Ghosts&Phantoms

there’s always someone else there,
they wake up after dark…

Krasiczyn Castle, December 2025
#PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #castle #UrbanGaze #LandscapePhotography #scape

#art #secretspaces
edward told the young jackalopes to stay clear of the open spaces and the Hawks that visit from time to time or they'll be asked for dinner

For #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #Ghosts&Phantoms. A pic from the gardens of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (2018). This lead to the old gardens, which had grown wild and were closed to the public. God I wanted to go in. #france #castle #nicolasfouquet #vauxlevicomte #photography #EastCoastKin

Paired with my previous pic for #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #Ghosts&Phantoms. The great chandelier at the Paris Opera, made famous by the Phantom of the Opera (2018). #photography #Paris #France #operagarnier #opera #palaisgarnier #architecture #operadeparis #EastCoastKin

For #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #Ghosts&Phantoms. The infamous Box 5 at the Paris Opera, liar of the Phantom of the Opera (2018). #photography #Paris #France #operagarnier #opera #palaisgarnier #architecture #operadeparis #EastCoastKin

“Hiding in Plain Sight: Satan’s Secret Place”

New Mexico Ghost Town

#SecretSpaces

#PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces

I would like to share another photo of the caves in the Jezuïetenberg in Maastricht.

#photography #EastCoastKin

In this black and white photograph there is a clear foreground, middle ground, and background. The foreground shows tree branches acting like a transparent screen. Taken in March, the tree is just beginning to bud. The middle ground shows an arched bridge with arch supports over a lake with boats. The bridge leads to the background a pagoda style pavilion fills the background. This place seemed hidden as the former summer residence of the Emperor. You walk in a gate from a congested neighborhood into a vast landscape with miles of walking trails.

Summer Palace Bridge, Beijing, China.
#EastCoastKin #SensoryArt #bridges #ClassicMono #China #history #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces #photography #Beijing

A weathered stone archway frames an open, ornate metal gate on the right and a tall, narrow evergreen on the left. Beyond the arch, a shaded stone path leads down toward a calm pond, bordered by grasses and wildflowers, with mature trees casting dappled sunlight across the lush green landscape.

The Secret Garden
Hever Castle

#PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces
#PhotographersOfBlueSky
#EastCoastKin

Inside of a pilgrim colonial building. Herbs hanging, a window, linens, dried onions, furniture, a drinking vessel, a dark loft Plimouth Patuxet, Plymouth MA

What comes out of the loft, at night? 🫣
For @sabineshutterbug.bsky.social 's
#PalacesAndGardens #GhostsandPhantoms #SecretSpaces
#photography #EastCoastKin #Plymouth

For #PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces, here is the way to the holy of holies in the #TempleOfIsis in #Egypt. #photography #EastCoastKin

A picnic is set up with a little white tent and red table with cushions. A couple is in a boat behind.

A little nook in Central Park that I never noticed until this. Sign says, Happy ONE month anniversary. What will they do for the one year? Kudos to them!
#SecretSpaces for #PalacesAndGardens
#HumansOfBluesky #StreetPhotography
#UrbanGaze #MobilePhotography #NYCPhotography #EastCoastKin

That definitely a #SecretSpaces tick! Brilliant 😊

This man, looking at you in the shadow, is waiting for centuries to see the cathedral to crumble. As he predicted when the building began in the XIII century

#EastCoastKin
#PalacesAndGardens #SecretSpaces
#Ghosts&Phantoms
#Photography
#PhotographersOfBlueSky
Details of the spooky story in the ALT text.

Whilst underground,we crawled through here and dropped into the lower sealed room beyond.
Climbing back up and out was somewhat more difficult. 😬
#PalacesandGardens #SecretSpaces
#EastCoastKin
#Photography #Underground
#UrbanExploration #Urbex
#MicroFourThirds #GX80