This is the sort of photo I use to give me ideas. If you were out for a walk and came across this, would you go in?

What would you find in here? A biscuit tin with an old diary inside? Old love letters from people long dead? A sack of stolen trinkets? Or perhaps a pile of bones? I know if this was a scene from a murder mystery on television, some innocent person would be walking a dog; the dog would go into here and a body would be discovered. It’s a classic.

Here’s another atmospheric photograph. Black and white usually creates a feeling of something sinister or supernatural. I often see advertisements for tougher crime novels or horror using this sort of image. What is in the shed behind the trees? Would you want to come here at dusk or after dark? If you did, who or what might you find in this lonely place?

The same use can be made of photos of old houses and castles. This was taken in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It may be open to public now as the garden looks tidy. Who would have built such a house? Who would have lived in it over the generations? What mysteries and secrets could have evolved here? Is that someone looking out of the window of the tower? (Not really, I just put that in to see if you’d look).

And the last image shows a child peeping through a spy hole. This could be an innocent game of hide and seek. But when I look at this I wonder if someone has kidnapped the boy and is keeping him locked away. Or perhaps the child has followed a person and is listening to two people discussing a plan that he shouldn’t be hearing?

It’s always interesting to look at images to find inspiration and our imaginations are alive with endless possibilities.

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