Writing Prompts from Street Photography: The Hideaway

Dec 17, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I’ve had this photograph sitting on my computer for more than six months. It’s of a den my partner and I found in the woods while we were out with my son in the summer. At the time I found it enchanting, as I always do when I find these secret places that so strongly remind me of childhood.

I don’t normally like to put photos of my son out on social media, mostly because I feel he’s too young to understand what it means and so too young to ask permission from. But you can’t see his features in this photo, and he has changed a lot since then anyway. It’s helpful to have a little figure in the picture to get the scale of the thing.

Later in the summer a wild fire swept through the entire area where we saw this little den. We’ve not been back since it happened so I do not know if it survived the blaze.

I’m writing this as we prepare for Christmas, another time that is intimately bound up with the excitements and disappointments of childhood. The picture reminds me that some of the most alluring mysteries of childhood, some of the things that may make the best fuel for a good story, are fleeting, and rapidly lost to time and events beyond our control.

Who do you think built this hideaway?

How did they build it and why?

I’m not a huge fan of creative exercises, so it’s not my habit to tell people what to do with these prompts. There are lots of options – a scene, some flash fiction, a short story, an idea for a short film or a physical piece of art. If you do have a go with this one and would like to drop the result in the comments please do so. I would be very interested to see what people make of these so please do link to blog posts or comment below.

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Thank you for reading. I also write, make art and films. You can read my short fantasy stories here on Simily. If you like these prompts and want to get a copy of a free short book of them I wrote, and to hear more about my writing projects please join my mailing list here. You can see my films at my YouTube channel here. You can see things with my designs on at my shop here. Could even treat yourself if you wanted to. Just saying. If buying art is not your thing, but you would like to support what you see you could buy me a KoFi, and I also have a Patreon Page.

Writing Prompts from Street Photography: Baby Doll

Dec 2, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I frequently see lost things belonging to children when I’m out and about. It’s probably because my life mostly revolves around activities for toddlers and home working that I end up in places where lost shoes and lost toys accumulate.

I always think there is something a little forlorn about a tiny lost trainer on the pavement, but at the same time I see these objects so frequently that I seldom stop to photograph them these days.

I actually saw this doll on one of the few days I’ve had recently that didn’t revolve around entertaining a toddler. I was walking from the train station to the physical office where I used to be based all the time, but now only visist about twice a month on a hybrid working arrangement.

This doll was laying face down on the floor near a block of flats, I imagine forgotten after a hard day of playing. I stopped for this photograph because for me there is something a little sinister about the way it is positioned, and how the doll is face down in the dirt.

When I went to look closely at the photograph I found that face to the doll is out of focus, despite my best intentions to get the eyes, and that only adds to the sinister appeal.

It reminds me of the set up of a lot of those serial crime shows that were popular in the early 2000’s like CSI and Criminal Minds. Maybe the loss of the doll is the beginning of a thriller type story.

How did the doll come to lay there like that?

Who did it belond to?

Where are they now?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Writing Prompts from Street Photography: Through the Mirror Crack’d

Nov 25, 2022Nov 25, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

When I saw this mirror on the floor among some wet autmun leaves recently I was really drawn to it. I was on my way to work, it was raining and I was in a rush so the photograph is a little blurry, even after I’ve tried a couple of filters on it.

But I don’t think it matters. The image itself still has an attractive power for me. When I looked at it I kept thinking of the phrase ‘Through the mirror crack’d’ but I wasn’t sure where it came from.

A quick search on wikipedia reveals that it is the name of a British film from the 1980’s, based on an Agatha Christie novel, The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side (this is an affiliate link — if you buy this book through amazon I’ll recieve a few pense as a referral fee — but I’m not suggesting you should, I’ve not read it!).

I don’t know the story but Agatha Christie has a well earned reputaion as the queen of cosy mystery novels, so it made me think a little about the mystery involved in this picture. The mirror is shattered almost from the centre, giving it the appearance of rays of sunshine.

How do you think it came to be broken in this way?

Who broke it?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Writing Prompts from Street Photography: The Stack

Nov 4, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw these chairs the other morning when I was walking home from dropping my son at his preschool. It was one of those gorgeous bright but crisp autumn mornings and when I initially saw the chairs I thought they were new because of the way the light fell on them.

It was only when I got up close that I noticed signs of age. The chairs are dirty, and some of them looked in need of repair. Someone probably dumped them in the night hoping that someone else would take care of them, and they are gone now.

When I saw these chairs they gave me a sense of an ending, like at one time they had been used in a school, or a dining room that was once regularly filled with cheerful guests, but is no longer needed. I don’t know why that feeling struck me, but it did. It’s funny how these thoughts come to you sometimes.

In my psychology studies I have come across the idea that the human brain is arranged so that thoughts and ideas connect through an enormous web of associations, and that the way one thought leads to the next is not linear or predictable, but peculiar to the individual.

My partner, who works in IT, tells me that this is why it is so difficult for computer programmers working on AI to find creativity difficult to crack. It is not a linear or predictable process, but one that is unique to the individual. Personally, I take comfort in that.

I may write a longer science-based article on this if people are interested. (please let me know in the comments)

So, how do you think these chairs arrived on this bit of pavement?

What has come to an end?

Could it also signal a new beginning?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Creative Prompt: A Secret Note

Aug 12, 2022Aug 11, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

In last week’s post I wrote about a Thank-you Note I had spotted on the floor outside of one of our local small supermarkets. This week I had to go into Central London to be in the office for my day job, and I saw this little note on the pavement.

It’s folded up so I don’t know what it says (and I did not unfold it), making this note far more mysterious. It could be all sorts of things, like a set of important points that someone had compiled while revising for an important exam, or a shopping list.

Old school pen and paper is still reassuringly difficult to access from a distance. Most of the time you actually have to get your hands on a piece of paper to read it’s contents, or be sitting very close by. So it could contain important secrets that someone did not want easily stolen.

Maybe it is a love note. The star like patterns on the edge of the page suggest it could be from someone’s personal grimoire detailing an important spell.

The way the note is folded makes me think that at some point someone was clutching it tightly, so it is particularly mysterious that it ended up on the pavement on a sunny morning.

What do you think is in the note?
Who wrote it?
How did they come to drop it on the pavement?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

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Creative Prompt: The Thankyou Note

Aug 5, 2022Aug 11, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw this small lump of happiness when I was darting out of one of our local shops. It was laying on the pavement just at the threshold, just a little to the left if the automatic doors and the blast of the air conditioning. As I stopped to take a photograph, the security guard wandered over to see what I was doing.

I’m not sure how suspicious I looked, crouching in the doorway of the shop trying to take a photo of the floor with my phone while balancing a bag of bananas, but it probably isn’t normal behaviour. The two of us spent a few moments looking at this little note together, remarking on how sweet it was, which in itself was nice because we’ve never had cause to talk before.

I don’t know who made the note, who Angela is, or indeed who her mother may be. I don’t think it matters, that this little note exists tells us that someone made this little token of thanks, or of love, with there own hands for somebody else. That can be inspiring for all of us.

I’m not sure if this little note will prompt a story for anyone, or if it will simply function to spread a little simple joy on the internet, which can be a squalid place sometimes.

Why may someone make a note like this?

Who might it be for?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

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Creative Prompt: There She Is

Jun 10, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

A few weeks ago I left my house to pop to the shop and found that someone had dropped a pack of playing cards all over the pavement down our road. I stopped to take a few photos of some of the cards where they lay, as I always think there’s something a bit mysterious about a solitary playing card, maybe because they have been used in so many murder mystery and super hero films.

As I was doing this I realised that there was a particular card that I wanted to find, and then set about looking for the queen of hearts. I eventually found her loitering by the wheel of a parked car in the middle of the road.

This card has a dual meaning for me in that it reminds me both of the irrational and powerful Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland (this is an affiliate link – if you buy this book using this link I’ll be sent a few pence as a referral fee), and of the more generic archetype of the beloved queen or princess in many fairy tales.

I’m particularly drawn to the idea of a character who may be able combine the two different forms of representation, the caring and kind exterior, that may be disrupted at times by actions and decisions that carry power, and that may be unpredictable and make little sense.

Can you imagine such a person?

Who would they be and where may you encounter them in a fictional world?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

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Writing prompts from street photography: A Tribute to Mother Thames

May 20, 2022Nov 11, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

When I saw this bike in the mud of the Thames I immediately thought of the references made to Mother and Father Thames in The Rivers of London series of books by Ben Aaronovitch (this is an affiliate link – if you buy this book using this link I’ll be sent a few pence as a referral fee). I’ve been a fan of the series for a long time and these books are definitely an influence on my own work.

I took the photo while out on a day trip with my family, so it was taken a little hastily. It’s also a little fuzzy because I was hanging over a wall a bit, looking down from quite a height while the tide was low, but I’m pleased enough with the monochrome feel of the snap.

The city of London marks a site of settlement that goes back until at least the Roman times, and in Pre-Christian times it was common for people to make votive offerings (Wikipedia has a nice entry on this here) to the local deities of the land and the water. It’s likely that the river will have received many, many offerings over the years for the local spirits from people seeking luck or protection, or giving thanks for a piece of good fortune.

It makes me wonder, in a different time who may have made such a valuable offering and what did they want or need?

Would the local spirit have been enraged to receive the offer of a stolen bicycle, or entertained?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Writing prompts from street photography: Here comes the Sun

Apr 1, 2022Nov 11, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / Leave a comment

I saw this little guy in the road a few weeks ago. The sun was shining for what felt like the first time this year and it felt nice to be out and about. I chose this photo in particular because it represents a dichotomy for me, and also speaks to how creativity acts through our own biases and experiences.

I really like the cheerful face on the air freshner, but in general I avoid all air freshners (and most commersial perfumes) as they contain some kind of chemical that makes me feel really sick.

Some of the best stories I’ve read and films or TV shows I’ve seen have been about situations that appear to be calm and picturesque, while just below surface there are hints that all is not as it should be.

What situations or people can you think of that may appear to be one thing, while actually being another?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

Creative Prompt: Incident at the Library

Mar 18, 2022Mar 17, 2022 / The Magpie at Midnight / 1 Comment

This is the front door to a new library in the London Borough of Croydon. The mirrored windows prevent a good view inside, which means that you can’t see that there aren’t any books. The company that built it, which appear to be a spin out of the council, now say that they do not have enough money to finish it, and the doors remain locked to the public. The library is part of a new, mixed development and there are several levels above this that contain flats which have proved difficult to sell.

Around the corner the existing library has been a victim of council cuts but currently remains open three days a week. None of these days are on a weekend, meaning that people or families that are in full time employment are unable to visist unless they take time off work.

I took this photo after there had been an incident (I do not know the details) infront of the library, which for many weeks was cordened off with this police tape. There have been recent alligations of fraud against the council on another building, and while these have yet to be investigated, I kind of liked the ‘scene of crime’ association that this police tape adds to the photo of the unfinished library door. In my view, depriving a community of it’s libraries is crime enough.

Maybe this particular prompt is more social commentary than anything else, or perhapse a prompt to budding investigative journalists. What is the real story is behind the unfinished library?

If you like the photos featured in these creative prompt posts you may be interested in my latest collection of prints and other things on Redbubble which feature a small selection of my best shots.

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