Behind closed doors

Once I'd seen the Mobile Moments challenge and read the brief, I knew exactly what it was that I would capture. I picked up my iPhone, threw on my boots and made the 10-minute walk from my house to a street I've walked down hundreds of times since moving into the area in 2014.

It didn't take me too many attempts to get the photo I wanted, 4 or 5 at most and that was because I was trying to get a perfectly centred shot in high-speed winds (which was not an easy feat at all!). Once I was happy with the picture I'd taken, I made a couple of minor edits to the brightness and exposure and then added the iPhone filter 'dramatic' and that was it. I had the shot I wanted; the shot you're seeing.

The reason I was sure that this was what I wanted to capture was because of the magic it holds for me.

As I mentioned previously, I've lived in the same area for almost six years. I've walked the same routes daily for that length of time, part of which involves walking down a back alley that's littered with broken glass bottles, cigarette ends and trash. Between that, the abundance of oversized council issued bins, the grey and weather-worn exterior of the buildings and the highly fenced police station, it's a bit of an eyesore. It was like every other back alley except for this door.

I was walking back from the store with shopping bags in my hands when I noticed it. The wood was coloured with a burnt orange varnish and adorned with delicately carved patterns, and despite being at least two feet up the wall, no steps were available for entry.

I immediately asked myself if it had always been there and wondering how I'd missed it for so many years. I've always been an incredibly observant person, able to notice a spot of mud on the ankle of a passer-by or a subtle change in a persons body language. Not only that but I'd walked down this street more times than I can count so to have not noticed such a beautiful feature for so long, it baffled me.

I stared in awe for a few moments before deciding to continue my journey home, but something about it stuck with me. I wanted to know where it leads too, what was behind it? My imagination went wild.

I dreamt of all the different things that could be behind it all linked in with why I hadn't noticed for so long.

Perhaps I wasn't supposed to notice until that specific moment? Was it under a cloak until the door deemed the time was right, was it ready to share its secrets right at that moment?

Maybe it wasn't sharing secrets at all. Maybe it was a door to a parallel universe, one where I'm preparing to walk away whilst another version of me is on the other side, bold and brave enough to step right through it.

I was curious to see what it would conjure up in others too, so I shared the image with friends and family via social media and simply captioned it -

'Use your imagination, what's behind this door'

The responses were both incredible and hilarious (albeit a little naughty!).

One person said that it could lead to a real-life Narnia whilst another said it would lead to a room, with a small red chair and a plastic blue table with the perfect plate of spaghetti on it.

Another said that Zac Efron would be behind that door, in a towel, with pizza in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other (Cheeky!).

I think my personal favourite though, was from the person that suggested it could open up right into the epicentre of a carnival back in the 1920's.

It isn't just a door. The beauty of its design and the mystery combined, it's a door that encourages us to dream and imagine endless possibilities, in mere moments.

For me, as someone that has trouble accepting that I can't control every element of life, it's also an elegant reminder that the unknown can be a joyful and exciting thing and that I don't always need to know what's on the other side of life's metaphorical doors.

Two years on and I still have no idea what's behind it and at this point, I don't want to know.

With that being said -

If you use your imagination, what's do you think is behind this door?