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#258 Frame of Mind

What do you think of when you hear the word "photography?" In a general sense, it involves preserving memories or documenting events — and while not everyone considers it an art form, you’ve probably snapped photos of your family, friends, or even food at some point with your phone!


With that in mind, this week’s theme focuses (no pun intended!) on photography and the stories and emotions that pictures can create.

This week's prompts

A forgotten photograph tucked away somewhere is the catalyst for an unexpected journey.

– 83 stories

Center your story around two strangers who bond over their shared love of photography.

– 27 stories

Write a story where a photograph could change the course of history if it’s delivered to the right (or wrong!) person.

– 31 stories

Start your story with someone who has lost everything but finds solace in photography.

– 63 stories

A photographer captures an image of something unexplainable. What happens next?

– 73 stories

Stories

Memory Loss

Weekly Contest #258

Empty boxes stood sentry in the foyer, beckoning Henry. Threatening him. The clock was ticking- three days to pack up his entire life. He idled at the kitchen table, freshly mopped tile slick under his feet. A lukewarm mug of jet black coffee and an old fashioned donut sat untouched in front of him. The thought of eating turned his stomach. If he ate, then he’d have to read the paper. And then he’d have to get to packing. Henry has lost everything. First his memories went, achingly slow, minute by minute he lost a little more of who he was t...

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Badger Badger

Weekly Contest #258

It began on September 12th, 2024.  Liam Woodsworth, a photographer of little fame, posted an image of the Wisconsin forests that would change the world. The image was mostly trees, but you could see a badger standing on its hind legs, staring at the camera. Badgers weren't supposed to do that…and there was something in its eyes that nobody could place. Liam was as confused as everyone else. People became fascinated with this inexplicable image. And people started going missing. But they always do. The image went viral. #WhatTheBadgerDoi...

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Hidden Highways

Weekly Contest #258

Hidden Highways©2024 Ellen Bennett            I don’t believe in conventional ghosts. The nature of my work lends itself to being open to and understanding that the presence of spirits is quite natural. I am a professional photographer, and my compositions of choice are old, abandoned buildings; warehouses, distressed barns, burned out churches, anything that is run down, decrepit, dying or dead.            My wife shakes her head. “...

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Angel of the Waters

Weekly Contest #258

 When she came up to me, I didn’t think that much of it—I’d been aimlessly wandering around Bethesda Terrace for a while at that point, and I’d seen plenty of other tourists like me doing the same thing. “Hey, would you mind taking a picture of me? This is my first time in New York.”She was in her mid-twenties and wearing a long, spaghetti strap floral dress with a white t-shirt underneath. She had curly red hair that just hit her shoulders, and a pair of aviators being used as a make-shift headband at the top of her head. I saw he...

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Fading Away

Weekly Contest #258

I retired some time ago. Since retiring, I’ve taken up photography as a hobby. I find walking around the city taking pictures of everyday people doing everyday things very rewarding. I photograph people going about their normal lives, walking their dogs, feeding the pigeons, or just out running errands. Most of the time the pictures I take are good, but nothing to write home about. Once in a while, I get a shot of something interesting enough to show and make a little extra money. Today, one of my shots caught a homeless man and his dog sitt...

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Unexplained Exposure: The Journey of the Soul

Weekly Contest #258

Pat Levy hung photographs along a thin clothesline in his dimly lit darkroom. Suddenly, an image caused him to clench his chest in pain. "No, it can't be." His hand trembled as he steadied himself against the countertop. The room spun as the photograph developed, its clarity sharpening with each passing second. A few minutes passed and Pat Levy was standing on his feet, shaky as they were. He wiped a tear that slid down his cheek and detached the paper from the line to examine it after putting on his glasses. His fingers spread wide apart fr...

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Cameras never lie

Weekly Contest #258

Henry was a photographer, freelance and somehow forever just one step behind whatever was necessary to make a name for himself. That said, he had managed to get a landscape or two featured in named magazines, and if he happened to have framed the article they were featured in and stored it safely in his room, that was rather between himself and his dresser. For something that was considered a glorified hobby, the fact that it was something that brought him joy managed to be far more important than any intention to monetize his pleasure. The ...

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The Memory Box

Weekly Contest #258

I learned 4 years ago there is no safe way to open a Memory Box holding gems accumulated from the years age 5 to 18. You know the kind of box I mean. A sturdy repository where report cards, class photos, and participation ribbons for sporting events were deposited with the hope that, someday, going through the items would bring about warm and fuzzy memories of summer softball games and winter singing contests. In my case, it was a clear, non-descript plastic tote with a green lid that had not been tended to in nearly 10 years....

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A Puzzling Last Wish

Weekly Contest #258

The photograph lay on the floor where I’d be sure to find it and showed Ada in her twenties when she’d already become a New York City Ballet sensation. I’d unlocked the door to her closed-up house, the sunlight pouring into the familiar entryway, remembering treasured past visits. She’d given me a shiny new key a few days after settling in at the assisted living facility. She said she’d changed all the house’s locks and for me to hold onto it.              I’d smiled, amused to...

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Origami Eagles and the Whuppin’ Belt

Weekly Contest #258

The will was brief and precise. I got everything. The house, the land, the money. The house and property were tucked away in the northern part of the Texas Panhandle, miles from a highway and light years from anything I had ever known. The money was tucked away in municipal bonds, earning two percent a year. Eighty-nine years of RG’s life distilled into legal documents and an old photograph. Grandpa Rook, who insisted that I call him RG, died peacefully in his bed while I was sleeping peacefully in my bed, two hundred miles away.Everyon...

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Through the Lens of Genevieve

Weekly Contest #258

Genevieve had always seen the world through a different lens. Growing up in the quaint town of Abilene, she found solace and wonder in capturing moments with her camera. To her, every click was a poem, every frame a story. The rolling hills, the cobblestone streets, and the faces of the townsfolk were her canvas. Her passion for photography was a sanctuary, a place where she could lose herself and discover the world anew. It was on one of those serene autumn afternoons, while she was photographing the vibrant foliage at Willow Park, that she...

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Parisian Light

Weekly Contest #258

The mid-morning sun cast long shadows across the cobblestone streets of Montmartre as Anya, a petite woman with a shock of fiery red hair, adjusted the settings on her vintage Leica M6. A cool breeze tousled her hair, carrying the scent of blooming lilacs from a nearby park. She had traveled from St. Petersburg to Paris, seeking inspiration in the city of lights, hoping to escape the gray skies and political unrest of her homeland. The winding alleys, adorned with colorful flower boxes and the smell of freshly baked croissants wafting from q...

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A Paint-Splattered Photobook

Weekly Contest #258

Hazel's chest clamped up, holding the dark photo beside the window it had once captured. “But there’s nothing to this,” the redhead complained. “Photos should be-”“Alive, I know,” Drew muttered, ladder clanking. Hazel glimpsed over, watching her step down to re-whiten her paint roller. Her thin black hair hung from a ponytail, swinging like her baggy clothes. She challenged Hazel with a look through her bangs. “This one is alive.”“No, it’s not,” Hazel judged, scrutinising the palm-sized picture. “It’s too dark to see anything around the wind...

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The House

Weekly Contest #258

Based on a true story. The House rose like a long lost lover’s ghost from the grave as I sped over the crest of the hill. My heart clenched at the sight of her sitting starkly in the field, in all her dilapidated glory. God, I’d missed her. My Canon Rebel film camera lifted slightly from the passenger seat, before gravity regained its hold.  The House remained an enigma. The musty dust-motes dancing along sunlight-dappled hardwood floors, groaning like ancient sentinels beneath my careful feet. The sacred hush that swallowed me whole t...

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Hidden in Plain Hue

Weekly Contest #258

Act IKeyboard clacking filled Data Comm Group’s dim rooms. Ethan Reeves hunched over multiple screens, his hazel eyes darting between financial data streams. The lines of code blurred as he squinted, trying to make sense of the suspicious patterns emerging.A burst of energy shattered his concentration as Zoe Chang exploded into the room, her vibrant blue hair a whirlwind around her face. “Guys, you need to see this!” she exclaimed, her words tumbling out in a rush.Ethan tensed. “What’ve you got?”Zoe’s fingers flew across her tablet as she pu...

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