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#144 Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

Whether you pose happily or are a serial camera dodger, there are probably some photographs you treasure. Photos are a way of connecting us with our past, capturing a special memory, or even giving us a peek into each other’s lives — albeit through a filter.

This week’s stories explore the unique art of photography, and how it impacts our lives in big ways, and tiny ones.

🥇 Winner

Unseen

Winner of Contest #144 🏆

The canister had always been there, rolling around at the bottom of his duffle bag. Whenever he packed, his fingers would graze over the smooth, gray top, but he’d never take it out, never look directly at it. Sometimes when he unpacked, the canister would get wound up in a dirty sock or wedged inside a pocket, and it would come up with a handful of laundry as he went to chuck it into the machine. Whenever this happened, Jake would carefully retrieve the black cylinder and tuck it back into the bottom corner of his bag. That’s where ...

282 likes

431 comments 431

⭐️ Shortlisted

Shuttered Hearts

Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

Weddings prove to be the perfect hunting grounds. My brother—with his ridiculous scythe—prefers them, harvesting the overly excited elderly in the midst of their joy. He finds those who’ve imbibed too much, attempting to drive home instead of into a telephone pole. On occasion, a jilted lover will show up, armed and reckless, doing most of his work for him. Fortunately, there are also tiny bones in fancy fish and overweight aunts who dance until their hearts give out. Hearts are normally my thing. Click. I smile, giving t...

86 likes

What You Don't See

Aeris Walker

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

I am your wedding photographer. I see it all.Decadent guests arrive in clusters. Heads turn and take in the grounds, the décor. Women fawn over flowers and dresses. Children fight to break away from grownups’ grips.The deep hum of a cello hushes all chatter. Tuxedo-clad men line the stage, shifting and fidgeting. The groom watches the door and wrings his hands.Music crescendos and the audience stands. A confection of white appears, a spray of roses bloom at its center. Chiffon rustles as an angel glides toward a man. Dewy eyes are mesmerized...

47 likes

The Perfect Storm

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

My husband, an aspiring politician, revels in public relations. I knew what I signed up for when I married him. There was always an event around the corner where I’d be expected to pose at his side, his supportive (so beautiful) spouse, and tackle the ever-dreaded question. The one that inevitably falls from every stranger’s mouth when meeting you for the first time: “what do you do?” With time and experience, I learned the best answer was a simple one: I’m a photographer. I learned quickly to drop the wedding tag, because there’s n...

40 likes

Welcome Home

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

“Huh, what’s this?” I wonder aloud to myself over the rush of the waves. The third level of the observation tower groans as I step forward and put my hands on the rusted railing. I look into the fog beyond the breakwater toward an inlet I hadn’t noticed before. As I focus my gaze, I see an elaborately built house, complete with gables and towers, just behind the misty curtain. I zoom my phone’s camera in and take a picture portrait and then landscape. It’s like something out of one of those “it was a dark and stormy night” stories. With...

25 likes

This week's prompts

Start your story with somebody taking a photo.

Adventure – 74 stories

Write a story about a wedding photographer.

Valentine's Day – 31 stories

A character finds an old roll of film, and takes it to be developed. What do they find?

Middle School – 45 stories

Write about a character who’s pathologically camera shy.

Character – 21 stories

Write a story that centres around an Instagram post.

High School – 20 stories

Stories

Unseen

Winner of Contest #144 🏆

The canister had always been there, rolling around at the bottom of his duffle bag. Whenever he packed, his fingers would graze over the smooth, gray top, but he’d never take it out, never look directly at it. Sometimes when he unpacked, the canister would get wound up in a dirty sock or wedged inside a pocket, and it would come up with a handful of laundry as he went to chuck it into the machine. Whenever this happened, Jake would carefully retrieve the black cylinder and tuck it back into the bottom corner of his bag. That’s where ...

282 likes

431 comments 431

Shuttered Hearts

Deidra Whitt Lovegren

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

Weddings prove to be the perfect hunting grounds. My brother—with his ridiculous scythe—prefers them, harvesting the overly excited elderly in the midst of their joy. He finds those who’ve imbibed too much, attempting to drive home instead of into a telephone pole. On occasion, a jilted lover will show up, armed and reckless, doing most of his work for him. Fortunately, there are also tiny bones in fancy fish and overweight aunts who dance until their hearts give out. Hearts are normally my thing. Click. I smile, giving t...

86 likes

Posted Two Minutes Ago

Alyssa Telgenhoff

Submitted to Contest #144

Jason King liked my Instagram post. The one I posted two minutes ago. This can mean one of two things. He’s casually scrolling through the app. Possible. Or he turned on the notification to tell him when I post something. Seems unlikely. But! Jason asked me to borrow a pencil to take a math final we had yesterday. He didn’t ask Amber Prescott or Courtney Hall for a pencil. Both are more popular and sat closer to him in math class. Does this mean something? I study the picture in question. It’s one of my favorit...

79 likes

Ouija Board Blues

Stevie B

Submitted to Contest #144

Although none of our fingers were placed upon it at the time, the planchette moved magically and effortlessly atop the worn and weathered Ouija board surface, moving solely of its own volition. That had never happened before. There are three basic rules when you work with the Ouija board. Only two of the three really apply when it came down to survival. One: never use the Ouija board alone. Three: Always say Goodbye. How was I to know that some idiot at tonight’s table would take out their cell phone to begin snapping pictures and then posti...

52 likes

What You Don't See

Aeris Walker

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

I am your wedding photographer. I see it all.Decadent guests arrive in clusters. Heads turn and take in the grounds, the décor. Women fawn over flowers and dresses. Children fight to break away from grownups’ grips.The deep hum of a cello hushes all chatter. Tuxedo-clad men line the stage, shifting and fidgeting. The groom watches the door and wrings his hands.Music crescendos and the audience stands. A confection of white appears, a spray of roses bloom at its center. Chiffon rustles as an angel glides toward a man. Dewy eyes are mesmerized...

47 likes

The Talk of the Town

Submitted to Contest #144

“Mom, there are some packages at the door!” Geneva hollered to her mother from the bottom of the stairs. “Be right there!” Holly shouted back as she clipped in her pearl earrings and double checked her crimson lipstick. She slipped into her floor length, satin gown and squeezed her feet into her uncomfortable patent leather pumps. She wasn’t Audrey Hepburn, but thought she looked good enough for the annual black-tie charity event that Colin’s company hosted every year. A night filled with small talk, fake smiles, champagne, and bite size...

45 likes

Picture Perfect

Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #144

Content warning: Eating disorderMy friends used to believe I was an only child. Whenever I'd invite one over for the first time and we passed by the framed photos on the way to my bedroom—of me and my mother smiling on the sandy beaches of Maui, or the two of us standing beside the Grand Canyon, arms locked in a sweaty embrace—they always took the pictures at face value, and not once did I bother to correct them. As far as they knew, Holly Johnson didn't exist.Though, had she appeared in any of our family photos, perhaps they would have mist...

42 likes

The Perfect Storm

Shortlisted for Contest #144 ⭐️

My husband, an aspiring politician, revels in public relations. I knew what I signed up for when I married him. There was always an event around the corner where I’d be expected to pose at his side, his supportive (so beautiful) spouse, and tackle the ever-dreaded question. The one that inevitably falls from every stranger’s mouth when meeting you for the first time: “what do you do?” With time and experience, I learned the best answer was a simple one: I’m a photographer. I learned quickly to drop the wedding tag, because there’s n...

40 likes

The Dry-Plate Pioneers

Submitted to Contest #144

It was four o’clock in the morning when the hideous chorus erupted next to my head. My Westclox shrieked at me like a merciless automaton from hell sent to torment our wretched cadavers. I heard Carol’s muffled adenoidal protest and felt her playful elbow shove my ribs. ‘It’s your turn to get up, Ted,’ she said, pulling the blankets over her head to block out the awful din. I struggled to part my eyelids in the murk and extended my numb fingers towards the infernal clock. Fumbling in vain to stop the persistent racket, I sent it tumblin...

35 likes

Snap it all up, Detective.

Holly Guy

Submitted to Contest #144

No no, you will not get a photo of me, Detective. But you can get a photo of my work. Snap. Snap. Snap. Get all the good angles, please. I spent a very long time ensuring that everything was right. The hanging body to the left of the warehouse, the bloody body to the right of the swimming pool… My work must be photographed beautifully. After all, I’d do the same for you if you had taken this much time ensuring everything was picture perfect. Oh, by the way, did you like the way I arranged the bodies this time? In the shape of a heart…...

31 likes

Before We Lose the Light

Story Time

Submitted to Contest #144

My brother told me that if I stood closer to the edge, it would make for a better photo. Jake and I were running four hours behind on our way to see our father in Pueblo Norova. The twelve-year-old Toyota Camry we had driven from New York to Nevada had started making a gurgling sound that reminded me of the noises my boyfriend would make on the couch after a night out of drinking and Duran Duran karaoke, but we had an unspoken agreement to ignore it. In keeping with family tradition, we were prepared to ignore any and all signs of danger u...

30 likes

The Disappearance of Elizabeth Conway

A. Y. R

Submitted to Contest #144

Elizabeth Conway - reported missing on the 18th of November 1986. 5ft 5, slender build, brown hair and green eyes. Last seen leaving school premises on the 13th of November at roughly 16:00 wearing her school uniform (white shirt, navy blazer, tie, and tights), a double-breasted, brown overcoat with white buttons, and a black woolly hat. First missing person’s report of the victim. No previous criminal record, no records of mental illnesses, no reports of family conflict, no records of conflict at school. “So no reason to run awa...

29 likes

One Small Step

Submitted to Contest #144

“Will we dream?”The question made Theo chuckle. He had taught more classes on interstellar hibernation than he could count as it was a requirement for all passengers preparing for the flight to Proxima B, a planet in the solar system of Alpha Centauri. He was an expert on hibernation and responsible for ensuring a successful liftoff and, yet in every class the first question was about dreams.“No, you won’t dream, Dawn. It is Dawn, right?”“You know it is,” the pretty blonde answered with a flirtatious smile.Theo had met Dawn—and her husband, ...

28 likes

Double Exposure

Submitted to Contest #144

Cursing under my breath as a thorn ripped a gash in my shin, I ventured through an abandoned lot across from the target’s house. Shorts and flip flops proved to be a terrible choice of attire, and I should’ve known better. These high-paying, incognito gigs always entailed off-road explorations of some sort, and this was no exception. After sneezing and swatting gnats, I hid behind a tree stump amid various brambles and weeds. Hoping I wasn’t inadvertently standing on a rattlesnake, I prepared my camera and telephoto lens. ...

26 likes

Kodachrome

Submitted to Contest #144

It began with my son. “Dad, what’s this?” We were clearing out the attic after his grandmother died. She was the last grandparent he had and Steven wanted to help me put everything in order and clean up all that we had to settle. I still remember the thick dust in that heat, all of the cobwebs, and the sunlight that was unmerciful through the windows. It streamed in and I felt the sweat and dust trickling down my body. “What’s up?” I turned, and saw that he found a box that I had not seen in a very, very long time. “What is, ‘You can’t take ...

26 likes

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Contest #145

This contest has ended. Thank you for your submissions.

$250

Prize money

191

Entries

113

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 06, 2022 EST

Won by Rebekah Jordan 🏆

Title: Unseen

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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