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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.

This week's prompts

Start your story with somebody taking a photo.

Adventure – 75 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

“Snap” by Matthew Parker

Submitted to Contest #144

Warning: This short story contains graphic imagery, suicide, death, and elements of gore. Please note that the setting of the story is completely fictional and any or all connections to any real world locations or events are completely coincidental. *SNAP* "Ah, come on!" Ralph exclaimed as he tried to shake the photo to develop. "What wrong now?" I asked in a nuanced tone. "What wrong now? What's wrong now is that you bought this crap camera when a phone would suffice!" I clearly knew what he was truly frustrated at, and that was the ve...

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“Life in Black and White” by Cindy Strube

Submitted to Contest #144

Life in Black and White Behind the lens “Just scooch in a little closer — there you go! Thank you. Now, hold the pose… just a few seconds… look right here and smile!…” Click! Whrrr… “Beautiful!” Clint was satisfied. He had a feeling this one would turn out well — a photograph that told a story without words. A story of the love of a father for his children. It was Clint’s dream to open his own photography studio someday. Until then, it was a hobby. His fascination with photography had begun when he was young, maybe the age of the boy...

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“Torn” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #144

TornThere are things in life better left unseen, unheard, unknown. Truth is not always the best path.“Mommy, why do I have red hair?”“That’s just the way it is, Cal.”“Ricky and Jenny have brown hair. You have brown hair. Daddy has brown hair. Why do I have red hair?”“God picks the color, honey. You’re lucky. You have beautiful red hair.”Such explanations suffice for the very young. Not so much in the later years.“Hey, give me some of your popcorn, Cal.”“Get your own popcorn, Ricky.”“Gosh, you’re such a jerk. Jenny’s right. You must be a...

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“Why do I never get to be in your selfies?” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #144

I know most people who see and like this post won’t read the caption. I mean, who reads captions, right? But I need to get this off my chest, even if it only ends up being for me. What is it you think you see in my photo? A bubbly, self-assured blonde woman in her 20s who’s got it all under control? I mean, how could she *not* be in control with those immaculately brushed brows, true? Or a carefree girl with her head thrown back in laughter at what must’ve been a pant-wettingly good joke? A lovely lady who’s mind must be as free from cloud...

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“Beautiful Girl” by Andrea Doig

Submitted to Contest #144

“Yes, yes! That’s it – now smile. Not so wide, more seductively. Tilt your – yes! No! Stop blinking!” He rolls his eyes heavenward and sighs. Her shoulders slump and her not- so-seductive smile disappears. But when he looks up at her again with pursed lips and narrowed eyes, her smile is back, and her head is perfectly tilted. “Sorry, Jed. It was a late night again. I’m ready now.” With a sigh of a thousand sighs, he points the camera at her and pulls the trigger again. This time she does not blink at the explosion of light but mainta...

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“Mr. Pratt's Agent Provocateur” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #144

The audible click of a camera’s shutter release echoed loudly through the cold, dimly lit street of the rundown neighbourhood, surreptitiously hidden from most of the world in post-war East Berlin. It had been more than two years since the ruling Socialist Unity Party began constructing the dividing wall, signalling the beginning of the Cold War that separated East against West with an iron curtain of secrecy. The government in West Berlin labelled it as ‘The Wall Of Shame,’ but that mattered not to the Eastern ...

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“The Void” by Christina Hicks

Submitted to Contest #144

Snap. “So, like, if I don’t get my geometry grade up, my parents say they will ground me,” yourbaebailey pouts her glossed lips. Snap. “That’s so lame,” mira_miranda rolls her eyes in solidarity. Snap. “On god!” Snap. “Which filter? Clarendon looks so good on my skin, but juno makes my eyes pop!” Flush. Both girls sigh in irritation. The stall door swings open, and another sixteen-year old steps out. yourbaebailey and mira-miranda refuse to move away from the mirrors, and the mirror lights. “Uh, excuse me? I need to...

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“My Mystery to Solve” by Sarah Martyn

Submitted to Contest #144

(Contains elements of a sensitive nature, including grief, the supernatural, and implied violence) When you’re strapped for cash, and you’re already busy with school and working in your spare time, you find more work. For me, that was cleaning out basements for the neighbors. One particular day, though, I discovered a calling (albeit, short lived) much deeper than earning some extra cash. I was at Mrs. Carruthers’ place, tackling one of the most cluttered gold mines of a basement I’ve faced yet. She was a long-time friend of my grandmother...

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“Photographic Memories” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #144

So much stuff. Did Leo have nothing better to do than collect stuff? ‘What was he trying to tell me?’ “Gabe?” Sophie called down the stair well. “Down here, babe.” She descended a few steps and peeked into the basement. Gabe stood amidst the labyrinth of newspapers and boxes his father had left behind. “Wow…!” “Leo wasn’t a hoarder, but you can see it from here. He always knew that one article near the bottom of that rear pile would come in handy someday.” “What are you going to do?” “I need to work fast. The bottom layers are turning int...

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“Among the Stars!” by Calvin Kirby

Submitted to Contest #144

Among the Stars! By Cal Kirby I was a kind of nervous when I asked Jack Warden if I could take a photo of him. He said, “Sure.” And then I was a nervous wreck when I asked Al Pacino the same thing and he also agreed. Wow, two stars right there and I was among them! Back in 1979 when I was working part-time in film, TV and on stage, I got a call from my agent, at my regular day-time job, and was asked if I could work for five days in a movie as a stand-in for Jack Warden? I immediately said yes and then asked for particulars. Dagmar said, in...

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“Enter the Darkside ” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #144

Orange County Jail deputy Dung Nguyen was lean, petulant, and, according to his more experienced fellow officers, “squint-eyed.” Only six months on the job, he had become notorious amongst his co-workers for his short-fused temper. “Hey, Snoop, look at the camera,” Nguyen said to Tay Schwartz, in reference to the inmate's hair style. Tay's corn rows, however, were not as neatly groomed as the rapper's. &nbsp...

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“Photograph of your dreams” by Herman W Clarke

Submitted to Contest #144

She clicks the button of her film camera, capturing the gleeful faces of graduates huddled together in the lobby of the university. The lobby, sterile, colourful and featureless contrasts sharply with the warm humanity captured inside these photographs. She clicks the button of her camera again, and she clicks it again and when the click weakens she knows that there is no film left. The pride on the faces of the graduates washes away at the hollow click, leaving only disappointment. This almost breaks her heart. “I’ll be back”, she says, doi...

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“Penny's Unicorn” by Melony Beard

Submitted to Contest #144

I snapped a photo of the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid eyes on standing beneath a huge oak tree.She had silky white fur covering her entire body. One single horn stood on her head glowing hues of pinks, purples and blues. A long sparkling violet tail whipped in the wind as she struggled to flap her rainbow colored wings and fly away.I knew better, but I crossed the property line to get closer. I knelt beside her and patted her snowy white head. Her frightened eyes shimmered with tears. I followed her helpless gaze and that's when I s...

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“The Wanted One” by Kelsey H

Submitted to Contest #144

Offensive language & mention of drug useShe’s crazy as hell, my mother is, though if anyone else said it I’d kick their head in. But I was my father’s son, everyone said so. I let them say that.When I’d left the house she was flinging all the windows open, saying it might explode from the change in air pressure. She tried to stop me when I told her I was going to Holly’s place, but the kitchen door was already wide open and I walked out.“It’s just a storm, not a damn tornado, and we don’t even have those here anyway,” I’d told her.But sh...

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“Darling” by Simrin Dhillon

Submitted to Contest #144

TW: allusions to mental and physical abuse "Say cheese!” I chirped happily. Darling screamed at me from behind the duct tape on his curved lips, tears rolling down his long face as he struggled against the ropes on his hands to no avail. I had spent months practicing those knots and it was safe to say he was tied firmly to the chair beneath him. I shook my head and bent down to be in frame with him, smiling into the camera that I held with my outstretched hand before snapping a picture, the film rolling with a purr as the photo ...

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$250

Prize money

192

Contest entries

114

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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