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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#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.

Adventure – 87 stories

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

Character – 30 stories

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

Short Story – 32 stories

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

Dramatic – 63 stories

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

Mystery – 75 stories

Stories

“Double Exposure” by Maria Wickens

Submitted to Contest #258

DOUBLE EXPOSUREBy Maria Wickens The translation of Woomera is “Big Spear” but the locals call it “Big Evil”. Kurdaitcha, the Aboriginal shaman of death, waits outside the rocket range, surveying the activity inside.Gubbah, the white man, always marching onward. Progress, he calls it. Kurdaitcha’s lips peel back into a smile. Ah, Gubbah dreaming is eternal; the dream may change, but there is no endpoint. Everything is now. We swim through time as if it is a river.A flock of birds beat their wings in a panic overhead. In the moment before the...

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“The photographer” by Noor El Zein

Submitted to Contest #258

She was finally at the spot she had been trying to reach for the past hour. The view was perfect and the sun was just right. There were long pine trees all around her and 200 meters away from her was an opening between the trees were the light was shining through on the lake. It was beautiful and she had hiked to this spot for the sole reason of taking a photograph of that specific view. It was just as she had remembered it. A month ago, Sandra’s mother had died and she was stricken with grief, unable to get out of bed. It was sudden an...

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“Bedrock” by Bruce Callahan

Submitted to Contest #258

We both knew with absolute certainty that it would never happen to us.Our love was solid as bedrock. We were friends first, having grown up together, seeing each other's awkward phases, our ugly ducklings, our dark sides of the moon.We stayed friends through our swan phases, me clearing up my acne and growing into my body, her ridding herself of the shackles of braces and a training bra.Our love wasn’t based on looks, or passion, or any one thing. It was a collection of little moments in time, our first kiss, first date, firs...

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“Scene of the crime ” by Amalia Wompa

Submitted to Contest #258

She’s so beautiful as she lays there. You can imagine somebody’s entire life and how they’ve lived just based on their body. How much sun they saw, how much they ate, how much or how little they washed their hair- even how badly they wanted to live by how much dirt is found under their fingernails after they’ve been dragged through the woods. This girl must have wanted to live very badly. There was so much dirt under her nails that it filled every cuticle to the brim. She clawed all she could, all while probably screaming and cryin...

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“Birds” by Stephen Massa

Submitted to Contest #258

Ralph Harwinton was a lonely man. Depressed, unemployed, and otherwise miserable, he walked along the trail path through a thick forest of deciduous trees, swatting gnats, mosquitoes, and other annoying critters that just wanted him for his blood, away from his face. To an outside observer, he resembled a madman. He looked up at the birches, oaks, maples, and ash, the latter having been devastated by that nasty emerald ash borer during the past few years, their bare limbs reaching the sky but providing no cover. The sunlight streamed down th...

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“Nothing. Then Everything” by Grace Stone

Submitted to Contest #258

Nothing. Nothing is left. Nothing but empty promises. Actually, not even empty promises because that denotes they could be filled again like an empty water bottle. But if the water bottle doesn’t exist, then you have nothing to put water in. I have nothing to put promises in. The person who held those promises no longer exists. Lachlan no longer exists, he is nothing. I kneel in the apartment we shared, the place that held the memories of our lives becoming entwined forever. At least that is what he told me, forever. Now, it’s nothing...

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“Memory Loss” by Rose Willows

Submitted to 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” by Thalia Muse

Submitted to 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” by Ellen Bennett

Submitted to 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” by S.L. Foster

Submitted to 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” by John Pope

Submitted to 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” by Daniel R. Mangru

Submitted to 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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“The Phantom Fisherman of Oia” by Adekemi Adeniyan

Submitted to Contest #258

Eleni’s hands shook with fear as she held the Polaroid, her bronzed skin looked pale against the golden Santorini dusk. What began as a peaceful stroll through Oia’s labyrinthine streets had morphed into something far more disconcerting. Her camera hung heavily around her neck, its presence suddenly burdensome. Purchased impulsively that morning from a quaint alley shop, its vintage allure and instant photo printing had enticed her despite being a photographer since being a teenager. Now, she regretted ever buying it. “This can’t be real,” s...

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“The Memory Box” by Dee H

Submitted to 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” by Skye Griffith

Submitted to 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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$250

Prize money

287

Contest entries

88

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 12, 2024 EST

Won by Rozmarin Ideas 🏆

Title: She Owed Nothing to Ghosts.

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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