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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

“Phoenix Rising” by Cassin Villa-Lobos

Submitted to Contest #258

The smoke burns my eyes as I stare at what is left of my home. The flames are still going, brushing the sky while the firefighters try to put it out. My next door neighbor just wanted a little barbecue, a little fun. Now they are burning more than burgers, a lot more. I don't think someone can ever prepare for something like this. Everyone knows the basics. Stay low, check the door handles, stop, drop, and roll. What people don't tell you about is the absolute panic over losing "trivial" things. Things that you look at everyday. That postcar...

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“Still Owe You a Camera” by Lucille Malloy

Submitted to Contest #258

When the police had left John looked around the apartment. An old leather armchair laid on its back like a dead bug, two legs broken and stuffing falling out. The empty fish tank where the snake had lived was next to it. He didn’t know where the snake was. It wasn’t his anyway. He was just looking after it. “For the past five years.” An old voice said in his head. But he had trained himself to ignore that voice, he only continued to look over the apartment. His trophy on the shelf was in pieces, made out of a plastic metal that had...

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“Solace Found in a Dead Man’s Camera” by Mark Cady

Submitted to Contest #258

The western sun speckling off the White Rock Lake water brought me back from daydreaming about a wedding where I was working as a photo assistant for my father. There were five voices in the room, all taking turns asking me questions. There were forms and documents in front of me on a large and expensive mahogany desk, which matched the expensive dark wood office walls. I looked again out of the window at the lake as two fishermen in a johnboat zoomed by to the other side. Suddenly they disappeared behind the specular sun...

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“Finally Free-The Story About How I Found My Happy” by Amy Szczepanski

Submitted to Contest #258

I have always been told that I must work for someone else to be successful; to be able to pay my bills; to be able to live a happy life. This was told to me by my parents, pastors, friends' parents, really anyone who was older than me. So, I tried that. I tried working for other people so many times. I have held all different sorts of jobs, from being a caretaker of dogs and cats to working for the state government to doing data entry and internet research for private companies. But, I was not was happy. I won awards at a few of t...

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“Click Bait” by Lora Coleman

Submitted to Contest #258

No one understood. They kept shuffling photos of smiling faces back towards me like a never ending rolodex of faces and places that I had supposedly been to. The rejected photos were like piles of denial that just kept building up with no one noticing that their weight was causing their own collapse. I could feel the pressure in the room as they waited for any flicker of reminiscent acknowledgement. I wanted to say that I wasn’t the type of person that wished for this bittersweet reminiscence that others so “suffered with” but technica...

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“More than the art of stopping time ” by Mirza Pasic

Submitted to Contest #258

Photography is truly amazing! Some believe that photography is great for preserving memories, but it can do so much more. While most people take photos to capture and preserve special moments, that's only the beginning of what photography can achieve. Photography has the power to move and inspire us and even change the way we perceive the world. It can also profoundly impact our lives, which is what makes photography incredibly exciting! Richard always had his fantastic way of spreading the genuine joy that has lifted everyone's spirits. His...

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“Love You, Always.” by Brandon Cox

Submitted to Contest #258

The August heat remained heavy and oppressive well past sunset, but John found himself light on his feet as he waltzed up the drive, and against all odds, he was humming. It was a jaunty tune that wasn’t recognizable to him, but he continued on, discovering the song as he went. The date with Wendy had gone quite well. He hadn’t expected much - he rarely did - but she was such a goofball, comfortable in her own skin, and the way she held his gaze sent his stomach fluttering. Sure, she isn’t the biggest hiker and she couldn’t tell you the...

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“Shutter: A Reflection” by Tara Rengert

Submitted to Contest #258

The quiet click of the shutter rings out through the field, but luckily the doe doesn’t seem bothered. All the local animals seem to have emerged from their hiding spots this evening to meander about in search of morsels. A few squirrels are chasing each other through the trees. Whether they’re fighting or frolicking is not very clear, but they appear to be having fun. There have also been a few birds who have stopped by; they always disappear when I point the camera at them, but someday I’ll get one. The main character of the moment, howeve...

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“Captured on Camera ” by ER Castaneda

Submitted to Contest #258

Thirty-six-year-old photography hobbyist Jack Stevenson steadied his Canon EOS R5 at the pelican, hit the shutter button, and took a picture, all without making noise and scaring the bird away. He took several more photos, watching as the pelican carried a fish in its mouth, and flew away. Jack smiled. Although his work had been featured in a few magazines, he loved nothing more than the stillness of taking photos at the beach early in the morning, before the throngs of people made their way to this particular beach, causing wildlife t...

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“Neverborn” by Samuel Bowen

Submitted to Contest #258

Shuddering metal whispered into the night and the forest lit up with neon white light. The searing light left no burnt smell in the air and in a blink everything faded to darkness. Yet the humming of nocturnal bugs never ceased. Linda let out a held breath as she stared at the picture piercing the night from her camera's screen. With a smile, she took in the details of the landscape. Some said photography was a simple thing. Just point and click. Linda hated the disregard people had for her art. This proved them wrong! The dim lighting melde...

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“Remembrance” by Kyla Tavares

Submitted to Contest #258

Her camera dropped from her hands, falling and falling, until it hit the ground with a loud bang. The woman stared at it, unmoving. No…this must be some sort of joke, right? She thought to herself. Someone had just pulled a prank on her or used her camera somehow. Because this…these pictures…can’t be real. She slowly crouched down onto the floor...

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“Camelatte” by C J R Isely

Submitted to Contest #258

“Don’t be daft. Dragons aren’t real.”The moment he says it, I have to hold back my urge to respond with a scathing “Thank you captain obvious.” Instead, I force another smile that strains the muscles of my face and makes that vein throb in my temple. For the love of all things holy, all I wanted was to take a photo. Just one simple photo. And now it’s turned into this.He’s offering me back my phone and I can tell he’s unamused. His mustache bristles, his brow furrows, and his eyes shift from me to the burning building at my back. “Must’ve be...

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“Caught ” by J. Rain Sherwin

Submitted to Contest #258

As he transferred the paper into the final chemical bath, Edmund held his breath for a moment. He thought about what it could mean, if he had actually managed to capture a photo of the strange creature he had been seeing in his peripheral vision for so long.Firstly, it would mean that he wasn't going mad. He pushed his held breath out past his lips. That would be a large measure of relief, even though he had told himself over and over that he had very definitely witnessed it affecting items; it knocked over a bowl on the kitchen counter, and...

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“Do come Back Sometime” by Ute Gillett

Submitted to Contest #258

The real estate ad featured sunbeams breaking through patchy gray-blue clouds with white, lacy rims. As they meet the firs’ branches, the fir needles glisten and one can almost hear the birds’ morning trills. I was intrigued. I clicked to see more images. A view across the valley to a meadow on the other side made my heart stop. I know this view. I know the grass growing on this hill and where to find the first spring primroses. I know the tracks the fox leaves there after the first snow, and I remember my footprints following these tracks w...

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“The Photographer” by Helen Garton

Submitted to Contest #258

The Photographer The shoot went okay, although the local models - the peak of feminine beauty available at short notice - grumbled to each other throughout. “Accustomed to the comfort of a studio.” Chrissie rolled her eyes. I nodded. “Getting outdoors into nature’s gone out of fashion.” We’d missed our flight. Chrissie misread the time - the first faux pas to blemish an otherwise faultless couple of weeks since she turned up looking for work right after Pete’s accident. The doctors are keeping him in hospital for at least si...

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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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