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

Posted in Dramatic on Jul 5, 2024

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✍️ 63 stories

“A Glimpse Through the Aperture” by Adam Leverett

Submitted to Contest #258

Arturo stepped out of the shop and into the Barcelona sunshine, holding the small yellow package tightly in one hand. A finger of sweat traced a line down his face. He couldn’t wait to see what treasures lay inside, like an archaeologist about to uncover the hidden relics of an untold story. This was finally the moment of truth. With one deep breath, he opened the flap, revealing the contents inside. ••• He had awoken to yet another morning of oppressive July heat, the day it all started. The curtains were barely holding it all back as he la...

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“The Pearl Earring and the Five Blackbirds.” by Rose Lind

Submitted to Contest #258

Walking in this beautiful place, I find myself feeling calm and at peace, away from life's many trials. Some decisions that initially seem quick and straightforward often take years, a lifetime, or even lifetimes to sort out the troubles they caused. I walked along the shore of Sutton’s Beach to temporarily escape from my complex emotions. The afternoon sun felt gentle on my skin, and my wide-brimmed straw hat, with relaxed cords and toggle, swayed playfully in the breeze as it toyed with my long brown hair. My sarong beats on my hip like so...

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“Tomb of My Heart” by Kathleen Furin

Submitted to Contest #258

This story has content related to death, natural disaster (Hurricane Katrina), and mental health. After the hurricane our house stood, battered but proud, mostly intact, unlike others on our block. This was because of Uncle Willie, of course – in the end it was his passion that killed him. I’ll never forget my Uncle Willie; that man is more house-proud than a brand-spanking new bride just got herself her own home, Mama used to say. We had the same small shack as everyone else on our tight block, but he managed to scrape up enough cash to pai...

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“A solitudinous state” by Natalie Haslam-Conroy

Submitted to Contest #258

Loneliness had been our familiar affliction. My mum was an only child to an only child who had never really wanted kids. She had played alone while my grandparents argued about their lost youth and missed opportunities, my mother constantly being the source of the blame.By the time she was eight, my mother had found solace in her isolation. She sat in silence, reading good books and watching bad TV.Ten years later, she met a man who was as quiet as she was and tried his best to make her happy. He provided this only child with her own only ch...

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“My Last Selfie” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #258

“Do you recognize either of the people in this picture?”It’s the question I always ask, pretty much the first thing I say to most people I meet.The woman looks at the picture I hold out to her, the glossy paper dimmed with time and handling, the edges frayed and worn. It a selfie, two people in the frame, a man and a woman, one clearly holding the camera, with a beautiful backdrop of forested mountains behind them. They’re both smiling, standing close together. Very close.She looks at the photo. Really looks at it. Not a quick glance, dismis...

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“From the Ashes” by Heather Mezzacappa

Submitted to Contest #258

It was gone. All gone. How does a fire move that fast? Abby nudged an ash-covered table leg with her dusty sneaker. Or maybe it was a chair leg. Or a frame. It was hard to tell. Where her apartment building once stood was a charred pile of barely-recognizable pieces of lives that had now been turned upside down. She looked at the rest of neighborhood and saw that a few other buildings had been consumed by the flames. Some cars, too. Fire is a hungry beast. Abby didn't need a car to get around: she could take the bus or get a ride with her ro...

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“The Photos of Life” by Annalise Lagerquist

Submitted to Contest #258

Photography was the third love of my life. That love started when I was just a toddler, waddling after my mom at weddings and birthdays as she snapped picture after picture. I associated every clicking sound with her. The first time she let me hold her camera and take a picture was when photography truly became my third love. On my fifth birthday, she got me my first camera. I took thousands of pictures with it, most of them within the first day of getting it. She taught me so much about photography, but it seemed that no matter how much I k...

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“Gray” by Wesley Demers

Submitted to Contest #258

On the horizon, a black plume of smoke rolling upwards into unending clouds. A soft breeze moaned over gentle hills, rattled dead trees, smelled of fire. Empty towns sprawled for miles, cracked roads, piles of wood and metal and plastic. He touched his stomach, then the ledge he rested on. Cold and jagged. His eyes flittered from exhaustion. It was April, maybe. He had emerged from the frigid months skeletal and near death. He ate canned foods from the prepared few, often unsealed and molding, but calories. Sick mammals, unable to run....

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“Through the Lens of Sorrow” by Bella Marie

Submitted to Contest #258

Warning: This story does contain talk of death, and briefly mentions alcohol. For Grace, time slowed down as she waited to hear the news of her husband. Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days. Her mind swirled with the endless possibilities that laid before her.. The ‘what ifs’ growing stronger with each passing moment. Grace checked the clock on the wall. 10:00 PM The door flung open. Grace’s head shot up, sure that this one would be for her. Instead, two nurses walked by, no doubt engaged in some sort of gossip from the day. Grace ...

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“Frame of Mind” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #258

It was the calico cat that started it all on a Saturday morning.Not even his cat, though he had let her inside a few times since moving to Old Town.Ambrose had stripped the king-sized bed first thing, taken everything to the laundry room, then brought fresh lavender-colored sheets and pillowcases. He had stretched the last corner of the fitted bottom sheet over the mattress corner when he noticed the calico cat staring in through the bedroom window.Taking the cat to be scanned for a micro-chip was on his to-do list as none of the neighbours ...

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“An empty home” by Gemma Kovacs

Submitted to Contest #258

Today was the day. It was the day that John had been dreading since his husband, Charles, fell ill two years ago. He choked back his pain and took a deep breath. He was being evicted from his home.John stood at the entrance to their shared home, just within the doorway, as he inspected every inch of the walls one last time. In one hand was a suitcase full of his clothes and small items, while in the other was a picture frame containing a photo of the pair on their wedding day several years before.When Charles fell ill, John quit his job and ...

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“A Path That Led to Healing” by Sofie M

Submitted to Contest #258

Three people he had loved. Three people he had lost.Time seemed irrelevant after the last was lost. Days flew by, then weeks, then months. Still, the pain didn't go away. It remained, like an on-going emptiness. The piles with cards that all read 'sorry for your loss' with flowers or a small gift grew. He didn't go outside, he didn't open the curtains, he sat, alone, in a dark room.At night, when he couldn't sleep, he cried and screamed and kicked the gifts. If by some miracle, he fell asleep, his nightmares of dying grew worse with every pa...

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“Peace in Photography ” by Maylissa Noel

Submitted to Contest #258

It has been a few months since Beatrice left the house, really left the house to engage in any activity besides work. It has been hard for her since the passing of Edwin. As she sat up in bed, she reflected on her wedding day and remembered every word spoken when saying her vows. Till death do us part hit her like a ton of bricks. She did not think that would be a reality so soon. She sat quietly in bed telling herself she did not sign up for this, she did not sign up for a life without Edwin. Beatrice sobbed uncontrollably as she turned and...

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“A Soldier's Hope” by Lorra Spitzer

Submitted to Contest #258

Tortured by another sleepless night, SSG Amira Cook found herself in her tiny kitchen, reaching for her usual sleep remedy…a glass of red wine. There was a time when the city's nightly bustle comforted her; however, since returning from Afghanistan, the clamoring of the metropolis has only heightened her anxiety. “The red wine probably won’t help tonight,” she said as she glanced down at her calico cat, Shiloh. “I wish it was me that died.” Sighing, Amira sipped her wine as she apathetically strode to the living room, but a sudden cras...

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“Massachusetts” by Em P

Submitted to Contest #258

I like the sun. It doesn’t crap out on me. The camera does, here and there. There are days when it doesn’t spew out anything, or it starts continuously taking shots every other second until it runs out of paper. I’ve got it wired up to an intervalometer so it’s meant to take pictures every hour or so, then spit them out on little squares of photo stock that land on the ground roughly five feet below it. It’s fixed to a metal stake, positioned to keep a watchful eye over the burial spot, which I’ve left unmarked. I can’t help but feel like a ...

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

Submissions are closed

✍️ 63 stories

“A Glimpse Through the Aperture” by Adam Leverett

“The Pearl Earring and the Five Blackbirds.” by Rose Lind

“Tomb of My Heart” by Kathleen Furin

“A solitudinous state” by Natalie Haslam-Conroy

“My Last Selfie” by Ian Gonzales

“From the Ashes” by Heather Mezzacappa

“The Photos of Life” by Annalise Lagerquist

“Gray” by Wesley Demers

“Through the Lens of Sorrow” by Bella Marie

“Frame of Mind” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

“An empty home” by Gemma Kovacs

“A Path That Led to Healing” by Sofie M

“Peace in Photography ” by Maylissa Noel

“A Soldier's Hope” by Lorra Spitzer

“Massachusetts” by Em P

🌟 Similar prompts

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

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

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

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

Contest #258

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

289

Contest entries

88

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: