Friday, July 12th, 2013

Writing Prompt – Snapshots

Liberty Bell Rock Formation - Yellowstone National ParkI’m getting ready for vacation.

Besides my computer, the one thing I always take with me is my camera. So, I’m charging batteries, cleaning accessories, and cleaning off data cards (Hello, Christmas photos! That’s where you are!)

I take a lot of snapshots no matter where I go.

And I’m terrible about cleaning off the data cards…which is why I have so many of them. I tend to keep taking pictures until they’re full, and then rush in a mad scramble to get them cleaned off before the next event. So, I buy extras. And now they’re all full, too.

I know some people who clean them off right away, tossing the blurries and labeling the people. I’m rarely that organized. (I’ve got better things to do! Don’t you?)

By the time I get to the photos, I’m often surprised by what I see on the camera. Not just the event, but the expressions, the feelings, the emotion.

Some good story stuff there.

Here’s Your Prompt:

  • Open a photo album to a random snapshot. Write the story of what’s happening. If you journal, perfect. Write this moment. If you write fiction, make up a story about what you see. Bonus points if you use someone else’s photo album. (If you don’t have a photo album, use Google Images and search for “people.” Use the first photo you see.)
     
  • Write about an autographed photo.
     
  • Write about someone — or something –missing from a snapshot.
     
  • Here are some story starters or journal ideas:
    • In this snapshot, I am…
    • It was picture perfect.
    • He refused to hold still.
    • “We agreed, no photos.”
    • Capture this image.
    • It shook the camera, and this is what we got.
  • Write about light and dark, shadow and substance, frame and focus.
     
  • Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Nature paints the best part of a picture, carves the best part of the statue, builds the best part of the house…” Do you agree or disagree? Why or why not?
     
  • Write about something written on the back of a photo.

 
Good luck!

 
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Photo of Liberty Cap Bell Yellowstone National Park © Raymond Kasprzak | Dreamstime Stock Photos