Good Wednesday morning, my Readers. Our esteemed leader, Rochelle, has offered up my picture this week. I’m beyond flattered. A few of you mentioned that you wanted a follow up of last week’s prompt, thing that I never do, partly because I’m not clever enough and it has never occurred to me to even do so, and mostly because this challenge is to create a stand-alone story in 100-words or less…
That said, this came to me and, though it stands alone (I hope) it can also be the next part (sorta).
Should you wish to read more stories generated from this image, please click on the blue frog below. Better yet, write your own 100-word story and add your link, then read others 😉
The Big Picture
She came to, befuddled, wondering how she ended up beside this small waterfall. The last thing she remembered was leaning in to take a picture.
Where was her camera? She rarely went anywhere without it.
Sitting on the bank, watching the water cascade over the rocks, she tried to piece together the last, what? How much time had passed?
She heard a voice but could not discern where it came from.
“You must stop looking at life simply through a camera lens. You’re missing the big picture as you zoom in on the little bits. Back up, you’ll see more.”
Oh I love this. I’ve had to abandon places because so many people were just using cameras instead of looking. Great message, Dale, and a fab picture.
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I am guilty of not always being in the moment while trying to preserve the moment. It can be a catch-22.
Thank you, Jilly!
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The best camera i own is in my head! A great piece Dale and a beautiful photo to boot!
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I hear you. It’s hard to resist for me… but I’m getting better!
Thanks. Glad you like the photo too.
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But I take photos everyday to put in my blog, this resets my head camera to a certain extent. In essence I guess my head camera could be called a smellera and a noisera!! They’re my words and I’m sticking by them!!
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Oh, I won’t give up taking photos…. I love it too much. But I’m trying to be more in the moment during events. One or two pics then focus!
And I like your words!
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A true message. photo may last, but if you don’t experience it with your own eyes, it can’t remind you of a real experience. It might as well be a postcard of somewhere you’ve never been to. 🙂
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Indeed! There has to be a happy medium at the very least.
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Good writing Dale.
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Thank you, Neel
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oh, very nice, and so very true.
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Thank you.. it is…
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So very true. I’m guilty of the same thing!
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Phew! Happy to know I’m not alone!!
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This is really true, especially now that we have these cameras with us everywhere we go (and can share the photos with all these people, instantly). It’s a strange time we live in. Nobody anticipated it.
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So very true. It is a strange time indeed. I don’t think anyone could have.
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Sometimes you have to put the camera down and actually enjoy the moment..see what is happening before you. You might miss alot 🙂
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Says Miss Kid Kodak who is just as bad as me… but yes. We do need to put it down and be in the moment.
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LOL Actually I’m talking about Bedz..he’s worse than me! 🙂
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Haha! We’re all three of us guilty 😉
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Deliciously intriguing! Great follow-up, Dale.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you, Susan.
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There’s more to seeing than meets the eyeball, or the camera lens. Good lesson, Dale
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Thanks, Neil. There is indeed.
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Love it. It’s true but I think we take the picture to capture the moment, the beauty and to share what we find beautiful.
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Absolutely…. as long as we also take the time to be in the moment after or before 🙂
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Works well on its own, but also as a continuation. Good advice, but have you even been somewhere in the world today if you haven’t put a picture on instagram/facebook/twitter?!
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Thanks, Iain. Glad to hear it does.
And right… that is how we are perceived now, eh? No posting = not true. 🙄😏
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Twitter is where I get all my facts from now, everything else is a lie 😉
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Hahaha!
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Dear Dale,
Rarely do I track with sequels in flash fiction. This one does stand alone so I give it not only a pass but applause. Good message for all of us. I’ve always been the photog in the family and feel that I saw too many holidays through the viewfinder.
I hate to say it, because it goes against my usual thoughts and unwritten rules, but I think you need a sequel to this one. 😉 Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle,
I do know that. And I feel as you do. Glad you approve! (And kinda ironic, now that I think of it, that MY photo is used for this particular story 😉 )
Oooohhh… well, I’ll just have to see what next week’s picture brings 😉
So very glad you liked.
Lotsa love,
Dale
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Excellent advice, Dale. Good use of the prompt too. Finally, congrats on your photo being used.
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Thank you, all ’round!
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Very perceptive. And I’m guilty of this myself. Well done, Dale and a lovely photo.
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Thank you, Sandra. I know I am not alone 😉
And glad you liked my photo, too.
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Q,
Yay you! You made the sequel after all.
And a clever one it is, filled with the language of a time where too many of us live inside the box of social media and forget to step out and to be . . yanno, humans.
I usually don’t like happy endings, but this has a Kung Fu quality to it, so Imma have to say . . I love it!
B
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B,
I did. But not too obvious one, eh?
Clever? I’ll accept it. I am guilty of wanting to take that shot to remember something. Do I need to share so much? No. I can keep lots more for myself. And limit the picture taking as well.
It’s happy/not happy; so, there’s that.
Q
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Well yanno . . at the end of the day . . .
Seriously though, it was more happy than not, as the character attains a level of enlightenment she had not considered previously. The mark of good storytelling is right smack dab in the middle of that discovery, so there’s that. 🙂
B
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Context is everything, both small~and Large~scale. It’s always nice, though, to record a bit of it.
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I agree… and won’t stop.
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The consensus seems to be that most of us are guilty of it! I know I am.
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It’s hard not to be!!
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We can’t appreciate the center, if we don’t look (and live) the small details and the big picture.
The voice is very wise, and a bit creepy, too… since we don’t quite know where it’s coming from, where our protagonist actually is, or how she got there…
I hope she finds herself (and that we get to read the finding).
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True…
Well, part 1 was last week 😉.
Will all depend on next week’s picture!
Thanks for the great comment.
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*runs back to read!*
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LOL
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ah…now I get it. I have had a frenzied couple of weeks and did not read anything online. As it stands, I thought she was dead and the voice was otherworldly.
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Ta dah!! 🙂
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I used to video my son playing rugby sometimes, until one day someone said, why are you recording it to watch later when you could be actually watching it happen? It’s true, life in the moment is so much more vivid. We should all take a good look around us. PS my like button is not working properly or I would have ‘liked’ your post too.
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There is nothing wrong with videotaping a game or two – for your son to see! As long as it’s not all the time. And that person was rude to tell you so, by the way. I don’t believe it has to be all or nothing. I love photography too much to not. And I do want to preserve some memories for later, too.
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A good message, but now it feels like this one is another segment, requiring more. 🙂
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That’s what Rochelle said! We’ll have to see what next week’s prompt is… 😉
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Hmmmm
Interesting.
In both perspectives.
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Glad you think so.
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OOOOh …. a tad creepy, a tad snappy 😉
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Ya think? 😁
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🙂
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🙂
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sometimes, even the camera gets in the way to really appreciate the moment. been there. done that. 🙂
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Many of us have, it appears!
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I have lived with an avid photographer, camera nearly implanted. As a result, I am very cognizant of the value of photo vs reality. A good reminder to many.
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Though it is nice to have souvenirs…
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A life lesson that we all need to learn….says someone who, with his wife, averages 200-250 photographs a day while traveling 🙂
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I feel you, Anurag. Won’t tell you how many pics I take when just on a walk, never mind on vacay!!
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Well, I’m glad she’s okay, or at least alive, after last week!
Great piece of wisdom at the end. An “old Canadian proverb”? 🙂
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I dunno about that but I think she was lucky to have been given a chance…
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Similar sort of thing to people following social media about the event they are at. Easy to get involved and forget to experience reality.
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So very true, Clare. Though I stay away from that “news”, I do take the occasional picture while I’m there…
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Great! Sometimes your eyes and memory are all you need.
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Yeah, but a souvenir is still nice 😉
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Not a very friendly suggestion.
DJ
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Maybe not. But maybe the voice was speaking metaphorically for something else.
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I would most definitely back up, just to find the source of that voice 🙂
I am appalled at how intrusive people have become into other people’s lives. Anything that draws a crowed will also have everyone pulling out his phone to take a video.
And yes, we need to look at wonderful scenery without the camera once in a while.
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With the cell phone cameras now, I think we’re all a bit guilty of this from time to time. Thanks for the story Dale!
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So true, Russell…
Thanks for reading!
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Powerful message. Look at the big picture. Great!
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Fab photo Dale – and the theme is so topical. Like the way the woman with the camera gets a wake-up shock ! Let’s hope she’ll change her ways.
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Thanks. Glad you liked both the photo and my story…
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Beautiful photo that begs us to stop and just….listen. Then think, quietly, about what life really is. Your story says it all. xo
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Thank you, Pam. So very glad you liked both my photo and my interpretation. xo
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Good advice Dale, sorry it has taken me soooo long to round here to read this 💜💜
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Please. No worries!
And good advice or no, I am guilty… 😉
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We all are 💜💜
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😁🧡🧡
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Great story, Dale. And I love the photo. It’s true. There are times when we just need to enjoy the scenery instead of getting caught up with taking photos. I remember trying to take a photo of a sunset and it seemed to me that the sun was dropping fast into the ocean. I wish I had just taken the moment and enjoyed watching it set. The most memorable image I have is of a swan in Lake Geneva with the moon striking it like a spotlight. I didn’t take a photo of it but it is forever imprinted on my mind. Our memories can be the best cameras, sometimes. Sorry for the lengthy comment.
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Thank you, Adele! So often true. I mean, it’s ok to occasionally try to snap a pic of a moment, as long as you don’t spend all your time with one eye in the viewfinder 😉
And please. No comment is too lengthy 😉
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You nailed this Dale, missing the bigger picture is almost an epidemic these days
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Thanks, Michael. In so many ways…
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Intriguing Dale, and true that we need to just experience life sometimes rather than trying to capture it.
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Thank you, Andrea. Sometimes we focus on just one thing without seeing the big picture…
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A wonderful follow-up to your story last week. So much mystery here. How much time passed? How did she get to the falls? Who’s voice did she hear? … and more. I love it!! Great photo too.
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Thank you, Brenda. Good questions, all.
Dunno if any can be answered… to be determined!
Glad you like the photo!
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I like a mystery either way. =)
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Yay!
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I’m just as guilty of capturing everything with the camera and losing sight of the big picture. I wonder what happened to her, and whose voice she’s hearing. Intriguing!
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Merci Margarisa.
So am I… I wonder, too…😉
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De rien, Dale. 🙂
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I love it, but sometimes you have to look really close…
It’s said you can see the whole world in a drop of water 🙂
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This is very true, Björn. I don’t think it has to be all or the other, to tell the truth.
Very glad you enjoyed!
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And sorry for being so late commenting back…
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Please. There is no time limit! Glad you took the time, no mater how much time that was.
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oh dear…. I hope she was not truly injured? The falls are lovely but not at the expense of one’s health.
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Not injured at all. Transported there, she knows not how. A lesson is to be learnt, methinks; maybe she’ll be returned to where she originally disappeared from (last week 😉 )
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Aha! Even cooler! Love a bit of a transporter mystery
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😀
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Very good advice, put those cameras and phones down! (and congrats on having your wonderful pic as the prompt this week)
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Thank you, kind sir! And glad you like the pic, too!
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Real world is overrated. Life looks better on Instagram.
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Hah! But not real!!
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Ah so this is where she ended up! I was one of those who wanted to know where she went 😀 I loved the last sentence – we do need to back up don’t we? Thank you for the lovely photo prompt as well 🙂
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As requested 😉
Glad you liked this.
And most welcome re the photo.
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Very meta post, a story about photography, inspired by your own photo. Very zen.
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Now that you mention it 😉
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So true!
And nice pic, btw.
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Thank you, Dawn!
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I have often heard that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the tree. The reverse is also true. What did she not see due to her concentration? Where is her camera? What hit her or what did she hit?
Voices? From where? Ah, the story must go on. Good job Dale.
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Thanks, Jan! I did two stories… dunno if I will continue it or leave you all hanging… 😉
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