Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Geometric Shapes
I thought I’d have another go at Cee’s Black and White Challenge this week, so I went out and about around the neighbourhood with my camera set to “Mono”. This week’s subject is “Geometric Shapes”.
Here’s the back of my car. I washed it and everything, look at that shine! (Not specifically for the photo, it was dirty.) I don’t know what purpose that honeycomb thing serves, but it makes the car look good as it explodes down the road at high speed.
Here’s the garage I don’t park it in because it’s full of junk. At the left of the photo you can see the leaky gutter joint I haven’t bothered to fix.
I need to weld this shut so the water company can’t see how much water I’ve used. But the joke would be on me – this is actually next door’s water meter cover. Ha ha.
And finally, this is what stops nasty dirt getting into my house.
I hope you enjoyed my pictures :-).
Pioneers
It’s Friday Fictioneers time again, the weekly flash fiction challenge hosted by Rochelle over at “Addicted to Purple“. The photo this week was supplied by top fictioneerer Douglas M. MacIlroy.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Douglas M. MacIlroy
With a gust of icy wind Jared entered the shelter. His wife looked at him eagerly, anxiously, the unspoken question hanging between them. Finally Jared shook his head and looked away.
“All of them?” asked Sheera, her voice trembling. Jared looked at his wife and nodded.
“All of them.”
“So we’re the last.” It wasn’t a question. “We’re all alone.”
Little Hanna ran in and hugged her Dad. “You’re back, you’re back!” she squealed, while in the kitchenette Sheera prepared drinks, carefully mixing a generous dosage of “Martian Deathcap” into each of the three cups.
Drinking deeply, the last surviving “Red Planet Pioneers” faded quietly away.
The Cycle of Life
Here is my contribution to Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. We get a photo and a starting sentence and then 150-ish words to finish the story.
To read this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy. The supplied opening sentence is in bold in my story below.
So without further ado, let’s join the Harris family on their educational African safari!
Copyright B.W. Beacham
The Harris Family and the Cycle of Life
They followed the buffaloes and their babies along the trail heading into the woods.
“Oh, Daddy!” exclaimed little Betty Harris. “Aren’t they cute?”
“Look at how they frolic along happily beside their parents!” added her mother. “Shall we keep following them?”
“Ooh, yes!” giggled Betty excitedly. “May we, Daddy, may we?”
“Of course!” laughed Father. Betty clapped her hands with glee.
They entered the woods and soon spotted the buffaloes at a watering hole. Father knelt down, readied his hunting rifle and pulled the trigger. The nearest buffalo baby’s head exploded, bits and pieces splashing into the water. Betty gasped.
“Father, what have you done?”
“It’s all part of the Cycle of Life,” explained Mother. “You see, we’re the dominant species and therefore we can kill all the animals!”
“All of them? Wow!” said Betty. “Father, may I have a go with the gun?”
Tune in again next week when Mother discovers the error in her “dominant species” theory in “The Harris Family and the Hideous Child-Eating Lion of Death”.
Cee’s Black and White Challenge – Numbers
This is a post for Cee’s Black and White Challenge. This week the topic is to post pictures of anything with numbers on.
I’ve never tried this before, but my new camera has a black and white setting on it. My photos aren’t very creative, just things from around the house with numbers on, but I was excited to try out the setting on my camera! I shrunk each down by about 60% for uploading.
Click on a picture to see a large-size slideshow type thing :-).
Sharing My World 2015 Week 15
Here I am in my regular Share Your World Sunday slot. This challenge is hosted by Cee over on her blog full of lovely photographs.
Regarding your fridge, is it organised or a mess inside?
As far as I’m concerned it’s organised. Everything is in its correct place and there’s no gone off food or leftovers. It could do with a clean out though, I guess, as it’s been 7 years and two houses now (when I moved I defrosted the freezer section but didn’t clean out the fridge). I don’t spill stuff in it, though, so it’s okay.
Have you ever been a participant in a parade? What did you do?
No, as far as I can remember I’ve never been in a parade. I don’t think I’d want to be marching along with everyone looking at me.
How do you stand out from the crowd?
I don’t. My whole plan is to blend into the background. Like a ninja. A barely glimpsed flash of movement in the dark. Was I really ever there? Nobody knows.
How many bones, if any, have you broken?
I’ve never broken any bones. Except, perhaps, my little toe. I read somewhere that little toes get broken quite often, but people don’t realise and there’s nothing to be done anyway.
Snapped in a Tree
I was in my kitchen when I spotted movement in a tree. My new camera was nearby and was already equipped with my new zoom lens (“Mr Zoomy”) so I snapped off a shot. Well, three shots, but only one was properly focussed. The sun’s glaring off him a bit and in the only in-focus shot he was looking the other way.
I wanted to know what he was, so I asked Mr Google, checked in books and conversed with many experts in the field and have finally discovered that he is a “bird” (or, if you’re an expert on the subject like I am now, Birdus Birdicus).
Can You Tell Me Why?
It’s Friday Fictioneers time again. Every week Rochelle supplies us with a photo prompt and we get 100 or so words in which to write our story. This week’s photo was supplied by Roger Bultot.
Here’s my rather dark story for this week, and to read all the other stories you can click on the little blue froggy.
Copyright Roger Bultot
“Can you tell me why, Jimmy?” The doctor, notepad in hand, looked at the young man sitting across from him.
“Don’t you know? Don’t you feel it too?”
“Feel what, Jimmy?”
“That rush, that surge… elation! The flames live.” His eyes became dark, furtive, his voice suddenly hushed. “They need to live.”
“And the people you’ve hurt?”
“The fire must eat. That is why the fire exists.” Cold now, dispassionate.
“Tell me about your family, Jimmy. I understand they died in an electrical fire when you were seven?”
Jimmy’s eyes gleamed. “My first. You never forget your first!”
Recommend continued psychiatric detention. Advise police reopen case 104723/A – “Matthews fire 1998”.
History Repeats
It’s Monday and that means it’s time for Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. We get a photo prompt and an opening sentence plus 150 words to complete the story. For this week’s other stories, click on the blue froggy.
The supplied sentence is in bold in my story.
Copyright Barbara W. Beacham
The neighbours were not happy about my choice of yard art.
First they tries light hearted banter.
“Blimey, mate, what’s the ‘ell’s that? Not keeping it, are you?”
After a week they’re done mincin’ words.
“Listen, chum, I’m not meaning to be rude, but that’s an eyesore, ya know? You gonna move it or what?”
I ignore them, miserable gits.
Then it gets serious. I comes out in the mornin’ and find the Native American covered wi’ paint. Makes him look somehow diseased.
I says nothing. They says nothing. They know I know it were them.
Next day, someone’s shot holes in the bison with an air rifle. The day after that, the Native American has both his arms shot off. These neighbours come over from England couple a’ years previous. Settlers, you might say. Suddenly I got a diseased-looking Native American and a shot bison.
Funny how history repeats. Maybe tomorrow I’ll complete the cycle and scalp the bastards.
Sharing My World 2015 Week 14
Sunday is the day that I write my post for Cee’s Share Your World.
What type of music relaxes you the most or do you prefer silence?
Tricky. I don’t listen to music for relaxation all that much. It’s not easy to get me into a relaxed state.
I listen to many different genres. Sometimes I’ll go down the “harder” end – Iron Maiden, The Pretty Reckless, Evanescence. Sometimes in the middle somewhere – Pink Floyd, Florence and the Machine, Marina and the Diamonds, Queen, Status Quo. Currently at work I’m listening to multiple Abba albums on a shuffled loop.
To really relax, I’d probably go for Mike Oldfield. Maybe Enya. Music for me is usually on while I’m doing something else, like driving. When I listen to it at work, it can give me a real boost.
Show us a two of your favourite photographs. Explain why they are your favourite. If you are not a photographer, think of a two favourite scenes in your life and tell us about them.
This is a tricky one. I love scenes around family occasions, but do I have any pictures? Probably somewhere.
I take a lot of photos of the scenery around here. In fact, I went out this morning to Bedruthan Steps, which used to be miles away but is now quite close since I moved house. So here are a couple from this morning, just as the sun was coming up. I wanted to try out my new camera, which arrived last week! For those of you who care, it’s a Panasonic Lumix DMC-G6. I don’t know what the experienced photographers think about this low-middle-end camera, but it’s good enough for me and got good reviews!
I left all the settings on “automatic” as I don’t really know what I’m doing yet! Of course I could have got similar pictures with my phone, but I’m excited to start trying things out, like a slower shutter speed to blur out water. I also have a zoom lens coming next week, so I can try to get close-up pictures of bunny rabbits :-).
What is your favourite tradition? (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)
Family Christmas! It has changed over the years. Granny used to come down from Scotland and she’s no longer with us, and my brother and his girlfriend don’t always make it for Christmas dinner, but I love driving over to my parents’ house in time for coffee, chatting, having Christmas lunch and so on.
If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 50?
I’d probably be better off keeping my mouth shut. Failing that, I’d try “Shit happens. It’s going to happen to you. Just roll with it, it’ll get better.”
Here Today…
It’s Friday Fictioneers time, hosted by Rochelle.
I haven’t felt very well the last couple of days and couldn’t come up with anything cleverly witty, but I finally put something together. This week’s photo comes from Jennifer Pendergast.
To read all the other stories for this week, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Jennifer Pendergast
Bartholomew stared out across the desert, watching it shimmer in the heat. Seemingly barren, he knew it teemed with life. Such rugged beauty, stretching endlessly into the distance, a primitive land where only the strong could survive.
He reached into his backpack and retrieved his camera, snapping off a shot. “Desert framed by Railway Carriage” would look good on his wall, he thought.
Finally tearing his gaze from the awe-inspiring sight, he motioned with his hand. The sides of the carriages dropped, disgorging trucks, bulldozers, all manner of equipment.
The desert’s all very well, he thought, but everybody loves a mall.
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