In Keith’s words. “Using this photo (below) as inspiration, write a short story, flash fiction, scene, poem; anything, really; even just a caption for the photograph. Either put your offering (or a link to it) in a comment or email it to me at keithchanning@gmail.com before Sunday evening UK time. If you post it on your own blog or site, a link to this page would be appreciated, but please also mention it in a comment here. https://keithchanning.wordpress.com/2022/10/03/kreative-kue-380/
Go on. You know you want to. Let your creativity and imagination soar. I shall display the entries next time.”
The photo.
Outback by John W. Howell © 2022
“So take the bloody photo, will ya.”
“I can’t seem to get this camera to focus.”
“Do you have it on auto?”
“Yes, but something’s not working right.”
“Just touch the shutter button lightly, and you’ll get a message.”
“What kind of message?”
“Will tell you if the lighting or setting is right.”
“All I see is you and some lines.”
“Are the lines green?”
“Sort of orange.”
“Means the setting is off. Check auto again.”
“It is on.”
“Okay, let’s forget it.”
“No, wait. I think I have solved the problem.”
“How?”
“My finger was blocking the sensor.”
“Right, of course, it was.”
“Say cheese.”
“Limburger.”
“I got it. Good thing too ’cause the film needs replacing.”
“Good thing. The guy is headed this way. I’m sure he will wonder what we are doing around his Land Rover.”
“Well, don’t worry, at least we got the shot. I’m going to send copies to the folks in Texas. They’ll get a kick out of the license plate.”
“If it’s a good shot, I want to send one to my mom too.”
“This may be the best shot of the trip. She will love it.”
“I hope so. All the rest are blurry.”
Fiction Favorites 
I like the pic. Very 70’s. These days we just click away on our mobiles. How things have changed…..
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So true.
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this is how the world most famous photographer was born 😜😅
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🤣 Good one.
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Good take, John. Background: SW Tanzania, late 1983/early 1984; day out in a borrowed Land Rover. I think someone lacked focus. Couldn’t have been me, obviously, although I can’t quite recall who was with me that day. It does make me feel old looking back at myself in the early ’80s, though!
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I know how you feel. I try to avoid those early shots.
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Miraculously, I’m less than fifteen pounds heavier now than I was then. Mind you, I have been thirty-five pounds heavier than I am today.
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Good for you.
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I was wondering where the photo had been taken. 🙂
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A few miles from Madaba in the Ruvuma region of Tanzania. Altitude around 3400ft. About 70 miles east of the Livingston Mountains and Lake Malawi.
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Not a place you’d want your vehicle to run out of fuel . . .
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True, but a great place to live for a couple of years, nonetheless.
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thank you, Michael.
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Say “cheese”! Lol Thanks for another very entertaining story, John! Unbelievable what you get out of simple photos, like this one. Have a beautiful day! xx Michael
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Thank you, Michael. Sometimes what I get out of photos surprises me as well. 😁
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At least he got the cap off! 😂 That Jeep reminds me of the one we had when I was a kid.
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You have to wonder what went wrong. Thanks, Deborah.
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It’s a miracle that anyone smiles in a photo. Good one, John!
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Seems like the hardest thing to do. Thanks, Jill. 😊
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Always a finger in the way.
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I think so. I have that problem all the time.
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This brought back fond recollections from my childhood. My grandfather often left the lens cap on the camera, which meant we’d have to retake all the photos. (We were just as guilty of not noticing, as we should have expected it and looked for it after a while.) And when my mother took pictures, she’d almost always have her finger over the lens, so we’d get back photos that were blocked by blurry blobs over a portion of them. I guess my family is challenged when it comes to photography. Thanks for the good memories, John.
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Thanks for sharing your story, Staci. A lot of smiles thinking of those situations. 😁
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Hahahaha! Love it! And how often did you get home, have your photos developed and go… dang… 😉 Oh well, the memories are clear, right?
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Dang was not the word I used but you are so right. That Brownie Hawk-eye was not always dependable. Thanks, Dale.
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Haha! Trying to keep it PG-13 😉 No, it is not 🙂
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The photos might be blurry, but I’d wager it was a great trip.
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I’ll bet it was. Keith said “SW Tanzania, late 1983/early 1984.”
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haha, somebody is worse photographer than me!!
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Ha ha ha. I think worse than all of us. Thanks, GP.
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What a fun post! I love the blurry photo, but mostly I love that the guys want to send photos to their folks. Great story. 😊
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Thank you, Gwen. I think they may change their minds when they see the prints. 😁
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Oh, the stress of being put on the spot to take a photo with someone else’s camera!
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Sending you 💐 and a huge thank you for all the wonderful smily-giggly stories you present us with, John 😂
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Thank you, Dina. So glad you like the posts.
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Operator error is always my first consideration, especially when taking a photo.
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Mine too, Pete. Thanks
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I have many of those finger shots. Good one, John 🙂
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Thanks, Denise. Me too.😊
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Good one, John. That license plate is quite the coincidence. 🙂
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I thought so too. Had to build it into the story.
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Lol, John. This makes me think of my dad. He could never take a picture that wasn’t blurry. 🙂 Good one!
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I’m glad you got a memory, Jan
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I remember those days… people actually thought before they took a picture. People nowadays, not so much.
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Since you can take ten of the same thing with no film waste I think you are right. Pamela.
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I got so good at loading my film I could usually get an extra one or two pictures. Which is why I always bought prepaid. Those extras were free.
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Great idea.
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You certainly nailed this one, John. Totally possible.
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Thanks, Dan
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And I thought I couldn’t take a picture to save my life! LOL
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You are not alone
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LOL
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😁
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Good response to the prompt, John. I remember those days of setting up the right shot so we wouldn’t waste film!
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And yet we wasted it anyway. 😂 Thanks, Priscilla.
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[…] Tuesday – Anything Possible – Kreative Kue #380 by Keith Channing […]
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Thank you for sharing my post, Madelyn.
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John, this sounds eerily similar to my wife and I trying to take pictures on our honeymoon. Cameras, focus, film…all mysteriously winding up in a picture…only if one was lucky enough to do everything right.
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Takes a village to take a photo.
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🤣
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[…] Outback by John W. Howell © 2022 […]
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