Photography: A Time Travel Writing Prompt
“Your child is the star of the week!”
When the email lands in my inbox, I can’t help but stifle a groan. While I am excited and thankful my child gets to feel special and celebrated at school, I sigh at the idea of more things being added to my already overflowing to-do list. Between work deadlines and grocery shopping and folding the laundry that’s been sitting in the dryer for four days (tell me I’m not the only one!), I now need to add: scroll through my hard drive of 20,000 images, flag all the best ones, export, upload, order prints, and last but certainly not least, find and assemble a darling poster board.
Don’t get me wrong—I love printing photos. It’s just that stuff like this usually snowballs into a very long trip down memory lane for me.
While I begin the task of selecting photos to print at Walgreens with a bit of a begrudging spirit, I’m quickly smiling my way down Nostalgia Avenue. I have to admit: I do love it here. I am always amazed at how much these images can conjure up memories I didn’t know still existed. I recently attended a speaking engagement led by Andrew Peterson where he said, “Some memories stay in your mind because God wants them to.” In my bones, I know he’s right. But I think some memories also live in photographs, and can come back to you when you take the time to revisit them.
PROMPT ONE: The Mirror Effect (or, creativity is generative!)
Choose a photo to revisit. Head deep into the archives. Take your time. Go where the energy is. Find a picture that you forgot you even took, one that surprises you. Spend some time remembering—sit in the quiet and consider all five senses. How did you feel in your body when you took this picture? What propelled you to take it? Write the story of this photo.
Once you have finished writing the story, take a new photo inspired by the story you have written. The new photos does not need to be a recreation of the original photo. Rather, consider the themes and elements of the story. Think about what has changed between the past and the present, and what remains the same.
PROMPT TWO: Freeze Time
This prompt comes to us from fellow Exhale member (and founder of Part-Time Poets) Michelle Windsor. Snap a photo of something—or perhaps, someone—you want to remember. And then write a brief description starting with the line: “I want to remember you this way.”