for Friday Fictioneers‘
An invited few gathered to witness Oscar operate his newly acquired camera. Two ladies facing him composed themselves, as he theatrically flung a sheet over his head, held a lamp aloft and bent down.
A collective gasp erupted as a blinding flash assaulted everybody’s eyes. One of the startled ladies reached for her fan, the other, blinking wildly felt for her smelling salts.
In a studio across town, two ladies were enjoying cups of tea and slices of victoria sponge. They’d had a pleasant afternoon posing for artist Archibald.
‘Photography will never catch on’ he said. The ladies nodded in agreement.
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Thanks to Rochelle for hosting and to Roger Bultot for the picture. However I wrote this before the prompt appeared, wrongly assuming that Rochelle’s sepia prints were the the intended source for inspiration! Fortunately the window does feature some photograhs so I guess it’s okay!
Click Froggie to join in the fun!
I thought that those photos were the prompt. Well done Keith.
Quite a few of us did it seems! Cheers, Sadje.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Dear Keith,
Sorry about the snafu this morning. At any rate I can’t help but applaud my fictioneers their creativity. 😀 I love your story. I agree…like the electric light bulb and the automobile, photography will never catch on. An OMG, you’ve outdone yourself with Froggie. I snagged him. Love love love it.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks so much, Rochelle. Thanks too for giving Froggie a home, I’m sure he’ll enjoy painting alongside you!
Photography is the devil’s work!
Oh yes, he’s there inside our cameras. Cheers, Neil.
Your tale is great — and your graphics are a masterpiece! Photography never should have caught on and spoiled every social event and outing ever since. 😉
Thanks, Christine and I so agree about photography, I’m fed up with being told to ‘say cheese’!
Keith,
New gadgetry is irresistible, but I wouldn’t say no to a slice of victorian sponge! Your graphics are as amusing as ever. :>)
pax,
dora
Me neither with a nice drop Earl Grey! Thanks so much, Dora.
Imagine how surprised/shocked they would be if they happen to see what’s happening now! Photography has survived & thrived! So many gadgets have cameras! 🙂
Lovely story!
Indeed, you are never far from a camera these days whether you want to be or not. Thanks, Anita.
Just like the telephone! These crazy inventions. A fun story.
Whatever next? Thanks so much.
So many things people thought would never happen–have. For one thing, I’m using a laptop computer to type this. When my husband took a course in computer programming in college, the computer was housed in a big room. PUnch-cards came spitting out of the answer slot, after a noisy, blinking, buzzing process. Computers would never catch on. They were too big and cumbersome, too hard to use. And now? They’re the size of a slim wallet, and even smaller.
They said it couldn’t be done 🙂
You’ve taken me back to my first proper job when I was a salesman for a stationery company that sold paper and card designed for early computers and tabulators. I can still see those gigantic machines! Whatever next I wonder?
Very few worlds left to conquer.
I think instagram may end up being the death of photography! Good story Keith 😊
I’m going to sound my age when I say heaven forbid! Thanks for dropping by Iain.
Nicely worked story, Keith, that made me smile. And Mr Frog is wonderful!
That’s so nice of you Penny, thank you.
Love the graphics and your flash
I’m pleased, thanks so much, Michael.
Photos and horseless carriages, what will they think of next to disturb our world?
I dread to think! Cheers, Mimi.
They said the same thing about computers. I really like what you did here with the graphics. So neat.
Indeed they did. What next I wonder? Delighted you liked Froggie, thanks so much, Lisa.
You’re very welcome, Keith. I look forward to seeing your weekly graphics.
Ha, ha….remaking history. Good one.
Thanks so much, Susan.
Who needs all that useless modern stuff, right? Great fun and what an artistic froggy!
Who indeed, let’s take a step back! Thanks for your kind words.
And … look where photography is now … our phones. 😀
I’m assuming you wrote your story on the photographs from Rochelle artwork.
It’s a great story. I think those photographs should be a prompt for us soon.
Stay Safe 😷 Isadora 😎
I did Isadora, although the are some photos in the shop window!
When I was young I had a darkroom under the stairs where I used trays of developer and fixer to print photos! How things have changed!
I remember a friend of mine had a dark room where he hung the photos on a line to dry. I enjoyed watching the process as he did it. I suppose that’s why I enjoy photography. Yes, things have changed in so many ways including photo developing. Progress … 😳
That’s exactly what I did. Developing the roll of film to producing the pictures was a very long process.
there are believers and non-believers. they make the world go round. 🙂
Absolutely so plaridel.
It probably did seem far out at the time. And clunky. Glad it worked out.
I’m sure it did!
Victorian sponge, mmm. Not so easy to come by these days – cafes overrun with pre-processed cakes and biscuits. Nice story.
Too right, but I still make a mean one! Chers Trish
I’m sure if cameras still used massive chemical explosions or the need to stand absolutely still for several seconds, it definitely wouldn’t have caught on 🙂
No doubt Health and Safety would have banned them!
Another great one, Keith. As I think back on my photographer friends of the past with all their gear, chemicals, laboratories, papers, and lights, I must smile. Now everyone has a camera in their pocket and we’re all photographers. And the selfie. Such a world.
As a keen photographer, I had all that stuff back in the day too. I first started doing photography at school where I got up to more than just developing pictures in the darkroom – say no more!
You impress me, sir Keith. 🙂
I was imagining every word you write here. Nice story.
Nice of you to say so Vartika, thank you.
No doubt, Archibald will invite the women for the next photo shoot by the river in a state of undress – well, how else do you sell photography?
I like the idea of tea and cake.
Someone had to come up with the idea, why not him? Cheers, James.
Loved your work with graphics, Keith, Also, what a wonderful throwback story.
That’s much appreciated Neel, thank you so much.
A lovely flamboyant tale Keith. I get the feeling that ‘it’ll never catch on’ is refrain across the years. A world wide web ? Don’t be preposterous !
LOL. Yeah, why would people want to walk around taking pictures of everything? Seriously, I ask myself this from time to time. Why DO people walk around taking pictures of everything? 😉
Hahaha, never catch on! Perhaps we might be better off if it hadn’t?
Now, cameras are EVERYWHERE. Wonder what they would make of that.
Haha! Isn’t it amazing how at each invention the naesayers say that same phrase! Well done, and written of course.