Photo Inspiration: Unremembered Snapshots

Phones with cameras on them have certainly changed the way we view our everyday lives. How many snapshots have you taken, promising yourself that you'll get onto Instagram later and share it with the world? How many photos have you snapped for no other reason than you wanted to remember something? And still -- how many more pictures haven you taken and then promptly forgotten about? 

For me, that answer is: more than I can count. 

I'm the worst about snapping photos and forgetting about them instantly. I was flipping through my photo library the other day, looking at photos I have no recollection of taking, when I realized this might make for some neat inspiration.

Below, I'll share some of my favorite unremembered snapshots. I hope they inspire you to write, or at least to go seek out your dusty pictures in the recesses of your "Camera Roll" and see what you might find. 

See the world through my eyes.

The Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

When you find an unexpected photo of yourself among the landscapes. (Hiking The Narrows at Zion in Utah.)

A page out of my notebook from about 5 years ago.

In a little apple orchard in East Moline, IL.

Your guess is as good as mine. 

Have no idea where this one was taken.

I found this drawing in the Tate Modern in London.

You can't tell (or maybe you can), but it was 20 below freezing and there was a kite festival.

Spoiler: I made it.

Over the river and through the woods...in the Morton Arboretum.

Turkish rugs in Istanbul.

A deer that walked down the narrow slot canyon we were hiking. 

At some point in my life, I successfully photographed the perfect rainbow over my house. And I don't remember it.

A cast of the real thing -- like all the statues in the Cast Court at the V & A museum in London. 

The Prompt

Either choose one of the photos above, or find your own forgotten snapshot. Use it as your writing inspiration for the day. If you don't remember anything about taking it, try to fill in the blanks -- write about what you might have been doing, how you might have been feeling, etc. Create a backstory to the photo. If you do remember what you were doing, write down some of the details that come to mind so you don't forget again. Maybe you'll remember something amazing. 

Read more of Alexandria's work on Floodmark.