Writing Prompt 71: Line-up
Universal Studios 2023
You know the pain — standing in the longest line at Universal Studios or Disneyland or any popular theme park, waiting to shuffle forward, watching the clock tick away one, two or even three hours towards a ride that will give you a couple of minutes of excitement.
I never knew I had such depths of patience. Being British, I'm supposed to be good at queuing. I'm not so sure this is true.
Most people think of me as a quiet, patient person. It's probably all a facade. I've learnt to contain the activity in my brain and body. What you don't see on the outside is the constant fidgetyness on the inside.
Anyway.
It's in these moments, standing and waiting, that I get the opportunity to look around me and see what small stories I can find to photograph. The camera I used for this image is small and unobtrusive. In this particular queue, the one funnelling us towards the bus for the Universal Studio Tour, I had to be quick. This picture is one of my favourites. For me, it's unusual to take a picture where someone I don't know looks directly at the camera. She holds my gaze. I remember I pretended I didn't see her.
I think this photograph could be great for some storytelling. Let's take a look.
There's the woman, you're probably looking at her right now, the young woman with dark hair looking directly at the camera — she's the first element of the picture you see. Then I find my eye drawn to the young woman behind her — is she laughing or in mid-sentence, telling an exciting story?
To the left of the picture, almost cropped out of the frame, another young woman rests a painted fingernail on her lips, listening intently to what's being said to her.
Lastly, a man walks down the centre of the photograph towards the camera, one hand holding a soda, the other in his pocket, a pair of sunglasses hiding his eyes, the rest of his face holding an impassive expression.
Which person are you interested in? Which story would you like to tell? Imagine yourself in the photograph, taking in the sounds and smells, listening to all the conversations.
You could tell one person's story in three different points of view: first person, second person, third person. Or you could tell all four stories from the same point of view. Or you could go rogue and simply use the photograph to write the story that comes to you. There's no right or wrong way here. It's all good. Have fun!
Originally published at https://tanyajclarke.substack.com on June 10, 2024
