GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT

Gray— The Finale

From dark historical events to romantic love stories

I am being honest with you. Once we agreed on this month's challenge topic, we weren't certain if we'd get any submissions to it but still decided to give it a go. And guess what? Your response was more than overwhelming.

You have surpassed all our expectations and delivered creative ideas, stunning photographs and touching stories with your submitted articles. We thank you for that.

Yes, we have hit the magic line of 40 submissions on this month's challenge as well and are now again in the dilemma of choosing our favorites out of a mountain of outstanding stories.

Here you can see our choices.

Michele Maize

Each month, we wonder if there are going to be a lot of submissions for our monthly challenges, especially if they are abstract like this month. And, as usual, all of you blow us away with your submissions. It is truly an honor to be an editor for this pub full of talented writers and from this month, photographers! I really appreciated the stories that took their own spin on the prompt, rather than just changing photos to monochrome.

Melissa Rach wrote my favorite story this month. If you haven’t read her stories, please give them a look. She is a fantastic storyteller and writer. What struck me the most about this story is how she describes solo travel. While many of us think that it is black and white, it is gray for her and I relate to that. Her gray story through Southern Arizona is full of stunning photographs. You don’t want to miss this one, fellow Globetrotters!

When Scott-Ryan Abt visited Istanbul in 2008, before he had a smartphone and when internet cafes were all the rage, he was going through something hard in his personal life. The way he describes his trip and his photographs on his solo trip captures how he felt in those gray moments. His film photographs are special.

It was hard to choose my final pick from two because they are from the same writer. Christina Daniels really knocked the challenge out of the park with two amazing stories from India. Her first story, Seeing India in Gray, was a precursor to her in-depth story about Calcutta, which she originally photographed in black and white because that is what she thought it was suited for. She showcases the beauty, the crowds and chaos, the rain, and the people in such an alluring way.

Jillian Amatt

WOW! As usual, you guys have blown us all away with your wonderful and creative responses to this prompt. As Anne says above, we had no idea what to expect, but what we received was ripe with unique photos and intriguing experiences. Having to choose our favorites is always a difficult task.

I thoroughly enjoyed Brad Yonaka’s article which highlights a collection of manhole covers that he took photos of during his travels in 2022–23. I bet he didn’t think that they would form the basis of an article one day! There is one certain criterion for them to be included in his collection, you will have to read the story to find out what it is. A fascinating thing to study, Brad, and a very creative response!

I really loved the peaceful vibe that came from Christina Daniels’ gray story about India. I was transfixed by her writing and her photos are captivating.

But my favorite of all has to go to Dan Carlson and his article about Greenland. First of all, his photos are really great. Secondly, his story tells us of his epic adventure sailing from Canada to Greenland. Thirdly he tells us of the realities we face with today's climate.

Planet Earth is a small ship sailing through a vast, indifferent universe. Our planet’s resources are limited. Some of us have shouted ourselves hoarse, warning of the massive icebergs and uncharted waters looming ahead. Let’s hope our warnings roust the captain from his drunken slumber in time to adjust course.

Great job everyone! We are always thrilled with your enthusiasm for our prompts:)

JoAnn Ryan

The most rewarding part of these challenges is to see all the inventive ways you come up with to interpret the challenge and make it your own!

Loved reading about this beautiful fall walking-visit to Bulgaria by Krasi Shapkarova: Going Back in Time in Shiroka Laka.

Enjoyed this interesting story about a feature a lot of us (ok, me) might overlook when traveling by Brad Yonaka: Those Gray Circles in the Street

Loved this snapshot of typically colorful India in gray by Christina Daniels: Seeing India in Gray

Enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower in gray as well: Walking Down the Eiffel Tower by Erie Astin

Mario López-Goicoechea’s foray into gray London was an additional treat: Urban Diary

I do believe my favorite this month, however, ended up being this awesome story from Melissa Rach. I just love stories about AZ, but it was also extremely well written:

“Arizona surprised me, a place I never knew I was missing, a place I never desired to travel to. This is how the best travels begin, no expectations.”

A big thank you to everyone who submitted to this month’s challenge. See you all next month for more great challenge stories!

Adrienne Beaumont

Most of my days have been gray over the past couple of weeks so I really understand the grayness of November more than ever. I loved so many of your gray stories that choosing is a real challenge . I’ve categorised but still can’t choose.

My favourites focusing on climate change and the oceans were:

Oksana Kukurudza’s Sunflowers Rarely Break with “The Graying of Our Oceans” and Dan Carlson with “Greenland’s Shifting Baselines”

My favourites focusing on villages were:

Simon Whaley with “Portmeirion — The Colourful Italianate Village in North Wales” and Krasi Shapkarova with “Going Back in Time in Shiroka Laka”

My favourites focusing on history were:

Erie Astin with “Long Ago, I Spent a Day at the Mystic Tintern Abbey in Wales” and Warren Thurlow with “Mandela Had A Dream For A Rainbow Nation But First He Had To Endure The Grey”and Serhii Onkov with “Orbit of Dead Lights” and Rosa No Mundo with “The Mass Killings in Cambodia That We Don’t Talk About” and Caterina with People Still Report Hearing the Ghosts of Those Who Passed

Anne Bonfert

I had seven articles of the challenge sitting in my ‘Stories to Highlight’-list. And now I had to cut them down even more. I tried once again to put them into categories as this selection received some positive feedback last month.

Here we go.

The prettiest and most historic village captured

She was traveling back in time while walking down cobblestone streets and admiring old architectural buildings. With outstanding photographs and a captivating narrative, this story pulled me across the world to Bulgaria.

“As we eased into fall, the more vibrant and colorful the attire of trees became, the darker and grayer the sky above them loomed. By November, we’d be hard-pressed to find any color anywhere.” — Krasi Shapkarova

The most romantic story told in gray

She didn't like the gray of the season. Not at all. But once she realized she could escape the cold, the thought of a gray November night began to evoke a lot of different feelings in her.

“Sometimes, I lit candles, put on sexy music, stretched, cooked, and talked on the phone while doing those things, or I would simply lay on my couch and listen.” — KL Simmons

The most unexpected turn a gray trip could take

It was a gray time in all of our lives. The pandemic. And while feeling depressed, Melissa even looked forward to visiting a place she very much expected to be nothing else but gray.

How wrong was she and how amazing that getaway was, you can read in her story below.

“Arizona surprised me, a place I never knew I was missing, a place I never desired to travel to. This is how the best travels begin, no expectations.” — Melissa Rach

The odd object

I never, ever thought of photographing manhole covers before. If any, I might have tried taking pictures of streets without them in. I also didn’t know in what varieties they do come in but guess what? From now on, I will have an eye out for them.

"One interesting factoid about manhole covers is that they are usually circular so that they cannot be rotated or flipped in such a way as to fall into the shaft below, unlike squares or rectangles. Square ones, like that shown above from Surabaya, have a hinge on one side to eliminate this danger.” — Brad Yonaka

Once again, we thank each and every writer who has contributed to this writing prompt. The stories were all interesting and inspiring. I loved hearing all those stories about different kinds of gray adventures.

If you missed the deadline and still want to share a travel story presenting the color gray, you can do so. The article will not be part of the challenge. We are always open to travel posts.

I also encourage you to stay tuned for our next writing prompt for the month of December. We will announce it here on Globetrotters on the 1st.

The team of editors also has contributed to the challenge with the following articles. These posts never join the contest.

JoAnn Ryan with “The Humble Beginnings of My Two-Year Expat Life in Trinidad, in Monochrome”

Jillian Amatt — Artistic Voyages with “Many Shades of Gray — Temples, Tombs, Fortresses, Cemeteries and Churches” and “Travelling Through Western Canada’s Gray Days”

Michele Maize with “A Lifestyle Change Turned My Gray Vacations into a Technicolor Dream”

Adrienne Beaumont with “A Gray Day in Budapest” (BOOSTED), “A Really Gray Day in the Romanian Countryside” and “Gray Makes Me Happy”

Anne Bonfert with “When Reaching Your Goal Wasn’t the End Result but the Time and Energy Invested Wasn’t Wasted Either” (BOOSTED) and “The Last Holiday With My Grandpa” (BOOSTED)

And now, please give credit to all participating writers and read these awesome submissions if you haven’t checked them out yet:

Scott-Ryan Abt with “The Grey Calm Before the Storm in Istanbul”

Erie Astin with “Long Ago, I Spent a Day at the Mystic Tintern Abbey in Wales”, “Walking Down the Eiffel Tower” and “Gray Memories of Youthful Travel, 2005–2009”

Rhonda Carrier with “Gray Graves with Warm Memories” and “Seaside Grays: Clouds, Rocks, the Sea”

Brad Yonaka with “Those Gray Circles in the Street”

Jody Lynn McBrien with “The Endless Gray of Being a Refugee, a War Victim”

Bell Dae with “When Travelling, the Gray Days are Sometimes the Best Ones”

Krasi Shapkarova with “Going Back in Time in Shiroka Laka” (BOOSTED)

Carol Labuzzetta, MS Natural Resources, MS Nursing with “What if Our Most Colorful Landscapes Were Gray, Instead?” and “Naturally Occurring Gray”

Elvie Lins with “A Journey Through Mesmerizing Black and White Travel Photography” (BOOSTED)

Poulami Sinhamahapatra with “You Should Go to This Happy Place on a Gray November Day”

Christina Daniels with “Seeing India in Gray” and "Oh, Calcutta!"

Julia A. Keirns with “A Gray America is Grand and Glorious”

Matthew David with “My First Travel Exhibition: Black and White on Film”

Warren Thurlow with “Mandela Had A Dream For A Rainbow Nation But First He Had To Endure The Grey”

Serhii Onkov with “Orbit of Dead Lights”

Mario López-Goicoechea with “Urban Diary”

Caterina with People Still Report Hearing the Ghosts of Those Who Passed

KL Simmons with “My Greatest Love Affair Began in the Cold November Rain”

Aaron Paulson with “The Buddhas of Kita-in Temple”

Rosa No Mundo with “The Mass Killings in Cambodia That We Don’t Talk About”

Vickey Maverick. with “Odisha in a Gray Monochrome” (BOOSTED)

Marianne O with “A Meditative Trip to the Outlying Island in Hong Kong”

Oksana Kukurudza's Sunflowers Rarely Break with “The Graying of Our Oceans” and “A Day Hike to Grey Glacier”

Melissa Rach with “Solace in Gray: Southeastern Arizona”

Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur with “Gray Par-ee”

Simon Whaley with “Portmeirion — The Colourful Italianate Village in North Wales”

Ronald Smit with “Shades of gray…”

Dan Carlson with “Greenland’s Shifting Baselines”

Your Globetrotters editing team (JoAnn, Adrienne, Jillian, Michele & Anne)