Sepia Saturday 205 : 30 November 2013

November comes to an end and all over the world men will be ridding themselves of facial hair as Movember - the annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and other male cancers - also comes to an end. Our theme image this week comes from the Australian National Maritime Museum collection available via Flickr Commons and features an unknown swimmer with a rather fine moustache. For your theme you can go with swimmers, trophies or rather fine moustaches, or - as always - any interpretation you care to adopt. Just post your post on or around Saturday 30 November 2013 and link your post to the Linky List below.

Some news for those who do not follow our Facebook Group: our special "Best Of Sepia Saturday" book is now finished and just needs a few final checks. Hopefully, by next week, I should be able to let you know how you can order your copies. In other news, the Sepia Saturday Magazine on Flipboard seems to be working well and, if you haven't already done so, you can subscribe to the magazine for free by searching for it under my name (Alan Burnett). You can use the Flipboard App on most tablets and smartphones and on desktops operating Windows 8.1 and above.

Here are the details of the next two Sepia Saturday themes for those who like to shop early for Christmas.

206 : Aprons our our theme for this week. Ladies in aprons, men in aprons, airports with aprons.

207 : Photos with strange compositions, passing cyclists, removal vans, tunnels (look carefully there is one there) - the choice is up to you.

Those are for the future. For this week, keep a stiff upper lip, or a hairy upper lip, or a clean shaved upper lip - and post those posts and link those links.

Sepia Saturday 204 : 23 November 2013

Friday, of course, is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy. The 22 November 1963 is one of those dates where big history and small history collide : a date on which anyone alive at the time is supposed to be able to remember what they were doing when they heard the news. Other such dates would include events like Pearl Harbour or the subject of our theme image for Sepia Saturday 204 - the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. There are a variety of interpretation for the prompt : perhaps a photograph of what you were doing on that day in 1963, perhaps an important event in your life which will always act as a historical marker, perhaps a collection of strange and wonderful hats. Whatever your interpretation, post your post on or around Saturday 22 November 2013 and then link it to the list below.

Here is the usual preview of the next two Sepia Saturdays down the line:

205 : This week brings us to the end of November or, as it has become known in much of the world, Movember. Once again it is time to celebrate bearded ladies, moustachioed men, trophies or silly swimming suits.

206 : Aprons our our theme for this week. Ladies in aprons, men in aprons, airports with aprons. 

That is for the future. For Sepia Saturday 204 just look out for those momentous moments, the moments where big history and small history collide.

Sepia Saturday 203 : 16 November 2013

Have you ever noticed how many photographs are taken in doorways? It might have been the desire to search out a convenient frame, but more likely it was the need to go in search of natural light in order to tease those silver salts into life. Whatever the reason, a lot of old photographs feature doorways and this provides our theme for Sepia Saturday 203 (Post your posts on or around Saturday 16 November and link to the list below). As usual, you can choose any of the elements of our theme image to follow - windows, number 11, small fat old ladies - although try not to be too insulting about the latter as that is my grandmother in the photograph!

Just a quick update on Sepia Saturday 200 : the cutting and pasting is at last finished and I am currently writing the introduction, so don't lose heart - the book will emerge in due course. And my usual apologies for all my tardiness and lateness during the course of the work.

Here is our usual look forward at the next two Sepia Saturday calls.

204 : It is 50 years since the assassination of JFK. It was one of those iconic moments in history, just like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. So photographs of momentous moments is one of our themes for this week, along with anything else you might find in the photograph.

205 : This week brings us to the end of November or, as it has become known in much of the world, Movember. Once again it is time to celebrate bearded ladies, moustachioed men, trophies or silly swimming suits.

But put assassinations and moustachinations to one side for the moment. For Sepia Saturday 203 we are asking you to frame yourself - well frame your great uncle Joe - open the door, and enter into the spirit of things.

Sepia Saturday 202 : 9 November 2013

Huge apologies for setting a new world record for the lateness of putting up the Sepia Saturday Call. I would love to be able to say that this was the result of becoming so involved in the editing of "The Best Of Sepia Saturday", that I have lost track of time : but I can't. It was a toxic cocktail of domestic chores and November lethargy which brought about a coagulation of the Sepia Saturday process. But fear not, I have prescribed myself some Sepia Warfarin in order to restart the creative flow and thus here - a little late but nevertheless peculiar - is our prompt for Sepia Saturday 202 (Post your posts on or around Saturday 9th November 2013).  Our prompt image comes from the Flickr Commons collection of the National Media Museum and features a beach photographer, a woman, and Felix the Cat! (who say's I never give you plenty of theme options?). As usual, post your post and then link it to the Linky List below.

Before I sink back under the rice pudding skin of Autumnal lethargy, let me point you in the direction of the next two Sepia Saturday themes.

203 : Have you ever noticed how many photographs are taken in doorways? For Sepia Saturday 203 we are asking you to frame yourself - well frame your great uncle Joe - open the door, and enter into the spirit of things.

204 : It is 50 years since the assassination of JFK. It was one of those iconic moments in history, just like the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914. So photographs of momentous moments is one of our themes for this week, along with anything else you might find in the photograph.

Back to Sepia Saturday 202 now. Take a look at that prompt image again and notice how the eyes of Felix the Cat follow you around the room. Spooky. Sepia Spooky.