My favorite Touch photos from 🔏 Micro.blog October Photoblog Challenge --- 📸 by @cdevroe @jean @ptrck @KeithPound @kyletm @jdm @munish @TheDimPause @omrrc @LukeMPerez @mroutley @peroty @jpayne @crossingthethreshold @JayGogh @adders

As you’ll know from The King’s Gallery, I love a good open art submission based on a prompt.

Micro.blog does 30 days in a row: with the October Photoblog Challenge.

When I first joined I took part briefly in the August Photoblog Challenge, including @cdevroe’s prompt of “Bisect' which he said I “took it to 11” on my ‘Divided Selfie’, on his faves review.

I decided to do my own on my prompt of “touch”, especially as it kicked off proceedings on Oct 1st!

Here was the context of my suggestion:

Of the five sense which I’m exploring for my 2nd album project, Touch is the one which I think is most under-rated. We see/hear a lot of about sight & sound, but touch is rarely culturally discussed. (arguably smell even less, but let’s be frank, it’s less important).

I was amazed at the 60 submissions, and here’s some of my favourites representing the range! What was most interesting to me was that around a dozen (yup I counted: if manual curation is good enough for Jean it’s good enough for me!) Micro.bloggers interpreted Touch as being about touch interface with tech, either of the latest touch-screen variety or more analog versions. I wonder if Connection would have had higher or lower on that… Or what smell would have elicited!

Tech: 7/60

Fave

This one is the most unlikely form of touchscreen:

Really makes us question the need for digitising household tools. The Internet of Things will mainly add to cybersecurity risk without much gain.

Hon. Mentions

We’ve got touch-typing across the ages from @jean and @ptrck, who shows us the the source of his unique typewritten posts:

I don’t touch Microsoft these days @KeithPound:

In-between: 4/60

Fave

I don’t believe it’s technically a photo, but a stunning minimalist haiku artwork from @kyletm:

Hon Mentions

The pic is organic from @jdm, but the caption engages with the theme of tech digitising human connection:

Likewise @munish:

@TheDimPause: more analog technology with the mighty Braille. Funnily enough, Prof Linden explains Braille in his wonderful “Touch” book which inspired this prompt.

Natural: 49/60

These were an amazing array of organic & candid shots of Animals, Plants, often one human interacting with it. Especially cats. Lots of cats. It is the internet still, regardless of how humane M.b is.

I’m not sure how many were taken recently, or even if all of them are original, but they are certainly spectacular:

Fave

@omrrc’s hand is bigger than 2 of his nippers. V. touching:

Hon. Mentions

@LukeMPerez & @mroutley with similarly touching family photos:

some linguistic wordplay allowed some to present solitariness. Thoreau would be proud @peroty & @jpayne:

and @crossingthethreshold also brought his natural Buddhist vibes, presumably on his trip to England (do they get dandelions in Hawaii?):

@JayGogh following in Vincent’s artistic footsteps:

TImezone Overlap

Jean’s announcing Day 2 in Portland, whilst @adders sneaking in a last-hour submission!

And here’s two image of furry faces, on different ends of the cuteness spectrum. Light meets (Donnie) dark?