It was a rare occasion to see Jonathan without his camera. He had gotten his first Polaroid camera at the age of five within the first half hour he had cleared through the two packs of instant film his parents had brought him. It had been an agonising wait until 27th December when his father was finally able to take him out to the shops and load up on some more. "Go easy this time." His father had intoned. They had to return two days later for more film.
At sixteen, he had asked everyone for money, nothing else just cold, hard cash. He knew what he got for his birthday would not be enough so he doubled his newspaper route to scrap even more together. At nine thirty one on the morning of his birthday Jonathan had stepped into the camera store and purchased his first SLR camera, a Canon EOS 10. His father handed the reins of the garden shed over to him as well and both worked to quickly convert it into a makeshift darkroom. Jonathan's passion grew and grew.
The first time had been nothing more than luck. He had simply been in the right place at the right time. Jonathan had been in the bushes trying to capture the sunlight as it reflected through the leaves he had already reeled off one roll of film and had started to snap away on roll two when the door to his neighbour's back door had opened. Mrs Gardner stepped out resplendent in hair rollers and a house coat. Jonathan had slapped his hand over his mouth to stifle the laugh. Mrs Gardner, glam mom of the block would never dream of being caught without her hair perfectly bouffant and make up layered on thicker than wall plaster. Yet here she was caught off guard. He could not help himself he focused in quickly and snapped a couple of shots. She hung a few pieces of washing on the line, Jonathan snapped away.
As she stretched up the house coat became looser around her waist. Finally in her frustration Mrs Gardner undid the belt to the house coat opening it just enough for Jonathan to see that she was naked underneath. His finger did not leave the camera button. Mrs Gardner adjusted the housecoat and tied it tighter around her waist before heading back in doors. Developing the film had been agonisingly slow but so worth it. He stood half bent over the table a 10x 8 picture of Mrs Gardner splayed out before him, her breasts were hidden but he could see enough of the swell to imagine the rest but her full bush was fully on show a dark pubic mass belying her blonde hair on her head. His first time over the picture was over in a couple of minutes, the second and third time he worked himself slower.
The neighbourhood opened up to him without it realising a voyeur was now amongst them. Jonathan had to work in daylight. His attempts at night prowling had ended with reels of blurry shots due to the poor light and lack of flash. Patience came hard but the rewards were sometimes truly astounding. Naked flesh was all around him if he looked in the right window or was patient outside the right garden. Mrs Gardner had been at first the main source of his shots, behind closed doors and with no one about she would walk about naked. Jonathan no longer had to wonder what her breasts looked like.
Mrs Timber was the resident loner. She came out of her house for shopping and church. Everyone liked her as she always had something good to say. The first time Jonathan had caught her in her living room he had failed to take any pictures. Mrs Timber had been on the sofa, legs splayed beneath a long dress one hand held a large vibrator and was working her vagina un-mercilessly. Jonathan had left his own mark beneath the window.
The more he looked the more he found. Some homes he gave up on others he knew were good and at what times. His college work had begun to fall behind. Project after project went unfinished as his obsession grew.
The day he got the second hand zoom lens had started off well. He had decided to forgo his stash of neighbour pictures and for a taste of something different had turned to a copy of Fiesta magazine. With head clear and ball sack equally empty Jonathan set to work on attempting to catch up on his coursework.
Within a couple of hours he had grown listless with the work. From his bedroom window the sounds of summer drifted in on breezes, teasing him with warmth and smells. He stood up from his small work desk and looked through the window. A lazy weekday, nearly everyone was at work or school, heat haze shimmered on the pavements and roads and Jonathan cursed himself for being so far behind on his work. His families back garden was separated from the neighbours opposite by a small walkway and a low fence on either side. Their Scottish terrier lay flat in the doorway that led to the kitchen. Jonathan grabbed his trusty camera and slipped the zoom into place with a satisfying click. For second hand it was not too bad, it picked up the terrier just fine its face filling most of the frame. The dogs head picked up and turned, a voice carried to Jonathan on the breeze, in the view finder the dog barked and a split second later Jonathan heard it.
He raised the camera pulling back on the zoom. A woman's out of focus face filled the frame then the auto focus kicked in bringing reality back. Mrs Spinks was leaning forward talking to the dog a look of glee on her face, the dogs barking could clearly be heard through the window. Mrs Spinks stood up and again the camera blurred before righting itself, it took him a moment to realise what he was now seeing. Pulling the zoom back a bit more confirmed it. Mrs Spinks was topless. A mother of four, one of them Jonathans current girlfriend and the main reason he had steered his camera away from her, but now, oh god right now he could not take his eyes off her. Her breasts were larger than he could have imagined, they hung heavy and were globes of pale white topped with large dark areola and thick nipples. Hannah's were nothing compared to these. He swung the lens down slowly across her round stomach and cursed himself when the lens landed on biscuit coloured shorts.
