Category Archives: Teresa

Alexis, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Holidays, Jason, Logan, Mom, Photoshop, Russ, Teresa

2010-05-03

November 14, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures from the folder 2010-05-03 are from a Mother’s Day celebration at Carla and Jason’s old house. We celebrated a week early because Teresa was going to Kentucky for Mother’s Day.

A few of the pictures in this collection were taken by Alexis:

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

VACATION DAY 9B – MOTHER’S DAY EARLY

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a trip to Brookside Park among other things.

Alexis, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Elainie, Flowers, Grandma, Jason, Johnathan, Logan, Mom, Sabas, Teresa

In the Cold October Snow

November 4, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to begin today by wishing Elainie a happy birthday. Happy birthday Elainie!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be.

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Back in late October, we got a bit of unexpected snow. I took a few flower pictures afterwards.

Fortunately, fall weather wasn’t done with us yet. But that snow pretty much did in all of my flowers.

Andy, Angie, Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, Jesse, Kalista, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 266 – BLACK AND WHITE

October 19, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Double nickels people! Sammy Haggar might not be able to drive 55, but we can do 55 straight weeks of double digits like it ain’t no thing.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Andy Sharp

Monica Henning

Elizabeth Nordeen

Dawn Krause

Kio Dettman

Micky Augustin

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Angie DeWaard

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Teresa Kahler

Mike Vest

Kalista Howard

Jesse Howard

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

ANIMAL

ANIMAL! What a great theme! An ANIMAL photo is a simple enough concept. It is merely any picture of an ANIMAL (wild or domesticated) or an ANIMAL byproduct (meat, toy, tracks, food). Easy enough!

Here is a look back at all the times in the past that ANIMALS has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

RWPE Y2 #44 – ANIMAL

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 26 – PET

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 77 – ANIMAL

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 153 – ANIMAL

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 164 – WILD ANIMAL

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 166 – PETS

WPC – WEEK 254 – ANIMAL

I look forward to seeing your new interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very animalistic Monday!

Alexis, Animals, Birthdays, Carla, Elainie, Jesse, Johnathan, Linda, Logan, Sarah Toot, Teresa, Vacation

Walnut Woods Bird Blind

October 14, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I need to start today by wishing my cousin Sarah a happy birthday. Happy birthday Sarah!

I hope it is as amazing as you want it to be!

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Back when I was on vacation, one of the State Parks I visited was Walnut Woods in the Des Moines area. I’ve driven by the sign for the turnoff to Walnut Woods hundreds of times. It seemed like I should finally make that turn and see what it is all about.

I didn’t get to spend much time exploring Walnut Woods, but by far my favorite thing I found there was the bird blind that overlooked about a hundred bird feeders. The bird blind is closed because of the badly mismanaged pandemic, but you could still stand near the bird blind and enjoy the birds. I probably didn’t have the exact lens I would have wanted, but I still took a plethora of bird photos. Even took some I liked.

This trip to Walnut Woods inspired me to want to buy my own portable bird blind. I’m going to get right on that after I buy a larger external hard drive, 3 new monitors, and a new projection screen. Maybe a retired Iowa State football locker. It is definitely on the list!

Alexis, Art, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Drone, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jason, Jesse, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Logan, Mom, Politics, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest

WPC – WEEK 264 – SIGNS

October 5, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Sorry that this is several minutes late today. I went to cast my ballot for the 2020 election during my lunch break from the mine:

A reminder that if you live in Iowa, early voting starts today! It might be easier and safer than voting on November 3. But you have to make the choice that is best for you.

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I need to start today by wishing Johnathan a happy birthday. Happy birthday Johnathan!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!

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WooHoo! 53 straight weeks of double digit submissions!! Once again, I didn’t even have to send out any reminder texts.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates! You came to see the submissions!

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jesse Howard

Christopher D. Bennett

Teresa Kahler

Cathie Raley

Kim Barker

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Mike Vest

SELF-PORTRAIT

SELF-PORTAIT! What a great theme! But what is a SELF-PORTRAIT? This is simply a portrait where the subject and the photographer are one and the same. If you don’t like taking your own picture, you can always take a picture of somebody else taking a SELF-PORTRAIT. That is a pro tip for ya!

Here is a look back at the previous 7 times SELF-PORTRAIT was a theme:

RWPE #8 – SELF-PORTRAIT

RWPE Y2 #52 – SELF-PORTRAIT

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 25 – SELF-PORTRAIT

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 68 – SELF-PORTRAIT

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 144 & WEEK 145

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 179 – SELF-PORTRAIT

WPC – WEEK 245 – SELF-PORTRAIT

HOUSEKEEPINGA MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very selfish Monday!

Alexis, Birthdays, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Dad, Drone, Grandma, Jason, Johnathan, Kanoa, Logan, Mom, Nature, Panorama, Still Life, Teresa, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

Rodan139: Water Alternate

September 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start today off by wishing my Mom a happy birthday. Without here, none of this would be possible. Not only would I never exist, she also bought me my first camera. A Minolta Maxxum 450si.

Happy birthday Mom!

It hope is as amazing a birthday as you want it to be!

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I went to Ledges on Sunday morning to take my WATER picture for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I took several pictures. Here are some of the others I took that weren’t ready for the world on Monday.

I hope to take Rodan139 out again this weekend. On Tuesday I came off a self-quarantine from a potential exposure from a previous Sunday. As it turns out, I wasn’t exposed, so good news for the friendly skies!

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This is your reminder that STILL LIFE is this week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

A STILL LIFE image is a picture of an inanimate object. Usually posed.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Becky, Carla, Dad, Drone, Elizabeth, Kim, Kio, Micky, Nature, Still Life, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 262 – WATER

September 21, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Can you believe it? 51 straight weeks of double digit submission! 1 week short of a full year of double digit submissions! WooHoo!

But you didn’t come here to hear me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions!

ELIZABETH NORDEEN

ANDY SHARP

CARLA STENSLAND

MICKY AUGUSTIN

TAMARA PETERSON

CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

BECKY PARMELEE

CARLA STENSLAND

KIO DETTMAN

KIM BARKER

CATHIE RALEY

STILL LIFE

STILL LIFE! What a great theme! But what is a STILL LIFE photo? A STILL LIFE photo is any image of an inanimate object. Usually one that you have posed, but not necessarily. From this week, Elizabeth, Kio’s, and Kim’s photos are excellent examples of STILL LIFE.

Here is a look back at the 7 previous times STILL LIFE was a WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme:

RWPE #25 – STILL LIFE

RWPE Y2 #10 – STILL LIFE

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 12 – STILL LIFE

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 61 – STILL LIFE

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 127 – STILL LIFE

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 184 – STILL LIFE

WPC – WEEK 214 – STILL LIFE

A look forward to your new interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very still Monday!

Drone, Mom, Nature, Panorama, Railroad, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Teresa, Vacation

Rodan139: Mines of Spain

September 16, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 11 Comments

I suppose I should report on how I did on my vacation goals from last week:

1. I want to visit 5 state parks I have never visited. Including Mines of Spain and Preparation Canyon.
I DIDN’T EXACTLY HIT 5 STATE PARKS. BUT I DID HIT 3 STATE PARKS AND 2 STATE FORESTS. SO I’M COUNTING THIS IS AS A WIN.

2. I want to add at least 20 new signs to THE TOWN SIGNS PROJECT. A project I’ve mostly ignored this year, despite the fact that this would have been a good year to work on it.
I BELIEVE I GOT 21 OR 22 NEW TOWN SIGNS. SO ANOTHER WIN.

3. I want to finally meet Jen and Derrick’s dog.
I NEVER EVEN CONTACTED THEM. MY FAULT, BUT I’M LEERY TO ENTER THE COVID DRENCHED TOWN THAT IS AMES. PLUS I’M PRETTY SURE THAT DERRICK’S PHONE DOESN’T WORK.

4. I want to finally tackle those POSTCARD PROJECT pictures that I have put off for like 3-4 years now.
I TACKLED ABOUT 5 OF THESE. SO WIN.

5. To play with a new lens I hope to purchase between now and then, but the verdict is still out on what new lens I’m going to purchase.
OH YEAH. DEFINITELY PLAYED WITH THAT LENS. PROBABLY A REPORT ON THAT LATER THIS WEEK.

6. Take some near full moon photography. The next full moon is September 2. Which is a Wednesday. But I figure there will still be plenty of moonlight left on September 4.
ANOTHER FAIL. IT WAS TOO CLOUDY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TO TACKLE THIS. AFTER THAT, THERE WASN’T ENOUGH MOON. NEXT FULL MOON IS OCTOBER 1. THAT IS A THURSDAY, WHICH ALL OF A SUDDEN IS SEEMING LIKE A REAL GOOD REASON TO HAVE A 3 DAY WEEKEND.

4 out of 6, I’ll consider that a success. There were a couple other failures out there, that weren’t stated goals. I wanted to go to Pike’s Peak State Park, but I cut my Monday road trip short because Naima hurt her leg the night before, so I felt it was best to get back early to check on her condition. She might have been milking it as she seemed fine by 8 PM Monday night. But probably not.

I also wanted to take Rodan139 out to the High Trestle Trail Bridge again, but it rained about every day of my vacation. So that didn’t happen. It’s all good though.

I did make accomplish my number one goal from the week though. That was visiting Mines of Spain. I was originally going to do this on Tuesday, but I ended up going on Labor Day so that Teresa and my Mom could go. I didn’t want to get stuck in a State Park with a ton of people, plus I wanted to get there with some good soft morning light. This meant leaving at 5 AM. My sister and Mom didn’t seem to understand that I was serious about this, until I showed up at their door at 4:55 AM.

I’ll go into more details about that trip later, but here are some pictures from Mines of Spain taken by Rodan139. Mostly at Horse Shoe Bluff, but also around the Julien Dubuque Monument:

I will definitely need to visit this park again. I considered this a good scouting trip, but now I have more ideas of how to best drone photograph the park.

Becky, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Kim, Kio, Logan, Monica, Naima, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 261 – MACRO

September 14, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Woohoo!! 50 straight weeks of double digit submissions! Starting off the Hall of Fame segment of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE in style!

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates! You came to see the submissions!

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Monica Henning

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Teresa Kahler

Logan Kahler

Mike Vest

Elizabeth Nordeen

WATER

WATER! What a great theme! But what is a WATER image? It is any image where WATER plays a major compositional element in the photo.

Here is a look back at the previous 7 times that WATER was a theme:

RWPE #9 – WET

RWPE Y2 #50 – WET

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 8 – WATER

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 94 – WATER

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 117 – WATER

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 185 – WATER

WPC – WEEK 235 – WATER

I look forward to seeing the new interpretations!
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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very wet Monday!

Andy, Becky, Black & White, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kim, Logan, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 260 – SKY

September 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

We did it! 49 straight weeks of double digit submissions! This week, I did have to pull over next to Ulysses S. Grant’s house and rattle a few cages, but we did make it to double digit submissions!

This is a wrap on the 7th year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. There were 857 submissions for this set of 52 themes. If you want a walk down memory lane, click on the link below:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 7

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:

Elizabeth Nordeen

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Kim Barker

Cathie Raley

Jodie Cue

Jesse Howard

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Becky Parmelee

Teresa Kahler

Christopher D. Bennett

Macro

MACRO! What a great theme! But what is a MACRO photo? It is basically a close-up photo of something.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very close Monday!