I should start this entry by hoping everybody had a good Memorial Day!

I know, I shared that exact same picture on Saturday. But I like it and it seems to fit Memorial Day.

I’d like to take this little piece of this website to share the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCare:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

This poem inspired the wearing of poppies as a rememberance symbol for those who died in war.

From the History Channel website:

In the spring of 1915, bright red flowers began poking through the battle-ravaged land across northern France and Flanders (northern Belgium). Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit, spotted a cluster of the poppies shortly after serving as a brigade surgeon during the bloody Second Battle of Ypres. The sight of the bright red flowers against the dreary backdrop of war inspired McCrae to pen the poem, “In Flanders Field,” in which he gives voice to the soldiers who had been killed in battle and lay buried beneath the poppy-covered grounds. Later that year, a Georgia teacher and volunteer war worker named Moina Michael read the poem in Ladies’ Home Journal and wrote her own poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith” to begin a campaign to make the poppy a symbol of tribute to all who died in war. The poppy remains a symbol of remembrance to this day.

Now you are wondering about Moina Michael’s poem. Here it is:

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
I hope you have learned a little something today.

+++++++

It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 5 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
No.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their largest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

Suggestions are closed for next year’s list. It will be a minute before they open up for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

PARK! A great place to spend some time. But did many people spend time in a PARK and get a picture for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 22, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week (3)
2-Melissa Degeneffe – 1 week (2)
3-Scott Degeneffe – 1 week
4-Mary Green – 1 week (3)
5-Stephanie Kim – 1 week
6-Sara Lockner – 1 week (2)
7-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
8-Nader Parsaei – 1 week
9-Nathanial Brown – 2 weeks (3)
10-Tamara Peterson – 2 weeks
11-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
12-Mike Vest – 4 weeks
13-Alexis Baugher – 7 weeks (3)
14-Jesse Howard – 7 weeks (2)
15-Mindi Terrell – 14 weeks (3)
16-Monica Jennings – 19 weeks
17-Brandon Kahler – 39 weeks
18-Linda Bennett – 43 weeks
19-Sarah Toot – 44 weeks (3)
20-Angie DeWaard – 48 weeks
21-Dawn Krause – 52 weeks (3)
22-Kim Barker – 58 weeks
23-Joe Duff – 58 weeks (2)
24-Logan Kahler – 61 weeks
25-Teresa Kahler – 70 weeks (3)
26-Carla Stensland – 70 weeks
27-Micky Augustin – 72 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 73 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 74 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 78 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 79 weeks (2)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 81 weeks
33-Kio Dettman – 83 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Willy McAlpine (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Dawn Krause (Boone National Little League Park – Boone, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone National Little League Park – Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (South Side Park – Slater, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Hunziker Park – Ames, Iowa) – 49 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 59 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Andy Sharp (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 62 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Mindi’s Animal Habitat – Iowa) – 15 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Terra Park – Johnston, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Terra Park – Johnston, Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Neil Smith Trail – Iowa) – 20 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Ada Haydn Park – Ames, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Arnolds Park Green Space – Arnolds Park, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Melissa Degeneffe (Porter’s Badass Campsite – Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Porter’s Badass Campsite – Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Dickcissel Park – Boone, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Donovan Park – Houston, Texas) – 59 weeks

Joe Duff (Donovan Park – Houston, Texas)

Carla Stensland (Arnolds Park – Arnolds Park, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Kio Dettman (Opal Dubois Anderson Park – Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Kio Dettman (Opal Dubois Anderson Park – Boone, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Memorial Park – Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 44 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa)

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park – Rural Warren County) – 82 weeks

Sarah Toot (Municipal Park – Pennsylvania) – 45 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Tamara Peterson (Pattee Park – Perry, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Pattee Park – Perry, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Inis Grove Park – Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Inis Grove Park – Ames, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Inis Grove Park – Ames, Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Ada Haydn Park – Ames, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Chalco Park – Omaha, Nebraska) – 75 weeks

Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

29 participants! That’s a pretty great week, considering the holiday weekend and all!

There were no new states added to the map this week and at this point, I’m betting new states added will be an increasingly rare thing. Time will tell.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

25 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 24 miles from my front door, so I continue to not contribute.

There were no major milestones this week. However, there was a blood bath of streaks being snapped. Suzie, Stephanie, Becky, and Nader couldn’t build on last week’s submission. That wasn’t totally unexpected for Stephanie and Nader. Nathanial’s 2 week streak no more. Most heartbreaking is that Jesse’s 7 week streak is just a memory now.

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:

TEXTURE

TEXTURE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what in Wes Wallace is a TEXTURE image? Well, let’s start with the definition of TEXTURE: the structure, feel, and appearance of something (as a fabric) the smooth texture of silk. wood with a rough texture. In photography that means: the visual depiction of variations in the color, shape, and depth of an object’s surface. What you are trying to do here is to convey the feel of the surface of an object through photography.

While considering possible topics for your TEXTURE submissions, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an amazing image:

I search for realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture about it… I always want to see the third dimension of something.. I want to come alive with the object.
-Andrew Wyeth

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of TEXTURE in this place that is a little rough around the edges some next Monday.