Category Archives: Friends

Angie, Carla, Cathie, Kim, Logan, Micky, Steph, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 80 – RURAL

2 Comments

A pretty solid week of submissions. Even the “New York Voice” was able to find some RURAL.

But you didn’t come here to hear me talk all tommyrot about the quality of submissions. You cam here to see the submissions:


WEEK 80 - RURAL - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 80 - RURAL - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 80 - RURAL - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 80 - RURAL - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 80 - RURAL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 80 - RURAL - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 80 - RURAL - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 80 - RURAL - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

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:


WEEK 81 - FACELESS PORTRAIT
FACELESS PORTRAIT!

FACELESS PORTRAIT is another one of my favorite themes. Perhaps it is because regular portrait photography is so stale and boring. Perhaps it is because I can never find a face to photograph that is as pretty as mine. I don’t know the reason. The point is, I love this theme!

All this theme is, is a portrait of somebody where there is no face. That doesn’t mean that the face is obscured in the photo. The head could be completely cropped out of your composition. It could be a picture of hands or feet (if you’re a creeper) or any body part, just no face.

So get out there and find a volunteer or do some candid photography. Just no faces!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. 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.

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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION

Sometimes people send me descriptions of their photos. I’ve never done anything with that information in the past. However, if you send me a description in the future, I will add it to your image in the Weekly Photo Challenge Gallery that houses all the submissions.

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 faceless Monday!

Evie, Gretchen, Jen, Layla, Politics, Shawn Lockner, Street Photography

A Basic Human Right

If we pretend that I posted this on the day that I’m pretended I posted this picture on, this sign from the Women’s March would be apropos.


A Basic Human Right

There will probably be a big dump of the rest of these photos coming soon. In 2 weeks, I predict.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: Sony SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 70mm
APERTURE: f/6.3
EXPOSURE: 1/160
DATE: 01/21/2017 – 12:21
LATITUDE; 41.59059°
LONGITUDE: -93.60603°
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Shawn, Jen, Sara, Evie, Layla, and Gretchen
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: WELCOME TO AMERICA by LeCrae from “Anomaly”

Angie, Bill, Cathie, Kim, Micky, Shannon, Steph, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 79 – ORANGE

1 Comment

A pretty good week of submissions. But you don’t want to listen to me talk all tommyrot about that. You just want to see the submissions for ORANGE:


WEEK 79 - ORANGE - KIM BARKER 1
Kim Barker 1

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - KIM BARKER 2
Kim Barker 2

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 79 - ORANGE - MICHAEL AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

A solid week of submissions:

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:


WEEK 80 - RURAL
RURAL

RURAL! This is a variation of last year’s theme of COUNTRY. So what is RURAL?

adjective
1.
of, relating to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic:

So get out of the city or find a little bit of RURAL in the city. Good luck! Happy photo harvesting!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. 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.

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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

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 rural Monday!

Basketball, Iowa State, Jesse, Road Trip

3 for 4

1 Comment

Jesse and I went down to Kansas City last Saturday to watch Iowa State play West Virginia in the Big 12 Championship Game. Here are a few cruddy cell phone pictures from the day:


2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

2017 Big 12 Tournament Championship

It was a great day spent in Hilton South with 18,000 of my closest friends!

Iowa State held off a gritty West Virginia team to claim the championship, behind the play of the the best point guard in the country Monte Morris and Deonte Burton’s thunderous dunk and Matty T’s shooting and Naz’s grit and determination and Solo’s defense and Bowie’s onions and DJ’s heart and Little Babb’s spark.

Here’s hoping for a long run in the NCAA Tournament!

Basketball, Bill, Derrick, Jay, Jesse, Mom, Naima, Self-Portrait Project, Teresa

Selfie Project – February

7 Comments

This is a good time to check back in with the SELFIE PROJECT. These are some of my favorite images from February:


Selfie Project - February 2
February 2

Selfie Project - February 5
February 5

Selfie Project - February 6
February 6

Selfie Project - February 7
February 7
Selfie Project - February 11
February 11

Selfie Project - February 13
February 13

Selfie Project - February 17
February 17

Selfie Project - February 18
February 18

Selfie Project - February 19
February 19

Selfie Project - February 21
February 21

Selfie Project - February 24
February 24

Selfie Project - February 25
February 25

Selfie Project - February 26
February 26

Selfie Project - February 27
February 27

Selfie Project - February 28
February 28

So far I’m 74 days in and this beard is looking good!

Don’t forget that you can follow the daily SELFIE PROJECT postings by following me on Instagram. @christopherdbennett

Alexis, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Elainie, Formal Portrait, Jason, Johnathan, Kim, Logan, Micky, Mom, Steph, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 78 – SILHOUETTE

5 Comments

Looks like the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE went on Spring Break. Perhaps SILHOUETTE is too challenging of a theme. I’m not sure, but participation numbers this week are as low as they’ve ever been. Worries me that the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE might be on the way out. I guess we’ll see what this week brings.

But you don’t want to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You want to see this week’s submissions:


WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE - MICKY AUGUSTIN 1
Micky Augustin 1

WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE - MICKY AUGUSTIN 2
Micky Augustin 2

While they might be small in numbers, the submissions are spirited!

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:


WEEK 79 - ORANGE
ORANGE!

I don’t think I need to define ORANGE. It is a color. Not a primary color. But a color. There are lots of things out that are ORANGE. Even some humans fake tan themselves into a strange, creepy ORANGE hue. Of course there is a fruit that is ORANGE. In fact, there are several fruit that are ORANGE. Or you could even take a picture of anything and slap an ORANGE filter on it. Of course 1 of my favorite movie of all-time involves the word ORANGE. I know more than 1 person out there that that does art with an ORANGE or two. I can’t envision a picture where my inbox is just packed to the gills with ORANGE pictures.

Happy photo hunting!

HOUSEKEEPING


A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. 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.

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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

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 orangish Monday!

Basketball, Laura, Michelle

Roundball Oracles – Year 13

Once again, the Madness is upon us. It is time to put your basketball knowledge to the test and try to take your place upon the list of immortals.

If you are interested in joining this year’s pool. Contact me via email at bennett@photography139.com.

Once again this year, there is no fee.

The champion will win The Roundball Oracles Trophy.

The last place adult (that gave full effort) will receive the Sara Lockner Good Effort Trophy. Affectionately known as “The Sara”.

League rules and past champs below.

Rules

First Round: The weight for each correct pick is 1. The seed of the winning team is added to the correct pick total.
Second Round: The weight for each correct pick is 2. The seed of the winning team is added to the correct pick total.
Sweet 16: The weight for each correct pick is 4. The seed of the winning team is added to the correct pick total.
Elite : The weight for each correct pick is 8. The seed of the winning team is added to the correct pick total.
Final Four: The weight for each correct pick is 16. There is no bonus applied.
Championship: The weight for each correct pick is 32. There is no bonus applied.

Tiebreaker: The total score of the Championship game.

Past Roundball Oracle Champions (The List of Immortals):

2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Past Sara Lockner Good Effort Recipients:

2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

If you think you should’ve received an email invite by now, but haven’t let me know.

Can’t remember how you placed last year? I feel you… Look below…

2016 Standings

1. Michelle Haupt 275
2. Sean Clubine 270
3. sara lockner 259
4. Yours Truly 255
5. Micky Augustin 245
6. Angie DeWaard 241
7. Jackson Faust 241
8. Derek Dohrman 237
9. Frank Meiners 233
10. Toby Sebring 230
11, Lowell Davis 230
12, Mark Wolfram 228
13. Jason Baier 227
14. Corey Faust 221
15. Paul Golden 220
16. Wily McAlpine 218
17. Jordan Toot 217
18. Jesse Howard 216
19. Shannon Bardole 215
20. Benjamin Baier 214
21. Liz Nordeen 214
21. Jill Gorshe 214
23. Jon DeWaard 207
24. JJ Baier 204
25. Dawn Krause 203
26. Nader Parsaei 202
27, Brandon Kahler 201
28. Carrie Baier 197
29. Jorge Rios 197
30. shawn lockner 194
31. Jen Gorshe 193
32. Derrick Gorshe 193
33. Andree Jauhari 193
34. tim peterson 192
35. Bill Wentworth 183
36. Olivia Baier 180
37. Russ Kennerly 180
38. Carla Stensland 175
39. William Baier 170
40. Rachel Johnson 167
41. Robert Henning 162
42. Joe Lynch 156
43. Laura Priest 152

I can’t wait until Thursday. It is like Christmas and Easter and my birthday and that holiday you use an excuse to day drink all wrapped into one around the Bennett Homestead AKA The Photography 139 Studio AKA The Union Street Theater.

Good luck everybody and of course… GO CYCLONES!!!