Category Archives: Scottie D.

Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 392 – PURPLE

March 20, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

PUPRLE! An important color in my life, but did it inspire a ton of submissions? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, March 13, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Mindi Terrell – 4 weeks (3)
2-Suzie Brannen – 8 weeks (2)
3-Jesse Howard – 8 weeks
4-Monica Jennings – 8 weeks
5-Nathanial Brown – 9 weeks
6-Mike Vest – 9 weeks
7-Tamara Peterson – 19 weeks
8-Brandon Kahler – 29 weeks
9-Linda Bennett – 33 weeks (3)
10-Sarah Toot – 34 weeks (3)
11-Angie DeWaard – 38 weeks
12-Dawn Krause – 42 weeks
13-Kim Barker – 47 weeks
14-Joe Duff – 49 weeks
15-Logan Kahler – 50 weeks
16-Teresa Kahler – 60 weeks
17-Carla Stensland – 60 weeks
18-Micky Augustin – 62 weeks
19-Andy Sharp – 63 weeks
20-Bill Wentworth – 64 weeks
21-Cathie Morton – 68 weeks
22-Elizabeth Nordeen – 69 weeks
23-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 70 weeks
24-Kio Dettman – 73 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:

Scott Degeneffe (Florida) – 1 week

Scott Degeneffe (Florida)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 39 weeks

Andy Sharp (Oklahoma) – 64 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 48 weeks

Micky Augustin (Arizona) – 63 weeks

Micky Augustin (Arizona)

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 61 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 74 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 34 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Nathanial Brown (Minnesota) – 10 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Minnesota)

Nathanial Brown (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 65 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 50 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 71 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Nebraska) – 70 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 43 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 30 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Jesse Howard (Minnesota) – 9 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 61 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 51 weeks

Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 35 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 10 weeks

29 participants! That is a great week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ Florida
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Minnesota
+ Nebraska
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

While there a lot of states covered, there were no new states added to the map.

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Minnesota
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Missouri
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas
+ Wisconsin

17 states! That is pretty impressive!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Nassau Bahamas

I took my picture in my basement. So, I didn’t add to the map, yet again.

The big milestone with week was Nathanial and Vest reaching the double digit steak club! WooHoo!

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:

COMPETITION

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

But what is a COMPETITION image? It is simply an image of beings engaged in some kind of contest. Or it can be a picture of something that is used in a COMPETITION. Like a bowling ball. Or it can be a picture of the result of a COMPETITION. Like a trophy. There are so many possibilities!

While thinking about a possible subject for you submission, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a great image:

Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim.
-Bertrand Russell

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 COMPETITION in this place that tries not be competitive it next Monday.

9 Emotions Project, Aaron, Alexis, Angie, Baby Got Rack, Bethany, Black & White, Blogging, Boone County Fair, Formal Portrait, Kanoa, Kio, Kupono, Mary, Mom, Road Trip, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Town Sign Project, Travel

An Artist’s Notebook Post #4757

March 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It has been 6,052 days since August 9, 2006. 16 years. 6 months. 24 days. Since I first posted something in this little experiment known as “An Artist’s Notebook”. 145,2485 hours. 8,714,800 minutes. 522,892,800 seconds. Which is to say, it has been a minute.

There are some very important people in my life that I didn’t even know 16 years, 6 months, 24 days ago. There are people that I thought were important in my life that have come and gone in that 864 weeks and 4 days. It has been a journey. Some good. Some bad. Some of it ugly, I’m sure.

6,052 days ago I started this journal with the following words:

So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.

Since those words, I have posted 4,756 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.

4,757 posts. We’ve been through some stuff. I hope to keep going through some stuff for many, many, many more posts. 4,757 posts and I feel like I’m just getting warmed up.

On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.

Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:

THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #4500 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Macro – 495 (NR)
9. Teresa – 525 (#9 – +70)
8. Carla – 530 (#8 – +54)
7. Shannon – 539 (#6 – +39)
6. Road Trip – 569 (#7 – +92)
5. Art – 622 (#5 – +116)
4. Jesse – 630 (#4 – +51)
3. Animals – 735 (#3 – +37)
2. Flowers – 881 (#2 – +62)
1. Black and White – 992 (#1 – +74)

Dropped from the rankings was WPC – Submissions

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 389 (NR)
9. Nature – 437 (#9 – +41)
8. Formal Portrait – 447 (#10 – +66)
7. WPC – Submissions – 493 (#6 – +38)
6. Macro – 495 (#7 – +54)
5. Road Trip – 569 (#5 – +92)
4. Art – 622 (#4 – +116)
3. Animals – 735 (#3 – +37)
2. Flowers – 881 (#2 – +62)
1. Black & White – 992 (#1 – +74)

Dropped from the rankings is PORTRAIT. I’m trying to eliminate it as a category, so it should eventually drop to zero.

NAIMA and CANDID PORTRAIT have a shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post #5,000.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Willy – 318 (NR)
9. Logan – 329 (NR)
8. Derrick – 330 (#7 – +10)
7. Kim – 342 (#8 – +45)
6. Jay – 348 (#6 – +11)
5. Mom – 458 – (#5 – +5)
4. Teresa – 525 (#4 – +70)
3. Carla – 530 (#3 – +54)
2. Shannon – 539 (#2 – +39)
1. Jesse – 630 (#1 – +51)

Dropping from the rankings was Jen and Vest.

Micky, Vest, and Jen have the best shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post #5,000.

If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.

I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.

If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 200 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #200 probably needs to be purged.

THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100

#100. Kelly – 71 (NR)
#99. Commercial – 72 (#97 – +1)
#98. Self-Portrait Project – 73 (NR)
#97. Andree – 75 (#94 – 0)
#96. Flat Earth Joe – 75 (NR)
#95. Lowell – 79 (#93 – +2)
#94. Photo Journal – 79 (#92 – 0)
#93. Suzie – 80 (NR)
#92. Pastor Sarah – 86 (#95 – +12)
#91. Becca – 87 (NR)

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:

Jaycees, Vacation, Mark, Life, and Birthdays.

Now something I should explain is that I used to put Flat Earth Joe and Joe Duff under the same Category of simply “Joe” out of laziness, but in the last 250 posts, I split them.

Of these categories, I think Pastor Sarah and Suzie have the best chance to climb out of this list. Since I’m not doing the Self-Portrait Project his year, it could fall out of the Top 100. And I’m not sure what part of my life Flat Earth Joe will have in the future. He has taken a hard turn down the path of terrible decision making and has been in jail for over a month now. I hope he gets sorted at some point in the future. But quite frankly, I can’t make a prediction on his future. I can barely make a prediction on my future. So it is hard to say what will happen to that category. As for the category of Andree, I talk to Andree regularly, but he rarely makes an appearance on this website.

The categories that are closest to falling into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 are Faust, Birthdays, and Joe Duff. But I think at least Birthdays and Joe Duff are pretty safe. I talk to Faust now and again, but he rarely makes an appearance on the website. I still someday need to go visit the Godzilla statue in his town. But I also need to visit Nate and Bethany and Becca and Bill and Sarah and well it is quite a list. When I think about it, I have to sit down on the couch and watch another episode of THE LAST OF US.

That categories that are closest to cracking into the Top 100 are Mark, Layla, and Vacation. But since Mark isn’t really part of my life anymore, I don’t see that busting through. I also can’t see a vacation on my horizon any time soon. But I like Layla’s odds. A lot of spunk in that one.

“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

10. Las Vegas – 2023 – 42,941 Views

9. Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020 – 47,269 Views

8. Jayton Poole – 2022 – 47,464 Views

7. 9 Emotions Project – 51,763 Views

6. Miami Beach – 2022 – 53,087

5. Christopher D. Bennett – 112,907 Views

4. Selfie Project -2022 – 162,595 Views

3. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 184,949 Views

2. Town Sign Project – 201,352 Views

1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 223,723 Views

At post 4,500 these were the 10 Most Popular Galleries:

10. Iowa
9. 9 Emotions Project
8. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 8
7. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9
6. Selfie Project – 2022
5. Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020
4. Christopher D. Bennett
3. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images
2. Selfie Project – 2021
1. Town Sign Project

The galleries that are right outside the Top 10 that have a shot at cracking the Top 10 in Post 5,000 are:
+ Drone
+ Daisies
+ FatMumSlim 2022

But considering I’m done with the FatMumSlim project, I don’t know that its gallery will maintain any popularity. I only know one person that definitely loves my daisy pictures, but I don’t think they poke around my website much these days. However, perhaps the Era of Rodan139 is nearly upon us. I could live with that.

But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.

Top 10 Photography 139 Images

10. Dexter, Iowa – 1,964 views

9. Badger, Iowa – 1,967 views

8. Selfie with Mom – 1,993 views

7. Coon Rapids, Iowa – 2,146 views

6. Moingona, Iowa – 2,190 views

5. Prego Alexis – 2,415

4. Saydie and Kyle – 3,231 views

3. Baby Got Rack at Boone County Fair – 4,423 views

2. Miami – 6,039 views

1. Selfie at Bellevue – 6,864 views

That selfie at Bellevue was the most popular picture on my website at Post 4,500 as well.

The final statistic I want to share with everybody before riding off into the sunset and not boring you with these statistics for another 250 posts is the 5 people with the highest Photography Subscriber Loyalty Scores.

1. Kio Dettman – 100%
2. Aaron Barnett – 99.7%
2. Angie DeWaard – 99.7%
2. Mary Green – 99.7%
5. Joe Duff – 99.5%

There are a lot of people in the 90% range that could break into this list next time. Jeanette, Jesse, Sarah, Logan, Tamara, Frank, Michelle, and Andy.

To be honest, I don’t know how this number is figured. I believe it is the percentage of emails from the subscriber list that you open within the first 24 hours of getting an email from me, but I really don’t know if we are being honest. But thanks for doing what it is you are doing!

If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:

Post 1
Post 750
Post 850
Post 1,000
Post 1,101
Post 1,200
Post 1,447
Post 1,718
Post 2,500
Post 3,000
Post 3,252
Post 3,751
Post 4,000
Post 4,250
Post 4,500

I think that is enough for now. We’ll check in again in another 243 posts.

Andy, Art, Birthdays, Carla, Flowers, Fran, Funk, Kim, Linda, Lowell, Michelle, Pastor Sarah, Scottie D., Travel, Work, WPC - Reminder

Viva Las Vegas: Cell Phone Pictures

March 3, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 9 Comments

I need to start the day by wishing Andy a happy birthday. Happy birthday Andy!

I hope your birthday is filled with all the joy you can handle!

+++++++

I spent almost all of last week in Las Vegas working at the Computer Mine Convention. I didn’t get to see anywhere near the amount of stuff I wanted to see because I spent most of my days staring at conference room walls. However, I did get a chance to see a few things and took a few pictures. Today I’m going to share some cruddy cell phone pictures from the trip.

While some people got “rock star” parking, I got stuck in the Gray Lot, which is more like “zydeco star” parking.

And the flight got delayed.

4 flights. Only got snacks on one of them.

On flight #2 I got rock star leg room.

Southwest. Wasn’t as bad as I feared.

New luggage made it to Vegas.

The view from my room.

Meal #1. $30 for this.

Closest I got to the actual Vegas sign.

I’m sure I have an exhibit in there.

Fran said I absolutely had to eat here. It was also high on Lowell’s list.

Elvis and Marilyn made out of jelly beans.

If he goes ring pop engagement ring and she says no, she is a terrible person.

So many candy stores in Vegas.

View from the room at night.

Speechless.

A bar where a robot mixes your drink. Lowell said it was a Top 5 Drink he has had made by a robot.

They are planting marigolds already!

Planet Hollywood is kind of a dud, but it is near cool casinos like Paris.

I can almost see Emily and Mindy walking down the street.

The real Arc de Triomphe was built by a megalomaniac, so it makes sense that they put a poster of one on their recreation.

This sign is how I knew how to get my elevator.

It was 130 degrees in this room.

Planet Hollywood

I didn’t disappoint Fran, but I did make her jealous.

Michelle.

The show is about to begin.

A lot of eyes on me when this speaker asked the audience, “What is one thing that every man knows about every woman.”

View from my Friday dinner table.

Friday supper.

Friday dessert.

Fountain of the Gods.

Neptune’s Fountain.

Bellagio Fountain.

The other elevator bank had Miranda Lambert on it. They won.

Nacho Daddy, for people who like puns and nachos. That includes me.

Neither Kim or Lowell stepped up to the challenge.

I sent a picture of these to my Pastor who is a Chiefs fan, he wished bad things to me. Very bad.

I didn’t get the Raiders Nachos. But these were delicious.

Scott recommended I check out the Bellagio Gardens.

Saturday night supper.

I am sad to report I never ate here.

Goodbye Las Vegas.

It was from here that I waved at Susanna.

She waved back!

And on the final flight I got rock star legroom again!

All in all it was a pretty good trip, even though I put in some massive hours. It was certainly better than my previous trip to Las Vegas for the Evil Clown Empire. But that is a story for a different day.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is STORE:

STORE

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

But what is a STORE image? It is simply an image of a STORE or taken inside of a STORE. There are all kinds of STORE(s) out there. From department to convenience to junk to antique to book to music to grocery to dollar to a little kids lemonade stand. Of course, there is more than one definition of the word STORE.

This is not the first time that STORE has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are some examples of previous submissions to inspire you:

Week 141 – Linda Bennett

Week 141 – Kim Barker

Week 141 – Christopher D. Bennett

Week 18 – Carla Stensland

Week 18 – Sarah Karber

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Angie, Becky, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Event, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Monica, Nathanial, Pastor Sarah, Sabas, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 388 – FRAME

February 20, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

FRAME! Seemed like a good challenging theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! But was it popular? Did it fire up the creative juices of many people? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, February 13, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
2-Myriah Sharp – 1 week
3-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
4-Becky Parmelee – 3 weeks
5-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks
6-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
7-Jesse Howard – 4 weeks
8-Monica Jennings – 4 weeks
9-Nathanial Brown – 5 weeks (3)
10-Mike Vest – 5 weeks
11-Tamara Peterson – 15 weeks
12-Brandon Kahler – 25 weeks
13-Linda Bennett – 29 weeks
14-Sarah Toot – 30 weeks
15-Angie DeWaard – 34 weeks
16-Dawn Krause – 38 weeks (2)
17-Kim Barker – 43 weeks
18-Joe Duff – 45 weeks (2)
19-Logan Kahler – 46 weeks (2)
20-Teresa Kahler – 56 weeks (2)
21-Carla Stensland – 56 weeks
22-Micky Augustin – 58 weeks
23-Andy Sharp – 59 weeks
24-Bill Wentworth – 60 weeks
25-Cathie Morton – 64 weeks
26-Elizabeth Nordeen – 65 weeks
27-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 66 weeks
28-Kio Dettman – 68 weeks (2)

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:

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 44 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Wisconsin) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 1 week

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 35 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 61 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 46 weeks

Sarah Karber (Minnesota) – 1 week

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 30 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (Florida) – 31 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 16 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 57 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 4 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 26 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 59 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 39 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 60 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 57 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 47 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Oklahoma)

Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 65 weeks

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 5 weeks

30 participants! That is a great week! That is a high for this year! Including submissions from first time participants in Scott Degeneffe and Mindi Terrell. I expect Scott to be something off a one off, but I’m expecting big things in the future from Mindi! Plus we had our first submission this year from Sarah Karber! WooHoo!

This week we had our first submission this year taken in Wisconsin (Scott) and Oklahoma (Nathanial). Nathanial’s one of Nathanial’s pictures was taken in a place that became very famous when it was the site of a very popular Netflix show.

This week we has submissions from:

+ Arkansas
+ Florida
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Minnesota
+ Oklahoma
+ Nebraska
+ Texas
+ Wisconsin

That is a lot of states!

The United States map now includes:

+ Arkansas
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Minnesota
+ Nebraska
+ Nevada
+ Missouri
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas
+ Wisconsin

13 states. A good start!

The Outside of the United State map stays at:

+ British Virgin Islands

Once again, I didn’t contribute to expanding the map. I took my picture approximately 97 miles from my front door.

The big milestone this week was Brandon. Brandon reached the Half-A-Year Streak Club! Congrats Brandon!

But it wasn’t all good news. 3 streaks bit the dust. Myriah couldn’t extend her streak to 2. Sara Lockner couldn’t extender her streak to 3.
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:

MUSIC

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

But what exactly is a MUSIC photo? A MUSIC photo is simply a photo where a major compositional element involves MUSIC. It could be something that is used in the production of MUSIC. Like sheet MUSIC or a MUSICal instrument or a MUSICian or an 8 Track. Anything the aids in the producing of MUSIC is fair game. Might be a great weekend to make it to a concert.

While thinking on possible subjects for your MUSIC picture, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an amazing MUSIC image:

Without music, life would be a mistake.
-Friedrich Nietszche

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

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 MUSIC in this place that is music to my eyes next Monday.

Alexis, Anders, Andy, Baier, Becky, Bethany, Brandon, Calendar, Colleen, Dawn, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Holidays, Jason, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Nora, Road Trip, Russell, Sabas, Sara, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Teresa, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Goodbye 2022.

December 31, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Happy New Year to those of you sheeple that follow the Gregorian Calendar. I for one, moved to Unix time years ago. So if I have a birthday party this year (Sara wants me to have one, but I doubt it happens) the invites will list the time of the event in Unix Time, like an adult. But I don’t want to tell you what calendar to use.

I think you should look at the options. By the Gregorian Calendar, when this post publishes, it is the year 2022. But there are other calendars.

Here is a list of other calendars and what year it is if you use those calendars:

Hebrew – 5783
Islamic – 1444
Chinese – 4659
Coptic – 1739
Japanese – Reiwa 4
British Regnal – 1 Cha. 3
Buddhist – 2566
Nanakshahi – 554
Hindu – 5123
Juche – 111
Byzantine – 7531
Roman – 2775
Holocene – 12022
Unix Time (like an adult): 1672531199 (roughly)

As you can tell, Unix Time is clearly superior.

Even though I don’t celebrate New Years, I do like to give holiday Power Rankings.

Here are my champagne power rankings:

CHAMPAGNE POWER RANKINGS
10. All champagne is trash.
9. All champagne is trash.
8. All champagne is trash.
7. All champagne is trash.
6. All champagne is trash.
5. All champagne is trash.
4. All champagne is trash.
3. All champagne is trash.
2. All champagne is trash.
1. Champere

So Happy New Years to those who celebrate it. I will have been asleep a couple hours when the bell tolls for 2022. I’m old, lame, and don’t get invited to adult parties.

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Time to reveal the December image for the 2023 Photography 139 Gregorian Calendar:

December

The December image is a picture of the old mill in Independence, Iowa. I took it while harvesting the town signs of Buchanan County for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. In retrospect, it isn’t a great image for the brutal colds and snows of December. But it was the last selected image and December was the last month that didn’t have an image. These things tend to sort themselves out.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M4
DATE: May 28, 2022 – 9:41 AM
LENS: Tamron 17-28 f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 28mm
APERTURE: f/9
EXPOSURE: 1/320
ISO: 100
EXPOSURE BIAS: +.3

I have no calendar images to share tomorrow. Or again until December. If the Photography 139 Calendar exists again in 2024.

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This year when I handed a calendar to somebody I asked them to pick a favorite image. Then I photographed them with their favorite image. I also asked people that I didn’t hand deliver a calendar to to pick a favorite image and then send me a picture of them with that image. Like 3 people did that. So good for them? Not that such treachery might factor in who gets a calendar next year…

I forgot to do this for the attendees of the Westhaven Christmas, so this won’t be held against them. Maybe Nate. I did ask him and he said “No problem” and then never sent me a picture.

Any way here is a collection of, but not comprehensive collection of pictures of people with their favorite pictures from the calendar:

Shannon

Bethany and Nora

Colleen

Also Colleen

Also, also Colleen

Andy

Baier (Jason)

More Baiers (Olivia)

More Baiers (Ben)

More Baiers (Carrie and J.J.)

More Baiers (Will)

Russell

Michelle

Elizabeth

Willy

Micky

Kio

Kim

Brandon

Teresa

Logan

Elainie

Sabas

Johnathan

Jason

Carla

Dawn

Lockners

Gorshes

Scott

Anders

Becky

Alexis

Jesse

Jay

Nader

It is possible more pictures might trickle in, if people I mailed calendars to haven’t received them yet. I think every picture got picked except for January. Poor January. Might try this again next year. We’ll see if the people like it.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is BODY PART:

BODY PART

IT IS POSSIBLE I MIGHT ROAD TRIP ON MONDAY. IF I DO, THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL REMINDERS. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!

BODY PART! What a great final theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a BODY PART image? Simply put, it is a picture where a major compositional element of the image is a BODY PART. Doesn’t have to be your BODY PART. Could be somebody else’s. It could belong to an animal. There are so many BODY PART(s) to choose from! Heads. Shoulders. Knees. Toes. Just to name a few.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Art, Black & White, Christianity, Elizabeth, Flat Earth Joe, Flowers, Iowa State, Logan, Naima, Nature, Photo of the Day, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Still Life

Fat Mum Slim – October 2022

November 6, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

I’m kicking the decision on Formal Portrait Sunday down the road for at least one more week.

I wasn’t necessarily pleased with the overall body of work I put in during September for the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. I tried to make October a better month for the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. I believe at the aggregate level, I accomplished just that.

Here are the October images:

October 1 – White

October 2 – Black

October 3 – Green

October 4 – Red

October 5 – Orange

October 6 – Blue

October 7 – Yellow

October 8 – Purple

October 9 – Aqua

October 10 – Pink

October 11 – Grey

October 12 – Brown

October 13 – Pop of Colour

October 14 – Stripes

October 15 – Floral

October 16 – One Colour

October 17 – Two Colours

October 18 – Pattern

October 19 – Black and White

October 20 – Rainbow

October 21 – My Fave Colour

October 22 – Matching

October 23 – Natural

October 24 – Dark

October 25 – Light

October 26 – Pastel

October 27 – Bright

October 28 – Gold

October 29 – Fresh

October 30 – Mellow

October 31 – Dots

I should thank Elizabeth, Flat Earth Joe, Scottie D. and Logan for assists on at least one of these pictures for the month. My lack of doing much in October didn’t hurt this project. I will probably have a pretty lazy November as well, but I hope to do some good work this month as well.

Remember you can follow along with this project on the daily by following my Fat Mum Slim Insta:

@fmsbennett

Here are the November themes:

1. A Collection
2. A Book Cover
3. A Shop Front
4. A For Sale Sign
5. A Bridge
6. A Fence
7. I Didn’t Make This
8. Throw It
9. An Unmade Bed
10. Power Lines
11. An Arrow
12. In My Pocket
13. A Closed Sign
14. A Flock of Birds
15. Hand Shadows
16. Running Water
17. Wrinkles
18. An Empty Table
19. Rocks
20. Afternoon Light
21. Half Full
22. Graffiti
23. An Ugly Food
24. A Tall Building
25. A Spider Web
26. A Funny Shape
27. A Splash
28. Something Hidden
29. A List
30. A Family Member

I think there are some interesting themes in there.

Carla, Dahlia, Derrick, Elainie, Iowa State, Johnathan, Nader, Naima, Sabas, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Teresa

Selfie Project – October 2022

November 2, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Looking at my SELFIE PROJECT pictures from the month of October, I’m not sure I had a very active October. Seems like I barely left my house. I’ll try to be more active in November.

Here are some of my favorite selfies from THE SELFIE PROJECT in October:

October 1

October 2

October 4

October 5

October 6

October 7

October 8

October 10

October 11

October 12

October 14

October 15

October 16

October 17

October 19

October 20

October 21

October 22

October 23

October 25

October 27

October 29

October 30

I didn’t take any extra selfies this much. I might do better in November. There are no promises.

Baby Got Rack, Bethany, Carla, Contests, Evie, Greyson, Jen, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kanoa, Kim, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Monica, Nader, Naima, Nora, Pufferbilly Days, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, State Fair, Teresa, Willy

Selfie Project – August 2022

September 3, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Another month down and another month of THE SELFIE PROEJCT in the books. I think I had a pretty active August. At least in spurts. With Pufferbilly Days and the State Fair and some much needed vacation all in August, I did some things man.

I don’t anticipate September being anywhere as busy, but hopefully I’ll do some cool stuff this month.

Here are some of my favorites from August for THE SELFIE PROJECT:

August 1

August 2

August 3

August 4

August 5

August 6

August 8

August 9

August 11

August 12

August 13

August 14

August 16

August 17

August 18

August 19

August 20

August 21

August 24

August 25

August 26

August 27

August 28

August 29

August 31

Of course there can only be one selfie that represents THE SELFIE PROJECT every day, but I did have a busy August, so here are the many alternates:

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - AUGUST 2022

You might be thinking, “That is a lot of pictures with ice cream!” There is a reason for that. The reason isn’t because I love ice cream, but that is probably the base level reason. I’ll explain the real reason in a future post. Or I won’t. What is important for you to know is that your humble narrator is a champion. A ice cream champion. Also, Willy and Jesse owe me dinner.

You also might be thinking, “How many gray t-shirts do you own?” The answer is, plenty.

Finally you might be thinking, “You need to retire that green t-shirt.” Yeah, that is true enough.

Baby Got Rack, Bethany, Contests, Nora, Scottie D., State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Baby Got Rack – Iowa State Fair – 2022

August 19, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

While I’m still not ready to reveal what picture got into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon and what “award” it received, I am ready to share some pictures from Baby Got Rack’s day at the Iowa State Fair.

It was mostly great. We won 1st Place in our category (Combo/Specialty) and also won 1st Place in Showmanship. The only slight down is that we once again didn’t come home with the literal crown they give to Best of Show. That once again went to the guy that won Beef. Scott says that Beef doesn’t always win Best in Show. Scott is wrong about this, but we didn’t qualify for Beef so we couldn’t enter Beef. Anyways, this is one of the internal debates with the team. Like how some people on the team don’t realize that lemonade sucks. But what can you do?

Here are some pictures from the day:

It was a big day for Boone, which is low-key becoming the Barbecue Capital of the World. In addition to Scott’s TWO wins, Rashawn Parker of Boone captained Team Parker to 1st Place in Team. Sean Van Cannon of Boone also came home with 1st Place in Poultry. Just getting to the State Fair through the Boone County Fair is a gauntlet!

If you would like to peruse all the pictures from Baby Got Rack’s 2022 Season, click on the link below:

Baby Got Rack – 2022

It was an up and down season that ended on a high. We will be ready to go in 2023.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is WEEKENDS:

WEEKENDS

WEEKENDS! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.
But what is a WEEKENDS photo? It is simply a picture taken of something you do on WEEKENDS. Or it could simply be of something you do this coming WEEKEND(S). So taking your picture this WEEKEND(S) is probably your best bet.

Happy photo harvesting!

Amanda, Andy, Baby Got Rack, Brandon, Dahlia, Football, Iowa State, Jay, K.J., Logan, Nader, Naima, Pufferbilly Days, Russ, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Teresa, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Selfie Project – July 2022

August 5, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is a reminder that tomorrow there is a dog and exotic animal pet show for Pufferbilly Days. A person could also enter a cat, but people don’t, cause… cat. I mean, it explains itself.

However, I give this reminder with the caveat that it is possible that the Dog and Exotic Animal Pet Show could possibly be cancelled due to heat.

Here is the information you need if you are interested:

If it goes down, I will be there to photograph it. If it doesn’t go down, I’ll probably be eating ice cream, in the air conditioning.

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It is time once again to check in with THE SELFIE PROJECT. One of the things I like about THE SELFIE PROJECT I get to take a quick look back at everything I did last month and be like, “that was last month? I thought that was forever ago!”

I think I had a pretty busy July, but you can be the judge of that.

Here are some of my favorite images:

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 5

July 6

July 7

July 8

July 9

July 10

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

July 16

July 17

July 18

July 19

July 20

July 21

July 23

July 27

July 28

July 29

July 30

July 31

Obviously there were lots of selfies that couldn’t make the cut for this month’s THE SELFIE PROJECT. Here are some of my favorite alternates:

My August calendar is pretty loaded up with Pufferbilly Days, the Iowa State Fair, and numerous TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips all planned for the month. I’m even going to take some time off work. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not going to work for a few days. I’m looking forward to it. I hope when we reconvene to look at my August pictures that there are some great new memories in there as well.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is PEOPLE:

PEOPLE

PEOPLE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a PEOPLE picture? Well, it is simply a picture that has a PEOPLE or multiple PEOPLE in it. (Somewhere an English teacher is hanging their head so low right now.) I know. PEOPLE are vile and disgusting subjects. They are a failed species that are responsible for 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the evil on this planet. Completely susceptible to propaganda. Responsible for the complete and utter raping of our planet. Avarice. Greed. War. Genocide. Racism. Homophobia. Transphobia. Misogyny. All unique products of PEOPLE. What I’m trying to say is that in the coming war between monkeys and humans, I am hard core #TeamMonkey*. I’d like to say we’ve had a good run, but all the evidence is to the contrary.

I have to admit that after some of the events of the past week, I’m still 100% #TeamMonkey in the coming Human vs. Monkey War (where do you think Monkey Pox comes from), but I think slightly better of our doomed and failed species than I did on Monday.

While thinking on possible subjects for your PEOPLE picture think on the words of the Law Giver:

“Beware the beast man, for he is the devil’s pawn.”
“Alone among God’s primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. ”
“Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother’s land. ”
“Let him not breed in great numbers for he will make a desert of his home and yours. ”
“Shun him. ”
“Drive him back into his jungle lair. ”
“For he is the harbinger of death. “

Happy photo harvesting!