Category Archives: Macro

Throwing Good After Bad

December 7, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I know you’re leavin’ me
I know I’m not your home
You want a movie dancer
You want blood from a stone
But I’m on to you
And you will pour your heart into
Any shimmering fad
Throwin’ good after bad

People get addicted to
The rush, the chase, the new
Just hopin’ that all that chaos
Will lead to somethin’ like this
I’ll get over you
But you won’t be whole until you do
You won’t find what you had
Throwin’ good after bad

And I’ll always feel a little left behind
But that lyin’ wind that calls your name
Will leave you flyin’ blind

I know you loved me once
You were somethin’ to prove
I was an unfinished song
You were nothin’ to lose
I’m a dandelion
And when my color suited you
You allowed me to grow
But you know when you know
And now the party’s over
And you’re dancin’ alone
You’ve been spinnin’ ’round for hours
The band have all gone home

And you’re fantasizin’
You’re takin’ us for granted
I know you’re bored
You always say I’m heavy handed
You got a beautiful mind
And the soul of a coyote
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
Hunger drivin’ you mad
Throwin’ good after bad
-Brandi Carlile

This is the final Brandi Carlile song (for now) that I’m going to use as title for our little flowertography sessions. I have plans for the future journal entry titles. Going to just walk down the road of some of the greatest romance songs of all-time. But next week’s theme will still have a Brandi Carlile twist to it.

But Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography images are from the State Center Rose Garden. This is the final collection of pictures from the State Center Rose Garden I have to share from this year:

Next Thursday I will share more rose pictures, but those roses will come from a different rose garden.

Flowers, Formal Portrait, Macro, Nader, Road Trip

Sinners, Saints and Fools

November 30, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Where the winds of change were blowin’
There lived a God-fearing man
He was turning through his Bible
When he came up with a plan
He painted up a sign
And held it high above his head
Waved it proudly in the air, and this is what it read

You can’t break the law
There are reasons for the rules
I keep things safe here for everyone
The sinners, saints, and fools
The poor and huddled masses
Who are hungry and afraid
You gotta do it by the Book and there’ll be
No exceptions made

To the weary, desperate souls
Who washed up on the sand
He said, “We hadn’t seen your paperwork”
And he withdrew his hand
You know he never felt any safer
All the peace he hoped he’d find
And up until the day he died
He never changed his mind

By the time he got to Heaven
It was surrounded by a wall
The pearly gates were locked up tight
The golden chains and all
They said, “We cannot let just anyone
Walk in here anymore
You didn’t do it by the Book, ”
And then they pointed to the floor

You can’t break the law
There are reasons for the rules
I keep things safe here for everyone
You sinners, saints, and fools
The poor and huddled masses
Who are hungry and afraid
You gotta do it by the Book and there’ll be
No exceptions made
-Brandi Carlile

I particularly like Brandi’s answer to what this song was about in that Stereogum interview:

CARLILE: To me, there’s nothing on planet Earth more maddening than the religious right’s rejection of displaced people. It’s just baffling. It could only be from a place of abstract evil, that there would be anything Christian about the concept of rejecting someone who’s had to leave their home, which no one wants to do for any reason, war, hunger, unrest, economic impact. For any reason that a person should become displaced and then systematically rejected is just antithetical to everything… I won’t even use the word “Christian,” but everything Gospel-based.

STEREOGUM: How do you personally stay close to faith, if you will, when there’s such a prevalence of people acting like the “god-fearing man” you describe in this song? The man who thinks he’s living according to scripture, but once he gets to heaven, it’s surrounded by a wall.

CARLILE: Well, because I realize that’s the powerful delusion. I realize that the powerful delusion foretold in scripture will be a complete rejection of love and generosity and enduring patience, tolerance, mercy, that it’s the faith revealing itself in ourselves every day. And it’s renewable. We can fix it. We can change as a species if we want to. It’s not hurtling towards some fiery end. It’s a living, breathing faith.

I was like 19, and I went to Urban Outfitters, and I saw a T-shirt with Jesus on a Harley, and I bought it. It said, “What the fuck is a Christian?” And you realize Jesus did not know what a Christian was. He didn’t know what the Bible was. Jesus is a concept of mercy and enduring love, not love, the feeling, but love, the action. And I subscribe. I follow. Anything you like about me, it’s because of that.

STEREOGUM: That’s pretty deep for Urban Outfitters.

CARLILE: Thanks, Urban Outfitters. You’re more likely to find Jesus in Urban Outfitters right now than you are in church.

Preach!

But Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography collection came from a trip to the State Center Rose Garden with Nader:

Still more rose pictures left to share from this day!

Flowers, Macro

Stay Gentle

November 23, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Stay gentle, keep the eyes of a child
Don’t harden your heart or your hands
Know to find joy in the darkness is wise
Although they will think you don’t understand

Don’t let the world make you callous
Be ready to laugh
No one’s forgotten about us
There is light on your path

Stay gentle, keep the eyes of a child
And wear your heart on your sleeve
Know to find joy in the darkness is wise
Although they will think you are naive

Don’t let ’em lower your shoulders
Love ’em more while they try
Grow younger while you’re growin’ older
Be amazed by the sky

Darling, stay wild if you can (if you can)
The girl with the world in her hands (in her hands)
The kingdom of Heaven belongs to a boy
While his worry belongs to a man

Stay gentle, stay gentle
The most powerful thing you can do
Oh, gentle, unbreakable you
-Brandi Carlile

I’m going to share what Brandi said about this song in that Stereogum interview because it references “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Well, it’s like this. One of the things that’s been the most enriching about this point in my life, and, buddy, I know I’m in for a world of heartache, but my friendship with Mavis [Staples] and Kris Kristofferson and, God rest his soul, John Prine, and Joni Mitchell, and basically the great pillars, the way-pavers, the elders, the beautiful souls that gave us the narrative of our lives, whether you’re a musician or not, they are all in this place of gentleness. It’s the same gentleness I see in Elijah, my three-year-old, that I’ve always seen in her life.

But it just seems like this big rainbow of a lifeline where you start out so gentle and funny and innocent, and you don’t care if somebody thinks you’re naïve. You ask whatever questions you want to ask. And then, at some point, you sort of shut it down, and you become a bit brutal. And then you get gentle again. And it’s like why can’t you just stay gentle? What is it about the world that sort of steals our gentleness and then gives it back to us just in time for us to realize that we should’ve just stayed that way? Again, it’s biblical, and it’s referenced many times in my faith. And yet none of us are able to do it. I’m fascinated by that, and I just feel like nobody’s written a song as gentle as “Somewhere Over The Rainbow,” since “Somewhere Over The Rainbow.”

Two great songs! However, Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography collection is from the State Center Rose Garden:

Still plenty of pictures from State Center left to share!

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro, Naima

When You’re Wrong

November 16, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

“Don’t go borrowing trouble”
That’s what you used to say
But we don’t keep in touch
The way we used to nowadays
Your eyes are not as bright
As I remember them to be
The light inside’s grown dim
And that’s hard for me to see

The creases on your forehead
Run like treads on a tire
The white stripe running through your bangs
A long and twisted spire
You’re sweeping up the flies
And you’ve been vacuuming the fires
And you lay down every night
Next to a goddamn liar

When the day is winding down
My heart abandons me for you
You forgot yourself so long ago
And I wish I could too
But you live inside a quiet hell
No one can pray away
Leaving would be easy
I understand why you won’t stay

You’ll be wrong if you were thinking
That we all don’t fade away
Like dew drops in the dawn
Like sunbeams through the haze
It’s a long way to be sinking
Holding tightly to the weights
Of the one who pulls you down
While you slowly waste your days

You may be here today
But tomorrow you’re a ghost
I guess the most someone can hope for
Is to find a place to lay
Someone to tell your secrets to
When the nights get long and blue
Someone strong enough to lean on
When the roses fall away

Strong enough to love you when you’re wrong
-Brandi Carlile (Although mostly written by the Hanseroth Twins

In that Stereogum interview Brandi said the following about this song:

CARLILE: This is one of those situations, without being too abstract, where I share a life with several families. And I share songwriting with the twins. I didn’t pen this one, but I mean it. I think it’s absolutely for me when I sing it. It’s about balancing intense pain and anger, which I feel like are packaged as one emotion in this song, with acceptance and empathy, which is really hard to do. When I sing this song, I am angry and really hurt by this person’s choices and their existence. And then, on the other hand, I’m accepting their decision and empathizing with the things that led them to making that decision. And that’s, I think, really important because that’s the only way to put one foot in front of the other. That’s kind of a classic… This is Al-Anon language for me, which I basically grew up marinating in. I feel really raw when I sing this song because I can understand it and fathom what’s been written in a really big way.

You believe that there are only 3 Brandi Carlile songs (sorta) to use as flowertography entry titles? Makes me sad and excited at the same time! Intense pain and anger. Acceptance and empathy. All flowing at once.

But Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography collection was taken on June 16th. In my yard.

This stargazer lily blooming this year was a very nice surprise. I would almost say a much needed miracle.

On this day I also took a couple of pictures of Naima I would like to share.

Naima hadn’t been on a leash in years. And she had no problem make herself at home in Stan and Noreen’s yard.

She knew better to into the street, unless she was angling for a car ride. And she loved car rides!

I need to thank Sara yet again for the memorial ornament she gave me for Naima. It is something I definitely treasure!

Next Thursday’s flowertography journey will actually leave my yard. It will go all the way to the State Center Rose Garden!

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro

Mama Werewolf

November 9, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Your mama is a werewolf
With long sharp teeth
I’m up all night
When the world should sleep
I curse the darkness
When it’s killing time
I got a river of fear
Running through my mind

When the moon shines through
Those parting clouds
I hear the cold
And I howl out loud
I stalk the streets
Where the shadows lie
And I pray to God
That that sun will rise
But that sun don’t always rise

When I awake
And I’m reborn
My body aches
And my soul is torn
I search the void
For any clue
And I feel ashamed
For what I put you through

This curse I get
From my father’s kin
They fought the beast
I feel within
We don’t talk about it
And we don’t call it’s name
We just carry on
Hoping it’ll change
Though we know it’ll never change

If my good intentions go running wild
If I cause you pain, my own sweet child
Won’t you promise me you’ll be the one
My silver bullet in the gun
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography images were taken in my yard.

Next Thursday’s flowertography will be more flowers from my yard.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro

Letter to the Past

November 2, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

It’s a game
Baby, it’s just a game
And nobody loses
When you learn to love the one
Who finally wins sometimes

You’ll be wrong
‘Cause sometimes, we get it wrong
But nobody leaves here alive
And nothin’ holy comes from bein’ right
So don’t hold your breath like that
Baby, let it go
You’re gonna feel it in your back
Believe me, I oughta know

You can cry
You know it’s always okay to cry
You don’t even need to know why
But don’t you ever feel alone inside

If you need to know the truth
I still haven’t got a clue
If the blind can lead the blind
Then, baby, I’m just like you

You’re a stone wall
In a world full of rubber bands
You’re a pillar of belief
Still fightin’ your empty hands
Folks are gonna lean on you
And leave when the cracks appear
But, darlin’, I’ll be here
I’ll be the last
You’re my letter to the past
-Brandi Carlile

I want to include an answer that Brandi gave to Stereogum about this song because it references the book “Love Wins” by Rob Bell, which is a book I really love. One of my favorite Christian books.

To what extent does “Letter To The Past” demonstrate outreach to your younger self, if that’s what you’re doing?

CARLILE: I’m trying not to project, but I feel like I’m raising her. [My daughter] Evangeline is like some eerie stuff in terms of just stuff I never told anybody before, stuff I experienced in my own head. And Evangeline lives in her environment where she can be a little more forthcoming with it, and it’s just shocking to see it play out. When she was really little, like two, three, we would play Candy Land, and if she lost, she would audibly scream. She would let out this scream of defeat. She would cry, and we would have to set her on the stairs and be like, “You need to sit there until you calm down. You can lose a game. It’s okay.” Now she’s seven, and if she loses a game, she just goes totally silent.

She’s immovable in her beliefs. I feel better about this because a lot of parents are telling me that their kids are the same at this age. They won’t take lessons. They don’t want to learn anything. They tell you they already know it. She knows how to play guitar. She knows how to play piano. She is a ballerina. It’s like she’s so lovely, but she’s rigid.

Rob Bell wrote a book called Love Wins, about people who are indoctrinated with religion at a really young age, and how they start to view their faith as a brick wall instead of a trampoline, which is what faith really is. It’s full of doubt and flex and change and just stretch. Malleability. It’s living. It’s not dead like a stone wall.

I just worry about my girl because she lives in a world that’s built for flex, for change and openness. And she’s really strong, but she’s rigid. So we work through that, and it’s super beautiful because everything I’m saying to her, I need to hear.” And everything she’s saying to me, I need to hear.

We have to talk, us rigid people. We have to open our mouths and say how we feel, and let ourselves be challenged and influenced. Again, I’m not trying to project. She’s not me. She’s feminine and gentle, and she just loves nature and pine cones. And she creates visual art. She doesn’t like music very much. There’s a lot about her that’s not me. But it’s like a lot of raising her is going back and re-raising myself at the same time.

But Thursday’s are for flowers and this collection of flowertography images are from my yard:

Next Thursday’s flowertography session will involve more flowers from my yard.

Animals, Flowers, Macro, Nature

Broken Horses

October 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I have worn the jester’s bells and I have vanished with the fools
I have worshiped at the altar of the puppet master’s rules
I have held my tongue too many scenes before the final act
With my children in the cheap seats and a zipper on my back
Thanks to you
No thanks to you

I have ever so politely treaded softly for your grace
I have whispered through the tears and pleaded sweetly to your face
It is time to spit you out like lukewarm water from my mouth
I will always taste the apathy, but I won’t pass it down
It dies with you
You

I wear my father’s leather on the inside of my skin
I’m a tried and weathered woman, but I won’t be tried again
Don’t think that you can come for me without your Sunday best
You had better call your priest and hope the devil gets the rest
Before I do
Oh, and I will do

Tethered in wide open spaces
In fields that lead for miles
Right into the barrel of a gun
Mendin’ up your fences with my
Horses runnin’ wild
Only broken horses know to run
-Brandi Carlile

As much as I love a good Brandi Carlile romantic song, I also love a good Brandi Carlile angry song. A “I’m going to rip your face off and stomp on it” song. I think this is my favorite Brandi angry song!

But Thursdays are for flowers and this flowertography collection comes from my yard:

I certainly love alliums and strawflowers. Our next flowertography session will also take place in my yard.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro

This Time Tomorrow

October 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

When the fire inside that burns so bright
Begins to grow faded
It can be hard to see the ground on which you stand
Though you may not be afraid of walkin’ in the darkness
You will feel like a stranger in this land

When the hope that you hold tightly to has all but vanished
And there are no words of comfort to be found
You will know what it means to be lost and without love
May you fight to kill that deafening sound

But our holy dreams of yesterday aren’t gone
They still haunt us like the ghosts of Babylon
And the breakin’ of the day might bring you sorrow
You know I may not be around this time tomorrow
But I’ll always be with you
I’ll always be with you
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! Last week I might have indicated that this collection was going to be from my yard, but that is before I realized I had more tulip pictures to share from the Orange City Tulip Festival! This is the final collection of tulip pictures from 2023.

Next Thursday the flowers will come from my yard!

Flowers, Macro, Nature

You and Me on the Rock

October 12, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

They build wooden houses on frozen ponds
In the summertime when the water’s gone
Diagonal lines in their rolled-out lawns
And the sage always smells so pretty
But nobody cares where the birds have gone
When the rain comes down on Babylon
The stonemason’s phone rings all day long
And you gotta get back to the city

I built paper planes when I learned to fly
Like a 747 fallin’ out of the sky
I folded ’em crooked and now I’m wonderin’ why
I could always end up in the water
But nobody’s askin’ why she lookin’ so thin
Why she’s laughin’ too hard, why she drinkin’ again
A falling star, she’s a paper plane
And she was goin’ down when you caught her

I build my house up on this rock, baby
Every day with you
There’s nothin’ in that town I need
After everything we’ve been through
Me out in my garden and you out on your walk
Is all the distance this old girl can take
Without listenin’ to you talk
I don’t need their money, baby
Just you and me on the rock, mm
It’s you and me on the rock
You and me on the rock
-Brandi Carlile

Brandi often tells the story about this song in concert. She got the idea from a Sunday School lesson from her childhood. She told Stereogum.com:

I had just finished the book (her memoir), and I was chronologically mining my really, really early memories. I remember Sunday school class about building your house on a rock as a little kids’ Bible story about basically building your life on a solid foundation. That foundation I think in that situation would definitely be Jesus. There was a song about building your house on a rock, and there was a little picture you colored in about building your house on a rock.

When my life changed, when everything that I identify myself by went away, I was just kind of left with a question of, well, is what I’ve built my life on really a solid foundation? I turned to [my wife] Catherine and the girls, and I wrote that song, and I realized that, yeah, even the most intensely self-identifying things can go away, but what my life is really built on, which is faith and my family, it’s a rock, and it’s solid. And then I just used some of the textures, some of the things that were happening in my day, from me being in my garden and her taking her space and going on her walks. She’s got the most beautiful English accent that I just could listen to even when she’s bitching at me. I could listen to it all day. And I just realized that they’re my foundation and that anything can change, and that won’t.

What did that earlier foundation look like for you?

CARLILE: Well, I just think that when you’re a kid and the first thing that happens when you pick up a guitar and learn to play a couple chords or open your mouth and sing a song is, the adults start telling you, “You better have a backup plan. I hope you have a plan B because the shit could hit the fan.” I’m always just like, “Eh, fuck off.” There is no plan B for an artist. But you always wonder. What if I get cancer? What if I break my back? What if I have a vocal hemorrhage, and my voice doesn’t come back? Basically, what if my job goes away? What if the thing that makes me me just stops? It happens to people every day for all different reasons in their lives, but musicians and artists almost universally have that lecture many times in their life about this backup plan.

When the pandemic hit, it was like all of our nightmares just kind of ushered in. Nobody had a backup plan. We’re artists. We don’t have any money saved. We don’t do that. It was scary because it makes you question whether or not you should’ve had a backup plan. Or what if the thing that makes me me goes away? Am I still me? Those were the questions that were in my mind. It’s like I’m not going to get a round of applause for emptying the dishwasher. But I looked around, and then I saw that what made me me wasn’t ever that.

I’ll be honest, this isn’t one of my favorite Brandi songs, but dang do I love the message.

To be honest, I would sometimes like a round of applause for emptying the dishwasher.

But Thursdays are for flowers and not for getting applause for doing basic household chores. Here is a collection of flowertography images mostly from my yard.

Next Flowertography Thursday will involve more flowers from my yard.

Andy, Angie, Animals, Bill, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Holidays, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Macro, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 421 – RELIGION

October 9, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

NOTES: 1 – THE THEME FOR THIS WEEK HAS A SPECIAL RULE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT SPECIAL RULE DURING THE THEME REVEAL PART OF THIS HERE JOURNAL ENTRY. 2 – AT THE END OF THE MONTH I WILL BE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR’S THEMES. THE LAST MONDAY IN OCTOBER AND THE 1ST MONDAY IN NOVEMBER ARE WHEN SUGGESTIONS CAN BE MADE. THOSE SUGGESTIONS HAVE TO BE MADE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THOSE POSTS. NOT VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE, TEAMS, PHONE CONVERSATION, SNAPCHAT. ONLY IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS OF THOSE 2 POSTS. START THINKING OF THEMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEXT YEAR.

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Today is Indigenous Peoples Day!

I hope we all can find a way to celebrate and research the contributions and history of the indigenous peoples of America today and every day.

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Today is Shawn’s birthday, so I need to wish him a happy birthday. Happy birthday Shawn!

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

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RELIGION! An estimated 6.6 billion people practice a RELIGION. But did many of those billions of people or any of the 1.2 billion unaffiliated find something of a RELIGION to photograph to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, October 2, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Elainie Stensland – 1 week (2)
2-Myriah Sharp – 1 week (3)
3-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
4-Amy Peterson – 3 weeks (2)
5-Scott Degeneffe – 6 weeks (2)
6-Sabas Hernandez – 7 weeks
7-Willy McAlpine – 7 weeks
8-Mary Green – 9 weeks (3)
9-Mike Vest – 13 weeks
10-Sheri Fakhouri – 16 weeks
11-Monica Jennings – 17 weeks
12-Logan Kahler – 17 weeks
13-Nathanial Brown – 18 weeks
14-Jesse Howard – 18 weeks
15-Tamara Peterson – 21 weeks
16-Alexis Stensland – 26 weeks
17-Mindi Terrell – 33 weeks (3)
18-Brandon Kahler – 57 weeks
19-Linda Bennett – 62 weeks (2)
20-Sarah Toot – 63 weeks
21-Angie DeWaard – 67 weeks
22-Dawn Krause – 71 weeks (3)
23-Kim Barker – 77 weeks (2)
24-Joe Duff – 78 weeks (2)
25-Teresa Kahler – 89 weeks (3)
26-Carla Stensland – 89 weeks (2)
27-Micky Augustin – 91 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 92 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 93 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 97 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 98 weeks (2)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 100 weeks
33-Kio Dettman – 102 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:

Andy Sharp (Boone First United Methodist Parsonage – Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 68 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 94 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Carla Stensland (Twin Lakes Bible Camp, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 98 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Es Selam Mosque – Rural Dallas County, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Elainie Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 99 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 79 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 103 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Ames, Iowa) – 63 weeks

Linda Bennett (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 92 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 34 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Otley, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Myriah Sharp (Hawaii) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York) – 64 weeks

Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York)

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Austin, Texas) – 1 week

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 22 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Seville, Spain) – 8 weeks

31 participants! That is a pretty good week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Hawaii
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ Spain
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Kentucky
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Carolina
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Vermont
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

38 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 75% of the way there!

he Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ Alto del Perdon – Spain
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Ontario, Canada
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
+ Puenta de la Reina, Spain
+ St. John pied de port, France
+ Vienna, Austria
+ Munich, Germany
+ Rome, Italy
+ Cannes, France
+ Koper, Slovenia

The major milestone reached this week was Kim joining the Year and a Half Streak Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. It was a veritable blook bath of streaks! Sara’s 2 week streak is gone. Amy’s 3 week streak is toast. Mary’s 9 week streak is over! And most heartbreaking… Alexis’ 26 week streak is but a distant memory!

But all is not lost to those who believe in the power of resurrection and this is a new week where new streaks can begin!

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:

#INSTAGOOD

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

But what exactly is an #INSTAGOOD image? Here is where that special rule for this theme is revealed. An #INSTAGOOD image is simply the best image you take this week. Period. And because it is the best image you take this week (HERE IS THAT SPECIAL RULE) you can only submit ONE picture for this theme. Only one picture is your best picture.

I will add, do NOT send me multiple images and ask me to pick the best one. Remember that one rule for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme because this is not a curate your pictures challenge, this is a get off your butt and go take pictures challenge! However, this week, you will have to do curate from all the pictures you take this week down to one, best picture.

The term #INSTAGOOD does come from Instagram. It is the second most popular Instagram hashtag. These are the 5 most popular Instagram hashtags.

1. #love (2.1 billion)
2. #instagood (1.7 billion)
3. #fashion (1.1 billion)
4. #instagram (1.1 billion)
5. #photooftheyday (1 billion)

You hashtag an image with #INSTAGOOD that you think it is particularly good. A picture that is definitely worth of the grid. Not the weak kind of image you might throw into your story. For the grid!

I look forward to seeing the best image you take this week!

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 best in this place that I hope is some of the best of me next Monday.