Category Archives: Photoshop

Black & White, Jason, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, Self-Portrait, Underwater

70% Playing with Stuff

February 6, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Today’s entry is a collection of random May images from last year. Some are from a trip to Dickcissel with Naima. One is a horrible green screen experiment. There is a picture of Jason from when we put my mom’s ceiling back together.

Last year my Mom’s ceiling fell on her in the middle of the night. Not the whole thing, but a good chunk of it. It definitely isn’t the way one wants to be woken up.

The weird thing is that there were no cracks in it beforehand. It just broke one night. Probably due to how close she lives to the Life Flight landing pad at the Boone County Hospital.

One big step closer to having the 2019 backlog cleared up.

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Jill, Photoshop

2009-08-27

February 1, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2009-08-27 are from a photo session I did with Jill. It was the beginning, I think, or near the beginning of a thing I did for a couple years I call THE PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT. It was something I did where at least once a week I took pictures entirely for me. Meaning, I had this list of ideas for pictures I wanted to take, but I would never take them because I always seemed to be working on somebody else’s project. At least that is how I felt. It might be something I need to get back to doing. We’ll see.

One of these pictures was turned into a piece of artwork where I placed it inside of a window and then hung it on my wall. It was on my wall for several years until it started to fall apart and I moved on to a different piece of art for that piece of wall. I think its remains are still in the basement somewhere. You don’t want to go to my basement, unless it is for Monthly Movie Night. Then you definitely want to go to my basement.

One of those pictures does still hang in my office. The office is filled with pictures that have been retired from the living room.

It has been 3, maybe 4 years, maybe 5 years since the last time I talked to Jill. I think one day she just woke up and thought, “Screw that guy.” Which raises a good question: Why haven’t more people had that thought? I mean besides Eric, who one day, woke up and thought “screw that guy” and then sent me a formal email ending our friendship. A few weeks after he lived with me for a week. If I still had that email, I would print it out, frame it, and put it on my wall. It was maybe the best rejection letter I’ve ever received.

Regardless, I hope she is doing well and I hope Eric is doing the best that he can. We weren’t meant to be in each other’s lives.

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

No. 14

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Stephanie and my green thumb. Not together though.

Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Ernie, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Geri, Jay, Jesse, Mom, Photoshop, Sara, Self-Portrait, State Fair, Teresa

2009-08-24

January 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

There are a ton of photos in the folder 2009-08-24. Most of them are from my trips to the Iowa State Fair in 2009. However, there is also a good chunk of them that are pictures of Teresa and Ernie.

This is already going to be a long post, so I don’t want to overwhelm you with a ton of words up front. I want to overwhelm you with pictures on the backside:

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

The State Fair

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve some Stephanie and some of my mad gardening skills.

Animals, Becky, Black & White, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Flat Earth Joe, Formal Portrait, History, Holidays, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Naima, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, Russell, Shannon, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 227 – TEXTURE

January 20, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I would be remiss if I didn’t open today without wishing everybody a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Today, I want to share some of his words following the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Often our movement has been referred to as a boycott movement. The word boycott, however, does not adequately describe the true spirit of our movement. The word boycott is suggestive of merely an economic squeeze devoid of any positive value. We have never allowed ourselves to get bogged in the negative; we have always sought to accentuate the positive. Our aim has never been to put the bus company out of business, but rather to put justice in business.

These twelve months have not at all been easy. Our feet have often been tired. We have struggle against tremendous odds to maintain alternative transportation. There have been moments when roaring waters of disappointment poured upon us in staggering torrents. We can remember days when unfavorable court decisions came upon us like tidal waves, leaving us treading in the deep and confused waters of despair. But amid all of this we have kept going with the faith that as we struggle, God struggles with us, and that the arc of the moral universe, although long, is bending toward justice.5 We have lived under the agony and darkness of Good Friday with the conviction that one day the heightening glow of Easter would emerge on the horizon. We have seen truth crucified and goodness buried, but we have kept going with the conviction that truth crushed to earth will rise again.6

(later)

This is the time that we must evince calm dignity and wise restraint. Emotions must not run wild. Violence must not come from any of us, for if we become victimized with violent intents, we will have walked in vain, and our twelve months of glorious dignity will be transformed into an eve of gloomy catastrophy. As we go back to the busses let us be loving enough to turn an enemy into a friend. We must now move from protest to reconciliation. It is my firm conviction that God is working in Montgomery. Let all men of goodwill, both Negro and white, continue to work with Him. With this dedication we will be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man’s inhumanity to man to the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.

If you are ever in Memphis, I can’t urge you to visit the Civil Rights Museum strongly enough.

It is an extremely powerful and rage inducing experience.

As white supremacy continues to be emboldened in this country and has made an ugly resurgence in the last couple of years, I pray that after this current shameful chapter in American history closes, that there is some real healing in this country.

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WooHoo! TEXTURE makes is 17 straight weeks of double digit submissions! I was a little worried about this week because TEXTURE is one of the more abstract themes. Not technically difficult, but a little on the obtuse side. Plus, at least in central Iowa the temperature barely climbed into positive digits all weekend. But, we hit double digits and I barely had to twist any arms this morning!

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

Monica Henning

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt

Sarah Karber

Stephanie Kim

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Becky Parmelee

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

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:

COUNTRY

COUNTRY! What a great theme! But what is a COUNTRY photo? A COUNTRY photo is really just any photo that is taken outside of a town, city, village, or hamlet. This should be easy enough. I know plenty of you (like me) drive through the COUNTRY to get to work. Some of you live in the COUNTRY. But something doesn’t have to be in the COUNTRY to suggest the COUNTRY. Plus, remember that the word COUNTRY has more than one meaning. A quality tip for people who live in the middle of say Brooklyn or Minneapolis.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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

Animals, Candid Portrait, Ernie, Flowers, Formal Portrait, House, Jill, Mom, Photoshop, Shorty

2009-08-15 & 2009-08-20 & 2009-08-21

January 18, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folders 2009-08-15, 2009-08-20, and include pictures from an anniversary dinner for Shorty and Doris and pictures from that time I actually tilled up part of my backyard and planted a garden.

The picture of Jill that is edited in a couple different ways is her with a car that she described as her mid-life crisis. But that can’t be the case. She was only like 30 when she bought that car.

This is the first time that these pictures have been published. Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will definitely involve the Iowa State Fair and Teresa and Ernie. But not in a way that is connected.

Animals, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, WPC - Alternate

The Constant Shame of My Existence

January 12, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Last Saturday I took Naima for a walk around Ledges to take a picture for the HDR theme of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Obviously I took more photos than the one I shared. Here are the ones that didn’t make the cut:

Since HDR (true HDR) is the taking of multiple pictures at different exposures and combining them into one image, if you try to do it with a moving object, you can get a ghosting effect.

Here is an example:

I hope many of you have already got your FOOD picture for this week’s challenge and are already firing it off to me through the internets!

Black & White, Photoshop, Railroad

Who’s a Big Boy – Chapter 2

January 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The last time I discussed the day I spent following the Union Pacific Big Boy from Cambridge to Carroll, I noted that I rolled the dice and lost big time when the Big Boy crossed the High Bridge. I decided to setup shop on the north side of the bridge. There were several hundred people there to watch the Big Boy cross the bridge. Almost all of them set up on the south side.

I decided to setup on the north side because the bridge that the Big Boy was going to cross is the north bridge. The south bridge no longer has traffic go across it. By setting up on the north side, I would have an unobstructed view of the Big Boy.

However, minutes before the Big Boy crossed the bridge, a regular old freight train stopped on the bridge. As if to purposely make sure I couldn’t see the Big Boy. Oh well. There is never a shortage of train picture opportunities in Boone.

For the record, I do some day want to eat at Angry Beaver. 100% seems like my kind of place! Still at least 1 more collection of Big Boy photos on their way.

Andy, Angie, Animals, Becky, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Naima, Photoshop, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 224 – CANDID PORTRAIT

December 31, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

14 weeks in a row! 14 weeks in a row of double digit submissions! I hope you guys prove me wrong and we hit 15 weeks in a row with HDR because you guys knocked in out of the park with CANDID PORTRAIT in more ways than one!

Because I have been on the road the last five days, I think I got every submission, but if I missed you somehow, just let me know.

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

Andy Sharp

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Dawn Krause

Logan Kahler

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Jesse Howard

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Becky Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Angie DeWaard

Mike Vest

HDR

HDR! What a great theme! Wait a second. What the Hades is an HDR image?

Okay, so this is the one that I was pretty sure would end the double digit submission streak. If the holidays didn’t end it already, but CANDID PORTRAIT is a pretty easy theme especially when, is there a better CANDID PORTRAIT opportunity then little kids opening presents on Christmas morning?

But none of that answers the question what is an HDR image? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Here is a great explanation from Digital Trends:

HDR stands for “high dynamic range.” For those who aren’t so acquainted with this high-tech shutterbug lingo, dynamic range is basically just the difference between the lightest light and darkest dark you can capture in a photo. Once your subject exceeds the camera’s dynamic range, the highlights tend to wash out to white, or the darks simply become big black blobs. It’s notoriously difficult to snap a photo that captures both ends of this spectrum, but with modern shooting techniques and advanced post-processing software, photographers have devised ways to make it happen. This is basically what HDR is: a specific style of photo with an unusually high dynamic range that couldn’t otherwise be achieved in a single photograph.

The best way to think of it is several pictures taken at different exposure levels, combined to create one image.

There should be a setting on your camera that will do this for you automatically.

I look forward to your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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

Animals, Calendar, Equipment, Flowers, Macro, Naima, Photoshop, Railroad, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Week 225 Theme Reveal

December 30, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Today I reveal the 2020 Photography 139 Calendar images for September and October.

September

The September image is of the Union Pacific Big Boy. It was taken a few miles east of Boone, near Jordan. It was taken on August 2, 2019. The Big Boy was on a tour to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad.

Details

Camera: Sony ILCA-77M2
Focal Length: 28mm
Aperture: f/8
Exposure: 1/400
ISO: 100

October

The October image was taken in the Discovery Garden at the Iowa State Fair. The subject is a monarch butterfly on top of a zinnia. The picture was taken on August 19, 2018.

Details

Camera: Sony ILCA-77M2
Focal Length: 200mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/320
ISO: 400

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If things go right, by the time you read these words I will be somewhere in Illinois or Missouri or maybe even Kentucky on my way back from Orlando, still high from a Cyclone victory of Notre Dame.

Therefore, when I get home from Orlando I will publish all the submissions for last week’s theme CANDID PORTRAIT.

However, just because I’m out cruising through the country, doesn’t mean you should be delayed on starting this week’s theme:

HDR!

HDR! What a great theme! Wait a second. What the Hades is an HDR image?

But none of that answers the question what is an HDR image? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. Here is a great explanation from Digital Trends:

HDR stands for “high dynamic range.” For those who aren’t so acquainted with this high-tech shutterbug lingo, dynamic range is basically just the difference between the lightest light and darkest dark you can capture in a photo. Once your subject exceeds the camera’s dynamic range, the highlights tend to wash out to white, or the darks simply become big black blobs. It’s notoriously difficult to snap a photo that captures both ends of this spectrum, but with modern shooting techniques and advanced post-processing software, photographers have devised ways to make it happen. This is basically what HDR is: a specific style of photo with an unusually high dynamic range that couldn’t otherwise be achieved in a single photograph.

The best way to think of it is several pictures taken at different exposure levels, combined to create one image.

How the hades am I going to do that? Well, it isn’t as hard as you think. Pretty much every camera (including your phone camera) has a setting that will do this for you automatically. For example on my Pixel 2:

I can turn off and on HDR. Or even enhanced HDR. Look under you camera settings, you can find it there too.

You can also try to get fancy and take individual pictures yourself and try combining them yourself. You can even use an HDR toning program to create an HDR image from just one image.

As you can see, this isn’t an intimidating theme at all. You can literally take a picture of anything, as long as you change a setting on your camera before you take the picture.

It is almost too easy!

Black & White, Boone FUMC, Contests, Drone, Holidays, Photoshop, Pufferbilly Days

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Merry Christmas everybody! Today is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus!

I believe that is important on this day to remember who Jesus was and who Jesus wasn’t as the Christian church wrestles for its soul. I recently saw a quote that breaks down who Jesus was and who Jesus wasn’t, very succinctly.

“Jesus WAS a radical nonviolent revolutionary who hung around with lepers, hookers, and crooks; WAS NOT American and never spoke English; was anti-wealth, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer; BUT was never anti-gay, never mentioned abortion or birth control. Never called the poor lazy, never justified torture, never fought for tax cuts for the wealthiest Nazarenes. Never asked a leper for a co-pay.; and was a long-haired brown-skinned homeless community organizing anti-slut shaming middle eastern Jew.”
-John Fugelsang

Another John Fugelsang quote I love is this:

“I’ve come to view Jesus much the way I view Elvis. I love the guy but the fan clubs really freak me out.”

Some of them freak me out to man and I go to church at least twice a week.

On this, the day that we celebrate the arrival of the Messiah, let us remember who Jesus was and celebrate him.

Christ is Born!

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At this point, I’ve hopefully distributed almost all of my Photography 139 calendars. I feel it is probably safe to start revealing what pictures I choose to include during a frantic Black Friday design session.

This is the front cover:

Front Cover

The front cover image is a picture of water drops on a mirror. The image was converted to black and white and then processed in Photoshop through a technique I like to think that I invented, so I will make a name for it and call it Double Inverse Solarization. This picture was selected by popular vote to be entered in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest in the Photoshop category. It won that category.

More picture reveals in the following days!