Category Archives: Still Life

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WPC – WEEK 449 – TIME

April 22, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

For no real apparent reason, I thought I would start adding a little photography lesson into these things every month or so. And I mean a very little photography lesson.

This month’s lesson is going to be on bokeh.

What is bokeh?

Bokeh (the Japanese word for blur) is the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, caused by circles of confusion. Bokeh has also been defined as “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”. Differences in lens aberrations and the shape of aperture blades and the amount of aperture blades cause very different bokeh effects. There are strong opinions on what is good bokeh and bad bokeh. My use of Lensbaby lenses is frequently because of they produce bokeh effects that I personally enjoy. A photography technique is to use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions, accentuating their lens’s bokeh. It can add a sense of depth and dimensionality to an image and can make the subject stand out more effectively.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas. Bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all regions of an image which are outside the depth of field.

How is bokeh pronounced? You will hear people pronounce it in all sorts of different ways. The proper way is like “bow” in a bow and arrow and then the “ke” sound in the word kettle. Although a majority of people may pronounce it like boh – kay.

I hope we all learned something today.

+++++++

TIME! A great theme! But did enough people make TIME in their schedule to submit a photo to make TIME a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 15, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week (IA)
2-Suzie Brannen – 3 weeks (IA)
3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 3 weeks (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL)
4-Mary Green – 3 weeks (2) (MI, IA, IN)
5-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks (IA)
6-Deanna McClain – 5 weeks (IA)
7-Johnathan Stensland – 5 weeks (IA)
8-Adam Gordon – 7 weeks (IA, MS, MO)
9-Becky Parmelee – 8 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
10-Sara Lockner – 13 weeks (IA)
11-Lowell Davis – 15 weeks (IA)
12-Michelle Haupt – 15 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Alexis Stensland – 15 weeks (IA)
14-Brandon Kahler – 16 weeks (IA, MN)
15-Scott Degeneffe – 34 weeks (2) (IA, FL, UT, CO)
16-Mike Vest – 39 weeks (IA, MO)
17-Sheri Fakhouri – 44 weeks (2) (IA, NE)
18-Logan Kahler – 45 weeks (IA, MN)
19-Nathanial Brown – 46 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
20-Jesse Howard – 46 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW)
21-Tamara Peterson – 58 weeks (IA, MN)
22-Mindi Terrell – 61 weeks (IA)
23-Linda Bennett – 90 weeks (2) (KS)
24-Sarah Toot – 91 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
25-Angie DeWaard – 95 weeks (IA)
26-Dawn Krause – 99 weeks (IA)
27-Kim Barker – 105 weeks (2) (IA, CO)
28-Joe Duff – 106 weeks (2) (TX)
29-Teresa Kahler – 117 weeks (IA, NE)
30-Carla Stensland – 117 weeks (2) (IA, MO)
31-Micky Augustin – 119 weeks (IA, IL)
32-Andy Sharp – 120 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA)
33-Bill Wentworth – 121 weeks (NE)
34-Cathie Morton – 124 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO)
35-Elizabeth Nordeen – 126 weeks (IA)
36-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 128 weeks (2) (IA, CA, NV)
37-Kio Dettman – 130 weeks (2) (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM (CENTRAL) next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

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

Becky Parmelee (McGarrah Farms – Pea Ridge, Arkansas) – 9 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Ankeny, Iowa) – 35 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Ankeny, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 106 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Ames, Iowa) 127 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Goodwill Store – Ames, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 47 weeks

Adam Gordon (Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 131 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Boone, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 46 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 100 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 121 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Sara Lockner (The skies over Des Moines, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Carla Stensland (Palisades Dows Observatory – Ely, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 62 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Jasper County, Iowa) – 120 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Carla Stensland (Palisades-Kepler State Park – Overlook Trail – Cedar River Dam – Mount Vernon, Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Dawn Krause (Ogden, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Pella, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Perry, Iowa) – 59 weeks

Deanna McClain (Perry, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Perry, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (State Center, Iowa) – 47 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Summerset, Iowa) – 129 weeks

Linda Bennett (Easton, Kansas) – 91 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 122 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 92 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 107 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas)

37 participants! That is a drop-off from the previous week! Is this the beginning of the end for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE?

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Iowa (36)
+ Kansas (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Pennsylvania (1)
+ Texas (2)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (9.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (3)
+ Indiana (3)
+ Iowa (551)
+ Kansas (24)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (10.5)
+ Nebraska (25)
+ Nevada (2)
+ New York (11)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (13)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (26)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)

26 states so far! 3 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN) – 5
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO) – 4
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO) – 4
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2

Jen is now in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy are in striking distance though!

The big, huge milestone this week was Dawn joining the TRIPLE DIGIT STREAK CLUB!! WOOHOO!!! But it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. Mary’s streak is no more at 3 weeks. Alexis’ streak is gone after 15 weeks! The humanity!

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:

EMOTION – Suggested by Sarah Toot AND Andy Sharp

EMOTION! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of EMOTION in this place that gets me in the feels next Monday.

Art, Christianity, FNSC, Jay, Jesse, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Fisher of Men: Granger Field Work

April 21, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The stop on the Catholic Fish Fry Tour that I was most looking forward to was the Catholic Church in Granger. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Catholic Church. I was looking forward to it, not because of its reputation. I literally know nothing about this fish fry or the Catholic Church in Granger. I expected it be similar or smaller than the one in Boone because Granger is a tiny town.

The reason I was looking forward to it is because they put up giant signs along Highway 141 and for years those signs have called to me. Like a fish fry siren song.

During the pandemic we even sent Jesse’s son-in-law Jeremy to grab us some food from there, but we actually didn’t know the signs were for a church in Granger. We thought they were for a church in Polk City. That is how little we know about the Catholic scene in central Iowa. Turns out, there isn’t even a Catholic Church in Polk City and the he brought us back fish from a local VFW or American Legion. It was good fish, but it wasn’t the fish from the signs. Not the fish from the siren song calling my name.

When I actually did some research, I figured out that the church was in Granger. But once again, there wasn’t really much information on it. Their Facebook page talked a big game, but there wasn’t really any useful information on it, other than where it was and what time it was held. Turns out, it is a pretty big deal.

Here are some pictures:

Jay brought his own drink.

Picture for a photo project I abandoned.

Assumption’s Fish Fry was outstanding! I would definitely go back again. I will say the baked fish was pretty awful, but everything else was fantastic. Probably the second best dessert I had while on the Fish Fry Circuit. The best dessert? Well that is yet to come.

I was definitely impressed with their operation. They really had everything down. Even offering a pizza option for children and Jay. The potato was good. The cole slaw was good. The fried fish was good. Bonus points for playing the Big 12 Tournament. It was like a Fish Fry Sports Bar, which is my kind of sports bar!

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve a burger in Kansas City.

But…

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down 2.8 pounds. I am now down 32.3 pounds since starting Noom. I have now reached my May 1 goal weight. WooHoo! 22.3 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*. My new “short term” weight goal is to be down another 10 pounds by the time I have my CPAP follow-up doctor’s appointment. Which is May 30th. Might not seem super ambitious, but I’ll be gone in New Orleans for 7 days and I have no clue what will go down there. I might come back up 10 pounds. You never know. I’m hedging my bets though.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This will sound vain, but this week I really got a ton of comments on how much weight I’ve lost from people who see me on the weekly. About how I’ve really dropped a bunch more weight in just the last couple of weeks. I really haven’t, but maybe it is just being redistributed differently. I don’t know. But better than the alternative.

Since I started using Fitbit on February 20, 2024 I’ve:

+ Taken 784,872 steps
+ Averaged 14,935 steps a day for the last 7 days
+ Walked 365.41 miles
+ Walked an average of 6.09 miles a day

That is all to report for now.

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.

Art, Road Trip, Still Life

The Flamingo Motel

April 20, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Back on August 10th of last year, after spending a chunk of the day at the Iowa State Fair with Gorshe family I made a trek over to Marshalltown to buy a lawnmower. I had given up on my lawnmower. You basically had to jam a stick into the choke to keep it running. The lawnmower had been a nightmare for years with all sorts of problems. I decided to give an battery powered mower a shot. I didn’t want to spend a fortune on it because I wasn’t sure I would like it, so I found a moderately priced model. But the only place that had it in stock in central Iowa was the Marshalltown Menard’s. So after returning to Ames I bid the Gorshes farewell and lit out for Marshalltown.

However, this isn’t a review of my battery powered lawnmower. This is a chance for me to share pictures I took of the Flamingo Motel, which is near the Marshalltown Menard’s.

Have a looksie:

But you must be thinking, “Sure it has a sweet statue in sign, but is The Flamingo Motel any good?”

Well on Google reviews, it has an average rating of 2.7 out of 5 stars. Here are some of the reviews:

We paid for a non-smoking room and was put in a smoking room that was filthy. We did get an upgrade to a better room but not until the next day and only between 11 and 2. Was given a comp for fifty bucks that no one knew how to give it to us. A employee came to our room at 2am to spray our room for smells with out us knowing they were comming.

++++++

The rooms are all ground floor which is nice, but they are not cleaned until you leave. And don’t even think of asking for a trash can!

+++++++

This place is a joke. The beds sag. They sag very noticably. You can actually see what looks like a gaping hole under the blanket in the middle of one of the beds. They advertise HBO on their sign but do not have HBO in reality. The manager is hard to track down and only answers his phone if he feels like it. He appears to be a wanna-be gangsta type and though I didnt have any probs with him, I could sense his overall dismissive attitude.The bathroom smells like smoke in a non smoking room. There is soap scum CAKED ON to the soap holder part of the shower. Along with all kinds of built up and crusted grime of all sorts on the shower floor. In a word this place sucks.

+++++++

My husband made reservations to stay here for the week a week in advance. He arrives and there is no body at the desk, just some phone to use. The person on the other end says “Rooms are all full” and hung up. No explanation but he found out somewhere else they did not acknowledge his reservation and booked his room out to someone else for a higher price because there was an event in the area.
What an unprofessional crap hole.

+++++++

Stay Away!!! Tweaker Heaven!!! Weekly Rate was $150 for a single king… I swear my room/belongings were moved around more than once… DO NOT TAKE YOUR KIDS OR FAMILY HERE!!!

+++++++

I would give negative stars if I could..my room key stopped working and they had the open light on for the office with no one there.. I called the number on the door 5+ times.. I had to work in the morning with my belongings for work in that room.. When they finally showed up after I called the cops, they made the rude remark that I should of got another room for the matter I paid for that room and my belongs were in that room..turn your open light off if you aren’t going to have a 24/7 staff

+++++++

Good pricing and staff leaves u alone

+++++++

Dirty but affordable.

++++++

I Travel constantly for work, tower climbing to be exact. This honestly, in all the states I’ve been to has to be the MOST uncleanly hotel of all time. Over charging for rooms with bed bugs, dirty floors, carpets, bedsheets not to mention pillows! Garbage left behind by other guests and pee stains all over. The cover for the bed had numerous stains on it including blood and bodily fluids . Utterly disgusting. After moving rooms twice, all the crew members agreed that this was the worst hotel they had ever stayed at. After one comment about bed bugs they quickly flaunted an obvious printed paper that read, accepted/inspected by health department, in which looked like a 4th grader looked up and copied to a blank piece of paper. I don’t have much to say but don’t ever stay here if you care about your well being. So many more things to be said but if you can’t get the picture refer to my photos listed. Just gross. (Yelp Review)

++++++

My crew and I pretty much live on the road. The rooms are nasty, there was bed bugs, stains on the bedding. The shower was a step down from prison commodities. Five of us, all found bed bugs in our room. We confronted the front desk and demanded our money back and went to the laundromat immediately to kill any bugs that may have got into our laundry. Do not stay here, if you have any self respect (Yelp Review)

Quite frankly, these people just sound soft to me.

Animals, Jesse, Nader, State Fair, Still Life, Street Photography

Iowa State Fair – Day 4 – Alpha

April 19, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to start sharing the images from my last trip to the Iowa State Fair. This trip was on the last day of the Fair and I went with Jesse and Nader to pick up my pictures from the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It was scorching hot on this day. Just brutal. And my experience on this day was one of those times that just kind of drilled into me that I need to get healthier. Drop a few lbs and just get in better shape in general. I’m hoping to stay on my positive general trajectory and this year at the Fair, I definitely will feel a difference. More at the end of the day.

This first collection is heavy on that most cutest of animals… the pig!

Many more pictures from this steaming hot day at the Fair left to share!

Candid Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

Des Moines Farmer’s Market I

April 17, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

People often talk about how the Iowa State Fair is a great place for people watching. That is correct. All fairs and town festivals are great for such activities. But an underrated place for people watching is a good old fashioned farmer’s market. Like the Iowa State Fair it is also a great place to get great food. Walk in with a big old wad of cash and walk out with an empty wallet. I love a good Farmer’s Market from Rinehart’s Drive-Thru Farmer’s Market by Fraser to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market. The downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market is maybe… maybe my favorite place in the world (or at least central Iowa) to do a little bit of street photography.

One day last summer I went down there with Teresa and did just that.

This year I plan on making multiple trips to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market AND I’ve talked for years about going to the Farmer’s Market in Valley Junction. This is the year I make that happen!

Still more pictures to share from this trip!

Basketball, Bill, Iowa State, Jesse, Road Trip, Still Life

Iowa State 67 Washington State 56

April 16, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The Iowa State Men earned their way to play their first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Omaha by being a #2 seed. They won their first round game over Otz’s first ever team South Dakota State. This setup a 2nd Round matchup with Washington State. Jesse and I picked up tickets for a cheap $250 a piece and headed to Omaha to watch the Cyclones play.

We met up with Bill at his favorite sports bar before the game and knocked down some tasty chicken wings.

Here are some pictures:

Iowa State struggled a bit early been then pulled away in the 2nd half to win fairly easily.

The arena in Omaha is kind of a dump though. It is lousy enough I’m not even sure I want to claim it as an outpost of Hilton. It is not as nice as Hilton South in Kansas City. The rows are crazy close together, at least for us poors up in steerage. The concourse up in steerage is also incredibly small. A lot of people think the concourse at Hilton proper is too narrow. They should try walking around Hilton West. The scoreboard only shows individual stats for one team and that team on our side, was Washington State. There is a stat board at one end of the arena, but you can’t read all of the stats on it because they have a curtain that covers up about 30 percent of the scoreboard. The arena is so poorly designed that at one point Jesse and I accidentally left the arena and ended up at a high school prom. We had to sweet talk a cop into letting us back into the arena.

All in all it was a great trip, with great friends, watching a great basketball team. I can hardly wait for next season as Iowa State is projected to be a preseason Top 10 next year. It is hard to say how that will ultimately shakes out as there is still a lot of action to go down in the transfer portal. Iowa State still needs to add 2-3 players for next year’s roster. They need 1 more big and 1 more shooter. I was going to do a preview of next season on this post, because I thought Iowa State would have all the hay in the barn from the transfer portal. Unfortunately, John Calipari moving from Kentucky to Arkansas triggered a chain of events that cost Iowa State a transfer from Colorado as the player’s price tag went up to nearly $500,000. Too rich for Iowa State’s blood. So we will wait and see and then do that preview at a later date. Same thing goes for the women.

Art, Christianity, FNSC, Jay, Jesse, Nader, Nature, Still Life, Tenderloining

Fisher of Men: Rural Story County Field Work

April 14, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A few weeks back FNSC made another stop on the Catholic Fish Fry Circuit. This time we went north of Ames on County Line Road and hit up the culinary offerings of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. A church that I have often wondered what it looked like on the inside. This particular Friday Night Supper Club was attended by your Humble Narrator, Jesse, Jay, and Nader.

Here are some pictures:

First things first. This was by far the best value of any of the Catholic fish fries we hit. Mainly because the dessert was included in the price of admission. All of the other ones had an at-will donation for the desserts. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem throwing in a few bucks for a brownie or a piece of pie or cake. But they didn’t want my few extra bucks.

Here is the other thing to note. The real show stopper here wasn’t the fish, which was very good. It wasn’t the baked potato. Or the cole slaw. Or the green beans. It was the corn. This corn clearly didn’t come out of a can or a frozen steamer bag. This corn came from somebody’s farm. AND… IT… WAS… AMAZING!!!! I immediately was longing for a day in the not too distant future where I would be able to stop and buy some Grimes Sweet Corn from the back of a pickup truck in some random gas station. Despite its flaws that are growing by the day, there are parts that are great about living in Iowa. And buying sweet corn out of the back of a pickup truck is one of those great things. Then eating that sweet corn is even better. When I was eating the corn at this fish fry, dang it, if I wasn’t proud of this state again.

I would definitely add Saints Peter and Paul’s Fish Fry to my list of fish fries that I will hit again next year. There are still more fish fries left to share. Wish it was 3. Stupid Friday wasted at On the Waterfront in Ankeny. You don’t understand. We coulda had class. We coulda been contenders. We coulda been somebody, instead of bums. Which is what we are. Next year, there will be no wasted night in Ankeny. This I swear on the graves of many a fried fish. That I have eaten.

The next food adventure I will share will be another stop on the Central Iowa Catholic Fish Fry Tour. Next year we need to get shirts!

But…

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down -3.0 pounds. I am now down 29.5 pounds since starting Noom. I am .1 pounds away from reaching my May 1 goal weight. 25.1 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*. It is nice to officially be on the side where I’ve lost more weight than I need to lose. That is an accomplishment of some kind.

I’m actually surprised that my weight went down this week. On my eclipse road trip I didn’t eat well and spent a ton of times just sitting in cars. Shoutout to whomever brought the peanut butter bars to the Eclipse Party. I crushed an unhealthy amount of those. Pete’s chili was also delicious! I also ate fast food. Had fried food 3 times. Crushed a carrot cake from an Indiana bakery. A raspberry something or other from “the bakery” in Pella. Ate some candy from a candy store in Chariton. Skipped a day at the gym because it closed due to a bomb threat. But I still kept moving as much as I could.

Seems like I should hit my May 1 goal this week. It is ONLY .1 pounds away! But I won’t be surprised if I don’t. Might be a rebound week or a plateau week. Only 1 thing to do, just keep moving.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. I think one of those is I think I’m officially down 1 shirt size. Depending on what company makes the shirt. That is something that is hard for me to judge, cause I don’t really like my clothes touching me too much. But some of my shirts are starting to be too big, even based on my very loose standards for very big. See what I did there?

In the 56 days since I started using FitBit I’ve:

+ Taken 380,541 steps
+ Averaged 12.158 steps a day
+ Walked 316.95 miles
+ Averaged walking 5.66 miles a day

Sometimes I think about going into the Computer Mine an extra day a week, cause it easier for me to get my steps in there, but the if you follow you me on SnapChat you know the main stumbling back against this is Canadian. CANADIANS! But maybe that part of the job is coming to an end. One never knows.

That is all to report for now.

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 447 – PASSION

April 9, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

PASSION! A great theme! But did enough people have enough PASSION about their PASSION to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 1, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week (IA)
2-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA)
3-Layla Gorshe – 1 week (IA)
4-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN)
5-Monica Jennings – 1 week (IA)
6-Amy Peterson – 1 week (IA)
7-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks (IA)
8-Tim Panages – 2 weeks (IA)
9-Deanna McClain – 3 weeks (IA)
10-Johnathan Stensland – 3 weeks (IA)
11-Adam Gordon – 5 weeks (IA, MS, MO)
12-Becky Parmelee – 7 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
13-Sara Lockner – 11 weeks (IA)
14-Lowell Davis – 13 weeks (IA)
15-Michelle Haupt – 12 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
16-Alexis Stensland – 13 weeks (IA)
17-Brandon Kahler – 14 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Scott Degeneffe – 32 weeks (IA, FL)
19-Sabas Hernandez – 33 weeks (IA)
20-Mike Vest – 37 weeks (IA, MO)
21-Sheri Fakhouri – 42 weeks (IA)
22-Logan Kahler – 43 weeks (IA, MN)
23-Nathanial Brown – 44 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
24-Jesse Howard – 44 weeks (IA, MO, NE)
25-Tamara Peterson – 56 weeks (IA, MN)
26-Mindi Terrell – 59 weeks (IA)
27-Linda Bennett – 88 weeks (KS)
28-Sarah Toot – 89 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
29-Angie DeWaard – 93 weeks (IA)
30-Dawn Krause – 97 weeks (IA)
31-Kim Barker – 103 weeks (IA, CO)
32-Joe Duff – 104 weeks (TX)
33-Teresa Kahler – 115 weeks (IA)
34-Carla Stensland – 115 weeks (IA, MO)
35-Micky Augustin – 117 weeks (IA, IL)
36-Andy Sharp – 118 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA)
37-Bill Wentworth – 119 weeks (NE)
38-Cathie Morton – 122 weeks (IA, FL, BHS)
39-Elizabeth Nordeen – 124 weeks (IA)
40-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 126 weeks (IA)
41-Kio Dettman – 128 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Mason City, Iowa) – 119 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 94 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 8 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 120 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 15 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 116 weeks

Cathie Morton (Saint Louis, Missouri) – 123 weeks

Cathie Morton (Saint Louis, Missouri)

Christopher D. Bennett (Spoon River Rest Area – Illinois)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 98 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 125 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Spoon River Rest Stop – Illinois) – 2 weeks

Jesse Howard (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) – 45 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 105 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Johnathan Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Kim Barker (Des Moines, Iowa) – 104 weeks

Kim Barker (Des Moines, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 129 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 89 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 44 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Michelle Haupt (Ankeny, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Micky Augustin (Japser County, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 38 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Ankeny, Iowa) – 60 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Sara Lockner (Des Moines, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Sarah Toot (New York City, New York) – 90 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Gilbert, Iowa) – 33 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Sacramento, California) – 127 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Summerset, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Gretna, Nebraska) – 43 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Gretna, Nebraska)

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 97 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Papillon, Nebraska) – 116 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Papillon, Nebraska)

Willy McAlpine (Goeppinger Field – Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks

38 participants! A pretty great week! But a 4 participant drop from the previous week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ California (1)
+ Florida (1)
+ Illinois (2)
+ Iowa (35)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Missouri (2)
+ Nebraska (5)
+ New York (1)
+ Texas (2)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (7.5)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (2)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Florida (4)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (3)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (479)
+ Kansas (21)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (10.5)
+ Nebraska (23)
+ Nevada (1)
+ New York (10)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (12)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (22)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)

25 states so far! 1 foreign country! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL) – 7
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL) – 4
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL) – 4
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BS, MO) – 4
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 3

Jen and Andy are now tied to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!”

Shannon, Teresa, and Sheri joined the list of people that have submitted from multiple places this week!

The major milestone this wee was Kim hitting the 2 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! However, there was a bloodbath of streaks coming to an end. Layla and Amy couldn’t build on last week’s submission and their streaks are over before they began. Tim’s streak is over at 2. Worst of all, Sabas’ streak comes crashing to an end at 33! The Humanity!

NECESSITY – SUGGESTED BY JOE DUFF

NECESSITY! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! Thank you Joe for suggesting it!

You might be scoffing at the fact that I think VitaCoco Coconut Water is a NECESSITY. Maybe you don’t understand. Their coconuts are carefully handpicked on thousands of small farms throughout the topics. These aren’t blood coconuts picked by child slave labor. It is a necessity cause it replenishes electrolytes, provides vital nutrients, hydrates with coconut goodness, AND makes taste buds happy! It is perfect for post-workouts, hangovers, afternoon boosts (we can all use those), smoothies, and the general human tendency to get thirsty. I like to crush a box of VitaCoco after crushing a workout at Planet Fitness because it provides me with 50% of my daily intake of Vitamin C and 15% of my potassium! And the carton is even recyclable! If that isn’t a NECESSITY, I don’t know what the word means!

But I will be interested to find out what you consider to be a NECESSITY.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of NECESSITY in this place that I hope some of you find to be one next Monday.

Joe Duff, Still Life, WPC - Reminder

Week 448 Theme Reveal

April 8, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

You were probably eagerly, constantly refreshing your email inbox waiting to see what delightful images were submitting for last week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme PASSION. Unfortunately for you, I am probably standing in a field in Indiana right now staring up at the sky, trying not to go blind. Nowhere near a computer, let alone the internet.

However, just because I’m nowhere near a computer doesn’t mean that you can’t and shouldn’t start working on this week’s theme. Which is…. drumroll please…

NECESSITY – Suggested by Joe Duff

NECESSITY! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! Thank you Joe for suggesting it!

But I will be interested to find out what you consider to be a NECESSITY.

While I’m also sure you are interested to see the PASSION submissions! Look for those to be published when I return. Probably Tuesday night. Maybe Wednesday. Depends on whether or not I come back from Indiana blind or not.

Alexis, Basketball, Iowa State, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining, Teresa

I Scream: Hilton Field Work

April 7, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today’s food adventure took me to Ames. To the cathedral known as James H. Hilton Coliseum. A storied basketball (and other sports like volleyball and gymnastics) venue where the Iowa State men went undefeated and the women went 13-2. I had this adventure at the final home game of the season. March 2. It was the first time I had ice cream since November. I went to the game with Alexis (who went in Carla’s place) and Teresa.

The opponent was the Cincinnati Bearcats. On the menu was the Clone Cone.

Here are some pictures:

You can barely make out the Clone Cone stand from the end of the line.

It appears to be 2 different flavors, but it is all vanilla.

The Clone Cone also enjoys watch Audi Crooks cook!

Big fan of Emily, Addy, Kelsey, Hannah… well really all of them!

Last bites

You know my policy on ice cream. It is the same as Ted Lasso’s:

“Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.”

I have to confess… maybe it was the environment. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had ice cream in over 3 months, but this was about the best tasting ice cream of my life! It tasted like victory. Like a 16 point win over the Bearcats.

But it was also a little bittersweet as it was the last game in Hilton ever for Hannah and Nyamer. And as it turned out, for Shantavia and Jalynn.

You can your own Clone Cone at virtually any Iowa State sporting event at Hilton. You will only have to wait until November. But it will be worth the wait. Both the Iowa State men and women’s basketball teams should be pre-season Top 10 teams. Top 15 at the worst.

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down 1.8 pounds. I am now down 26.5 pounds since starting Noom. I am 3.1 pounds away from reaching my May 1 goal weight. 28.1 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*.

Weight obviously fluctuates quite a bit based on a ton of factors. From what you ate the day before to when you ate your last meal to when you went to bed the night before to when you last went to the bathroom to when you weigh yourself. I try not to get too high if the scale ticks down or too low if the scale ticks up. The important thing is that the general trend is going in the right direction.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This week I did achieve a new badge on FitBit:

I achieved walking 250 miles since starting using Fitbit in February on April 4.

That is all to report for now.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will be back on the Catholic Fish Fry Circuit!

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.