An Artist's Notebook

RWPE #5 - Framing

2010-02-08T12:21:00.004-06:00

Basic housekeeping:

This page will be moving at the end of February. Don't forget to update your links, bookmarks and RSS Feeds to the new URL: http://www.photography139.com/notebook/

Astute and technically savvy subscriber Angie did remind me that Blogger Dashboard is just an RSS Feed reader and anybody that follows An Artist's Notebook on Blogger Dashboard will still be able to follow it through Blogger Dashboard by simply updating the URL.

Dawn and Angie both raised concerns that they would not get email alerts when responses to their comments are left on the blog. I am currently looking into coming up with a fix for that and I will let you know when I come up with a solution.

This week's submissions for Random Weekly Photo Experiment:

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Shannon Bardole's Art Appreciation Picks of the Week:

Dawn Krause's Weekly Poetry Entry:

Dawn went for the "psychological concept of Framing" with her poem.

Framing

A social theory of interpretation
It helps us along in communication

Reference points making up our lives
Fitting together till every piece jives

Outline of who we believe we are
Continually makes us raise our bar

Compare our lives to what we know
Fitting our frames to friend and foe

This must have been a tougher concept to tackle as the fewest people contributed, but hopefully more people will be able to tackle this week's theme:

ADVENTURE

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of The Writer's Almanac. It is my favorite thing on the radio. I wanted to share a little tidbit from today's Writer's Almanac as it is rapidly approaching Valentine's Day. In fact, The Writer's Almanac is celebrating this week with love letters.

Poet John Keats (books by this author) lived to be just 25 years old, but in that time he wrote some of the most exquisite love letters in the English language. The letters were to Fanny Brawne to whom he became engaged.

He was 23 years old, recently back from a walking tour of Scotland, England, and Ireland (during which time he'd probably caught the tuberculosis that would soon kill him), and had moved back to a grassy area of London, where he met and fell in love with Fanny Brawne. During this time, he composed a number of his great poems, including Ode to a Nightingale. And one Wednesday in the autumn, he wrote this letter, considered by many the most beautiful in the English language:

My dearest Girl,
This moment I have set myself to copy some verses out fair. I cannot proceed with any degree of content. I must write you a line or two and see if that will assist in dismissing you from my Mind for ever so short a time. Upon my soul I can think of nothing else. The time is passed when I had power to advise and warn you against the unpromising morning of my Life. My love has made me selfish. I cannot exist without you. I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again — my Life seems to stop there — I see no further. You have absorb'd me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I was dissolving — I should exquisitely miserable without the hope of soon seeing you. I should be afraid to separate myself far from you. My sweet Fanny, will your heart never change? My love, will it? I have no limit now to my love ... I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion — I have shudder'd at it. I shudder no more. I could be martyr'd for my religion — love is my religion — I could die for that. I could die for you. My Creed is Love and you are its only tenet. You have ravish'd me away by a Power I cannot resist; and yet I could resist till I saw you; and even since I have seen you I have endeavored often "to reason against the reasons of my Love." I can do that no more — the pain would be too great. My love is selfish. I cannot breathe without you.

Yours for ever
John Keats

The following spring, Keats wrote: "My dear Girl, I love you ever and ever and without reserve. The more I have known you the more I have lov'd. ... You are always new. The last of your kisses was ever the sweetest; the last smile the brightest; the last movement the gracefullest. When you pass'd my window home yesterday, I was filled with as much admiration as if I had then seen you for the first time."

Keats and Brawne became engaged. He wanted to earn some money for them before they got married. But then he began coughing up blood. When he saw it, he said: "I know the color of that blood; it is arterial blood. I cannot be deceived in that color. That drop of blood is my death warrant. I must die." He wrote to tell her that she was free to break off their engagement since he would likely not survive. But she would not, and he was hugely relieved. But he died before they married.

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 3

2010-02-05T09:34:00.003-06:00

Before I delve into this week's PPPW, I want to pass along some sad (not real sad) and fairly technical news.

The way I have always posted entries into this journal is through a blogging company known as Blogger. It is an awesome program and it allows me to write blogs on their website and publish them to my website via FTP.

Blogger is discontinuing their support for FTP publishing in about a month. That means that I am parting ways with Blogger at the end of February.

There are some positives to this change:

Now my Journal will have a consistent look and feel to it.
The blogging software I'm changing to (WordPress) is the same software I use to create, design and maintain my website. It does have a couple of features that Blogger does not.

There are some negatives to this change:

The URL of "An Artist's Notebook" will change from: http://www.photography139.com/index_files/artistsnotebook.htm to http://www.photography139.com/notebook/. That means that those of you that have links or bookmarks to the blog will have to update them to the new URL. Also, if you follow this blog via RSS Feed, you will have to update your RSS feed. I'm currently double posting, so it won't hurt to change those links and bookmarks before I stop posting via Blogger on March 1.
Some people follow me via Blogger Dashboard. Those people will stop getting updates on March 1. If this is troubling to you and you aren't comfortable with RSS Feeds, you can email me at bennett@photography139.com and I will add you to the email subscription list.
There are only a few people that actually leave comments on my blog, but I do treasure those comments. (This is in addition to the people that email me directly, I treasure those emails as well.) Most of those people follow via Blogger Dashboard. It is my hope that they continue to leave comments on the blog in its newest incarnation, but know that this will take an extra step for them.
Because the email subscription list will be distributed in a new way, it is possible that there will be hiccups along the way. I am in the process of "beta testing" this knew system, but it is possible that something could slip by the testing process. If you suddenly stop getting emails from me on March 1, then something bad has happened. Let me know and I'll look into the issue.
Perhaps the most annoying for my readers, I will be posting a reminder similar to this on the top of every journal entry I publish between now and March 1.

Enough housekeeping! Here is Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 3:

Open Mic Night

The sad part about this story is that this fish has already died. As Dennis so eloquently put it: "He lived on the stage. He died on the stage."

I did not kill this fish. Nor did I kill the second unpictured fish that I got for free because the Wal-Mart lady fished out two fish on accident and was too lazy to return the other fish to the aquarium.

They both died of completely natural causes, I believe that natural cause of death to have been "fish bought from Wal-Mart". Despite my best efforts to keep them alive, I fed them every now and again, they perished... from this Earth.

So let me share a couple of pictures from their brief existence.

I need to thank my favorite rock star, Derrick Gorshe for loaning me the mic and mic stand. I printed out a temporary copy of this picture that Derrick requested so he could hang it up at Rieman Music. If you don't count Shannon's apartment as the worldwide headquarters of Little White Lye Soap or Jesse's office at work, this is only the 2nd business to proudly display a Photography 139 image on one of its walls.

The first business was Salon 908.

I do know that the Photography 139 Calendar has graced office walls and cubicles of businesses like The Salon at Younker's, Loan Processing Services, Ortho Computer Systems and Principal Financial Group, but this is a little different.

I hope you enjoyed the comedic picture and the sad tale of how it ended.

The Digital Bouquet

2010-02-04T11:14:00.003-06:00

As promised, here are some of the other pictures I took for RWPE #4 - Plants.

I still need to tinker with a few of these, but I'm mostly pleased with the results.

A Phenomenal Week

2010-02-03T19:47:00.004-06:00

Those with good memories will remember a few months back when I wrote a series of blogs about groups that I am in that have matching shirts. The keenly observant will recall that I said there were 5 such groups, but I only posted blogs about 4 such groups.

I was waiting until the final group had earned our way into being "blog-worthy". That group made that leap from anonymity to greatness on Sunday night. That was just the conclusion of what was a phenomenal week.

The week started out to be not particularly great. On Monday morning I was nursing a nagging foot injury in my right heel from Sunday night's brutal basketball doubleheader.

Then several great things happened. In no particular order (chronologically or in magnitude of greatness):

Bowling was cancelled so I got to nurse my foot injury, watch Hoarders and start on my basement sorting project.

Visit the Baiers and Andree.

Have lunch with Shannon at Dublin Bay.

Talk to Jill on the phone, twice.

Have three nights to work on my basement sorting project that allowed me to make major head way. Including creating lots of garbage, finding many an old artifact worth treasuring and creating a burn pile.

Have supper with Nader and seeing Extraordinary Measures. An extraordinarily average movie.

Made it to the gym twice, both times with the new fitness king Jesse Howard.

Ate my favorite meal in the world, sauerkraut casserole.

Visited Derrick and Dennis at work, where I got to listen to Derrick talk about guitars (one of my favorite things in the world to do) and where Dennis gave me a great description of what happened in the Personal Photo Project of the Week that I will publish on Friday.
Ushered at church. This was a bonus because I love the extra legroom I get when I usher, plus I spent time before church discussing my backup religion (ISU athletics) with Angie's grandpa. It isn't rare when my two religions merge, but usually it is the other way around. I'm at an Iowa State football game saying a prayer like this: "God, I know that you don't interfere in the outcome of sporting events, but please let us make this PAT. I know that you are a Cyclone fan and isn't there a limit to how much you will allow your people to suffer?"
Had lunch at Pizza Pit with Frank, Clarence and Derrick. Knocked down a substantial amount of drummies!
Talked Willy into posing for my Personal Photo Project of this week. It involved breaking a mirror and that is always fun!
Had FNSC with Willy and Jay at La Carreta.
When I went to the flower shop to buy flowers for a subject for RWPE, they had exactly the type of flower I wanted.
Took Nader to see Iowa State erase a 14 point deficit to beat Colorado on a miraculous finish.
My RWPE project turned out very well and has a few different interesting variations.
Introduced Jay to some of his old art that I found in the basement during my sorting.
Got a company profit sharing bonus that was easily large enough to cover my recent furnace repair.
The raise I gave myself (by canceling AFLAC and changing insurance plans) was on Friday's paycheck.
Got an email from Sara where she quoted her instructor on how to do a pap smear. I won't repeat it here, but it was a hilarious description of where not put your thumb. I will share that her instructor likes to compare the vagina to a self-cleaning oven.
Found out that I get to provide Jen with a tool that will help her with her stained glass projects.
Saw a bald eagle.
Came up with a new idea for an entertainment center for my living room. My Grandpa Bennett's old workbench. I know this idea is pure unadulterated genius because my mom hates this idea.
Found out that I was born special and learned some family history to boot.
Made a beard shaving pact with Tony and Corey. If we lost our Ames Rec League basketball game, we all agreed to shave out beards.
Got some ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, phenomenal news from Jill.

My week concluded with my Ames Rec League basketball game. Our team, The Little Dribblers, has struggled mightily season.I We hadn't won a game yet this season. I had walked around the workplace guaranteeing victory, but Tony took my guarantee up a notch and suggested that we shave our beards if we lost on Sunday.

Based on how amazing my week had been, I was supremely confident that I wouldn't be showing up for work on Monday as a dirty naked-face. I pledged myself to the pact.

My week kept getting better and better after the pact. When I walked into the gym on Sunday night I had no doubt in my mind that me and my Little Dribblers brethren would be walking back out of that gym 60 or so minutes later with our heads held high for the first time all season.

I should point out that when I say that we haven't won a game this season, that doesn't mean that we get close and lose it in the end. We have been on the wrong end of some fairly brutal blowouts. It is not an exaggeration to say that we have obviously become the girlfriend game for most of the foes in the league.

Maybe I should explain the concept of the girlfriend game to those that aren't familiar with it.

The girlfriend game is the game where you force, bring or allow your girlfriend to attend. It is a game where you are fairly certain that you will win by a healthy margin. You will look impressive and it will reassure your girlfriend or wife that she made a wise choice in selecting you from the herd.

This is the way that men think. I'm pretty sure most women would rather be at home watching Gray's Anatomy or whatever it is that women like to do on Sunday nights. Either way, it is not paranoia that forces me to make the observation that when teams play us, there are lots of lady friends in the other team's cheering section that aren't there when they are playing other teams.

For the record, only Donner has ever brought his lady to one of our games. She came to our first game and hasn't returned since. Yes, the Little Dribblers have been sans female fans since our first game. It is a sad state of affairs, but it is understandable.

That isn't to say that we are devoid of fans. Both Doug and Joe have brought their sons to our games. Thankfully they are both too young to lose respect for their fathers based on what has transpired on the court before their innocent eyes.

Based on how awesome my week had been, I warmed up with extreme amounts of confidence. The only thing that gave me cause for pause was the fact that Tony did not show up. Why had Tony suggested a beard growing pact and then failed to even show up? Did he know something that I did not?

We still had plenty of firepower. Firepower we didn't have the first time we locked horns with our opponents. A game where we fell in OT after running out of steam because we only had 6 players.

This time we had 9 guys. 9 guys with a wide range of talents.

The game started out with the Little Dribblers jumping on our opponent. We opened up a quick 7-0 lead. But our opponent didn't show any quit. They rattled off 9 straight points to grab the lead, but an old-fashioned 3 point play by Donner put us up for good.

The game turned into a defensive struggle with neither team able to score much against the other team's tough defense. The Little Dribblers settled into halftime with a 19-16 lead. Not a comfortable lead, but we were clearly in control of the game and it was our first halftime lead of the season.

During halftime I collected my thoughts and sent out a score update text.

The third quarter was all about defense for the Little Dribblers. Our tough 2-3 zone suffocated the paint and our quick guards closed out quickly on their outside shooters to prevent any open looks.

We held our opponent without a single point for the entire third quarter. We were forcing our will on them, but there didn't seem to be any quit in them. It wasn't until the final few seconds of the third quarter when you could finally feel the air come out of the gym.

Memory is a funny thing and I can't swear to every detail that I'm about to describe, but it is not the exactness of the details that is of the most importance. It is the general idea of what happened that is of consequence.

With about 7 seconds left we missed a layup. Our opponent rebounded the ball and headed up court. A little in front of the three point line, Chad knocked the ball free from the man he was guarding. The ball bounced to another one of our opponents, but Corey was there playing in the jersey of his man. Corey knocked the ball free and start dribbling towards our basket. I saw that there wasn't much time left on the clock so I sprinted towards our basket and called out for the ball. Corey, with his legendary court awareness, spotted me out of the corner of his eye and burned a pass through 2 (maybe 3) defenders. Despite the smoking velocity I caught the ball and took a dribble and went up for a layup on my weak side. The ball left my hands and banked off the backboard and through the hoop. As my feet (still nursing an injured foot) landed on the court the buzzer sounded signifying the end of the third quarter. The Little Dribblers bench jumped up and celebrated in pandemonium. Our opponents lowered their heads and walked back to their bench. There was still 10 minutes left to play, but that play effectively ended the game. We had crushed their spirits.

The last quarter played out. The buzzer sounded (after a strange player where one of their players came completely across the court to foul me, while I was just dribbling out the clock after securing the final defensive rebound of the game) and the scoreboard shouted, "Little Dribblers 43 Other Team 23". End of losing streak. End of frustration. End of being the girlfriend game, well maybe not the last one.

We sat on the sidelines and soaked in the feel of victory for awhile. I grabbed my phone and fired off a few texts to interested parties. Perhaps they weren't all that interested, but they got a text message any way.

It didn't take long for the accolades to come streaming in:

"WOW!!! U guys creamed them! CONGRATS 2 U, UR TEAM, AND UR GOATEE!!!"
-Jill Gorshe

"You really 'dominated' them!"
-William McAlpine

"Awesome! As it happens peggy didn't end up getting the tickets."
-Shannon Bardole

"Congrats!"
-Jen Gorshe

Jay said something cool as well, but I accidentally deleted his text message. Sorry Jay.

Jesse asked very kindly if he could touch a Little Dribbler jersey so he could know what it feels like to touch a winner. I obliged him in this request.

Now that the Little Dribblers are winners, until we take the court again on St. Valentine's Night, I can post a picture of the Little Dribblers jersey.

I'm sorry, the jerseys are not for sale to the general public.

Soothing Photo Shoot

2010-02-02T09:13:00.003-06:00

This pictures were never in the running for RWPE #2 - Soothing, but I took them at the same time and keep forgetting to post them.

I love fog.

RWPE #4 - Plants

2010-02-01T12:55:00.001-06:00

Last week's Random Weekly Photo Experiment Theme was PLANTS. It is exciting to have Julie Johnson as a first time contributor! Here are the submissions:

Julie Johnson

Dawn Krause

Jesse Howard

Mike Vest

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole's Artistic Appreciation Selection of the Week:

Dawn Krause's Poem:

Plants

As bee and butterfly flit through the green
Amid a summer day
On a rose flying-beauty paused to preen
While bee begins to play

The garden sways gently to the breeze
It’s rustle fills the air
Aroma and beauty with aim to please
A sensual gift so rare

The theme for this week is FRAMING.

The best way to describe FRAMING is it a compositional technique where an object (usually in the foreground)surrounds the subject. Essentially creating a frame.

An example of this technique can be seen in the image below taken by my nephew Logan on Mother's Day.

However, don't feel obligated to stick to that definition. A picture of somebody framing a picture or framing a house would qualify just as easily.

I do actually have several other photos that from my PLANTS photo session that I will publish later this week. I took several more pictures than I usually do for RWPE and I don't want them all to sit on my hard drive collecting dust. Like the picture of the aftermath of me tripping over a fence, during the SOOTHING photo shoot, always will.

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 2

2010-01-29T12:30:00.001-06:00

Funny Face Homage

This is an example of completing two photo projects in one week. Long time fans of Jill and the keenly observant will note that she is wearing the same shirt as in Psyched Up (Not Out). That is because these pictures were taken moments apart.

Another observation that could be made is that this is the inverse of the June picture in the 2010 Photography 139 Calendar.

Funny Face Homage Inverse

The positive image (image at the top) is the image that was originally designed. The image in the calendar was something I did later in post production for fun. As it turns out, Jill actually prefers the inversion and while her feedback may have contributed to its inclusion in the calendar over the originally designed image the real reason is one of practicality. An image that has this much dark and black is hard for a printer to print with any kind of quality. So the much lighter inversion was selected. This is why calls by Baier to include moon photography in the calendar have been ignored to date.*

I indicated in an earlier entry that this picture was placed on June because it represents a darkroom technique. This was another contributing factor. That image was created in Photoshop, but it is an image that could be made in the darkroom and was inspired by many of my darkroom failures. Failures that can be seen in my newly christened "failure trunk" that resides in my basement.

Memory is a funny thing. The original picture was inspired by the Audrey Hepburn movie Funny Face. I'm certain that they settled for Audrey Hepburn because they didn't have a Jill Gorshe. Fortunately, I didn't have to settle.

It had been a couple of years since I watched that movie, but I do remember being inspired to make this image immediately during my initial viewing.

A few days after taking this picture, I re-watched Funny Face. It turns out that it is in color. I remembered it being in black and white. That is okay, I prefer my image to be in black and white.

Here is a still from the scene in the movie Funny Face that inspired this picture.

This picture did take a little bit of groundwork to make. The inverse image in the image comes from a test picture I took of Jill a couple months ago when she posed for the hand picture.

I converted this picture to black and white, cropped it and made it into a negative image.

Admittedly, Jill isn't crazy about this image of her. That might be why she likes the FFH Inverse better.

Although I personally love all of these pictures (mostly because of my ego problem) my favorite picture is actually somewhat of a joke.

As anybody has modeled for me can tell you, I don't give much direction. Therefore, when Jill sought direction, I told her just look at her picture. I didn't want any kind of a modeling pose.

She replied, "That is good. Because if I tried to model it would look goofy like this..."

Then she did the following.

Hilarious!

Next week's personal photo project involves a creature that did not live to see its artistic contribution to the world unveiled. Despite the insinuations of Jay, I didn't commit murder. It died completely independent of my actions. I do confess that it was convenient for me that it passed on because I have no clue what I was going to do with it, but fate bailed me out. Not my own actions.

*Incidentally, tonight is a great night to go out and watch the moon. It is the perigee moon. The largest full moon of the year. It is as much as 14% wider and 30% brighter than other full moons you'll see later this year!

Throwing Apples

2010-01-28T22:59:00.002-06:00

Sometimes when I'm driving to the Computer Mine in the morning I eat an apple for breakfast.

When I get out of my car I like to throw that apple into the woods before I descend into the Mine. I do this because I figure that the apple is better used by many of the woodland creatures that scurry around out there than it would be sitting and rotting in the garbage can next to my bench.

Today when I threw the apple I disturbed a crow. I love crows.

So I watched the crow fly up and out of the woods and into the Ames sky.

As I tracked his flight I noticed an abnormally large brown thing perched on a tree behind the mine. Then I noticed its white head.

I didn't bring my camera to work today but I was able to borrow the camera of a fellow miner to snap off a few shots of the beast.

This is the first time that I have seen a bald eagle in Ames.

The 52 Themes

2010-01-27T18:30:00.002-06:00

I have been asked by a couple different people if I knew all 52 Themes for RWPE couldn't I think ahead?

The truth is that I could think ahead, but off the top of my head I couldn't tell you what maybe 5 of the themes are that haven't been used yet.

Plus I have to admit that I don't feel the need to think ahead on RWPE, when I'm already planning very far ahead for my Personal Photo Project of the Week. To put it somewhat bluntly, thinking ahead defeats the purpose of the project. The point of the project is spontaneity and being forced to think creatively when faced with a timeline. But admittedly there is a factor of convenience involved as well.

During the first 3 weeks, the photo that I have ended up taking (all 3 weeks) has been my 3rd or 4th idea. The first ideas just haven't worked out because of time and sometimes the weather.

However, I do want to afford other people the opportunity to "think ahead", so below I have listed all 52 Themes:

1 means available 0 means used.

1|~|Active
1|~|Adventure
1|~|Calm
1|~|Colorful
1|~|Communication
1|~|Discover
1|~|Dry
1|~|Explore
1|~|Fast
1|~|Harmony
1|~|Hope
1|~|Love
1|~|Motion
1|~|Peace of Mind
1|~|Silence
0|~|Soothing
1|~|Spiritual
1|~|Strength
1|~|Wet
1|~|Wild
1|~|Restaurants
1|~|Market
1|~|Paths
0|~|Plants
1|~|Painting with Light
1|~|Smoke Photography
1|~|Long Exposure
1|~|Rule of Thirds
1|~|Leading Lines
1|~|Symmetry and Patterns
1|~|Viewpoint
1|~|Depth of Field
1|~|Framing
0|~|Use of Space
1|~|Macro
1|~|Odd Camera Angle
1|~|Unfocused
1|~|Panning & Camera Blur
1|~|Light Placement
1|~|Still Life
1|~|Diagonal Rule
1|~|Self Portrait
1|~|Food
0|~|People
1|~|Silhouettes
1|~|Feet
1|~|Hands
1|~|Eye
1|~|Reflections
1|~|Face
1|~|Shadows
1|~|Signs

Some of these themes are somewhat specific photography techniques that some people might not understand. Don't worry, when "Depth of Field" or "Painting with Light" or chosen, I will do my best to explain what that means. Of course, there is no reason to have to think inside the box and feel obligated to use that technique literally.

RWPE #3 - People

2010-01-25T12:23:00.005-06:00

Last weeks Random Weekly Photo Experiment Theme was PEOPLE. Here are the submissions:

Christopher D. Bennett

Michael Vest

Jesse Howard

Becky Perkovich

There were also a couple of different types of submissions. The first of the different types of submissions came from Shannon Bardole. Her submission breaks the one and only rule of the Random Weekly Photo Experiment. That rule is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme.

However, I'm going to allow her submission because her take on this experiment is art appreciation and not creating new art. The picture she submitted I actually took.

Shannon Bardole

Dawn Krause also had an interesting take on this RWPE. She has elected to participate this week via her medium of choice - poetry.

People
The world wants lovers never pain
To dance in sunshine without rain
Our very nature will cause a rift
Away from Eden we slowly drift

Human nature a cunning score
Breaks the heart whom we adore
For want of love unconditioned
Search the world for our rendition

Young love will often never last
For inner tensions we are cast
Still we search for a kindred soul
A companionship to make us whole

Dawn Krause

I hope at least a few people are in suspense about the theme for RWPE this week. The Random Generator spit out the following theme:

PLANTS

That should be interesting considering most of the vegetation is covered in a thick blanket of snow and ice, but I have faith that a few people will be able to come up with something of interest.

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 1

2010-01-22T10:40:00.004-06:00

My new Friday tradition is to post my Personal Photo Project of the Week. This is not to be confused with the Random Photo Project of the Week that is posted on Mondays. The Monday pictures are random. The Friday pictures are personal.

One of the goals I developed near the end of last year was to complete a personal photo project every week. This isn't a 2010 goal. This is a "until I run out of what I view as creativity goal". I'm hoping that this is a 2011 goal, a 2012 goal, a 2013 goal...

Because frequently "fate takes a hand", sometimes I don't complete my personal photo project every week and sometimes I complete more than one project a week I'm giving myself a very generous buffer. Although this is the first week that I'm posting my personal photo projects I have a buffer of 6 weeks. That means, that this project was completed 6 weeks ago and if you participated in a weekly project, you won't see it posted on the website for roughly 6 weeks.

PPPoftW #1 was to get a picture of a foot to match my hand picture. Jill graciously agreed to pose for the foot picture so that the hand and foot pictures match (well, they are at least attached to the same body). So without further adieu, I reveal Psyched Up (Not Out).

Psyched Up (Not Out)

Not all photo projects will be taking new pictures. Some projects involve framing pictures. Some might involve hanging up pictures. But some projects involve taking multiple pictures. Here are a few other pictures from the "Psyched Photo Sessions".

I am choosing not to publish Jill's favorite picture from this photo session because it is more of a "behind the scenes" type photo and although I think most people can figure this picture out, I still like to leave some things to the imagination.

The Baiers

2010-01-21T17:24:00.003-06:00

On Carrie's birthday she requested that I take a few pictures of the Baier clan. Here are my favorite pictures from that day.

But before we got too deep into these pictures I need to point out a couple of things.

First, the addition of these pictures to the Friends Album makes it over 500 pictures in the Friends Album. A milestone worth celebrating. I think I will go to Jason Baier's favorite restaurant tonight to celebrate.

Second, there are times where I forget that I'm not invincible. This photo experience was one of those times. I insisted on climbing on top of a rock in the middle of a frozen stream to get the picture that I wanted.

I did get the pictures that I wanted, but when I came off the rock I planted my feet not so firmly on rather thin ice. The ice did not hold and I went crashing through into the freezing water below, up to my knees.

While the cold water was a few notches past invigorating, the real pain of this experience came from bashing my right knee against a rock on the way down. A knee injury that plagued me for weeks and undoubtedly contributed to some weak performances on the basketball court.

I don't bring this up because I desire sympathy, but merely to point out why in the middle of this collection of pictures of the Baiers there is a seemingly random picture of your humble narrator, photographer and hero.

Unfortunately, the lighting conditions couldn't be worse for portrait photography, but I think we came away with some good stuff.

RPotW #2: Soothing

2010-01-18T13:56:00.004-06:00

The photo assignment for last week was "Soothing".

Dawn Krause

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Vest has yet to submit his photo to me, but when he does I will post it.

The subject for this week is "PEOPLE".

That is a fairly easy subject so hopefully a couple more people choose to participate.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

2010-01-14T14:07:00.003-06:00

I've often heard that the saddest thing in the world is unrequited love. Unsolicited love on the other hand...

I've never been a Christmas card person. My thoughts on cards is that when somebody sends you a card, what they are really saying (with apologies to Mitch Hedberg) is: "here, throw this away for me."*

Apparently my bah humbuggery has gotten around and this year I think I hit a new low for Christmas cards received.

However, even though I don't participate in the tradition I took Christmas card photos for 4 sets of people. That made me think that maybe I should get into the act.

But I don't know how far I want to take it. I could certainly send a picture card of me that says, "Merry Christmas! Please, throw this away for me." But I began to wonder if I have it in me to write the perfunctory Christmas letter.

You know, the whitewashed version of people's lives that some people put in their cards. I didn't think I was capable of this level of lying, but then I opened the theme Christmas letter from Geri D.

It was inspiring in its creativity. Maybe inspiring enough that some of you might just get something in the mail from me in December of 2010.

Since I have already covered the Christmas card photo shoot for the Howards, I am going to spend the next few days covering the other 3 photo shoots.

The other thing I want to cover today is a new photo project I am entering into with Mike Vest of Waxen Media. (Jesse Howard has also agreed to participate, but did not submit a photo for this week.) It is the type of photo project that I hope some of you choose to also participate in.

We came up with 52 photo "subjects" and entered them into a random generator. Every week on Monday we will randomly be given a new subject to photograph.

On Mondays I will post the previous week's photos and that week's subject. Anybody that would like to participate can. You can participate as many or as few weeks as you want. The photos don't have to be taken with a fancy camera or have to be high art. Pictures with a camera phone are perfectly acceptable. The only rule is that the picture has to be taken that week.

Just email me your picture before noon each Monday.

Last week's subject was "Use of Space". Here are our pictures:

Christopher D. Bennett

Michael Vest

The subject for next week is "SOOTHING". I know this to be short notice, but snap something off and email it to me at bennett@photography139.com.

This weekly random photo subject should NOT be confused with my ongoing Personal Photo Project of the Week that is one of my goals for 2010. I should hopefully start publishing some of that work next week. After I cover the other 3 Christmas Card Photo Shoots.

Of course there is one last subject that needs to be covered. It has been exactly 1 week since my old friend college football left me until next September.

The Gridiron Bowl Prophets made many wild predictions and this time, Yours Truly came out as the Champ.

Gridiron Bowl Prophets Final Standings:

Christopher D. Bennett - The Insight - 23 of 34 - 429 Points
Corey Faust - In It To Beat Bennett - 20 of 34 - 393 Points
Jason Baier - Hokies - 21 of 34 - 367 Points
Jesse Howard - Bowl Prophet - 20 of 34 - 341 Points
Toby Sebring - I Love Lamp - 17 of 34 - 323 Points
Lowell Davis - AC000000 - 0 of 34 - 0 Points

It is only my incredible modesty that prevents me from pointing out the thorough dominance of my performance.

*Despite my bravado, I don't really throw anything away. If I'm ever on Hoarders, it will be because of the boxes and boxes of cards I have in my basement.

December

2010-01-13T09:52:00.002-06:00

Pardon and Sanctify Me

This cross stands on top of my church. It no longer looks like this because the it was painted during the tuckpointing process last year. The name comes from a classic hymn:

1. On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.
Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

2. O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary.
(Refrain)

3. In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me.
(Refrain)

4. To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share.
(Refrain)

The "story" of this picture and its original color incarnation can be seen by clicking on the link below:

Suffrage March

Number 750

2010-01-12T12:17:00.006-06:00

This is entry number 750 in this online journal. I'd like to take a little bit of time to archive some data. It is one of my peculiar imbecilities that I love meaningless statistics. Therefore, consider these statistics:

Every journal entry falls into at least one of sixteen categories. This is how many journal entries have fit into each one of these categories:

Photography - 295
Friends - 269
Life - 238
Family - 98
Religion - 63
ISU Football - 41
Jaycees - 40
Movies - 39
Blogging 33
Sports - 25
Work - 25
House - 24
Writing - 23
Comedy - 20
Politics - 17
History - 12

If you measure popularity by how many times a picture is viewed, these are the 10 (or so) most popular pictures in my Artistic Gallery.

#1. Outburst of the Soul (26 Views)

#2. Untitled (23 Views)

#3. Grizzly McAlpine (22 Views)

#3. Untitled (22 Views)

#5. Untitled (21 Views)

#5. Jen Smoking (21 Views)

#7. UnHingd Publicity Still (20 Views)

#8. 1900 (19 Views)

#8. Untitled - (19 Views)

#10. Campanile Self Portrait - (18 Views)

#10. US30 East of Ogden - (18 Views)

I know these numbers are somewhat controlled by the length of time a picture has been in the Artistic Gallery, but I am pleased by the number of black and white images that are high in popularity.

But it begs the question, what is the most popular subject in the Snapshot Gallery. What do people like to see from the "Daily Grind of My Existence"?

#1. Jesse and I with the World's Largest Cheeto - (25 Views)

#2. Jesse with a Bob's Dog - LeMars, Iowa (23 Views)

#3. Jesse and in backstage of the Surf Ball Room - (21 Views)

#4. Shannon reading a map on our first road trip to Backbone. (19 Views)

#4. Sumrall catching a pass against A&M. I think this picture is so popular because it was a popular picture to get spammed when I was having spamming problems with the galleries.

#6. Jesse at the Surf Ball Room - (18 Views)

#6. Jesse kissing the Blarney Stone - (18 Views)

#8. Jesse and I in Clinton on The Eastern Iowa Road Trip - (17 Views)

#8. Jen and Shannon making some kind of deal at Bonne Finken - (17 Views)

#8. Cousin Amy, Sara and Jen at Bonne Finken - (17 Views)

#8. Jesse and Jay on The Eastern Iowa Road Trip - (17 Views)

#8. Robert enjoying the view of the Mississippi River in Balltown - (17 Friends)

#8. Jesse videotaping Big Jesus - (17 Views)

#8. Jesse and I at the Sgt. Floyd Memorial - (17 Views)

I think what I have learned from this exercise is that people like to see Jesse and I having adventures. I think I'll have to look into us having a few more adventures in 2010!

I will have to check back in on this when I hit journal entry number 1,000.

November

2010-01-12T09:58:00.002-06:00

The Eternal Seductiveness of Life

Because the calendar is a landscape medium, this picture actually appears in the calendar in landscape form with not much of the alium showing but the flower. I thought I would represent it here in the pictures original portrait format.

October

2010-01-11T10:05:00.001-06:00

This picture of Sara is still untitled. For the story behind this image, click on the link below:

Sore Feet

September

2010-01-10T10:29:00.001-06:00

This picture was taken on the exact same day as the daisy picture. It currently is untitled.

Happy Birthday Lowell!

2010-01-10T10:26:00.001-06:00

Today is Lowell's birthday!

Happy birthday Lowell!

August

2010-01-09T09:51:00.002-06:00

A Proud Assertion

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world."

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

July

2010-01-08T10:22:00.002-06:00

The Solace of Ordinary Humanity

Although this picture is named for the following quote from the enigmatic John Ruskin:

"Flowers seem intended for the solace of ordinary humanity."

But the story of this flower is actually more akin to the Tennessee Williams quote:

"The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks."

This daisy grew in a most unlikely place in my yard. It grew in a little patch of dirt between my driveway and my back porch. It sprouted through the fence and away from the evergreen bush that dominates that little patch of ground. Its existence was unlikely, but nature finds a way.

This picture was also Jen's birthday present.

June

2010-01-07T15:08:00.004-06:00

Funny Face Homage Inverse

This is actually the first picture to ever be debuted in the calendar. Every other picture that has ever been in the calendar has been published in some way shape or form before being in the calendar. Jill was the only person to ever see this picture before it was seen in the calendar.

There will be more details about this picture in a future entry when I start publishing my weekly photo projects. The most important thing to note about this picture is that it represents a traditional darkroom technique.

May

2010-01-06T15:06:00.003-06:00

This is the only monthly picture in the calendar that is manipulated in Photoshop in a meaningful way. I could see how somebody could think that June is a Photoshop manipulation, but in the spirit of the way that I see things, it isn't. But we will open up that can of worms on the morrow.

12 Days of Christmas - Happy Epiphany

2010-01-06T14:09:00.003-06:00

The conclusion of Mark's 12 Days of Christmas.

Day 10

The tenth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

10 Small Group Students

I know I have written in a previous newsletter about my small group students. They are a group of 10 eighth graders, who meet with me most Tuesdays at lunch time. We always have time to sing songs, read a little from the Bible and pray. Honestly, it’s pretty simple, yet I think they enjoy the time, and it is a chance for them to learn more about God.

On December 18th, we had a small group party to celebrate Christmas. At the party we ate pizza, sang Christmas Carols, watched Charlie Brown Christmas, and read the Christmas story. It was a nice atmosphere to relax, have fun, and remember why we celebrate Christmas.

Prayer requests:
1. Praise God for these students and their eagerness to continue to learn about God outside of the classroom.
2. Pray that God would keep working in their lives, helping the students to know who he is. Also, pray that God would use me as his instrument to help the students know more about him.

Day 11

The eleventh Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Church Kid’s Camp Party

Every Saturday at Salvation Lutheran Church, children from around Chia-Yi City come to the church’s Saturday Kids’ Camp. Here they sing songs, read Bible stories, and have specialized club activities. Also, every year the students of the kids camp have a Christmas celebration, where they perform songs or skits and get gifts from the church.

Usually the Christmas bash is done at church, however, this year the format changed. The kids went to an orphanage in the city, where they played games, sang songs and performed for and with the orphans. Also, when they received their Christmas stocking from church, children gave stockings to orphans as well.

For the party, the American teachers performed our Lost Son drama. I also, played guitar to help the Kids’ Camp English Club sing Peace Like a River. In addition I played guitar and sang with the youth group as we performed Angels We Have Heard on High using English, Chinese, piano, violin, recorders, and tambourine.

All in all it was a great celebration for the kids who attend the kids’ camp, and a good way to share the message of Christmas with the orphans.

Prayer requests:

1. Pray for Salvation Saturday Kids’ Camp, that God would bless all the preparations and hard work of the teachers who lead activities.
2. Pray for the children who attend the kids camp, that they would keep coming back and God would continue to work in their lives.
3. Pray for the students at the orphanage. Pray that they understand Jesus’ love and that they would have more chances to hear about what he has done for them.

Day 12

The twelfth Christmas blessing that my Lord gave to me:

Christmas Caroling

I know I have written about it in previous Christmas newsletters, but a highlight at Christmas time is always grabbing the guitar, and leading a group of students and teachers in Christmas caroling. This year I had the opportunity to go Christmas caroling twice, once for the Friday Night Bible Study Christmas Party, and again with students who live at school.

For the Friday Night Bible Study Christmas party, the large group of us went to a local department store and sang outside the front doors. Many people who were walking by stopped and listened or watched as they passed. After singing 3 songs there, we split into 3 groups of approximately 30 people a piece. Each group took a different path, stopping at various shops and businesses along the way. Songs that we sing for caroling include Angels We Have Heard on High, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Silent Night (with a Chinese verse), and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. When I am leading groups, we usually sing two songs and then close with a verse of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. This year, caroling destinations for my group included Starbucks, 7-11, two different tea stands, and my barber’s house. My barber later commented that she loved the sound of us singing and was very glad we stopped at her house.

The second chance I had for Christmas caroling was with the students who live at school, many of whom attend OSF. We went caroling on the night of Wednesday December 23rd from 8:30-10:00pm. (This was the same day as the students’ song competition and tree decorating). For OSF Christmas Caroling, we split into two groups and went first to the business outside of our campus. Then we came back and sang to the other students and teachers who live at school. The evening always closes with us singing at the married teachers housing, where many of the families give candy and treats for the students who come out caroling.

I don’t know what it is, but I just love being able to grab my guitar and walk with students up and down the streets, singing praises to God. It is really neat for both the singers and the listeners. It helps us build ties to the local community and provides an opportunity to share the message of Christmas with those who work and live near us. We always handout a card or paper with a Bible verse explaining why we celebrate Christmas. In addition, the people in the community near school enjoy and anticipate our visit every year. I know of three different businesses that began asking a couple of weeks before Christmas, when we would be arriving to sing. Also, one of the local tea stands recorded the caroling group with a digital camera, and they occasionally use this recording as a screensaver on their computer. Praise God for this opportunity he has given us to celebrate Christmas and share the good news.

Prayer requests:
1. Thanksgiving for the chance to sing Christmas songs in the local communities.
2. Pray that the people who heard the songs would be curious to learn more about Jesus and his love for them.
3. Thanksgiving for a wonderful Christmas season, filled with the love, peace, and hope that only comes from Jesus.

The 12 Christmas blessings that my Lord gave to me
-Christmas Caroling
-Church Kid’s Camp Party
-10 Small Group Students
-Pirates of Sin skit
- Christmas Celebrations
-7th Grade Bible Class
-6 former students
-Bright, glowing trees
-Song Competition
-Lost Son Skit
-Water and Word
…and Messiah on Christmas Eve

P.S.....And...if I had to do a 13th day of Christmas I feel very blessed to have both Cyclone and Hawkeye victories in their bowl games. Hooray for the state of Iowa!!!!