Pre-Work

There is an old timey hamburger joint in Manhattan (Kansas) that I want to photograph at night at some point. On my recent trip to visit Nate, I was never in Manhattan at night. So it didn’t happen.

However, I did scout the area out and took a few test photos. Maybe a few months down the road I’ll post the photo that this scouting trip helped make possible.

Here are some scouting photos:
















A Kansas State area restaurant that calls their desserts Cyclones? I get your subliminal message Vista Drive In. Loud and clear!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 31 – OLD

So I made a rookie mistake and left my camera battery at work over the weekend. Good thing that I had already taken a plethora of pictures of old things on Wednesday.

This week’s submissions for OLD:


WEEK 31 - OLD - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 31 - OLD - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 31 - OLD - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 31 - OLD - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber

WEEK 31 - OLD - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 31 - OLD - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

A pretty good selection of submissions methinks.

So what is this week’s theme…


WEEK 32 - COUNTRY
COUNTRY!

So what is COUNTRY? When I wrote this theme down and put it on a Post-It note, my basic concept of country was anything that isn’t within a city limits. Anything rural would qualify. However, you can take the theme any way you want it. Want to saunter down to your local honky tonk and grab a picture of a pretend cowboy. That would qualify. Have a cherry collection of old Tom T. Hall 8 tracks? Take a picture of that. If you want to take a picture of a map and say “look, it’s a country!” Do that. Express the theme however you see fit.

No HOUSEKEEPING today. I’ll try to do better next week.

If the Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll see you next Monday. With a sweet collection of COUNTRY pictures, I have no doubts.

02-15-07 Work Walk

I’ve went through a myriad of unsuccessful organizational schemes over the years, but I’m lost why in a folder that goes by the name “02-15-07 Work Walk” there are only two images and neither one has anything to do with work. I’m guessing even less to do with 02-15-07.

Well. Here they are.






Next week’s folder seems to be called 02-22-07. Looks like some squirrel in that one. That means you should get excited.

Destructo

Time for another look at the fallen Wagon Wheel Bridge.



Probably have quite a few more of these sad images in the hopper.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/320
DATE: 03/11/2016 – 14:07
LATITUDE: 42.06252
LONGITUDE: -93.96999
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Carla Stensland

Can I Get Confirmation?

Last Sunday was Confirmation Sunday at the church. I wasn’t directly involved in the confirmation process, but my morning was filled with church activities.

As a member of the Methodist Men, I was there to help prepare the Confirmation Breakfast for the confirmands, their families, and their mentors. During a break in the action I ran up and fixed the network problems of our financial computer. During the church service I ran the PowerPoint portion of the worship. After the service, once again as a member of the Methodist Men, I helped serve treats and beverages as part of Fellowship.

However, what matters to this post is the PowerPoint part of my day. Since I was running PowerPoint, I was up in the balcony. I don’t normally take photographs during worship service, because the people around me consider it to be a distraction.

However, since I was in the balcony and since Alisa is in Haiti doing God’s work (similar to the time I went to fake Haiti, but with less time laying on the beach and bartering over hat prices I’m sure) I decided to snap a few photos, so she could see them on her return.



Anna’s Faith Statement


Mackenzie’s Faith Statement

I’d just like to say that the two confirmands that read their Personal Faith Statements to the congregation were VERY impressive! If I had a transcript of their words, I would’ve published both of them.

High Ding Dong Range Toning

I felt before I went into the HDR Nik Plugin, I should cover the HDR Toning features that are built into Photoshop.

So here is a quick look at the High Dynamic Range toning options in Photoshop.


Original Image
Original Image

Color Correction
Color Correction and the Chain has been Removed

Flat
Flat

City Twilight
City Twilight

Monochromatic
Monochromatic

Monochromatic Low Contrast
Monochromatic Low Contrast

Monochromatic High Contrast
Monochromatic High Contrast

Monochromatic Artistic
Monochromatic Artistic

Saturated
Saturated

More Saturated
More Saturated

Photorealistic
Photorealistic

Photorealistic Low Contrast
Photorealistic Low Contrast

Photorealistic High Contrast
Photorealistic High Contrast

RC5
RC5

Scott5
Scott5

Surreal
Surrealistic

Surrealistic Low Contrast
Surrealistic Low Contrast

Surealistic High Contrast
Surrealistic High Contrast

Now that we have established a good baseline, you’ll be ready when we hit up the HDR EFEX PRO 2 Photoshop Plug in some point soon.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 30 – RUINS

I’ve been looking forward to this week’s theme since I wrote it on a green Post-It Note and dropped it in the hat. Jesse Howard, long time Photography 139 supporter and apparent beard lover, entered his first submission. Hopefully it is the beginning of many more.

Let’s look at the submissions for RUINS:


WEEK 30 - RUINS - CARLA STENSLAND 1
Carla Stensland 1

WEEK 30 - RUINS - CARLA STENSLAND 2
Carla Stensland 2

WEEK 30 - RUINS - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland 3

WEEK 30 - RUINS - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 30 - RUINS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 30 - RUINS - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

WEEK 30 - RUINS - KIM BARKER 1
Kim Barker 1

WEEK 30 - RUINS - KIM BARKER 2
Kim Barker 2

Time to look to the future. This week’s theme is…


WEEK 31 - OLD
OLD!

Maybe it is unfortunate that these two themes got drawn back to back, but they are different ya know. While RUINS calls for you to photograph something that is deteriorating. This just calls for you to photograph something that is old. OLD can still be in very good shape. See William MacAlpine.

HOUSEKEEPING

No new email subscribers this week. Maybe next week.

As we are over halfway home, now is a good time to share the remainder of the themes. If this continues into another year, please put ideas for new THEMES in the COMMMENTS section of this here blog.

THE REMAINING THEMES

BLUE
HOMETOWN
PORTRAIT
MACRO
COUNTRY
FLOWER
PERSPECTIVE
ARCHITECTURE
LETTERS OR NUMBERS
GLASS
ART
SKY/CLOUDS
WINDOW
SMOKE
TRANSPORTATION
ROAD TRIP
SPORTS
REFLECTIONS
EMOTIONS
SUNSET/SUNRISE
WILD CARD

I Further Celebrate Myself More



This is even more rehashier of the post 2 weeks ago and last week the new information is in bold.

Only a handful of you understand the photo I posted to start this post. But that is okay. You might understand in a few weeks, or you might just be even more confused.

Almost all the pieces are now in place and the Birthday Invitation Photo Shoot has been scheduled for this week. Now we’re playing with fire! I hope Torgo doesn’t lose his hand!

The birthday invite photo shoot has finished and the invites have been ordered. Many may get handed off to the United State Postal Service this week Socialism at work!

Here is the information that you need to know. My personal Edith Head, my personal staff man, my personal Torgo, my personal technology team, and my personal photographer are hard at work currently devising invitations for my birthday gala.

Edith Head is done. Experiments ran by the makeup team based on Edith Head’s suggestion have been deemed a success. The Staff Man has made tremendous progress. The staff (as far as I’ve seen it) is beautiful.

The costume did survive the photo shoot. One of the costumes at least. Another costume had to be cut off, but between you, me, and a boy named blue; that added something to the night. I had to pour out a 40 for the hand staff though.

That is right! After a several year hiatus… it is back!

After consulting, friends, family, a gopher, a toreador, my personal astrologist, a numerologist, a phrenologist, Hoodie Club, Nature Squad, Friday Night Supper Club, and The Dawg Pound I have settled on a date for this event.

MAY 14

So this is sort of a “save the date” only, believe me, I would never be so presumptuous as to ask somebody to save a date. This would be more like a consider this date. Or don’t. I understand that you have to live your life and walk. I would expect nothing more and nothing less, from you my friend.

I stick with this belief. You have to live your life and walk. When you aren’t doing that, I say may grilled cheese sandwiches in an air fryer while posting videos about it on Snapchat.

What can you expect at this event (besides my arrogance)?

My arrogance has only grown in the last week. Some would say that it has grown unchecked.

At this point, it is possible that my arrogance is out of my control. It is may apply for its own zip code after I successfully ran new speaker wire for my rear speakers in the living room, restored the interwebs to the financial computer at church, AND cleaned my office!

Well, details are being hammered out.

However, there could be such fun activities as:

Food from an award winning barbecue team.

I have signed one member of the award winning barbecue team Baby Got Rack to a contract. While that isn’t the whole team, the guy I signed is clearly the George Michael of the team. Trust me. I didn’t sign Andrew Ridgeley.

I have not talked to the Daryl Hall of Barbecue this week. But the ball is mostly in my court, to decide what meat will get the award winning treatment.  You know who I’m not passing that ball to? Alf. That is who!

Food! From other sources. Like my Mom.

I did talk to my Mom. She is going to make various salads for the event. She wanted to know how many people were coming. Funny. That is the same question that Daryl Hall asked. Probably means I should work on a guest list.

Keg beer! Of the root vintage.

No progress here. But I have my man on it.

Cornhole! No horseshoes.

No progress here either. Need to get on that.

A dog!

(Naima has confirmed that she will make an appearance. Unless she gets a better offer.)

Naima hasn’t moved out. We’re still good here.

Music. Most of it clean! At least 63%.

(That Master Playlist is currently over 1,000 songs. If you wish to suggest a song for the Master Playlist, I suggest that you suggest in the COMMENTS section.)

Master Playlist currently stands at 1232 songs. Song 1232 is “Closing Time” by Semisonic. 

A Christopher D. Bennett trivia game. Winner to get a semi-fabulous prize. You better start trying to figure out my favorite band… now!

I just wrote a new question today. What is Christopher D. Bennett’s second favorite Bible verse?  Doesn’t mean it will be on the quiz, but I wrote it.

A tent!

(I have confirmed it. I own a tent.)

My Edith Head offered the use of 2 canopies so that people can eat award winning barbecue in the shade. If you guys don’t have an Edith Head in your world, you’re doing life wrong.

Stimulating conversation!

(My idea for guaranteeing this is to create a section of the yard where people can talk about vaping. If they leave that section of the yard, they cannot bore people with incessant talk about coils and formulas and amps and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!)

Other people!

(Maybe. After people see the invitation, it just might be you and me. But if its the right you and the right me, that’s cool.) Well, one person has RSVPed sorta. So 2 of us will be there.

Word is that a baby might make an appearance. I know babies aren’t people, but it is a step in the right direction. 

A photo booth! With props?

(Work in progress. At best.)

Boom! That is all I have to say.

A new firepit!

(Probably a temporary new firepit.)

Sidewalk chalk! (I’ve priced it.)

A finely manicured lawn!

(Spring-Green has applied the year’s first treatment. My lawn. It is the thing of daydreams.)

A bounce house.

(I mean stranger things have happened.)

This isn’t happening. The logistics are just too complicated.  No sweat. Jumping up and down on a finely manicured lawn seems like fun to me!

Convenient parking! (Unless more than 3 of you show up.)

The driveway will be shut down for sidewalk chalk art.  So don’t even look at it.

Zero pressure to RSVP!

So keep your mailboxes peeled on your eyes for the invitation of what will surely be one of the biggest events at my house that month!

I wouldn’t start peeling them yet. The photo session hasn’t even commenced yet.

I’m hoping to start throwing stamps on these and then throwing these into a mailbox late this week. So start the peeling around then or more likely early the week after that.