It is the last Monday of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

The short answer is, “no”. Some people think that there is a limit of one submission per person because I only present one submission a week, personally. I have the other 6 days to post my photography. So one is more than enough image from me.

However, the longer answer is, 3 would be a good guide to limit yourself to submit. Some people refer to this as The Kio Dettman Rule. Even though it isn’t a rule, but much over 3 begins to start to overwhelm the submissions of the others in the community. Also, if you are submitting multiple submissions, think about your submissions. Are they unique? Are they of wholly different subjects? Is each submission saying something unique? The goal is NOT to take as many picture for the theme as possible. The goal is to take the best picture for the theme you can, during the week.

The three photo suggestion would better be referred to as The Kio Dettman Suggestion or The Kio Dettman Best Practice.

The long answer is, there isn’t a limit, but 3 is a good rule of thumb. If I start to average about 30 participants a week, I will consider putting a limit of 1 per participant, to help manage my workload, but we are a long ways from averaging 30 participants a week. Although we did hit 30 participants last week, so maybe a hard limit of 1 per person is on the horizon.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough to me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their largest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

Suggestions are closed for next year’s list. It will be a minute before they open up again for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

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Was IN THE AIR a popular theme? Or did people eat too much Thanksgiving turkey to participate? The answer is blowin’ in the wind, so you will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, November 21, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Jesse Howard – 1 week
2-Sarah Karber – 1 week
3-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
4-Tamara Peterson – 3 weeks
5-Becky Parmelee – 5 weeks
6-Sara Lockner – 9 weeks
7-Suzie Brannen – 13 weeks
8-Brandon Kahler – 14 weeks
9-Linda Bennett – 17 weeks (2)
10-Sarah Toot – 18 weeks
11-Monica Jennings – 19 weeks
12-Angie DeWaard – 22 weeks
13-Dawn Krause – 26 weeks (3)
14-Kim Barker – 32 weeks
15-Joe Duff – 34 weeks
16-Logan Kahler – 35 weeks (2)
17-Teresa Kahler – 44 weeks (2)
18-Carla Stensland – 44 weeks (3)
19-Michelle Haupt – 45 weeks
20-Micky Augustin – 46 weeks
21-Andy Sharp – 47 weeks
22-Bill Wentworth – 48 weeks
23-Cathie Morton – 52 weeks
24-Elizabeth Nordeen – 53 weeks
25-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 55 weeks
26-Kio Dettman – 57 weeks (2)

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

Angie DeWaard – 23 weeks

Kim Barker – 33 weeks

Micky Augustin – 47 weeks

Kio Dettman – 58 weeks

Kio Dettman

Kio Dettman

Linda Bennett – 18 weeks

Sarah Karber – 2 weeks

Tamara Peterson – 4 weeks

Sarah Toot – 19 weeks

Joe Duff – 35 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett

Brandon Kahler – 15 weeks

Andy Sharp – 48 weeks

Teresa Kahler – 45 weeks

Teresa Kahler

Bill Wentworth – 49 weeks

Dawn Krause – 27 weeks

Logan Kahler – 36 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week

Becky Parmelee – 6 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen – 54 weeks

Sara Lockner – 10 weeks

Cathie Morton – 53 weeks

Cathie Morton

Carla Stensland – 45 weeks

Carla Stensland

Carla Stensland

Shannon Bardole-Foley – 56 weeks

Monica Jennings – 20 weeks

Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks

Michelle Haupt – 46 weeks

Suzie Brannen – 14 weeks

Sabas Hernandez – 1 week

Jesse Howard – 2 weeks

29 participants! That is a great week! Especially considering there was a major holiday smack in the middle!

I received submissions from (assumptions on my part mostly) Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, and Colorado this week. That is a lot of places!

I took my picture in my back yard.

There were once again 3 Sara(h)s participating. Over 10 percent of the participants.

Sara Lockner reached the double digit streak club! WooHoo!

Another great development was that no streaks were snapped this week! WooHoo!

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:

ANIMAL

ANIMAL! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is an ANIMAL picture? Simply put it is a picture of an ANIMAL. It can be a wild ANIMAL or it can be a pet or it can be a stuffed ANIMAL or it can be a statue of an ANIMAL. It can be a dog or a bird or a squirrel or a fish or a lizard or a dog or a deer or a possum or a dog or a hamster or a rat or a dog or a bear or an alligator or a dog.

While considering possible subjects for your theme, meditate on the following quote:

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened, Michelle.
-Anatole France

I might have added the Michelle part.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of ANIMAL in this place that doesn’t have enough dog pictures next Monday.