Category Archives: Alexis

Alexis, Animals, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Drone, Iowa State, Kanoa, Mom, Nature, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Page 123

December 27, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Today we will reveal the March and April images from the 2020 Photography 139 Calendar.

March image:

March

The March image was taken at the Harrier Marsh near Ogden. It was taken of the not best maintained gravel road that splits the marsh into two. It is taken from a drone. This image was taken on April 13, 2019.

Details

Camera: Hasselblad L1D-20C
Focal Length: 10.3mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/800
ISO: 100
Altitude: 284.6 meters above Sea Level

April Image:

April

The April image is a yellow bird (that I have yet to identify) enjoying the cherry blossoms of one of my cherry trees. This image was taken on May 14, 2018.

Details

Camera: Sony ILCA-77M2
Focal Length: 400mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/500
ISO: 320

Tomorrow we will reveal the images for May and June.

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Here it is, the end of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. You didn’t think I’d ever get there, did you. Wherever I am when this publishes (probably in Tennessee is my guess), I will be drinking a steaming hot cup of coffee. Cause coffee is for closers. As of today, I am a closer!

Just kidding. Coffee is gross and I won’t be touching that trash. If there is any silver lining to be taken from man made climate change, it is that coffee is one of the first things that will stop growing. Bye-bye coffee. You won’t be missed.

Back to my Trevor Hoffman moment. This is the last page from THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 123 – Don’t take any more photographs -none- until you see something that emotionally moves you. Only then pick up your camera.

Phew! Thanks to everybody that will appear on one of the pages of the physical photo journal that sits on my coffee table:

DaeHee Yoon
Nora Yoon
Kyle Sharp and some random wrestler from Perry
Saydie Howard
Micky Augustin
Naima
Elainie Hernandez
Sabas Hernandez
Willy McAlpine
Logan Kahler
Brandon Kahler
Nader Parsaei
Ernie Redd
Russell Kennerly
Greg Wever
Jason Baier
Andree Jauhari
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Mike Vest
Jesse Howard
Joe Lynch
Johnathan Stensland
Autumn Sharp, Emily Bridges, Kassidy, and Myriah Sharp (I think)
Layla Gorshe
Kalista Howard
Taylan Howard
Tiffany Bloomquist
Doris Paris
Charlotte Bennett
Jay Janson
Anders Runestad
Alexis Stensland
Kanoa Baugher

If you wish to see all 105 pictures taken for THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, click on the link below:

THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT

So, what is next? I hinted that I was going to tack a new photo project next year. There is a new project. In 2020 I’m going to tackle a book called “104 Things to Photograph”. There are 52 weeks in a year, there for I plan on taking 2 pictures a week.

The themes in this book are not nearly as ambitious as the themes in THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. Here is an example of some of the themes:

Jumping Rope
A Belly Laugh
Peeking
A Neon Sign
Siblings
What’s in your Pocket

I’m sure I’ll be calling on many of the people that appeared in THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT and I’m sure I’ll be calling on many other people as well. Stay tuned.

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is CANDID PORTRAIT:

CANDID PORTRAIT

A CANDID PORTRAIT is a picture of somebody that isn’t posing for a picture. They can know that you are taking their picture, but they aren’t posing for the picture.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Brandon, Candid Portrait, Carla, Christianity, Elainie, Event, Formal Portrait, Holidays, Jason, Jesse, Logan, Mark, Mom, Monica, Nature, Night, Russ, Self-Portrait, Teresa

2009-07-23

December 7, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

There are a metric buttload of pictures in the folder 2009-07-23. Strangely, most of them were actually taken in December of 2008. I’m not entirely sure what was going on there. I can just state that my organizational system back then wasn’t rock solid like it is now. Mostly because I let a program do most of the organizational heavy lifting for me.

There are pictures from a foggy Friday Night Supper Club. Pictures from a Bennett Christmas. Pictures of my old buddy Missionary Mark. Pictures from a Roland VFW Fundraiser.

Many of these pictures have never been published before. Have a peek:

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

Foggy Night Supper Club

The Hero of Africa

Sedulous

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Brandon, Sara, and Ledges. But not all at the same time.

Alexis, Alisa, Anders, Andree, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Becca, Becky, Bethany, Bill, Billy, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Dae Hee, Derrick, Dory, Elainie, Evie, Flat Earth Joe, Frank, Geri, Grandma, Iowa State, Jason, Jaxon, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Johnathan, Jonah, Jorge, Kanoa, Linda, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nora, Pastor Sarah, Russell, Sara, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Suzie, Teresa, Vest, Willy, Youth Group

Gratitudo

November 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Happy Thanksgiving! Every year on Thanksgiving I like to think about my many, many blessings. I know, real original. You should feel free to try it sometime. But make sure you let everybody know that I invented gratitude.

I am thankful for my family, no matter how family is defined:

I am thankful for my friends:

I am blessed with an amazing church family:

I am blessed with a decent job and work friends that I don’t mind seeing more than 40 hours a week:

I’m blessed to share my house with Naima:

This is only a small sampling of my blessings, but I feel to go on much longer would sound like boasting. Thank all of you for choosing to be part of my life!

Alexis, Andy, Becky, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Carla, Dawn, Drone, Elizabeth, Michelle, Micky, Monica, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 219 – SHADOW

November 25, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Running just a tad bit behind schedule today. As I am on vacation and my motivation levels might not be what they normally are. Fortunately, for the 9th straight week, motivation levels were high enough that we had double digit submissions. Perhaps a record. I don’t know. I’ll have to check with the Photography 139 historian.

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

Andy Sharp

Elizabeth Nordeen

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Monica Henning

Becky Parmelee

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:

COLORFUL

COLORFUL! What a great theme! But what is a COLORFUL photo? That is pretty straight forward. Any photo that is filled with COLOR. Find something COLORFUL and photograph it. Go crazy with the saturation in your photo editing. Remember, there is more than one definition of the term COLORFUL.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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

Alexis, Baseball/Softball, Becky, Candid Portrait, Carla, Flowers, House, Jason, Jaycees, Jesse, Kelly, Lowell, Mom, Music, Saydie, Shannon

2009-06-29

October 26, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures from the folder 2009-06-29 are mostly from a softball game between Alexis’ team and a team coached by Jesse and Lowell. I assume Alexis’ team won the game because of… Bennett genetics.

There are some pictures of Larry Howard in this post. Larry passed away earlier this year. He isn’t the first person to have passed on, that has surfaced on these walks down memory lane, but one of the closest.

Here are some pictures:

None of these pictures have ever been published before. They were lost to the ages until now.

The pictures at the end are from the Ames on the Half Shell performance by a band called Otter. I was in charge of booking the bands that year and I won’t deny that I booked Otter because their drummer was a pretty loyal Ames Jaycee.

This could be a false memory, but I believe I got some pushback on that. Definitely a lack of enthusiasm about it from some other Jaycees. I found this weird because every single year the Jaycees booked this absolutely terrible band called Saucy Jack based on the fact that a member of the band was a brother or ex-boyfriend of an ex-Jaycee. They booked a terrible band based on somebody that wasn’t in the band and wasn’t even a Jaycee any longer. And they were terrible.

Almost all the Half Shell bands fell into the category of generic classic rock cover band. Saucy Jack was in that same category. But they played every song about 10% slower than it is supposed to be played.

I remember once they played “Everlong” by Foo Fighters, which is a Top 100 song for me, and it took me about 45 seconds to even figure out what the hell they were playing.

But booking the slightly stoner band with a Jaycee drummer, that isn’t cool man.

But I digress…

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the Boone City Band.

Alexis, Brandon, Candid Portrait, Carla, Elainie, Holidays, Jason, Logan, Mom, Olympic Sports, Russ, Teresa

2009-05-10

August 24, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2009-05-10 are from a Mother’s Day Celebration. I think it is the first family celebration I hosted at my current abode. Might have been one of the last.

I don’t know that I will ever host one again because my house is on the smaller side, but I do have a new grill and a “new” 60 year old dining room table that seats 8.

Here are some pictures:

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

Mother’s Day

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a lift and some socks.

Alexis, Andy, Animals, Becky, Brandon, Carla, Grandma, Jason, Jesse, Johnathan, Logan, Mom, Naima, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Sheri, Teresa

Selfie Project – May

June 5, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Now seems like as good of a time as any to check back in with THE SELFIE PROJECT and see what “amazing” things I did in the month of May. Some of these things I had already forgot about!

May 1

May 4

May 5

May 6

May 7

May 8

May 9

May 11

May 12

May 15

May 17

May 18

May 19

May 21

May 23

May 25

May 26

May 27

May 29

May 31

I think June is off to a decent start. I haven’t done anything amazing, besides see GODZILLA KING OF MONSTERS. But at least I’m 99% sure I’ll be leaving the state to go on a mission trip. So that’ll be something.

Alexis, Brandon, Carla, Dae Hee, Johnathan, Linda, Logan, Mom, Nature, Night, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Travel

Selfie Project – April

May 2, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

Seems like a good time to share my favorite pictures from THE SELFIE PROJECT from April.

I’ve been trying to be more interesting with the pictures, or at least more interesting with my life, since it felt like in January and February I didn’t do anything.

I don’t know if I’m accomplishing that or not, but at least in the month of
April I did leave the Cyclone State once. So that is something.

Here are my favorites from April:

April 1

April 3

April 5

April 6

April 7

April 8

April 9

April 12

April 14

April 16

April 17

April 18

April 19

April 21

April 23

April 24

April 27

April 28

April 30

As of this writing, I haven’t taken my picture for today, but my May 1 picture does involve a giant check, so May is shaping up to be quite the month!

Alexis, Art, Commercial, Football, Olympic Sports, Politics, Shannon

09-23-08

December 29, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

The images in the folder 09-23-08 are a little bit all over the place. There are pictures from a Little White Lye Soap sales event. Pictures from Alexis reveling in athletic glory. Plus a sticker given to me by Janice. Finally a strange sculpture that I think is uniquely Midwestern.

Have a looksie:

All of Alexis’ medals came from a gymnastics meet. A sport she would have no doubt dominated, but fortunately she had the good sense to leave it behind in her youth.

I believe I placed that sticker on the side of my work computer. That was 3 work computers ago, so who knows where that sticker resides now.

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

First Meet

1928

New Sales Record

Next weekend’s stroll down memory lane will involve the Des Moines Regatta.

9 Emotions Project, Alexis, Anders, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Bethany, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Colleen, Derrick, Elainie, Flat Earth Joe, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Johnathan, Jorge, Laura, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nora, Russell, Sara, Shannon, State Fair, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Willy

Blessings – 2018

November 22, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! It is the time of year where we are supposed to count our blessings.

I thought I would share a few of my current blessings:

I am blessed with a great family!

I have plenty of friends that share my love for the Cyclones!

I have a job I don’t hate going to, where I work with several people I don’t want to punch in the face.

I have an amazing church family!

I have an amazing friends family!

I’m blessed to share my life with Naima!

This is really just a handful of the blessings in my life! But I’m already getting this out late, so I’ll cut if off here. I’ll just end with a passage from a Rob Bell NOOMA video that really spoke to me:

“So the verse in First Timothy, it says command those that are rich to not put their hope in wealth… and then it goes on and it continues… and it says, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

That phrase, a God that richly provides us with everything. All that we have is a gift.

Food. It is a gift.

Clothes. Gift.

Roof. Gift.

That breath you just took. It’s a gift.

Now there are some that will say: No, you don’t understand. I’ve worked for what I have. I deserve it. It is mine. But like it says in the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8: You may say to yourself, my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your God, because it is God that gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

I thank God for the embarrassment of riches in my life!