Category Archives: Carla

Aaron, Andy, Angie, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Kim, Micky, Monica, Music, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 237 – MUSIC

March 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Wow! 26 straight weeks of double digits! I’m so impressed!

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

Andy Sharp

Monica Henning

Elizabeth Nordeen

Kim Barker

Dawn Krause

Angie DeWaard

Aaron Barnett

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Aaron Barnett

Micky Augustin

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:

GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT! What a great theme! But what is a GOVERNMENT image? A GOVERNMENT image is any image that relates to the GOVERNMENT. Which is actually more than you think. The police. GOVERNMENT. Firefighters. GOVERNMENT. Military. GOVERNMENT. Stop sign. GOVERNMENT. City park. GOVERNMENT. State park. GOVERNMENT. You get the idea.

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 governed Monday!

Alexis, Birthdays, Black & White, Carla, Elainie, Event, Linda, Logan, Mom, Photoshop, Sarah Toot, Teresa

Fly Iowa: A New Beginning

March 19, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I should start today by wising my Aunt Linda a happy birthday!

Recently I shared a collection of pictures I took of the old Boone Dump sliding into McHose Park. Aunt Linda sent me a story that I thought I would share, so you would know what kind of people I come from:

I really liked this history of the junk yard. I have fond memories of going to the junk yard as a family….my dad, mom, David, Gerald and me. Dad would take a gun in case we were attacked by rats. We often found treasures to take home for one reason or another.

I want you to think about this story the next time you even remotely think of trying to mistakenly labeling me as an elitist. I’m the guy that comes from a family that used to go to the town dump, with my Grandpa packing heat to fend off the junkyard rats! These are my people!

Happy birthday Aunt Linda!

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Time for yet another collection of images from Fly Iowa:

Only 700 more images from Fly Iowa to curate!

Aaron, Angie, Carla, Elizabeth, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Tamara, Underwater, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 235 – WATER

March 16, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I was worried that the global pandemic might squash participation this week with WATER. It would have been a minor price to pay for people hunkering down and being safe. Although, there are few better activities when social distancing than a little photography.

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

Angie DeWaard

Aaron Barnett

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Micky Augustin

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Monica Henning

Michelle Haupt

Carla Stensland

ENTERTAINMENT

ENTERTAINMENT! What a great theme! Now, I understand, that some might think that ENTERTAINMENT might be a difficult theme when pretty much every concert and sporting event is being cancelled. With the CDC recommending that events with more than 50 people should be cancelled or postponed for the next 8 weeks. But ENTERTAINMENT doesn’t have to be on a grand scale. Many of us will be finding ways to ENTERTAIN(MENT) ourselves in the coming weeks. You hobby is ENTERTAINMENT. Playing games is ENTERTAINMENT. For some sick, sad people, cleaning is ENTERTAINMENT. Photograph the way that your are having ENTERTAINMENT while you are being safe and being cautious.

I look forward to your interpretations! I have a feeling I will find ENTERTAINMENT in them!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 entertaining Monday!

Alexis, Birthdays, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Derrick, Elainie, Event, Grandma, Jason, Jay, Jen, Johnathan, Mom, Monica, Movies, Photoshop, Robert, Sara, Teresa

Fly Iowa: The Final Chapter

March 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Buckle up Nancy, this is going to be a long one!

I need to start this post by wishing a very happy birthday to the middle child of the Bennett Sibling Triumvirate. Happy birthday Carla!

Here are some pictures of Carla:

I hope your birthday had the exact amounts of joy that you wanted!

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It is also Monica’s birthday. I think it has been a couple of years since I last saw Monica in person. But I know that she would still take a bullet for me. Small caliber. In the arm. Maybe the leg.

Happy birthday Monica! Here are some Monica pics:

I hope your birthday was absolutely wonderful!

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The Union Street Theater is pleased to announce that a date has been chosen for March Movie Night. March movie night will be Sunday, March 29. March Movie Night will be a tribute to one of my favorite actors, Kirk Douglas. Kirk was the start of a few of my favorite movies of all-time. PATHS OF GLORY, LUST FOR LIFE, and SPARTACUS. Kirk Douglas was instrumental in elevating the greatest filmmaker in history, Stanley Kubrick, to prominence. If he had done nothing else, that would have been enough.

Kirk Douglas passed away in February at the age of 103. The Union Street Theater is pleased to pay tribute to the iconic Kirk Douglas with our March Movie Night. He is only the second actor to receive such a tribute. Burt Reynolds got a similar tribute in 2018.

These are the movies that will play for the Kirk Douglas Tribute. First, the B Movie is:

SATURN 3

Here is a synopsis of SATURN 3 from IMDB.com:

Two lovers stationed at a remote base in the asteroid fields of Saturn are intruded upon by a retentive technocrat from Earth and his charge: a malevolent eight foot robot.

The feature film will be:

LONELY ARE THE BRAVE

Here is a synopsis of LONELY ARE THE BRAVE from IMDB.com:

A fiercely independent cowboy gets himself locked up in prison to escape with an old friend.

Anders is also providing a short film that is very intriguing. This will also be the 3rd, but hopefully not the last round of Jay’s Root Beer Symposium.

To Recap:

What: Union Street Theater Movie Night
Movies: SATURN 3 & LONELY ARE THE BRAVE
Date: Sunday, March 29, 2020
Time: 6 PM
Where: UNION STREET THEATER
TOILET PAPER SITUATION: As of right now, I still have plenty of toilet paper.

Hope to see you there!

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Might as well just get to it. This is the 4th collection of images from Fly Iowa:

Only about 800 more images to curate!

Andy, Angie, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Micky, Naima, Ruins, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 234 – JUNK

March 9, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

23 weeks! 23 straight weeks of double digit submission! Now JUNK wasn’t a super popular theme. I think it is mostly a Bennett thing to like to hang out surrounded by JUNK. Not garbage but JUNK. I went and wandered around my favorite local JUNK pile, even though I thought about just taking a picture of my 401(k) this morning. Just watching that thing circle the drain.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about the fact that I’ll never be able to retire. You came to see the submissions (include a first time submission from Aaron Barnett.. woohoo!):

Dawn Krause

Aaron Barnett

Becky Parmelee

Angie DeWaard

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Micky Augustin

Andy Sharp

WATER

WATER! What a great theme! But what is a WATER picture? A WATER picture is simply any image that involves WATER. A picture of a lake, a pond, a stream, a river. All qualifies. But people also drink water. At least they should drink lots of water. People are also baptized in water. They clean with water. They give water to pets and to plants. Sometimes, water even falls from the sky. So many water options, I can’t wait to see your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 watery Monday!

Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Formal Portrait, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 233 – FASHION

March 2, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

FASHION barely drew enough interest to march our double digit submission streak all the way to 22. I mean, if you’ve seen the way my friends dress, it is obvious that FASHION wasn’t going to appeal to many of them. Not everybody is a dandy like me.

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

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

JUNK

JUNK! What a great theme! But what is a JUNK photo? Well for starters, I should start by pointing that there is a difference between JUNK and GARBAGE. JUNK is often something that has been discarded or set aside because it has little value. GARBAGE is something to be thrown away because is has ZERO value. For example Congressman Steve King is a piece of garbage. He has zero value. It should be pointed out that JUNK has more than one meaning. It can be something of poor quality. JUNK is also slang for drugs. People can have JUNK in their trunk. For examples, I direct you to my friend Tim’s Snapchat stories. A JUNK is also a type of ship. JUNK is also slang for male genitalia, but please don’t send those to me. Send them to that girl you met at the bar last night that gave you a fake phone number. (Okay, don’t do that either.)

As always, I look forward to your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 junky Monday!

Carla, Dawn, Derrick, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 232 – OLD

February 24, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

OLD was not the most popular WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme, but we still managed to have double digit submission for the 21st straight week with a certain amount of ease!

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

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Kim Barker

Monica Henning

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Jesse Howard

FASHION

FASHION! What a great theme! But what is a FASHION photo? It doesn’t have to be a high FASHION photo. You don’t need to go to a FASHION show. You don’t need to find somebody that is a fancy dresser. All a FASHION photo needs to be is a picture that shows what somebody is wearing. Probably best to look for somebody that is dressed at least interesting. You can ask them to make their best FASHION model pose, but it isn’t necessary.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 fashionable Monday!

Andy, Becky, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Formal Portrait, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 231 – FAMILY

February 17, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

20 WEEKS IN A ROW! That is right, this is the 20th straight week with double digit submissions! Glad to see there are so many people out there that belong to a FAMILY and like them enough to take their picture!

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

Christopher D. Bennett

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Carla Stensland

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Elizabeth Nordeen

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Logan Kahler

OLD

OLD! What a great theme! But what is an OLD photo? An OLD photo is a photo of anything that you consider to be OLD. People can be OLD. Animals can be OLD. Things can be OLD. Of course OLD is a relative term. When I was a kid, I thought something that was 20 years old was an antique! But now I think something that is 20 years old is just getting broke in!

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 aged Monday!

Alexis, Amanda, Brandon, Carla, Event, Holidays, Johnathan, Kanoa, Kupono, Mom, Teresa

Walking the Floor Over You

February 13, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

It was a bittersweet Christmas for the Bennetts. As always, there was much joy when the family gets together, but while the 2019 Christmas will always be known as the first Christmas with Kanoa. It will also be the Christmas when Amanda and Logan announced that they are expecting a new bundle of joy in 2020. It will also be known as the Christmas where Grandma passed away.
The good outweighs the bad though.

Here are some pictures from the Bennett Christmas, some are cruddy cell phone pictures that I took while experimenting with a camera phone app:

I don’t usually dwell on the names of my blog posts. I either figure that people don’t care or that they google it and figure it out. Although Google won’t always unravel the riddle.

This riddle is a reference to Ernest Tubb, who was my Grandma’s favorite musician. I’d like to share the lyrics to one of my favorite Ernest Tubb songs to close this post out:

Yesterday’s tears are still fallin’ yesterday’s dreams are still broken
Yesterday’s love is still livin’ a love that will never be spoken
I’ve tried so hard to forget dear tried not too smart everything
You are the one who has given but all you’ve received dear is pain
My life has been such a sorrow my world has crumbled like clay
My heart has slowly been dying since you told me goodbye that day

Long weary years you have suffered to keep from hurting someone
If only I could repay you for all of the kind things you’ve done
You haven’t spared me my darling everything to you I owe
All I can say is I love so much more than anyone know
So yesterday’s tears are still fallin’ yesterday’s dreams are still broken
Yesterday’s love is still livin’ a love that will never be spoken

9 Emotions Project, Andy, Becky, Bill, Birthdays, Black & White, Carla, Jay, Jesse, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 230 – REFLECTION

February 10, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Today is a very big day in the history of my oldest friends. Not just because one of my old friends climbed a building and set his shirt on fire and got arrested yesterday. No, because today is Bill’s birthday!

Happy birthday Bill!

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Looks like the streak lives on for one more week. 19 weeks in total. REFLECTION struck a chord with the absolute bare minimum to extend the streak of double digit submissions!

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

Micky Augustin

Monica Henning

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Andy Sharp

Becky Parmelee

Jesse Howard

FAMILY

FAMILY! What a great theme! But what is a FAMILY picture? A FAMILY picture is any picture that involves a FAMILY. And don’t let any Scrooge McDuck’s from Ankeny try to tell you that FAMILY can only be defined by DNA. Remember, a true family provides its members with emotional and spiritual kinship through:

+ Shared values, beliefs, and traditions
+ Common experiences and activities
+ Unconditional, non-judgmental support

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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 familial Monday!