Category Archives: Carla

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 188 – RELIGION

A very solid week of submissions for RELIGION. We hit double digits and maybe if the weather stays nice, we can stay in that rarefied air!

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


WEEK 188 - RELIGION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - JAXON SCHOFF
Jaxon Schoff

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - CHRISTOPER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 188 - RELIGION - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

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:


WEEK 189 - DESSERT
DESSERT

DESSERT! What an incredibly tasty theme! It should also put to rest any of the chatter on conspiracy nutbag YouTube channels that I rig the themes in some way, shape or form. Because if I did, and since today is Earth Day, if I rigged themes, this week’s theme would be GREEN.

But what is a DESSERT photo? It is any photo of a DESSERT or somebody enjoying a DESSERT. Personally, I think I’ll be heading down to The Filling Station in Madrid this weekend for a little hardcore DESSERT action.

This theme was suggested by Andy Sharp. See, suggesting themes does bear fruit!

I look forward to your interpretations.

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. 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.

+++++++

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 sweet Monday.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 187 – FAVORITE COLOR

The weather last week was all over the place in Central Iowa. Beautiful one day. Windy enough to blow down one side of the Burger King garbage corral the next. Then beautiful again. Then a few snow flurries the next. Then beautiful again. While the weather was all over the place, it didn’t dampen participation rates for FAVORITE COLOR at all.

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


WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

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:


WEEK 188 - RELIGION
RELIGION

RELIGION! What a great theme! I can feel what you’re thinking. I can feel it from here. I see through you. All the way to your back button. You are thinking that it sure is super convenient that RELIGION is the theme the same week as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter and Passover for that matter.

You’re thinking that I rigged it so that RELIGION would be the theme the same week that all the chreasters will be going to church.

There are two things you need to know:

#1. I don’t use the term chreaster. I don’t look down on chreasters. They obviously feel there is at least some need in their life for church, otherwise they wouldn’t show up twice a year. If they are only coming twice a year, the church needs to do a better job of making them want to come the other 52 weeks of the year.

There is a story for why they only show up twice. It could be that they tried to get active in the church and had a bad experience with an overbearing volunteer supervisor. It might be that they sat in somebody else’s pew and were told to move. It can be that they were made to feel unwelcome because of the way they dressed, wore their hair, their personal hygiene, or whatever. Maybe the time they came, the reverend’s sermon made them feel like they weren’t rich enough to belong because he mocked people that buy suits from JC Penney.

Time would be better spent figuring out why some people only show up twice a year rather than pointing out that they don’t reach your gold standard for church attendance

I don’t know their story. I don’t judge their story. Everybody is walking their faith journey and I won’t judge people for where they are on it. I hope people won’t judge me for where I am on mine.

#2. Themes are assigned randomly. I have no control over it.

But, what is a RELIGION photo? A RELIGION photo is any photo that deals with RELIGION. It doesn’t have to be Christianity. It could be Islam. It could be Judaism. There are 12 major religions. Christianity is the largest with 2.04 billion followers. The smallest is Judaism which as 14.5 million followers. Which is a startling number when you recall that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

That is the 12 major religions. Overall there are over 4,300 religions practiced worldwide. That is a tremendous amount of RELIGION photo opportunities.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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. 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

Jen Ensley-Gorshe is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. Jen, in fact was the first person to sign up using the tools on the website to sign herself up. You may not have heard that this was a possibility because I haven’t actually made them public knowledge yet, so I was super impressed with her diligence. Jen is married to longtime subscriber Derrick Gorshe. They have 4 amazing kids and recently moved to a new house. I have known Jen since we were wage slaves to the Evil Clown Empire. Both of us are now fabulously wealthy and only show up for work because we want to.

If you see Jen out and about, feel free to give her a knowing glance and teach her the super-secret Photography 139 handshake.

+++++++

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 religious Monday.

2009-01-02 & 2009-01-03

The pictures from the folders 2009-01-02 and 2009-01-03 involved a trip to ACTORS theater in Ames. Plus a trip to Ottumwa to work on the house that Jen inherited. Plus there are some pictures of when I had winnowed down what house I would purchase down to two similar ranch style houses.

The house that I would ultimately purchase was the lucky winner mainly because it had the better yard. It had the better yard times a million. The intention was always to get a golden retriever when I was back up on my own feet and living on my own again.

As I look at the pictures of the runner-up, I assure you Naima would not have been happy with that yard. I also wouldn’t have been happy with such a small yard too. I mean, if you’re going to care about my happiness.

Here are the pictures:


ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

ACTORS

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

Ottumwa House

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

The Great House Hunt

I do confess though, I could have has some pretty great parties with that carpeted bar.

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

Blitz

Intermission

The Ballad of House Buying: Part 2: Initial Look

The Ballad of House Buying: Part 4 – A Closer Examination

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve saying goodbye to an old cinematic friend and a winter storm.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 186 – TOOL

Another solid week of participation! I think the most exciting development is a submission for the first time from Jen Ensley-Gorshe! She isn’t even an email subscriber! Perhaps she will become the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by becoming the latest Photography 139 email subscriber. Only time will tell!

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


WEEK 186 - TOOL - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 186 - TOOL - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 186 - TOOL - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 186 - TOOL - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

WEEK 186 - TOOL - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 186 - TOOL - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 186 - TOOL - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 186 - TOOL - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 186 - TOOL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 186 - TOOL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

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:

WEEK 187 - FAVORITE COLOR
FAVORITE COLOR

FAVORITE COLOR! What a great theme! But what is a FAVORITE COLOR image? A FAVORITE COLOR picture is any picture that involves your FAVORITE COLOR. I don’t know what your FAVORITE COLOR is maybe it is periwinkle. Maybe it is goldenrod.

This is a surprisingly tough theme for me. I don’t even have a favorite color. When I was a kid, it was green. Then when I was a teenager, it was probably black… because… teenager. Then it might have become blue, as my signature color in terms of fashion. But I don’t really even have a FAVORITE COLOR now. They all have a purpose. Don’t worry about me though, I’ll figure something out.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

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. 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.

+++++++

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.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 185 – WATER

The high submission rate hit a second straight week. If we get a third week that is called a streak. If we get a streak going, we might just force a one game playoff with the Yankees where our catcher calls his shot but it is a fake and he bunts and our streak centerfielder scores from second base. He will look like Wesley Snipes, but next season he will look like Omar Epps.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about baseball season (Padres are 3-1 by the way), you came to see the submissions:


WEEK 185 - WATER - BECKY PAREMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 185 - WATER - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 185 - WATER - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 185 - WATER - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 185 - WATER - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 185 - WATER - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 185 - WATER - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 185 - WATER - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 185 - WATER - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 185 - WATER - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 185 - WATER - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 185 - WATER - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 185 - WATER - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 185 - WATER - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 185 - WATER - JODIE CUE
Jodie Cue

WEEK 185 - WATER - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

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:


WEEK 186 - TOOL
TOOL

TOOL! What a great theme! But what is a TOOL photo? A TOOL photo is any photo of a TOOL. A TOOL at rest. A TOOL in action. Of course there is more than one definition of TOOL.

I look forward to seeing you interpretations!

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. 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.

+++++++

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 tooly Monday.

Selfie Project – February

Seems like a good time to check in with the progress on THE SELFIE PROJECT.

I don’t think that February was my best work. Apparently I need to get out more and see more people because it seems like I didn’t leave my house much in February from these pictures.

But looks can be deceiving. Nothing deceiving about that bear though.


February 1, 2019
February 1

February 3, 2019
February 3

February 5, 2019
February 5

February 6, 2019
February 6

February 7, 2019
February 7

February 8, 2019
February 8

February 10, 2019
February 10

February 13, 2019
February 13

February 15, 2019
February 15

February 18, 2019
February 18

February 20, 2019
February 20

February 21, 2019
February 21

February 24, 2019
February 24

February 25, 2019
February 25

February 26, 2019
February 26

February 27, 2019
February 27

February 28, 2019
February 28

I’ll try to be more interesting in March.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 181 – FACELESS PORTRAIT

FACELESS PORTRAIT turned out to be too daunting of a theme for many. Or perhaps the ice cold weather caused many creative juices to freeze up. The good news is that it will actually be ABOVE freezing on Saturday. Of course, we will also get freezing rain, so I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

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


WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 186 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT
Carla Stensland

WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

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:


WEEK 181 - 8
8

8! What a great theme! But kind of confusing. Why 8? The reason is because 8 is the theme category for the 2019 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. The largest and most prestigious photo contest in the state. People actually enter from all over the country.

Rather than giving my description of an 8 image, here is the info straight off the sheet:

Next year is the 80th Anniversary of the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon, so we are going to focus on the 8’s. This isn’t about just taking photos of the number 8. The challenge here is to look at the world around you. What do you see? Now, you might say as photographers we do already, but did you really take notice of that something next you that may be in the shape of an 8? Or maybe, you come across a subject in your travels that is in a grouping of 8.

A few tips to help you with this assignment. First, remember that the number eight can come in all shapes, sizes and directions. Second, if the subject is in a grouping of eight, try taking photos of the grouping at all different angles. This would be a great opportunity to set your camera on Aperture Priority to learn how to shoot with a depth of field. Third, if
might be an ever greater challenge for this assignment, but it might be possible for you to come across a group of eight items that is also in the shape of an eight.

The typos in there belong to the Iowa State Fair and actually aren’t mine for once.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

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. 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.

+++++++

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 eights Monday.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 180 – TRANSPORTATION

A great week of participation for the theme TRANSPORTATION. Despite the blizzard or perhaps because of the blizzard a lot of people got some great TRANSPORTATION photos.

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


WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 180 - TRANSPORTATION - BECKY PARMELEE
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:


WEEK 181 - FACELESS PORTRAIT
FACELESS PORTRAIT

FACELESS PORTRAIT! What a great theme! But what is a FACELESS PORTRAIT? It is a portrait of somebody that doesn’t include their face. It is that simple.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

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. 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.

+++++++

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 faceless Monday.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 175 – MACRO

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, I want to acknowledge that today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

While the day is named after and honors Martin Luther King Jr. it is important to acknowledge that it also celebrates this country’s advancements (and recent attempts at regression) in Civil Rights.

To honor his legacy and the tremendous amounts of work that still need to be accomplished on ALL civil rights fronts, I’d like to share some words from his final speech he gave before being brutally shot down outside his hotel room in Memphis:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything, I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

He was in Memphis supporting the Sanitation Workers Strike. May we all strive to continue his legacy.

There were a decent amount of submissions this week for what can be a somewhat technically demanding theme in MACRO.

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


WEEK 175 - MACRO - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 175 - MACRO - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 175 - MACRO - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 175 - MACRO - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 175 - MACRO - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 175 - MACRO - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 175 - MACRO - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

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:


WEEK 176- SURPRISE
SURPRISE!

SURPRISE! What a great theme! But what is a SURPRISE image? A SURPRISE image is a picture o somebody in the state of SURPRISE or somebody that is about to be in the state of SURPRISE or the result of a SURPRISE or somebody that is about to somebody is the state of SURPRISE.

I think this one might be one of the harder themes and I expect participation to take a dip this week. Hopefully some of you will SURPRISE me! That being said, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

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. 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.

+++++++

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 surprising Monday.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 173 – ABSTRACT

There were a decent number of submissions for ABSTRACT this week. Several of them came with a question mark attached, “is this ABSTRACT?”

I always give the same response to such inquiries. It only matters if you think it is ABSTRACT.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk tommyrot about how I’m not very helpful. You came to see the submissions:


WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT -  ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 173 - ABSTRACT - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim


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:



ART!

ART! What a great theme! But what is an ART photo? An ART photo is any photo of a piece of ART or a being engaged in creating ART.

As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations.

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. 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 arty Monday.