Category Archives: Carla

The Bravest Act

As many of you may know, the historic Wagon Wheel Bridge recently collapsed after being damaged by ice dams.

Carla and I went out there to take a looksie. Here is one of the photos from that trip:


Wagon Wheel Fallen

Some of you may be wondering why I’m not wishing you guys a Happy St. Patrick’s Day.

Listen, I’m for just about any holiday. Even one that is designed to mock the Irish for having the genetic predisposition for alcoholism. Mock away, I say.

But today, the Iowa State Cyclones battle the Gaels of Iona in the NCAA tournament.

I wish for nothing but sadness for anything that is remotely Gaelic.

I will mock (celebrate) the Irish tomorrow. By eating a Reuben. Which was invented by a Lithuanian in Nebraska, but is somehow now considered Irish food. Whatever.

GO CYCLONES!!!

No particulars today. I’m lazy.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 26 – PET

Quick post today:

Lots of submissions for PET! Here they are:


WEEK 26 - PET - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 26 - PET - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD

WEEK 26 - PET - CARLA STENSLAND
CARLA STENSLAND

WEEK 26 - PET - DUSTIN JACKSON 1
DUSTIN JACKSON 1

WEEK 26  - PET - DUSTIN JACKSON 2
DUSTIN JACKSON 2

WEEK 26 - PET - DUSTIN JACKSON 3
DUSTIN JACKSON 3

WEEK 26 - PET - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER 1

WEEK 26 - PET - KIM BARKER 2
KIM BARKER 2

WEEK 26 - PET - SARAH KARBER
SARAH KARBER

WEEK 26 - PET - TERESA KAHLER
TERESA KAHLER

WEEK 26 - PET - SHANNON BARDOLE
SHANNON BARDOLE

WEEK 26 - PET - MICHELLE HAUPT
MICHELLE HAUPT

Great submissions! Keep the momentum rolling with this week’s theme:


WEEK 27 - TREE
TREE!

Should be an easy one! Everybody has access to a tree or even trees!

No HOUSEKEEPING this week.

Le Cirque est Plein

Last Thursday was Senior Night at some sort of Boone High athletics event. Alexis was honored along with the other seniors.

Do to a scheduling kerfuffle, Carla wasn’t there to walk with Alexis. Therefore Mom did. Here is a picture from that night:


It is hard to remember that when Alexis was a little kid she loathed having her picture taken. Now she is the Selfie Queen!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 19 – GRAFFITI

It is exciting times around the PHOTOGRAPHY 139 WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS. There is a first time submitter in Dustin Jackson this week.

Dustin is a very talented photographer and I would encourage you to follow him on his Facebook page, if you haven’t. I would post a link, but then I’d have to go on Facebook and this has been a pretty great week so far. My disdain for humanity is at a low and I don’t want that to go away right now.

Maybe later.

Either way, I’m super excited to have Dustin as a fairly regular contributor. I’m expecting great things from him!

Here are this week’s submissions for GRAFFITI:


WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD 1

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD 2

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - DUSTIN JACKSON
DUSTIN JACKSON

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - SHANNON BARDOLE
SHANNON BARDOLE

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - SARAH KARBER
SARAH KARBER

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - CARLA STENSLAND
CARLA STENSLAND*

WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER

But what is this week’s theme? Well, you don’t have to wait any longer!


WEEK 20 - MUSIC
MUSIC!

As always, you can define MUSIC any way you want. For example, I know people that define Five Finger Death Punch as music, whereas I do not. Good luck to everybody participating.

A quick review of the rules.

RULES

1. 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.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by noon on the Monday of the challenge. 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.

HOUSEKEEPING

PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

I told you this is a great week! I get to proudly announce that there have been not ONE, but TWO people that have exercised their keen intellect by displaying both their taste and sophistication by becoming Photography 139 email subscribers. Please welcome aboard Dustin Jackson and Derrick Gorshe. If you see them out and about walking the mean streets of Ogden or Ames, feel free to give them a knowing glance.

I’ve known both Dustin and Derrick for what feels like forever. All of us used to toil in the mines of the Evil Clown Empire in another life. Back then Dustin used to go by the moniker Action Jackson and Derrick used to go by the name D-Rock. They are also both amazing cooks and are both married to smart, beautiful, strong, amazing women. I’m going to guess this is the result of their keen intellects and their sophisticated tastes.

Dustin and I were founding members in an underground beverage society that supported and encouraged the drinking of Jones Soda. We once fought the good fight against Jones Soda suppression that the local Hy-Vee was engaged in. Although we lost the battle, Hy-Vee definitely knew they were in a fight.

Derrick and I were once in the faux jam band Bratwurst Explosion. We definitely rocked many a faux stage in our day. Derrick, to his credit, also rocked many a real stage in his youth.

Derrick is also the twin brother of longtime Photography 139 supporter Jill Gorshe.

Dustin does not have a twin, but I don’t hold that against him. As long as he keeps feeding me homemade pretzel buns!

Welcome aboard Dustin and Derrick. I know you shall fare well.

PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS COMMENTARY DIVISION

In the last couple of weeks, both Russell Kennerly and Jason Baier have earned their own avatars for use in the COMMENTS section of this here blog. Hopefully, they won’t be the last and hopefully, they will put these to good use in the future.

PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SECRET HANDSHAKE DIVISION

It is with some sadness and a certain degree of remorse, that I’ve had to fold the PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SECRET HANDSHAKE DIVISION. They just weren’t making satisfactory progress. While I never like to see people put out of their jobs, sometimes, it just has to be done. I have given them the requisite pretzels, to let them know that they are being closed down.

So now and on into the future, we will go back to pretending that there is a super-secret Photography 139 secret handshake. Isn’t pretending more fun anyways?

*Technically I took this photo, but Carla told me to take it because she couldn’t.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 18 – STORE

Some of the regulars weren’t out and about this week, but that is okay, because there was a first time contributor in Sarah Karber! I’m expecting big things from her in the future!

Here are the submissions for STORE:


WEEK 18 - STORE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 18 - STORE - CARLA STENSLAND 1
Carla Stensland 1

WEEK 18 - STORE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 18 - STORE - CARLA STENSLAND 2
Carla Stensland 2

WEEK 18 - STORE - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber

But enough living in the past. Let’s look at this week’s theme:


WEEK 19 - GRAFFITI
GRAFFITI!

I know the weather is cold, but hopefully a few of us can get out there and find some GRAFFITI to photograph this week. Although I can think of lots of warm bathrooms that have graffiti. But maybe that is just a guy thing.

HOUSEKEEPING

Nothing new to report. No new email subscribers this week. No website changes. No movement by the Super Secret Handshake Team.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 16 – RED

There were a surprising amount of submissions this week for it being a holiday season. Hopefully we build on that this week.

Submissions for RED:


WEEK 16 - RED - BECKY PERKOVICH
Becky Perkovich

WEEK 16 - RED - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 16 - RED - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 16 - RED - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 16 - RED - ANGIE DEWAARD 1
Angie DeWaard 1

WEEK 16- RED - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 16 - RED - ANGIE DEWAARD 2
Angie DeWaard 2

So what is this week’s theme?

Let’s have a look:


WEEK 17 - TEXTURE
TEXTURE

This should be an interesting one. It might be one of the more difficult themes, but I hope that doesn’t scare anybody away. As always, I’ll be excited to see all the submissions.

GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING NOTES

No new subscribers.
No movement on the secret handshake development front.

2015

So the walk down memory lane now concludes. With a look at the images that were in the calendar that early this morning will be taken down from kitchen walls (most common place I’ve seen the calendar hung up), office walls, cubicle walls, and placed gently in the trash with yesterday’s coffee grounds. 2015 Photography 139 Calendar I bid you a fond adieu.


2015 Calendar Cover
Front Cover

January - 2015 Calendar
January

February - 2015 Calendar
February

March - 2015 Calendar
March

April - 2015 Calendar
April

May - 2015 Calendar
May

June - 2015 Calendar
June

July - 2015 Calendar
July

August - Flower Calendar
August

September - 2015 Calendar
September

October - 2015 Calendar
October

November - 2015 Calendar
November

December - 2015 Calendar
December

If you ever get bored and want to take this walk down memory lane again, you can visit the Calendar and Postcards Gallery in the PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY. Link below:

CALENDAR & POSTCARD GALLERY

Since yesterday was the end of year and a holiday that many people celebrate (not me though, I don’t need the calendar gestapo telling me when to start a new year) I would like to take a quick moment to thank everybody that has continued to be an email subscriber to this here blog.

Off the top of my head and I apologize if I miss anybody:

These people are all original subscribers or at least haven’t changed their email since August 22, 2011. Which is how far back the records from off the top of my head go.

Jay Janson
Jason Baier
Shannon Bardole
Scott Degeneffe
Corey Faust
Susanna Funk
Jill Gorshe
Jesse Howard
Sara Lockner
Teresa Kahler
Nader Parsaei
Becky Perkovich
Bernice Verhoorn
Janice Peterson

Suzie Brannen – Since June 22, 2012
Eric Hiatt – Since August 20, 2012
Kim Barker – Since September 18, 2012
Amy Junck-Wallendal – December 18, 2012
Russell Kennerly – Since May 13, 2013
Tim Tucker (Not the one most of you are thinking about) – Since June 27, 2013
Michelle Haupt – Since July 12, 2013
Tim Tucker’s Woman (Sorry, never caught her name) – Since August 22, 2013
Geri Derner – Since September 30, 2013
Micky Augustin – Since October 10, 2013
Angie DeWaard – Since August 24, 2015
Mike Vest – Since September 9, 2015
Melissa Degeneffe – Since September 14, 2015
DaeHee Yoon – Since September 29, 2015
Monica Kewer – Since October 2, 2015 (Current email)
Carla Stensland – Since October 5, 2015
Joe Lynch – Since October 9, 2015
Jorge Rios – Since October 9, 2015
Anders Runestad – Since October 11, 2015
Elizabeth Nordeen – Since November 2, 2015
Laura Miller – Since November 9, 2015
Michael Houlihan – Since November 16, 2015
Dawn Krause – Since December 21, 2015
Joe Duff – Since December 21, 2015

Thanks for all the support and for making 2015 a successful year, by some sense of the word. I hope our little family here continues to grow. I’ll try and do better in 2016!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 13 – GAMES

This week was perilously close to the first strike for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. But there was a lone submission.

This week’s submissions:


WEEK 13- GAMES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 13 - GAMES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

Maybe next week’s theme will ring more bells. Maybe next week’s theme will be the first strike.

Next week’s theme:


WEEK 14 - BLACK AND WHITE
BLACK AND WHITE

Should be a simple and easy theme. Take a BLACK AND WHITE picture. Of literally, anything.

As always, I’ll be excited to see the submissions.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 12 – STILL LIFE

If I didn’t already have an established protocol for the naming of the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE journal entries, I might have named this here entry: WHERE HAVE ALL THE DUDES GONE?

Male participation has declined dramatically in the last couple of weeks. I’m not complaining for personal reasons. I’ll never complain about being surrounded by such lovely ladies. I’m just saying its weak. Get on it men!

Here are this week’s submissions for STILL LIFE:


WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 12 - STILL LIFE - LAURA MILLER
Laura Miller

Time to look to the future and reveal this week’s theme:


WEEK 13 - GAMES
GAMES!

But how does one define GAMES? I would define it like this:

GAMES – noun – a form of play or sport, especially a competitive one played according to rules and decide by skill, strength, or luck.

Nothing new from Photography 139’s Shameless Self-Promotion Divison to report.

As always, I look forward to seeing this week’s submissions!