Category Archives: Laura

Bethany, Dad, Dae Hee, History, Laura, Music, Nate, Nora, Road Trip, Teresa, Travel

Paisley Park

April 27, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

This last weekend I made a trip up with Nate and Laura to visit Bethany, Dae Hee, Nora, and Colleen. On Saturday night we made our way to Long Lake to eat at Primo. Dae Hee and I left early so we could swing by Paisley Park to see the Prince Memorial.

Below are some pictures.

So part of the reason I went to Paisley Park is because it was history. It was like going to Graceland after Elvis died. However, it wasn’t the majority of the reason that I went.

I don’t normally get too caught up in celebrity deaths. It is usually a time when people flock to social media to overstate their “relationship” with the deceased celebrity.

However Prince’s death to have an effect on me. I can’t claim to be a huge fan of Prince’s music, although I did enjoy it. I also admired his musicality and he was without a doubt one of the foremost musical geniuses of the last 50 years. He produced an album a year for over a decade. There are rumors that he has well over a thousand unreleased songs that he has recorded and not released. On some of his biggest hits he played every instrument on the recording. Often recording the song in one day. Often recording more than one song in a day in this manner.

One of my favorite Prince stories is when he played the Super Bowl halftime show in the pouring rain. The producers of the halftime show were worried that he would want to pull out. When they called him and asked him about the rain he gave a great response.

“Can you make it rain harder?”

The rain didn’t stop until he played his final song of the night, Purple Rain. Despite this fact, he gave what was easily the best Super Bowl Halftime show in history. A show that will stand the test of time for its pure virtuosity alone.

I’ll miss Prince because one of my fondest memories of my childhood was my eldest sister Teresa’s friends infatuation with Prince (even though I think Teresa was more into Phil Collins). One even dressed like Prince and his license plates matched Prince’s from PURPLE RAIN. It is up there with listening to Casey Kasem’s Top 40 on family road trips. Or Dad telling Teresa that if she wanted to go Hall some Oates, he could take her to a farm.

Prince dying is like a piece of my childhood dying.

I may have to become an adult yet.

Bethany, Candid Portrait, Carla, Dae Hee, Jim, Laura, Mom, Nate, Nora

Nora

April 22, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Bethany and Dae Hee recently brought forth new life into this world. Nate, Laura, Jim and rolled up I-35 (or 35 Interstate in Kansan) and visited little Nora Olivia Yoon.

I don’t normally post pictures of people in the hospital, but I’ll make an exception, this one time.

Here is Nora:

Nate is unpictured because there was a limit of 3 people in the NICU at a time and I was never in there with him.

I should point out that to be allowed in the NICU with Nora, you had to have your flu shot. I was never so happy that my Mom’s incessant nagging to get my flu shot actually paid dividends. Nate, Laura, and Jim had to scramble the day before we went up to get theirs. Meanwhile, I was kicking back with Carla taking pictures of the remains of the Wagon Wheel Bridge.

Oh wait. I forgot I have some cruddy phone pictures to share as well. You can see Nate’s arm in one of those.

Dae Hee’s interpretation of child birth!

I’m going up to visit Nora again this weekend, so there might just be more Nora pictures in your future… you lucky dog!

Basketball, Black & White, Laura, Nate, Road Trip, Still Life, Travel

AIN’T NO PLACE TO HAVE A BABY

February 17, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

When you got no man to give it his last name…

And her folks back in Manhattan didn’t want her or her bundle…

So she took her child and caught an evening train…

She found a job in Denver washing dishes in a diner…

At least it buys her baby milk to drink…

He once told her she was pretty…

But the only ring it got her…

Was the ring of grease that runs around the sink…

Yes she lay beside him gentle…

‘Cause he told her that he loved her…

And he made her dance before the music played…

But at least she didn’t beg him…

She’d rather wash her dishes…

It makes her feel as if her hands are clean…

Black & White, Laura, Nate, Road Trip, Travel

Boston Hill

February 12, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett

A look at the view of Manhattan from Manhattan Hill.

I’ll most likely be doing a dump of the rest of the images from my trip to visit Nate and Laura at some point next week.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 10mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/400
DATE TAKEN: 01/17/2016 11:58
LATITUDE: 39.19189°
LONGITUDE: -96.56269
FIELD OF VIEW: 100.4°

Art, Black & White, Laura, Nate, Road Trip, Travel

Check Out this A Hole!

February 5, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

When you read the subject of this entry, you probably thought that this post was going to be about the Iowa Caucuses, but actually it is an image from my most recent trip to visit Nate and Laura.

Behold!

Laura tells me that it is quite the thing for people of Manhattan to get their picture taken in the “A hole” of the giant Manhattan sign that graces their skyline.

For the record, I’ve never consider the blank parts of letters to be holes. I guess that is just me.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 13mm
APERTURE: f/9
EXPOSURE: 1/400
DATE: 01/17/2016 – 11:54
LATITUDE: 39.19196°
LONGITUDE: -96.56279°
ALTITUDE: 546.2 meters

Black & White, Christianity, Laura, Nate, Photo of the Day, Road Trip, Travel

John 14:27

January 26, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I found this barn and its hopeful message along I70 (or as a Kansan might say 70 Interstate) on my recent trip to visit Nate and Laura. I vowed to stop and take a picture of it on my way home.

Mission accomplished.

While this saying has graced many a bumper sticker, you won’t actually find it in THE BIBLE. I’m usually fairly coy about the titles of the posts in this here blog (even though I’m sure most of them end up being fairly transparent), however, I will flat out tell you if you go read that particular verse, I think it is what this bumper sticker theology is trying to say.

Although intellectual honesty makes me point out I’m not a noted theologian. I don’t even play one on television. You know every once in awhile, PHOTOGRAPHY 139 needs to get in touch with its roots and give a small reminder of where the name comes from.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 18.0mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/500
DATE TAKEN: 01-17-2016 – 12:42
LATITUDE: 39.06553°
LONGITUDE: -96.29739
ALTITUDE: 19.9 meters above sea level*

*I have my doubts about the accuracy of that number.

Becca, Bethany, Calendar, Dae Hee, Family, Laura, Nate

An Irrevocable Condition

January 13, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett

Often times when I put calendars out into the world, I worry about what kind of home it will receive. Will it be loved? Will it be adored? Will it end up on a wall with tons of writing on it?

Recently I received a couple text pictures of Photography 139 Calendars in their new homes.

While it might seem that I’m soliciting such images, I am not, but I do love getting them.

Here are those 2 images, Photogrpahy 139 Calendars. Home.

Colleen’s Calendar

Becca’s Calendar

I’m glad to see these calendars have found good, loving homes in Arizona.

Anders, Angie, Baier, Becky, Blogging, Calendar, Carla, Cousin Amy, Dae Hee, Dawn, Eric, Faust, Flat Earth Joe, Flowers, Funk, Geri, Holidays, Houlihan, Jay, Jesse, Jill, Jorge, Laura, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Nader, Russell, Sara, Scottie D., Shannon, Suzie, Teresa, Vest

2015

January 1, 2016 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

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.

Front Cover

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

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!

Flowers, Laura, Nate, Road Trip

Kansas Weed

December 8, 2015 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Sharing another picture from a west(ish) Kansas sunset because Laura says that west(ish) Kansas has the best sunsets.

When I told people I was going to visit Manhattan, they usually say: “Cool!”

Then I say, “No, the one in Kansas.”

Then they say, “Oh.”

After a long bit of silence they say, “Why?”

I can’t say that the restaurants have as good of food as real Manhattan (but Nate’s food more than compensates) or the sites are as interesting as real Manhattan. But the people can’t be beat. Think I’ll go back in January.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: Sony SLT-A65V
ISO: 320
FOCAL LENGTH: 60mm (35mm equivalency – 90mm)
APERTURE: f/4
EXPOSURE: 1/100
DATE: 11/21/2015 – 16:33
LATITUDE: 39° 7′ 57.2″
LONGITUDE: 96° 32′ 22″
ALTITUDE: 404.91 meters

Angie, Carla, Kim, Laura, Michelle, Shannon, Still Life, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 12 – STILL LIFE

December 7, 2015 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

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: