Category Archives: Linda

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION

Before I get into the participation and the tommyrot and the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE quoting, I want to point out the historical significance of today. Today is the 2 year anniversary of The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016!

If you don’t know about The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016, let me give you the short, short, short version.

During the football season, me and few fellow computer miners engage in a spirited bit of gambling. The winner each week gets to claim a red solo cup filled with change. Well, maybe not exactly filled, but there is some change in it.

At the end of the season, the person with the most red cups is proclaimed The Witch and they get the travelling trophy. A Franklin Broomworks Children’s Broom.(Incidentally, I agree with Franklin Broomworks and their hardcore child labor policies.) In the event of a tie, the title of Witch gets conferred in a tie-breaking competition that is determined by the people that are not involved in the tie.

In 2016, the tie-breaker was a turtle race.

The 4 people tied for first place were Joe (AKA Flat Earth Joe), Michelle, Cathie, and Humble Narrator. Before our traditional year end banquet at Zeno’s in Marshalltown we congregated at the Colo Outpost of AMOutdoors. What happened next is something conspiracy theorists have been discussing for 2 years now.

But don’t take my word for it, roll this conspiracy’s Zapruder film.

NOTE: If you are an email subscriber to “An Artist’s Notebook and are in the Outlook list, you will have to go to the website to view this atrocity. If you are in the regular distribution list, you already had to come to the website, so this message isn’t for you:


As you can see, the Red Turtle (MY TURTLE), clearly wins this race! Yet inexplicably, the Orange loser turtle is somehow declared the winner. Rigged! I can only speculate at what level the Russians were involved.

That being said, if you are into hunting and fishing, you could do worse than checking out Micky’s hunting and fishing website by clicking on the link below:

AMOUTDOORS

Just don’t trust the guy to run a turtle race. He is as crooked as dog’s hind leg. Depending on the dog, crookeder.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Participation rates!

Tommyrot!

Here are the submissions for RELIGION:


WEEK 142 - RELIGION - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - 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 143 - WORK
WORK!

WORK! What a great theme! But what is WORK photography? WORK photography would be a photo of somebody doing their job, at their job, the tools for their job. But WORK doesn’t just happen at a job. WORK can also be done for fun. Like gardening. Or landscaping. Or mowing. Wait, mowing isn’t fun, but it still counts as WORK. Along with doing dishes and dusting.

As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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. 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.

2. 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.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTARY DIVISION

In recent weeks, 3 people have earned their very own Photography 139 avatars by leaving comments on “An Artist’s Notebook” entries.

Welcome to the Photography 139 commentary world:

Joe Duff
Linda Bennett
Tamara Peterson

Do you want your very own Photography 139 like giants in the blog post commentary industry like:

Angie DeWaard
Andy Sharp
Jesse Howard

All you have to do is leave a comment on an “An Artist’s Notebook” entry and I will gladly create you your very own Photography 139 avatar!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 POST NOTIFICATION

I’m currently using a post notification plugin called MailPoet. I’m not 100% satisfied with it, but it will stay status quo until I get back from my mission trip to Houston at the end of June. At that time, I will (hopefully) have the free time to play with a couple of different plug-ins.

If you use Outlook to view the post notification emails, let me know and I’ll switch you over to the Outlook subscription group.

**************************************

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 labored Monday!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Oh wait, that isn’t all I have for today. If you are out and about from 4-7 today, I will be hanging out with the Boone Area Humane Society taking pictures for their booth and mascot at Ericson Public Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff.

If you don’t want to come see me, come to see Hope:


Summer Reading Kickoff

Just to make it clear, I will not be in the dog costume. I am about a foot too tall for the costume.

Badlands Vol. 5

The final set of pictures from my brief sojourn through the Badlands with my Mom:


The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

The Badlands

That is it. That is the last of the Badlands pictures. Still have plenty of pictures from my trip to South Dakota to publish though. I’ll get through them all, some day.

+++++++++++++++

Actually that isn’t it. I’d like to thank everybody that wished me a happy birthday on Friday.

I believe this to be the entire list:

-Mom
-Jesse
-Michelle
-Teresa
-Dawn
-Nate
-Bethany
-Logan
-Shannon
-Becca
-Sara Lockner
-Stephanie
-Sarah Karber
-Colleen
-Micky
-Laura
-Aunt Linda
-Jay
-Faust
-Monica
-Andree
-Becky

Thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was a perfectly adequate birthday. I didn’t go to work. I got to do some tenderloining. I took some pictures. I hung out with my favorite dog in the world and one of my other favorite dogs in the world. I also watched ROAD HOUSE.

The movie that perfected throat ripping and had so many great lines like:

You know, I heard you had balls big enough to come in a dump truck, but you don’t look like much to me.

You’re too stupid to have a good time.

Take the biggest guy in the world, shatter his knee and he’ll drop like a stone.

I got married to an ugly woman. Don’t ever do that. It just takes the energy right out of you. She left me, though. Found somebody even uglier than she was. That’s life. Who can explain it?

Calling me sir is like putting an elevator in an outhouse. It don’t belong.

That gal’s got entirely too many brains to have an ass like that.

This place has a sign hangin’ over the urinal that says, “Don’t eat the big white mint”.

And of course

Pain don’t hurt.

If you missed your chance to celebrate my birth, you have one more chance. Next Sunday night is the Union Street Theater’s monthly movie night. Here are the movies for the double feature:


Movie Night

I chose the movies this month (instead of the usual committee that picks the movies) since it is my birth month. If you are wondering why I picked KING KONG VS. GODZILLA, then do you really know me at all.

I picked REAR WINDOW because I love that movie, it is directed by Hitchcock, it is about a photographer, the photographer is dating Grace Kelly, and it is is the best movie ever made about a photographer.

A close second is BLOW-UP. Right Jay and Jesse?

Projector rolls at 6 PM. I’m not sure if there will be any special treats for that night. We’ll see.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 135 – SIGNS

Another big week for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. People didn’t let the weather stop them from harvesting all sorts of SIGNS pictures. This week the Photography 139 empire stretched as far north as downtown Boone, Iowa. As far south and east as Kentucky. As far west as Folsom, California. There are 2 special notes need to be made about the submissions this week:

SPECIAL NOTE #1

Jaxon made his first submission this week. I’m very excited and I expect big things in the future.

SPECIAL NOTE #2

Pay special attention to Linda Bennett’s submission. It is a very special submission. Many of you will be able to figure out why.

But you didn’t come here to listen to all that tommyrot, you came to see the submissions:


WEEK 135 - SIGNS - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - JAXON SCHOFF
Jaxon Schoff

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett -I found this in a trunk filled with cards and letters from the last 70 years. Made me smile.

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley
“All license plates in California are made in Folsom Prison. So it seemed fitting for the closed sign for the museum to be a license plate. However, we were there when the museum was open, so it was partially hidden.”

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 135 - SIGNS - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland – Form of sign..?

A very solid week of submissions!

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 136 - GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT! What a great theme! But what is a GOVERNMENT photo? A GOVERNMENT photo is any photo that shows the GOVERNMENT at work. There is the obvious, a picture of a court house. GOVERNMENT. City Hall. GOVERNMENT. Police Station. GOVERNMENT. Fire Station. GOVERNMENT. But there also many GOVERNMENT activities you might not think about. That road you drove to work on today. GOVERNMENT. That public school where you dropped your kid off (I’m talking to those of us in the lower and middle class here) at this morning. GOVERNMENT. City Park. GOVERNMENT. County Park. GOVERNMENT. State Park. GOVERNMENT. National Park. GOVERNMENT. Iowa State University. GOVERNMENT. Other public universities. GOVERNMENT. The military. GOVERNMENT. A county hospital. GOVERNMENT. The Post Office. GOVERNMENT. The clean water (assuming nobody from Flint, Michigan or a state that allows fracking is reading this) coming out of your tap. GOVERNMENT.

Even organizations that aren’t the GOVERNMENT, are GOVERNMENT. That youth sport organization that you allegedly resigned from the Board, but sit my basement have 30 minute conversations about who should mow the lawn and chalk the fields. (That got strangely specific.) That board is a GOVERNMENT.

As you can see, there are a plethora of options and there are a ton more.

As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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. 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.

2. 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

The latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication and sign on for a Photography 139 Email Subscription is Linda Clark. I honestly don’t know much about her, other than she is a relative of Andy Sharp and he says she has an interest in photography. Welcome aboard Linda! If you see her, 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 governed Monday!

I’m a Mean Photog, Better Feed Me Fauxtogs or Feed Me Picts, Ah, Feed Me Both of ‘Em

As you may have guessed, I have a ton of alternative BLACK & WHITE images for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The world wasn’t ready for them on Monday. I’m not sure the world can handle them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

BLACK & WHITE - ALTERNATE

Some of these pictures were taken on the north side of Boone. Some in my coop in the cube farm at the Computer Mine. Some on the way to Dickcissel Park. Some at the sculpture garden down in Des Moines. The picture of me blocking Jesse’s shot was originally taken by Bill. Shortly afterwards, a defeated and downtrodden Jesse retired from basketball.

I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that I have added an additional photo from Linda Bennett to the original post on the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE on Monday. It somehow ended up in my spam folder. You can see the additional photo by clicking on the link below:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 133 – BLACK & WHITE

There are plenty more BLACK & WHITE alternates coming your way in the coming days.

But, don’t forget to come out to the Boone Pizza Ranch tomorrow night between 5-9 to support the Boone First United Methodist Youth Group. Just bring one of these flyers:


For everyone of these we get with a paid meal, Pizza Ranch gives us $2. American. There will also be tip jars available for you to throw some additional scratch in.

I hope you’re as excited to see me there and I am excited to see you there!

Roundball Oracles – Year 14

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liars chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

It is done. College basketball is over for another season.

In 11 days Iowa State football will hold their Spring Game. After that, the only sports worth watching until college football kicks off in 5 months is the NBA Playoffs. I’m not sure what I’ll do with my spare time. Maybe I’ll clean my house. Now I’m really depressed.

Who isn’t depressed?

Paul Golden, that is who! For the second straight year, he is cutting down the nets for the Roundball Oracles. His name had been added to the List of Immortals:

The List of Immortals

2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

One more trophy and he will tie Willy and Mark for the most crowns ever!

I held onto Paul’s trophy from last year, when in became apparent he might win again, so I don’t have a picture of Paul with his trophy yet. But when I do, I’ll share it here.

I do however have a picture of last year’s The Sara winner:


Shannon with her
Shannon with The Sara

However, Shannon did not have the guts to come back and defend her The Sara Title. Therefore, there is a new The Sara “Winner” this year.

“Congrats” to Robert Henning for being the last place adult, that tried to win. I have went over his bracket with a fine tooth comb and even though he picked Kansas to win it all, it would seem he was trying to win in good faith. He joins the List of Mortals:

The List of Mortals

2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2015 – Sara Lockner

There were 35 entrants this year. A slight dip from past years, but that was to be expected with the lack of any local teams in the tournament. Most of us adopted Loyola as our team, since they were powered by former Cyclone Clayton Custer.

However, it was a clean, close competition. Michigan’s defeat of Loyola in the Final Four left it down to just Rachel and Paul battling it out for the trophy. Villanova’s complete shellacking of Kansas gave Paul the repeat.

But you didn’t come here to listen to any of that tommyrot. You want to see the final standings:

1 Paul Golden 248
2 Dawn Krause 243
3 Yours Truly 243
4 tim peterson 232
5 Michelle Haupt 232
6 Nate Miller 230
7 Jordan Toot 224
8 Corey Faust 223
9 Angie DeWaard 221
10 Rachel Johnson 219
11 Lowell Davis 215
12 Benjamin Baier 213
13 Derek Dohrman 205
14 Cathie Raley 204
15 Bill Wentworth 200
16 Sean G. 198
17 Linda Bennett 195
18 Jesse Howard 195
19 Olivia Baier 188
20 Toby Sebring 185
21 Russ Kennerly 184
22 Jackson Faust 182
23 Sean Clubine 173
24 Jason Baier 173
25 Micky Augustin 167
26 Brandon Kahler 166
27 Nader Parsaei 166
28 Andree Jauhari 165
29 Liz Nordeen 165
30 Carrie Baier 162
31 Laura Priest 158
32 FHMeiners 156
33 Becky Perky 152
34 Will Baier 148
35 Robert Henning 141

The good news is that next year is that the state of Iowa won’t be shutout of the NCAA Tournament. If nothing else, the first two “real” rounds will be held in Des Moines. Plus Iowa has a lot of young talent that will be back next year. Admittedly, they still have the same sub-par coach, but they should be good enough to go dancing for a short while.

Iowa State on the other hand will be one of the most interesting teams in the country. This year’s team was very young and was decimated by injuries. The only major loss from last year’s team is Donovan Jackson, which Kansas fans know, is a major loss. However, assuming Lindell Wigginton comes back (and almost everybody assumes he will), they return a future first round pick in Wigginton and fellow freshman stud Cam Lard. Plus you bring Babb and Solomon back from injuries. Bring back a big time contributor down the stretch in Zoran Talley. A much improved Terrence Lewis will fight for playing time with super impact transfer Marial Shayok and impact transfer Michael Jacobson. Then add stud freshman Talen Horton-Tucker to the mix. One guy you don’t want to sleep on is Zion Griffin. Plus they are adding Tyrese Halliburton and George Conditt. I don’t expect those 2 to contribute next year, but they will be huge in the coming years.

This will be the most talented roster since Iowa State had 5 NBA players on the roster a few years back. That team lost in the first round of the tourney. I expect much bigger things from the Cyclones next year. The future is bright in the Cyclone State!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 133 – BLACK & WHITE

BLACK & WHITE turned out to be a very popular theme. I am pleased. The geographical range that the submissions covered was pretty impressive this week. As far north as Minneapolis. As far west as Easton, Kansas. As far south as Arkansas. As far east as Washington D.C. and Virginia Beach. The empire is immense this week.

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


WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett

WEEK 133 - BLACK & WHITE - LINDA BENNETT
Linda 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 134 - ROAD TRIP
ROAD TRIP!

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme! But what is a ROAD TRIP photo?

A ROAD TRIP photo is any photo that has anything to do with going on a ROAD TRIP. From gas, to a car, to maps, to Funyuns, to the open road. A ROAD TRIP photo can be of the thing or person (for those of you social types) that you made the ROAD TRIP to see.

Personally, I already have a ROAD TRIP for Saturday to Marhsalltown (and most likely other places) planned for Saturday. If anybody wants the navigator seat, just let me know. ROAD TRIP!

As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations of the theme.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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. 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.

2. 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

The latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication and sign on for a Photography 139 Email Subscription is Linda Clark. I honestly don’t know much about her, other than she is a relative of Andy Sharp and he says she has an interest in photography. Welcome aboard Linda! If you see her, feel free to give her a knowing glance and teach her the super-secret Photography 139 Handshake.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTARY DIVISION

Speaking of Mr. Sharp, Andy has become the latest person to get a Photography 139 Avatar by leaving an actual comment on a blog on the website.

He joined select company:

Angie DeWaard
Jason Baier
Jesse Howard
Russell Kennerly
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Mike Vest

As people with an official Photography 139 Avatar for leaving comments on the Photography 139 blog AKA AN ARTIST’S NOTEBOOK.

You want your own Photography 139 Avatar? It is simple to get one. Just leave a comment on a blog.

**************************************

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 travelled Monday!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 127 – STILL LIFE

Despite the nicer weather, participation rates for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE haven’t rebounded. Might be time to consider retiring it at the end of this 52 week run. Maybe everybody gave up the Weekly Photo Challenge for Lent?

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


WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett

WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 127 - STILL LIFE - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

While the submission be little in number, they be strong in heart!

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 128 - OLD/ELDERLY
OLD/ELDERLY

OLD/ELDERLY what a great theme! This picture doesn’t have to be of an old person, but it can be. OLD is a relative term. For example. The kids in the youth group think I’m OLD. Practically ancient. On the other hand the retirement age people from my church think of me as some wet behind the ears punk kid. FIND something or somebody (but I don’t know I would say that to their face) that you think is OLD and take a photo or two.

As always, I’m excited to see your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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. 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.

2. 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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

**************************************

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 old Monday!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 124 – COLORFUL

A pretty decent amount of people had their creative bell rung by COLORFUL. At least that is what I will tell myself to get to sleep tonight.

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


WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - ANDY SHARP
ANDY SHARP

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CARLA STENSLAND
CARLA STENSLAND

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - STEPHANIE KIM
STEPHANIE KIM

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - STEPHANIE KIM
STEPHANIE KIM

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - TAMARA PETERSON
TAMARA PETERSON

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CATHIE RALEY
CATHIE RALEY

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - LINDA BENNETT
LINDA BENNETT

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER

What a great week of submissions!

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 125 - JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY!

JEALOUSY! What a great theme! What a tough theme! I consider this to be maybe the toughest theme is this set of 52 themes. What is a JEALOUSY picture? A JEALOUSY picture would be of somebody being JEALOUS(Y) of somebody else. For example of an Iowa Hawkeye fan being JEALOUS(Y) of an Iowa State Cyclone fan for having a college education. Or another example would be showing something that makes you JEALOUS(Y). I don’t have a very good example for this, I experience JEALOUSY so rare.

As always, I look forward to your interpretations.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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. 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.

2. 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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

**************************************

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 jealous Monday!

LSD the Bridge

I have a rather shocking confession. I have never done LSD. However, if I had tried LSD, I imagine the experience would be something like walking across the High Trestle Trail Bridge on a dark night.

Several weeks back my cousin Sarah and my Aunt Linda were in town and we did just that. Here are a few pictures from the evening:


The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail

The High Trestle Trail

Recently the neighbors have complained that the bridge is too noisy at night and now the authorities are turning the lights off at 9 PM. Very sad.

Selfie Project – August

One of the benefits of THE SELFIE PROJECT is that I can look back at a month and feel less worthless. Hey, I actually did go out and do stuff and see people in month X. I’m a winner!

Speaking of winners, these are the photos I consider winners from the month of August:


August 2, 2017
August 2, 2017

August 5, 2017
August 5, 2017

August 6, 2017
August 6, 2017

August 7, 2017
August 7, 2017

August 10, 2017
August 10, 2017

August 11, 2017
August 11, 2017

August 12, 2017
August 12, 2017

August 13, 2017
August 13, 2017

August 15, 2017
August 15, 2017

August 16, 2017
August 16, 2017

August 19, 2017
August 19, 2017

August 20, 2017
August 20, 2017

August 21, 2017
August 21, 2017

August 22, 2017
August 22, 2017

August 23, 2017
August 24, 2017

August 26, 2017
August 26, 2017

August 27, 2017
August 27, 2017

August 29, 2017
August 29, 2017

August 30, 2017
August 30, 2017

August 31, 2017
August 31, 2017

Remember that THE SELFIE PROJECT photos are posted on Instagram on the daily. If you don’t know, Instagram is that little sliver of social media that doesn’t suck… much. There are a few lazy slackjaws out there that post memes, but other than that, it is just pictures. Any way you can follow me at the account below:

@christopherdbennett

Now I need to make sure that my September is almost as great as my August!