Category Archives: Logan

Andy, Becky, Black & White, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kim, Logan, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 260 – SKY

September 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

We did it! 49 straight weeks of double digit submissions! This week, I did have to pull over next to Ulysses S. Grant’s house and rattle a few cages, but we did make it to double digit submissions!

This is a wrap on the 7th year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. There were 857 submissions for this set of 52 themes. If you want a walk down memory lane, click on the link below:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 7

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Kim Barker

Cathie Raley

Jodie Cue

Jesse Howard

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Becky Parmelee

Teresa Kahler

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:

Macro

MACRO! What a great theme! But what is a MACRO photo? It is basically a close-up photo of something.

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.

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.

+++++++

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 close Monday!

House, Logan, Movies, Teresa

The Low Place

September 6, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

It is probably past time I shared photos of my basement clean up project. It isn’t really done, but it is pretty close to being in the ball park of being able to see the ending. Also, next Thursday the DAV (Disabled Veterans) Thrift Store is coming to pick up the donations that have filled up my guest bedroom. Plenty of which, came from the basement. While it should go without saying, veterans are not “losers” or “suckers”. Disabled veterans should be allowed to be in parades. Opinions of the current administration notwithstanding.

Here are the before pictures:

The main thing I did was “finish” the wall in the basement. Paint it black. Then re-orient the Union Street Theater. Logan helped with the wall. Teresa helped paint it and move the screen. While it is possible that it won’t look much better to you. It looks WAY better to me!

Here are the after pictures:

I also hung up some old dark room lights to provide a little bit of light for when the basement is in full theater mode. Also, the new movie posters came from Nader.

The idea of re-orienting the Union Street Theater is to be able to have a couple people over to watch movies or sports in a way that can be more physically distanced and with nobody sitting in front of anybody else. I eventually plan to upgrade my home theater screen and then in the distant future, upgrade the home theater projector to 4K. However, the new projector is well into the future. The new screen might happen later this year.

Also, the new sweet Hilton Coliseum rug? That was a sweet $40 pickup from the Furniture Zone. Brand new, that thing is almost $200. Bonus!

Animals, Equipment, Fisheye, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Logan, Naima, Nature, Night, Self-Portrait, Still Life

Red Fish, Blue Fish

August 16, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I meant to publish a post on this subject a week or so ago, but the derecho put those plans on hold. I’ve meant to be more proactive about writing about when I get new equipment, even equipment that is fairly small or seemingly inconsequential to most people. Hopefully this post starts just such a new era for “An Artist’s Notebook”.

The most recent thing I purchased was a fisheye lens for the mirrorless camera setup. Have a look:

Here are some specs for the lens:
FOCUS TYPE: Manual
CLOSEST FOCUSING DISTANCE: 7.9″
FOCAL LENGTH: 12mm
ANGLE OF VIEW: 180
MAXIMUM APERTURE: f/2.8
MINIMUM APERTURE: f/22

On a 35mm camera or a full frame sensor camera, a 50mm lens is the same as human sight. When you look through a viewfinder with a 50mm lens on the camera, what you see should be about the same as when you aren’t looking through the lens. Your angle of view won’t be the same, but objects should be about the same distance.

To illustrate how a fisheye lens, I took pictures of Jesse with a 50mm lens and with my new fisheye lens so you can see the difference between human sight and a fisheye lens.

50mm

Fisheye

50mm

Fisheye

50mm

Fisheye

50mm

Fisheye

I wanted to make this example to be more scientific, but I couldn’t find a football field in Boone with yardlines already painted that wasn’t being used. So these distances are mostly eyeballed, but they are pretty darn close.

Now that you know what it is and what it does, here are a few sample pictures I have taken:

The next piece of equipment I will talk about is a macro bellow I recently picked up. Then maybe a remote camera trigger. Then I need to purchase some stuff.

Birthdays, Brandon, Logan, Macro, Russ, Still Life, Teresa, WPC - Reminder

Derecho Beta

August 14, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start today by wishing a happy birthday to Russ! Happy birthday Russ!

I hope your birthday was as wonderful as you wanted it to be!

+++++++
The first day after the derecho, I woke up without power. I figured it wouldn’t take long to get power. While I am a dirt poor, blue collar working stiff, I do live in what is considered the “nice” side of town with a bunch of swells. I figured that while my economic status wouldn’t get me preferred service, I would be able to ride the coattails of the country club set.

I was wrong. While even people who live west of Division Street got power back, I spent my day going back and forth between the darkness of my working man’s humble abode and to my Mom’s to get a charge on various electronics. My Mom did get power back at about 10 AM. The electric company came and moved the downed power line that was laying across her backyard. This allowed us to clean up her backyard. Shortly after that crew left, another crew came and turned her power back on.

Since I live about 3 blocks from my Mom, I thought I would have power back within minutes. Or at least within hours. But that power never came. I thought that I might have to travel to Ames to work at the Computer Mine, but they also didn’t get power back until late Tuesday night.

With no power and no job to work at, I grilled myself a semi-frozen pizza for lunch and then drove out to the “Stop Eminent Domain Abuse” semi trailer that had reportedly flipped over. Then I went back to Luther to photograph the grain bins one more time with a different lens than I brought the first time.

Here are some pictures:

I went to bed without power and now the amount of generators in my neighborhood had tripled. I loved the dark, I just wish some quiet would have accompanied it!

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is MACRO:

MACRO

A MACRO photo is a closeup photo. I was going to get into the technical definition, but nah, closeup photo is enough of a description.

Happy photo harvesting!

Angie, Animals, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 253 – NIGHT

July 20, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

We did it people! 42 straight weeks of double digit submissions. It only took the slightest bit of prodding this morning. WooHoo! 43 straight weeks should be easy as falling off a log. Or so I’m told. I’ve never fallen off a log.

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Monica Henning

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt

Micky Augustin

Logan Kahler

Angie DeWaard

Dawn Krause

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Dawn Krause

Jesse Howard

ANIMAL

ANIMAL! What a great theme! But what is an ANIMAL image? Any picture that involves an ANIMAL or byproducts of an ANIMAL.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

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.

+++++++

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 animalistic Monday!

Alexis, Animals, Birthdays, Brandon, Elainie, Jason, Johnathan, Kanoa, Kupono, Logan, Macro, Mom, Sabas, Teresa

Bodega Bay

July 17, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start today by wishing Alexis a happy birthday. Happy birthday Alexis!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you wanted it to be!

+++++++

I thought I would give you a break from flowers for a day and shows some pictures of some baby robins from my front yard. A pair of robins built a nest in my bush in my front yard for the second time this year. Here are some pictures:

I recently added a birdhouse and a second bird feeder to my property. Well it is really a first bird feeder, because I keep the first bird feeder for the wasp nest that I nurture.

Actually the second bird feeder was a gift from my Mom and the birdhouse was a gift from Kio. The second bird feeder has proved to be popular thus far.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is NIGHT.

NIGHT

A NIGHT picture is simply any picture taken at NIGHT.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Birthdays, Black & White, Brandon, Derrick, Elainie, Evie, History, Jen, Jill, Johnathan, Layla, Logan, Mom, Ruins, Russ, Teresa

Happy Birthday!

July 12, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Thought that this would be a good day to share the balance of pictures I took while I was tooling around Boone County looking for my BLACK AND WHITE and Happy Independence Day photos.

The sign says:

On July 31, 1943 a U.S. Army Air Force B-24 Bomber Ser. No 41-29052 carrying a crew of 5, crashed at this site during a server thunderstorm killing everyone on board.

This marker is placed in their memory.
Pilot 1st Lt. Melvin S. Meeker
Co-Pilot 2nd Lt. Samuel Levitt
Bombardier 2nd Lt. Matthew J. Radosevich
Engineer T/Sgt James M. Parker
Radio Man T/Sgt Thomas J. Leyshon

The crew was on a navigation training flight from Topeka ARM Air Force Base, Topeka, Kansas, to Duluth, Minnesota at the time of the crash.

Iowa Military Aviation Heritage Museum Ankeny, Iowa

I’ve corrected some of the unfortunate spelling errors on the sign.

+++++++

There are a ton of birthdays up in the Photography 139 Universe! Let me start with my nephew Logan. Happy birthday Logan!

I hope your birthday was as amazing as you wanted it to be! Get some rest. You’re going to need it!

+++++++

I also need to wish a happy birthday to Derrick. Happy birthday Derrick!

I hope your birthday was as incredible as you wanted it to be!

+++++++

If it is Derrick’s birthday, that also means that it is Jill’s birthday. I haven’t talked to Jill in years, but I still wish her a happy birthday!

I hope your birthday was as joyous as you hoped it would be.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Flowers, Logan, Macro, Nature, Still Life, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

When I Stand in Your Love

July 10, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I have plenty more BLACK AND WHITE alternates for last week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

I can’t wait until BLACK AND WHITE is the theme again!

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is FACELESS PORTRAIT:

FACELESS PORTRAIT

Remember that a FACELESS PORTRAIT is simply a portrait of somebody that doesn’t show their face.

Happy photo harvesting!

Aaron, Andy, Angie, Bill, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Formal Portrait, Joe Duff, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Ruins, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 251 – BLACK AND WHITE

July 6, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Would you believe it? 40 straight weeks of double digit submissions. I didn’t even need to send out any reminders this morning! WooHoo!

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Logan Kahler

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Aaron Barnett

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Christopher D. Bennett

Bill Wentworth

Michelle Haupt

Joseph Lynch

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Andy Sharp

Monica Henning

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

Dawn Krause

FACELESS PORTRAIT

FACELESS PORTRAIT! What a great theme! But what is a FACELESS PORTRAIT image? A FACELESS PORTRAIT image is a picture of somebody, but there face isn’t in the picture. It can be cropped out of the image. It can be from an angle where you don’t see the face. It can be a picture where something is in front of the face. Hundreds of ways to take a FACELESS PORTRAIT.

For example, Aaron’s submission for this week is an example of a FACELESS PORTRAIT. Logan’s is as well. As is Cathie’s.

I look forward to seeing your submissions!

+++++++

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.

+++++++

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!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Logan, State Fair, WPC - Alternate

Ghost in a Dream

June 11, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

In a sad, but necessary decision, the Iowa State Fair officially cancelled for this year yesterday. They sent out the following email:

The Iowa State Fair Board, the governing body who oversees the Iowa State Fair, today voted to postpone the 2020 Iowa State Fair until August 12-22, 2021, amid ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. The decision was made to protect the health and safety of all Fairgoers.

After a thorough review of possible options, while carefully reviewing current health guidelines and examining operating limitations, it became clear that holding the 2020 Iowa State Fair, which attracts approximately one million people over 11 days, would not be responsible.

“The top priority of the Iowa State Fair has and always will be to protect the health and safety of Fairgoers. While the decision of the Iowa State Fair Board today will certainly come as a disappointment to many, the Board determined that holding a Fair in accordance with current health guidelines related to COVID-19 wasn’t feasible,” said Iowa State Fair Manager and CEO Gary Slater. “We appreciate the support of Fairgoers over the past few months as we’ve reviewed various options for the 2020 Iowa State Fair. We certainly look forward to welcoming over one million people back to the Fair in 2021.”

The Iowa State Fair had been scheduled for August 13-23, 2020. The Iowa State Fair Board delayed a decision as long as possible and believed it was important to make a decision on the Fair now in order to give concessionaires, vendors and Fairgoers planning a trip to the Fair ample notice.

Iowa State Fair staff and management have already begun the process of booking entertainment and planning for the 2021 Iowa State Fair scheduled for August 12-22.

I’m particularly sad because this was supposed to be the year that Jennie’s Grinders returned to the Fair. I am glad that I didn’t spend money or too much time on planning my Photography Salon entries.

I don’t think that the Boone County Fair has decided to cancel yet, but I would have to imagine that it is only a matter of time. Along with Pufferbilly Days.

+++++++

Back in March I took a series of pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE with Logan for the theme FASHION at a roadside park near Grand Junction. I never got around to sharing the alternates until now:

Logan took this picture so he could get a taste of the Lensbaby.

Going out for lunch after church. Taking pictures of people. Seem like weird foreign concepts right now.