Category Archives: Family

Manhattan Nights

June 7, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

Thought I’d share another one of my favorite photos from my trip to Manhattan to visit Nate and Laura.

This water tower is on top of Manhattan Hill. I think Manhattan Hill is one of my favorite places in Manhattan. Although on this recent trip I was introduced to Top of the World. I’ll definitely be checking that out during the day on my next trip to Wildcat Land.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
ISO: 200
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 10 seconds
DATE: 05/27/2017 – 22:31
NO GPS DATA COLLECTED
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Nate and Laura deserve credit for introducing me to this sweet spot.
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “Speak Like a Child” by Herbie Hancock from KEN BURNS JAZZ
FAVORITE LYRIC: It is an instrumental silly!

Bethany, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Dae Hee, Holidays, Jim, Nora

Memorial Day – 2017

June 6, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

I spent most of my Memorial Day enjoying my day off. Watching old war movies and grilling with the family. But the highlight of my day was seeing Nora for the first time in WAY TOO LONG! Which is completely my fault, but an error in my judgment that I will fix in the future. Hopefully on a trip to Manhattan, Kansas in July!

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the Kiddy Corral.

Nora also brought Bethany, Dae Hee, and Jim with her. Very thoughtful of her!

Angie, Art, Carla, Cathie, Kim, Linda, Michelle, Shannon, Steph, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 90 – PURPLE

June 5, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

This week I had a technology snafu, so if you emailed in a picture before the 11 AM deadline and don’t see it posted, just email it to me again and I’ll get it up. Late, but I’ll get it up.

But you didn’t come here to talk all tommyrot about technology and snafus. You just want to see the submission for PURPLE:

Angie DeWaard 1

Angie DeWaard 2

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley 1

Cathie Raley 2

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker 1

Kim Barker 2

Kim Barker 3

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole

Mike Vest 1

Mike Vest 2

Stephanie Kim

Linda Bennett 1

Linda Bennett 2

A 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:

PORTRAIT!

PORTRAIT! What a great theme! I think everybody knows what a PORTRAIT is, but don’t think that you have to make this a formal portrait. A group of people awkwardly posed in front of some scene from nature. You CAN do that, but you don’t have to do that. Candids work great as well! Don’t think that a PORTRAIT has to be of a human subject. Animals make great portraits. So do inanimate objects. Don’t think that a PORTRAIT has to be of a face. Think creatively and feel free to define the theme any way you see fit!

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. 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.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION

Sometimes people send me descriptions of their photos. I’ve never done anything with that information in the past. However, if you send me a description in the future, I will add it to your image in the Weekly Photo Challenge Gallery that houses all the submissions.

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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 portraity Monday!

Animals, Naima, Self-Portrait, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

I Wait Til Two then I Turn Out the Light

June 1, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

These are the pictures that didn’t have what it takes to make the cut for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme HOT:

If only these pictures believed in themselves, there is no telling what they might accomplish!

Flowers, Logan, Macro, Mom, Road Trip, Teresa

FTD

May 31, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another tulip photo from my brief trip to the Pella Tulip Festival:

No Kio, no pictures of What Cheer yet. But they are in the pipe.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 60mm
APERTURE: f/5
EXPOSURE: 1/160
DATE: 05/06/2017 – 16:24
NO GPS DATA RECORDED
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: MOM, TERESA, AND LOGAN
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “Oh Lord” by NF from THERAPY SESSION
FAVORITE LYRICS: “Leave me alone God, I’ll call you when I need you again; Which is funny, everyone will sleep in the pews; Then blame God for our problems, like He sleeping on you.”

Angie, Carla, Cathie, Kim, Pastor Sarah, Steph, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 88 – AMERICANA

May 22, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I am pleased with the amount of submissions for AMERICANA!

However, you don’t want to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates, you want to see the submissions:

Cathie Raley

Kim Barker

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Sarah Karber

Angie DeWaard

Bill Wentworth

Carla Stensland

Stephanie Kim

HOT!

HOT! What a great theme! I don’t think I even need to define HOT, you know what HOT is all about.

However, remember that next Monday is Memorial Day (observed). While your bank and the post office might take the day off, Photography 139 does not. Email your submissions early or plan accordingly.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION

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

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 hot Monday!

Flowers, Logan, Mom, Road Trip, Teresa

The Great What Cheer Road Trip Photo No. 1

May 19, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple Saturdays back I loaded up into an automobile with Mom, Teresa, and Logan and we headed to the What Cheer Flea Market. This photo has nothing to do with What Cheer, Iowa. On the way back we went through Pella to check out their world famous tulips. Here is a photo from that part of the road trip:

This portion of the road trip was slightly damaged by an overzealous, drunk-with-power, Johnny Law. However, my mood recovered enough from that interaction to enjoy the rest of the trip.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 60mm
APERTURE: f/2.8
EXPOSURE: 1/100
DATE: 05/16/2017 – 16:11
PHOTO ASSISTANTS: Mom, Teresa, and Logan
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “All I Have” by NF from MANSION
FAVORITE LYRIC: You sniff lines, I write lines, you’ve now entered my mind.

Formal Portrait, Logan

Quiclops

May 16, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is a photo I took at my family’s Mother’s Day Barbecue of Logan.

I need to play with some of these old timey filters more often!

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY ILCA-77M2
ISO: 1000
FOCAL LENGTH: 135mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 1/250
DATE: 05/14/2017 – 15:44
NO GPS DATA RECORDED
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Logan
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “Everything is Spiritual” by Rob Bell

Alexis, Carla, Dawn, Kim, Linda, Pastor Sarah, Shannon, Steph, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 87 – GLITTERY

May 15, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

It was a pretty solid week of submission for GLITTERY. Can’t complain. Wouldn’t even if I knew how.

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

Carla Stensland

Dawn Krause

Linda Bennett

Sarah Karber

Shannon Bardole

Stephanie Kim

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker 1

Kim Barker 2

AMERICANA

AMERICANA! What a great theme! But what is AMERICANA. Basically, AMERICANA is/be/are things associated with the culture and history of America, especially the United States. Many things can fall under AMERICANA. Paintings, prints and drawings, license plates or entire vehicles, household objects, tools and weapsons, flags, plaques and statues.. Nostalgia often plays into AMERICANA.

Basically anything that screams AMERICA to you. From small town festivals to the local VFW. Have at it. Remember, you can define the theme anyway that you see fit. Just get out there and take some photos!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION

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

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 American Monday!

Anders, Candid Portrait, Dae Hee, Jay, Movies

Union Street Theater Movie Club

May 12, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Announcing and inviting you to a new Club. The Union Street Theater Movie Club!

What is the Union Street Theater Movie Club?

Great question! Take a look at this picture:

That doesn’t answer the question?

1 Sunday a month a few of us have been gathering in the Union Street Theater (AKA my basement) one Sunday night a month to watch and discuss movies. We have been pairing a B Movie with a classic, great, or historically significant movie.

These are the pairings thus far:

January: BRIDE OF THE GHOULS – FEAR AND DESIRE
February: BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS – FULL METAL JACKET
March: THE WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN – ALIEN
APRIL: THE ROOM – DR. STRANGELOVE

I know that it has been heavy on Kubrick, but if you are raising that question, you don’t really know me, do you?

Here is what happens at Union Street Theater Movie Club.

6 PM – B movie starts
Following movie, we make popcorn. I will stock and share Pepsi. All other beverages are on you to bring. The theater doesn’t have a fancy popcorn maker yet, but maybe someday we will. No thanks to Dae Hee. I don’t know. Maybe we’ll hold a fundraiser.
After popcorn has been made – Feature Presentation
Stimulating conversation follows the Feature Presentation

I know what you are think, “I’m sold! When is the next Union Street Theater Movie Club? I don’t even care what the movies are!”

Details of the next Union Street Theater Movie Club

DATE: Sunday, May 28, 2017
TIME: 6 PM
PLACE: Union Street Theater AKA my basement right next to the Photography 139 Basement Studio
B MOVIE: SHACK OUT ON 101 (1955)
FEATURE PRESENTATION: ALIENS (1986)

I couldn’t find a trailer for SHACK OUT ON 101, but check out this sweet poster!

“On the Shady Side of the Highway”

Here is the trailer for ALIENS:

“This time it’s war.”

Of course, if you are an email subscriber, you will have to go to the website to see the video.

Let me know if you’re going to show up. Or don’t. I’ll have enough ice cold Pepsi either way.