Category Archives: Family

RWPE Y2 #22 – SHADOWS

Looks like the Random Weekly Photo Experiment has run its course as submissions are starting to become few and far between. Looks like I need to start thinking about what it is I’m going to post on Mondays next year.

Here are the submissions for SHADOWS:


WEEK 22 - SHADOWS - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 22 - SHADOWS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

The theme for next week:

DEPTH OF FIELD

A look back at last year’s DEPTH OF FIELD submissions:

DEPTH OF FIELD – 2010

Forgot what DEPTH OF FIELD is? Here is a refresher:

Depth of field (DOF) is the portion of a scene that appears acceptably sharp in the image. Although a lens can precisely focus at only one distance, the decrease in sharpness is gradual on each side of the focused distance, so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.

Depth of Field is controlled by the size of the aperture used to take a picture. The larger the aperture, the smaller the Depth of Field. The smaller the aperture, the larger the Depth of Field. If you want only one item in a picture to be in focus, then you use a large aperture. If you want almost the whole picture to be in focus, then you use a small aperture.

One thing to note about aperture sizes, the larger the number, the smaller the aperture. f/1.4 is much larger than f/32.

Perhaps you don’t know how to control the size of the aperture on your camera. You can still fake it. Almost all cameras have “Creative Control” settings. If you set your camera on “Portrait”, almost always symbolized by a sideways icon of a woman’s face, then the camera will use exposure settings with the largest aperture possible. If you set your camera to “Landscape” almost always symbolized by a mountain icon, the camera will use exposure settings with the smallest aperture possible.

DEPTH OF FIELD is usually meant to describe a picture taken with a large aperture to separate the subject of a picture from its background.

Remember: Submissions are due to bennett@photography139.com by noon on Monday.

I’d say good luck, but it would seem somewhat pointless.

Personal Photo Project of the Week #69 Alpha



Still Laughing

I took a calculated risk this year and went to Pella with my Mom a full week before I did last year. I knew it was a risk because of the relatively cold spring and my risk did not pay off. Very few of their tulips were blooming. I still managed to take quite a few pictures.

Here are more pictures from the Still Laughing Series.


Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011“>

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

Still Laughing - 2011

More tulip pictures tomorrow.

Slice of Life Vol. 49

Some pictures of the Pufferbilly Days Parade, I’m guessing. Plus a picture of my first rabbit Fluffy. Apparently not as cute as I remembered.

Or is it just that Foster Q. Bunny has ruined me for all other rabbits? Probably not, I never wrote a series of mildly successful superhero short stories about Foster Q. Bunny.


Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

Slice of Life Volume 49

There are quite a few things I find interesting in these pictures.

1. It is weird to think about Boone’s changing skyline, but it has changed. The smoke stacks from the old power plant no longer dot the Boone skyline.
2. I don’t remember that Carlson’s building at all.
3. Wilson Tap used to be called Wilson Recreation… That is awesome!

Post No. 1,101

It is time once again for me to to do a random look at some of the statistics on the website.

First up is what are the 10 Most Popular Images in the Artistic Galler.

This one is actually somewhat of a shocker. A picture of Brandon has went from nowhere to be the most popular picture and the long time reigning champ Outburst of the Soul has fallen all the way to a tie for 6th Place. Although admittedly, I think spammers might have something to do with the rather large shakeup in the standings.


Brandon Kahler Senior Pictures
1. Brandon Senior Picture

Johnathan Stensland Senior Pictures
2. Johnathan Senior Picture


3. Battered School Bus – Hamlin, Iowa


4. Self-Portrait

Jen Smoking
5. Jen Between Sets of an UnHingd Show

UnHingd Publicity Still Alpha
6. UnHingd Publicity Still

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Outburst of the Soul
6. Outburst of the Soul

2008 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - 1900>
8. 1900

Rebecca Peterson
8. Becca – Senior Picture

Piano Ruins
10. Abandoned Piano – McCallsburg, Iowa

There has also been quite a shakeup in the Snapshots Gallery Top Ten.

Here are the 10 Most Popular Pictures in the Snapshots Gallery:


Iowa State vs. Nebraska
1. Me White Trashing It

Iowa State vs. Nebraska
2. ISUCFVMB

Be Aggressive!
3. Alexis Cheerleading

Inebriated Saints Concert
4. Shannon and I at an Inebriated Saints Show

The Big Jesus Road Trip
5. Jesse and I with the World’s Largest Cheeto

Mother's Day - 2009
6. Logan’s Tree-man

The Big Jesus Road Trip
7. Jesse and I at the Surf Ball Room

The Big Jesus Road Trip
8. Jesse Endorsing the Bob’s Dog

Iowa State Spring Game - 2009
8. 2009 ISU Spring Game

Shannon at Backbone State Park
10. Shannon Reading Map at Backbone

Eastern Iowa Road Trip - 2006
10. Jesse and I in Clinton

Finally, a look at the Top Ten People to either contribute or be written about in An Artist’s Notebook.

1. Jesse – 163 – (+20)
2. Jay – 151 – (+7)
3. Shannon – 146 – (+6)
4. Derrick – 123 – (+6)
5. Teresa – 109 – (+13)
6. Jen – 107 – (+6)
7. Willy – 101 – (+8)
8. Sara – 96 – (+8)
9. Vest – 80 – (+19)
10. Dawn – 73 – (+9)

Wondering who the biggest movers were outside of the Top Ten?

1. Dad (+19)
2. Carla (+14)
3. Jill (+10)

In case you were interested in what the standings looked like 100 posts ago:

Journal Entry One-Thousand