Category Archives: Bill

Andy, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kio, Linda, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 280 – HOBBIES

January 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

HOBBIES! People seem to love them and it is no surprise that HOBBIES was the 69th theme in a row to crack double digit submissions! It did it easy as well. In fact, this might be the record for most submissions ever in one week. The problem is, I don’t know what the record is. I’ll have to do some research and get back to you, but if this isn’t the record, it has to be pretty close!

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

Andy Sharp

Dawn Krause

Linda Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Cathie Raley

Joe Duff

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Kio Dettman

Teresa Kahler

Micky Augustin

Becky Parmelee

Bill Wentworth

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Monica Henning

Carla Stensland

Jesse Howard

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:

BLACK

BLACK! Another great them for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What defines a BLACK photo? Well, to be honest, the reason I selected BLACK as one of the themes this year is because I did not allow myself to use any of the Hall of Fame themes for Year 8. That meant no BLACK AND WHITE theme. So I split them up and this year there is a BLACK theme and a WHITE theme. That doesn’t mean that your submission has to be BLACK AND WHITE. I’m just taking you behind the curtain of my thought process.

While all that is very interesting to me and I’ll guess three other people, it doesn’t answer the question, what defines a BLACK photo? BLACK is the very darkest color. It is the absence of light. However, BLACK has many other definitions.

I don’t have a movie quote for you to meditate on this week, instead I have song lyrics from Johnny Cash:

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he’s a victim of the time

I wear the black for those who’ve never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me

Well, we’re doing mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a man in black

I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in mourning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men

And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believing that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believing that we all were on their side

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know
And things need changing everywhere you go
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything’s okay
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
‘Til things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black

Meditate on the words of the greatest country singer, while thinking about how to create your BLACK image.

Then send me you submission(s) by 11 AM next Monday. Remember, while I might consider you FAMILY, the picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of BLACK in this place that is more purple than BLACK next Monday.

Bill, Birthdays, Jay, Jesse, Kalista, Kelly, Saydie, Taylan, Willy

Postcard Recreation Project – Banks

December 10, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

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

I could post a thousand pictures of Jesse from thousands of adventures we shared. But you only get 5 and have to imagine the rest.

Jesse, I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!

+++++++

Today’s collection of recreated old-timey postcards are of buildings that were built to house white collar criminals. Banks. Some of my best friends are bankers. One of my closest blood relatives is a banker. But you know my commitment to the truth. They are all white collar criminals.

One of the buildings still holds bankers. The other one houses local Klan meetings, I would guess. I’m not going to go into much history of these buildings. The building that currently houses U.S. Bank, replaced a building that was destroyed by fire in 1914. Construction on it was finished in 1916. You will notice in the original postcard, that there is no brown beltcourse on the building. That was added in the late 1970s when the addition was added to the east side of the original building.

I can literally tell you nothing about the other building. It has never made its way to the National Register of Historic Places. It is the second tallest building in Boone, if you don’t count the grain elevator. If you do, I’m not sure which is taller.

The postcards for the Boone National Building:

13597 Boone National Bank Bldg. Boone, Ia – Original

13597 Boone National Bank Bldg. Boone, Ia – Redux

Boone National Building – Modern Interpretation

The postcards for the building I will always call Citizen’s National Bank:

First National Bank Building – Boone, Ia – Original

First National Bank Building – Boone, Ia – Redux

U.S. Bank – Modern Interpretation

Something I’ve noticed in the old-timey postcards is that they they like to throw a flagpole with a big American flag on top of these buildings. I don’t know if these flagpoles ever existed. But the current U.S. Bank Building is the only one that still has a flagpole on top of it.

There are a couple of old-timey bank postcards out there to recreate. I’m sitting on the fence on those. One is because I’m still trying to convince myself of the location of one of those buildings. More research!

Alexis, Anders, Andree, Andy, Baier, Becca, Bethany, Bill, Billy, Brandon, Carla, Colleen, Derrick, Elainie, Flat Earth Joe, Holidays, J.T., Jason, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Johnathan, Jonah, Jorge, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nora, Scottie D., Shannon, Teresa, Vest, Willy

Blessings 2020

November 26, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Let’s face it. 2020 has been a terrible year. I could spend hours and hours polishing this turd, but a turd is still a turd.

I basically only see 2 other people on a regular basis right now. Willy and I haven’t held a Friday Night Supper Club since March 13. We went to Jimmy’s for their Friday the 13th sale. I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen any of my nieces and nephews this year. I’ve been able to hold a couple of Union Street Theater Nights in the reconfigured Union Street Theater, but it isn’t really the same. The masks and the sound of the air purifiers makes conversation a little difficult and food is definitely a missing element. Since March, the only stores I have been inside are the Boone Wal-Mart and Boone Hardware. I go to Hy-Vee every other week. I’ve seen Bethany twice. Nate and Laura once. Becca, not at all. I haven’t seen the Lockners at all. I’ve seen the Gorshes thrice. I run into Willy around town now and again. Jay stops by here and there to work on his homework. I see Jesse now and again. I haven’t met Kalista’s baby. Baier, Russell, Andree? Distant memories. Since I left the Computer Mine with the belief that I would be working from home for a few weeks, the only co-workers of note that I’ve seen in person are Vest, Lowell, Kim, and Elizabeth. I haven’t met Jorge’s twins. My church has had maybe a dozen worship services and those are suspended again. The Mission Trip is cancelled. There will be no Mission Trip next year. Youth Group has been put on hold indefinitely. For the first time since September 18, 2004, they played football games at Jack Trice Stadium and I wasn’t in attendance. The Cyclones Women’s Basketball Season just tipped off. I wasn’t there. I will most likely, not be able to attend any Cyclones Men’s games this year.

All of that being said, 2020 has still been an embarrassment of blessings for me. In a time where the pandemic was horribly mismanaged by an inept and corrupt federal government, causing employment rates to go through the roof and food insecurity and evictions to sweep across the country like a second plague, I have not had to worry about my job. As these pandemic pounds can attest, I haven’t once had to worry about my next meal. I was in a solid enough financial position that when the $1200 dollar stimulus check hit my bank account I wasn’t sure what to do with it. We were supposed to put it where it would do the most good, so I donated some of it to Joe Biden’s campaign.

While the only people I see on a regular basis are Mom and Teresa. I am still blessed with a pretty incredible family:

While I see them rarely, I still have a pretty incredible set of friends:

While we don’t get to worship an awesome God together right now, I still have a pretty incredible church family:

While I continue to work at home, I still talk to and try to stay in contact with my amazing work family:

And while Naima is becoming off the charts spoiled, I’m blessed to have her in my life as well:

I hope to see so much more of all of you in 2021. In fact, I’ve started to compile a list of things that I look forward to doing when this pandemic subsides. It isn’t a glamorous list. But that is a sign of 2020.

Aaron, Andy, Animals, Bill, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Fisheye, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Micky, Naima, Photoshop, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 267 – ANIMAL

October 26, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

56 weeks in a row people. We even had double digit submissions before Monday morning! Now this week’s theme is a little more challenging, I feel like we will once again, hit double digits. You can tell that the weather must be getting colder. While the theme is ANIMAL, every single picture taken was of a pet. Wel, one isn’t, but it is also taken inside. I wasn’t going to take a picture of Naima, but my original plan fell through. Or actually fell down. Well, wasn’t inflated anyways.

I’m not saying my submission this week is anything special, but it uses a new technique that is fairly controversial in photography circles. If you were in Iowa last week, you might have a good idea of how it is manipulated. Or you might not. There will be a post on this “new” thing in the future.

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

Tamara Peterson

Bill Wentworth

Aaron Barnett

Kio Dettman

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Kim Barker

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Jesse Howard

Elizabeth Nordeen

Cathie Raley

Andy Sharp

Shanno Bardole-Foley

FRAMED

FRAMED! What a great theme! But what is a FRAMED image? A FRAMED image is easier to make than it might sound. All it is, is an image where your main subject is buffeted on a least one side by something that isn’t the main subject. So basically, a subject matter, with negative space on multiple sides of it. For the sake of this challenge we will consider negative space, either something that is nondescript, one color, or out of focus. Of course, there are other ways to define FRAMED. Something that is in a framed is FRAMED. However, the idea here is to create a framed for you subject with other things in the environment.

Here is a look back at the 5 times previously that FRAMED was a theme:

RWPE #5 – FRAMING

RWPE Y2 #29 – FRAMING

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 15 – FRAMED

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 112 – FRAMED

WPC – WEEK 212 – FRAMED

I look forward to seeing your new 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 framed Monday!

Andy, Bill, Carla, Drone, Kim, Macro, Micky, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 256 – TRANSPORTATION

August 10, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Made it! 45 straight weeks of double digit submissions! Once again, I didn’t even have to send out a single reminder text this morning!

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

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

Shannon Bardole-Foley

MACRO

MACRO! What a great theme! But what is a MACRO photo? A MACRO photo is basically a closeup image of some object. For example, the reveal photo is a picture of a wash cloth. Now there is a technical definition of macro that involves 1:1 on a negative, but you don’t need to worry about that. You just want to be get close to an object as you can with the camera equipment you possess.

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 close Monday!

Aaron, Animals, Bill, Carla, Cathie, Flowers, Jodie Cue, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 254 – ANIMAL

July 27, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I might have to change the release time for this weekly blog to 1:01 PM CST because there was a recent mine shaft collapse at the Computer Mine and I’ve had to change my work schedule to compensate, thus changing my lunch hour. But we’ll see how it goes for now.

WooHoo! 43 straight weeks of double digit submissions. Another week where I didn’t have to send out any reminder text messages this morning. I like how this is trending people!

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

Bill Wentworth

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Aaron Barnett

Christopher D. Bennett

Aaron Barnett

Jodie Cue

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jodie Cue

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

Robyn Augustin

NATURE

NATURE! What a great theme! But what is a NATURE photo? A NATURE photo can be anything that isn’t man made. A lake. A river. A wildflower. A wild animal.

Remember, “Nature is God’s art. Art is man’s nature”.

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 natural Monday!

Bill, Birthdays, Flowers, Jay, Jesse, Macro, Willy

May Flowers

July 8, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I need to start by wishing Jay a happy birthday, so happy birthday Jay!

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

+++++++

Here is a collection of pictures I took in my backyard in the middle of May:

The picture of the peony bud is bittersweet. I planted peonies in my yard about 3 years ago. I probably didn’t pick the best spot for them because they have never bloomed. In fact, that peony bud is the first time it has budded. One single bud. I was super excited, but then the bud never bloomed. It kind of just withered on the vine. Maybe next year.

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!

Bill, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kim, Linda, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Naima, Photoshop, Road Trip, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 248 – YELLOW

June 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

No problems reaching double digits for 37 straight weeks! I didn’t even have to send out an reminder text messages this morning!

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

Linda Bennett

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Bill Wentworth

Carla Stensland

Elizabeth Nordeen

Kim Barker

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Monica Henning

Jesse Howard

Jodie Cue

ROAD TRIP

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme! It might be one of the harder themes consider the current public health environment, but just getting in your car and getting groceries or gas is a ROAD TRIP these days. Even showing the planning on a ROAD TRIP that you will be able to take some day is a good ROAD TRIP image.

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 trippy Monday!

Anders, Animals, Bill, Jay, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Holy Astringent Plum-like Fruit!

May 29, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The tree-shrub-bush that is right in front of my front door recently was the home to a robin’s nest. I managed to take a few pictures of the transformation from eggs, to nestling to a fledgling that hangs out in my cherry tree in the backyard.