Time to share the alternate images for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme BLACK & WHITE that I took on July 4. In fact, I took so many pictures on that day, I’m going to split this into 3 days. The first day consists of pictures I took around Ames before and after watching the Independence Day Parade in Ames with the Gorshes.
Let’s get after it:
Still 2 more collections of images from this day left to share.
Can you believe that this is the 5,250th entry in the blog known as “An Artist’s Notebook”? Every 250 posts or so I like to take a moment to reflect on where this post has been and post a lot of meaningless stats.
As always on these posts, I like to start by quoting the very first “An Artist’s Notebook” entry that published on August 9, 2006. That first post that published 6,296 days.
That post that started with these words:
So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.
Since those words, I have posted 5,250 journal entries. This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.
On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.
Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:
THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #5005 & INCREASE SINCE BEGINING OF 2024)
10. Carla – 632 (#10 – 39)
9. Formal Portrait – 655 (#6 – 6)
8. Teresa – 657 – (#9 – 49)
7. Road Trip – 657 (#8 – 32)
6. Macro – 662 (#7 – 26)
5. Jesse – 754 (#5 – 54)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)
No categories dropped from the Top 10. The categories with the best shot at cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, Candid Portrait, & Still Life.
THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Candid Portrait – 504 (#9 – 16)
9. WPC-Submissions – 563 (NR – 27)
8. Nature – 568 (#8 – 26)
7. Formal Portrait – 655 (#5 – 6)
6. Road Trip – 657 (#7 – 32)
5. Macro – 662 (#9 – 26)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)
Photoshop dropped out of the Top 10.
The categories with the best shot of cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Still Life, Photoshop, Naima, History, and Self-portrait.
THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Willy – 379 (NR – 27)
9. Vest – 388 (#10 – 29)
8. Micky – 399 (#8 – 29)
7. Logan – 428 (#7 – 37)
6. Kim – 441 (#6 – 35)
5. Mom – 473 (#5)
4. Shannon – 615 (#4 – 30)
3. Carla – 632 (#3 – 39)
2. Teresa – 657 (#2 – 49)
1. Jesse – 754 (#1 – 54)
Jay dropped out of he Top 10. The categories that have the best chance of breaking into the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Andy, Jay, Jen, Sara, and Derrick.
If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 208 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but no real reason. Some of those categories probably need to be purged. I do like to cover the Top 10 of the Bottom 100 though.
THE BOTTOME 10 OF THE TOP 100
10. Nathanial – 82 (+29)
9. Layla – 84 (+8)
8. Commercial – 84 (0)
7. House – 91 (+1)
6. Writing – 92 (0)
5. Becca – 92 (+2)
4. Pastor Sarah – 93 (+2)
3. Pufferbilly Days – 95 (+4)
2. Tenderloining – 96 (+25)
1. Faust – 96 (+4)
The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Andree, Flat Earth Joe, Self-Portrait Project, and Sabas
The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Russell, Nate, Jill, Blogging, Sabas, and Lowell.
The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Andree, Photo Journal, Self-Portrait Project, Flat Earth Joe, and Mary.
I’m now starting to track what categories have had the greatest gain. These are the ones that have the greatest gain since the beginning of 2024.
THE TOP 10 CATEGORIES BY GAIN
10. Kim – 35
10. Andy – 35
10. Michelle – 35
8. Logan – 37
8. Elizabeth – 37
7. Carla – 39
6. Flowers – 40
5. Teresa – 49
4. Jesse – 54
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75
THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN
9. Nature -26
9. Nature – 26
7. Black & White – 27
7. WPC – Submissions – 27
6. Road Trip – 32
5. Animals – 34
4. Flowers – 40
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75
THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN
9. Scottie. D. – 33
9. Linda – 33
9. Sabas – 33
6. Kim – 35
6. Andy – 35
6. Michelle – 35
4. Logan – 37
4. Elizabeth – 37
3. Carla – 39
2. Teresa – 49
1. Jesse – 54
If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.
I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.
10. Naima – 72,941 views
9. Drone – 73,421 views
8. 9 Emotions Project – 98,062 views
7. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 124,533 views
6. Town Sign Project – 127,555 views
5. Tenderloining – 134,777 views
4. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 172,671 views
3. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 192,976 views
2. Instagram – 212,131 views
1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 289,984 views
Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Las Vegas 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge Year 9, Selfie Project – 2022,
Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Life, 365 Day Photo Project -2013, Memphis – 2023, New Orleans – 2024, Phot Journal Rejects.
But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.
9. 2,508 views
8. 2,812 views
7. 3,774 views
6. 3,875 views
5. 3,999 views
4. 4,020 views
3. 4,305 views
2. 4,816 views
1. 20,050 views
If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:
I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 250 posts.
On Day 2 of the Eclipse Road Trip I woke up in the comfort of the bed. Did my business in a toilet with running water. Brushed my teeth. Still opted for a whore’s bath and then decided to do a little bit of exploring while the rest were sleeping I decided to sneak off and do a little exploring. I had done a little research on the Gosport area and found out that there was a beautiful waterfall nearby. There was also an interesting sculpture park, but that didn’t open until 9 AM and by the time I explored it, I wouldn’t have had time to get back to Linda’s to leave for the eclipse party.
Through my research I also learned about a cool bakery in Gosport that had an open kitchen that allowed you to watch them bake all of the tasty goodness.
Here are some pictures from the day:
It was a beautiful sunrise on a foggy morning. Almost magical.
It cost an outsider like me 9 smackers to visit Cataract Falls State Park. If I was from Indiana, it would have been $7. I thought about how lucky I am to be able to visit Ledges or Mines of Spain or Backbone anytime I want for free, but then I’m also reminded that we don’t even have park rangers any more and are parks are poorly maintained. So maybe it is a wash.
Going over the Eel River was this sweet covered bridge.
Even though I wasn’t there to see the eclipse I got a 5 minute lecture about it from 2 different park rangers. Even though I told both of them that I was just there to see the Niagara Falls of Indiana.
It is really the largest waterfall in Indiana. You might scoff, but it is way bigger than any waterfall in Iowa.
After leaving Cataract Falls I visited the town of Cataract to check out the famous Cataract General Store and the Cataract School. This sign should hang everywhere.
Is that good? That seems good.
I stopped at the cool bakery. I bought a piece of red velvet cake and a piece of carrot cake. I also bought this chocolate milk. I have a longstanding belief that it is impossible to get great chocolate milk outside of Iowa (or outside of the AE Dairy footprint). Kind of like how you can’t get a good tenderloin outside of Iowa. The clerk at the Bakery ranted and raved about this chocolate milk. It was an okay chocolate milk, but if I somehow ever get back to Gosport I’m taking a gallon of AE into the bakery and I’m blowing some minds. Anyways, this chocolate milk comes from a local dairy.
This truck is parked just outside of Paragon. Nobody I talked to seemed to know the story. Rest in peace Jack Brown.
Jen came back from Indiana with one more fur coat. A beaver fur coat this time.
I witnessed quite the wrestling match. I’m not sure who won. But it was quite the match.
I ate so much food at the Eclipse Party. Linda’s ribs were delicious. So was Pete’s chili. I tried something called “fluffy” that Evie was certain was going to change my life. I don’t know it did, but I ate plenty of it. Also a ton of peanut butter bars.
It’s starting!
Styling and profiling!
Totality!
During the eclipse there are these crazy crescent shadows.
My camera filter.
This is the road outside of Linda and Pete’s house. I swear every road that isn’t a highway looks like this road.
After the eclipse we packed up and headed back. We had a hotel booked in Normal, Illinois.
We ended up getting gas in Danville, Illinois. Apparently the no buying gas in Illinois thing was just an elaborate ruse.
I’ve been to shadier gas stations. One in San Antonio comes to mind, but this one was pretty shady.
The drive from Indiana to the hotel was crazy busy. There were a ton of people fleeing Indiana after the eclipse. The last 5 miles or so on the interstate took me over 30 minutes. It was great to get to the hotel. I watched part of UCONN’s dismantling of Purdue. Then watched the kids swim in the pool before calling it a night.
One more sleep before finishing the trip home the next day.
Oh… here is one more bonus image. Evie took this picture of Derrick. We were trying to teach him about Snapchat.
I think we failed and honestly I’m not that great at Snapchat. Evie knows way more than me. So maybe she can keep working on him.
The last total eclipse to be visible from the United States for the next 20 years was on April 8. Unfortunately to see the 100% totality, I had to leave my beloved Cyclone State. I originally perused a few options. A spot in Missouri. A spot in Illinois. A spot in Arkansas. A spot in Kentucky. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do. Cause I knew that hotels in the areas were outrageous. I was considering driving to like the Quad Cities on the Sunday before the eclipse and then driving the rest of the way in the morning. Then driving back that night. Then the most magical thing happened. I had a trip just kinda fall into my lap.
The Gorshes are well-known eclipse fiends. They went to New Mexico for an eclipse last year. They were going this year. Travelling to Indiana to camp on Jen’s Aunt Linda’s land. They were going to drive all the way through on Sunday. Watch the eclipse on Monday. Then drive back to Illinois and stay in a hotel in Normal. Then drive back to Iowa on Tuesday. They graciously offered to let me 7th or 8th wheel it on their trip.
They were pulling a camper behind Derrick’s serial killer van* with 2 adults, 4 kids, and a dog. As roomy as the van was I elected to take the RAV4 to the Sycamore State cause for 1 person, I pack a lot of stuff. I think the offer was on the table for me to sleep in the camper as well, but I decided to pack a tent and an air mattress and sleep the way the pioneers did. In a tent. On a queen sized air mattress. With electricity for their CPAP, cause I still haven’t hit 3 months and I have to average over 4 hours a night for the old insurance company to kick in some ducats. Also electricity to charge their cell phone and listen to their sleepy time podcasts. Also electricity to charge their fitness watch. Those steps don’t count if they aren’t tracked! Some real old-timey pioneer stuff.
However, a couple days before we were set to leave, Jen texted me and let me know that I had been upgraded from the tent to Linda and Pete’s camper. With the only caveat being that it was still winterized, so there would be no running water. Me? An old-timey pioneer camper? I don’t need no stinking running water! I could brush my teeth in the rain. Or with the water in my Owala water bottle. Just like the pioneers did. And I had already planned on a whore’s bath for Monday anyways. You know. Pits and… well you know.
According to the Google maps, it is a nearly 8 hour drive from my domicile to Linda’s house in Gosport, Indiana.
I don’t want to brag, but we made it in a touch over 12 hours. That is without accounting for the time zone change.
I didn’t take many cell phone pictures on Day 1, but I took a few and here they are:
Stop 2. This gas station was very serious about not letting backpacks in their store.
It was in Davenport.
And they brook no nonsense from kids.
I think they aren’t really sorry for the inconvenience. We stopped at virtually the last gas station in Iowa because it was very important to not buy gas in Illinois cause it is apparently very expensive there.
Stop 3 – Sweet insect exhibit at an Illinois rest area.
All rest areas should have giant rubber bugs. This is not open to debate.
Bug needs to work on his arms. Needing a condiment cup to hold himself up. Do you even lift bro?
I am such a sucker for taking pictures of where I am.
This rest are had a sweet lookout and somebody actually wrote a Joe Dirt quote on the railing.
Do sex drugs own the rock-n-roll? Is this person really into rock concerts sponsored by Viagra?
Stop 4 – Another Illinois rest area. I told you I’m a sucker for taking pictures like that.
This rest area was a dump. Just filthy. No urinals. The only positive was these cherry blossoms.
This thing was cool too. While there Harrison had a meltdown in the restroom because he refused to wash his hands. This standoff lasted like 10-15 minutes. I don’t blame him. It was a bathroom that was so dirty that your hands were probably dirtier after washing them. In retrospect, I should have just offered him some of my Bridgerton scented hand sanitizer. Perhaps Bridgerton Study. They have a light scent. Easy on the nose. I’ve never heard anybody claim they are way too strong and demand that I leave their immediate area, shortly after using one. That seemed like an oddly specific denial.
I’m not sure which stop this was. We stopped at a gas station in Crawfordsville. Then we stopped at a Steak ‘n Shake, also in Crawfordsville.
The Steak ‘n Shake had this weird thing. Weird to me, maybe some of you will look down your nose at me and call me a country bumpkin, but I had never seen it before. When you ordered (which by the way the only option to order was via kiosk – which super boo! Shouted this old man at the clouds.) Your receipt also printed out a QR Code. You had to scan this QR Code to use the pop machine. It only activated the pop machine for so long, so you better act fast AND it only worked like 3 times.
When we got out of the restaurant, Derrick’s van wouldn’t start. Neither us have jumper cables (I keep mine in the Camry) so I had to give him a ride to Home Depot to buy a set.
We got his van going and were on the road again. Willie Nelson would have been proud.
Turns out, Linda and Pete didn’t really live in Gosport. We drove through Gosport and then 10 miles more through 3 different towns before getting to their house.
They live closest to Paragon. But they have a Gosport mailing address because that is the only post office in 3 counties. Also, that is the toilet.
Layla teaching the boys the globalist lie.
When we pulled up to our home for the night Linda approached me and asked me if I played the lottery today. The answer is of course not. I don’t play the lottery. It is a self-imposed tax designed to move the tax burden from the wealthy to the poor, uneducated, and the just plain bad at math.
But what I said was, “No.”
She told me I should have because it was my lucky day. I had been upgraded to sleeping in the house, in the guest bedroom. Not only that, I would have my own bathroom. Suck on that whore’s bath! That might have been an unfortunate turn of phrase but no turning back now.
I got a bed, inside a house, with access to all the running water my heart could desire and all the electrical outlets a true pioneer man could use. I should have brought other things into charge, just cause I could. I should have just sat there flushing the toilet. Cause I could. Brushed my teeth 10-12 times. Cause I could.
But I didn’t. I eventually called it a night and drifted into a nice sleep listening to a Cyclone Fanatic podcast. Tomorrow was a big day after all.
*It isn’t really a serial killer van. It has too many windows. But I like to pretend.
NOTES: 1. THIS IS ONE OF 2 THEMES THAT HAVE A SPECIAL, EXTRA RULE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT RULE BEFORE YOU SUBMIT. 2. I’VE BEEN GETTING SOME SMALL IMAGES SUBMITTED. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO THE FAQ ANSWER ON IMAGE SIZE. YOU MAY NEED TO ADJUST YOUR CAMERA SETTINGS OR YOUR EMAIL ATTACHMENT SETTINGS OR YOUR IMAGE TEXT MESSAGE SETTINGS OR MAYBE YOU ARE AN OVER-CROPPER. DON’T BE AN OVER-CROPPER. CROP WTH YOUR FEET. 3. AS ALWAYS, I APPRECIATE ANYBODY THAT GETS THEIR SUBMISSION IN BY SUNDAY NIGHT.
It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. These are:
What skill level photographer can participate?
THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!
Award winning photographers? Really?
Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.
Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.
Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?
Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.
If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.
If I start to average like 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.
Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?
No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.
Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?
Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.
Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?
I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.
Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?
Absolutely not! In fact (AND CAN’T EMPATHIZE THIS ENOUGH) I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!
Are there resolution requirements for submissions?
I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point. But don’t tempt me!
What format should my submission be?
.JPG but .PNG also works.
If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?
No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that. In fact, I appreciate you letting me know where a picture was taken. If you don’t let me know, I will assume the picture was taken in the state you live in.
When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?
I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.
HOBBIES! A great theme! Everybody has a HOBBY or 2. From making kolaches to eating kolaches, HOBBIES can really run the gamut! But did enough people have photography as a HOBBY to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!
As of 12:01 PM on Monday, March 18, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
3-Deanna McClain – 1 week
4-Johnathan Stensland – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks
6-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks
7-Adam Gordon – 3 weeks (2)
8-Mary Green – 5 weeks (2)
9-Stehanie Kim – 5 weeks
10-Becky Parmelee – 5 weeks
11-Sara Lockner – 9 weeks
12-Lowell Davis – 11 weeks (2)
13-Michelle Haupt – 11 weeks
14-Alexis Stensland – 11 weeks
15-Brandon Kahler – 12 weeks
16-Scott Degeneffe – 30 weeks
17-Sabas Hernandez – 31 weeks
18-Mike Vest – 36 weeks
19-Sheri Fakhouri – 40 weeks (2)
20-Logan Kahler – 41 weeks (2)
21-Nathanial Brown – 42 weeks (2)
22-Jesse Howard – 42 weeks
23-Tamara Peterson – 54 weeks
24-Mindi Terrell – 57 weeks (2)
25-Linda Bennett – 86 weeks (2)
26-Sarah Toot – 87 weeks
27-Angie DeWaard – 91 weeks
28-Dawn Krause – 95 weeks
29-Kim Barker – 101 weeks
30-Joe Duff – 102 weeks
31-Teresa Kahler – 113 weeks (2)
32-Carla Stensland – 113 weeks
33-Micky Augustin – 115 weeks
34-Andy Sharp – 116 (2) weeks
35-Bill Wentworth – 117 weeks
36-Cathie Morton – 121 weeks (2)
37-Elizabeth Nordeen – 122 weeks
38-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 124 weeks
39-Kio Dettman – 126 weeks (2)
Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:
1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.
There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 125 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 123 weeks
Cathie Morton (Nassau, Bahamas) – 122 weeks
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, NE) – 118 weeks
Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 117 weeks
Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 116 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 114 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)
Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 114 weeks
Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 103 weeks
Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 102 weeks
Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)
Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 96 weeks
Dawn Krause (Iowa)
Angie DeWaard (Story County Administration Building – Nevada, Iowa) – 92 weeks
Sarah Toot (Nobu – Las Vegas, Nevada) – 88 weeks
Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 87 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 58 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 55 weeks
Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 43 weeks
Jesse Howard (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska) – 43 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 42 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 41 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 37 weeks
Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 32 weeks
Sabas Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa)
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 31 weeks
Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 13 weeks
Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa) – 12 weeks
Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 12 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 12 weeks
Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 10 weeks
Stephanie Kim (Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, New York) – 6 weeks
Becky Parmelee (Boone, Iowa)- 6 weeks
Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 5 weeks
Adam Gordon (Iowa)
Elainie Hernandez (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks
Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 2 weeks
Johnathan Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 2 weeks
Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week
Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week
Tim Panages (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week
Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton West – Omaha, Nebraska)
39 participants this week! A pretty good week! But that is a 1 participant drop from DECORATION.
There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Bahamas – 1
+ Iowa – 39
+ Kansas – 1
+ Nebraska – 3
+ Nevada – 1
+ New York – 1
+ Pennsylvania – 1
+ Texas – 1
Thanks to Sarah’s trip we added Nevada! Thanks to Cathie’s trip, we added the Bahamas!
Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):
+ Arkansas (6.5)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (1)
+ Colorado (4)
+ Florida (3)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Indiana (2)
+ Iowa (444)
+ Kansas (17)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (4)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (8.5)
+ Nebraska (17)
+ Nevada (1)
+ New York (9)
+ Pennsylvania (11)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (19)
+ Vermont (1)
23 states so far! 1 foreign country! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE) – 3
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
Andy maintains a 2 state lead over Jen to be crowned the most travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE photographer!
Becky joined the list of people that have submitted from multiple states! WooHoo!
The big milestone this week was Sara joining the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! Also the first ever submission from Tim! That’s pretty sweet too!
But it wasn’t all good news. In fact it was mostly bad news. There was a veritable bloodbath of streaks. Jen couldn’t build on last week’s submission. Her streak is over before it began. Suzie and Monica had two week streaks go poof! Mary’s 5 week streak is over!
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:
#INSTAGOOD! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what exactly is an #INSTAGOOD image? Here is where that special rule for this theme is revealed. An #INSTAGOOD image is simply the best image you take this week. Period. And because it is the best image you take this week (HERE IS THAT SPECIAL RULE) you can only submit ONE picture for this theme. Only one picture is your best picture.
I will add, do NOT send me multiple images and ask me to pick the best one. Remember that one rule for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme because this is not a curate your pictures challenge, this is a get off your butt and go take pictures challenge! However, this week, you will have to curate all the pictures you take this week down to one, best picture.
I look forward to your interpretation!
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of INSTAGOOD in this place in this place that is sometimes gets my best next Monday.
On the first day that I followed RAGBRAI, the final stop was Ames. Ames was an overnight town. I went to downtown Ames to check out their festivities and met up with the Gorshes.
Here are some pictures:
Honestly, the Ames RAGBRAI experience was a little bit of a disappointment. But on the next day I would follow RAGBRAI to Slater and Madrid, and both of them more than made up for Ames!
Today seems like a good day to share the rest of the pictures from my day at the Iowa State Fair with Jen, Evie, and Layla. We saw some big chunks of the Fair and ate some great food and made some great art!
Here are some of my favorites:
You may recognize this artist’s style. Some of her work hangs up at Jimmy’s Barbecue.
I love this idea.
I’m a sucker for a picture of people looking at art.
I have a standing, handshake deal, with Evie (and hopefully Layla is in too) to go to Snakes Alive this year and get our picture taken with a snake. This going to Day 1 of the Fair with the Gorshes has become one of favorite little traditions!
EDITOR’S NOTE: It is possible that this will publish late this week. I am getting my taxes done at 11 this morning and when this publishes is dependent on how long that takes. BIG BUCKS! NO WHAMMIES!*
CIRCLE! 360 degrees of fury! But is there enough fury in a CIRCLE to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!
As of 12:01 PM on Monday, January 22, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Myriah Sharp – 1 (2)
2-Elainie Hernandez – 2 weeks
3-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
4-Monica Jennings – 3 weeks
5-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks
6-Lowell Davis – 4 weeks (2)
7-Michelle Haupt – 4 weeks
8-Alexis Stensland – 4 weeks (2)
9-Brandon Kahler – 5 weeks
10-Mary Green – 6 weeks (2)
11-Scott Degeneffe – 23 weeks (2)
12-Sabas Hernandez – 24 weeks
13-Mike Vest – 29 weeks
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 33 weeks (2)
15-Logan Kahler – 34 weeks (2)
16-Nathanial Brown – 35 weeks
17-Jesse Howard – 35 weeks (2)
18-Tamara Peterson – 38 weeks
19-Mindi Terrell – 50 weeks (2)
20-Linda Bennett – 79 weeks (2)
21-Sarah Toot – 80 weeks
22-Angie DeWaard – 84 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 88 weeks
24-Kim Barker – 94 weeks
25-Joe Duff – 95 weeks (2)
26-Teresa Kahler – 106 weeks
27-Carla Stensland – 106 weeks (2)
28-Micky Augustin – 108 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 109 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 110 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 114 weeks
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 115 weeks
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 117 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 119 weeks (2)
Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:
1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.
There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.
3. Sometimes, for special people, for special circumstances, we can negotiate something.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:
Adam Gordon (Boone, Iowa)
Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week
Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week
Jason Stensland (Lake Waubay, South Dakota) – 1 week
Jason Stensland (Lake Waubay, South Dakota)
Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 3 weeks
Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 3 weeks
Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 4 weeks
Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa)- 5 weeks
Lowell Davis (Ames, Iowa) – 5 weeks
Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 5 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 5 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)
Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 6 weeks
Mary Green (Iowa) – 7 weeks
Mary Green (Iowa)
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 24 weeks
Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 25 weeks
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 30 weeks
Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 34 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 35 weeks
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)
Nathanial Brown (Jefferson, Iowa) – 36 weeks
Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 36 weeks
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 39 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 51 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Iowa)
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 80 weeks
Sarah Toot (New York City, New York) – 81 weeks
Angie DeWaard (Des Moines, Iowa) – 85 weeks
Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa)
Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 89 weeks
Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa)
Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 95 weeks
Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 96 weeks
Joe Duff (League City, Texas)
Teresa Kahler (Ankeny, Iowa) – 107 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)
Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 107 weeks
Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)
Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 109 weeks
Andy Sharp (Mason City, Iowa) – 110 weeks
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska)- 111 weeks
Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 115 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 116 weeks
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 118 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) 120 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)
Christopher D. Bennett (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 542 weeks
38 participants! That is a new high for this year!
There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
Thanks to Jason’s trip to South Dakota and Sarah’s trip to New York, we can add those to this year’s list!
Here is the Year 11 list of states where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each state):
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Iowa (195)
+ Kansas (8)
+ Michigan (2)
+ Nebraska (6)
+ New York (1)
+ Pennsylvania (5)
+ South Dakota (2)
+ Texas (9)
The big milestone this week was the first ever submission from Jason! WooHoo!
But it wasn’t all good news. Myriah couldn’t build on last week’s submission and her streak was over before it even began!
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:
TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
I look forward to your interpretation!
That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES in this place in this place that was heavily influenced by a book on trains next Monday.
*There were no BIG BUCKS! But there were also NO WHAMMIES! But at least I didn’t owe any money.
Time to start sharing pictures from my numerous trips to the Iowa State Fair last year. Once again, I made a traditional visit on Day 1 of the Fair with Jen to watch Evie and Layla dance with their Irish dancing group. They performed early in the morning at the Mid American Stage. The bad thing about this is that the Mid American Stage faces east. I repeat, they performed in the morning. If you don’t know, the sun rises in the east. In the morning. That is just science.
I bring this up because it had to suck for them dancing while staring into the sun. I’m going to share pictures from their performance, and as you will see right away, they are dancing with their eyes closed… cause they were staring into the sun.
Here are some pictures from their performance:
After the performance we hung out at the fair for a few hours. I have plenty of pictures to share from that as well!
As yesterday closed the book on Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, now seems like a good time to review all that happened.
There were 59 different people that submitted photos. Ranging from submitting 1 picture to 124 pictures.
There were 2,311 photos submitted.
The average week was 31.1 participants.
The average week had 44.4 submissions.
The most popular week was Week 422. The theme was #INSTAGOOD. There were 41 participants.
The most popular week by submissions was Week 405. The theme was FLOWER. There were 62 submissions.
3 themes tied for least popular theme by participants. TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES; REFLECTION; and SUNRISE, SUNSET each has only 25 participants.
TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES was the least popular theme by submissions. It received only 30 submissions.
Here is my favorite submission from all 59 different people that submitted and some statistics about each participant.
Pepper Duncan
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Corey Faust
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Adam Gordon
1 week – 2%
3 submissions
No current streak
Harrison Gorshe
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Michelle Haupt
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Stephanie Kim
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Carrie Moellers
1 week – 2%
1 submission
Current Streak: 1 week
Mike Parmelee
1 week – 2%
1 submission
Current Streak: 1 week
Ernie Redd
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Diane Sharp
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Julie Sharp
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current streak
Lori Backous
2 weeks – 4%
3 submissions
No current streak
Melissa Degeneffe
2 weeks – 4%
3 submissions
No current streak
Derrick Gorshe
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Layla Gorshe
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Sarah Karber
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Johnathan Stensland
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Nader Parsaei
3 weeks – 6%
3 submissions
No current streak
Myriah Sharp
3 weeks – 6%
5 submissions
No current streaks
Porter Degeneffe
4 weeks – 8%
4 submissions
No current streaks
Evie Gorshe
6 weeks – 12%
6 submissions
No current streak
Amy Peterson
10 weeks – 19%
14 submissions
Current Streak: 1 week
Elainie Stensland
12 weeks – 23%
15 submissions
No current streak
Susanna Funk
14 weeks – 27%
19 submissions
No current streak
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
19 weeks – 37%
22 submissions
No current streak
Becky Parmelee
23 weeks – 44.2%
26 submissions
No current streak
Sheri Fakhouri
29 weeks – 56%
53 submissions
Current streak: 29 weeks
Scott Degeneffe
32 weeks – 62%
46 submissions
Current streak: 19 weeks
Mary Green
32 weeks – 62%
68 submissions
Current streak: 2 weeks
Sara Lockner
33 weeks – 63%
39 submissions
Current streak: 1 week
Willy McAlpine
34 weeks – 65%
37 submissions
No current streak
Suzie Brannen
35 weeks – 67%
50 submissions
No current streak
Alexis Stensland
35 weeks – 67%
72 submissions
No current streak
Sabas Hernandez
43 weeks – 83%
43 submissions
Current streak: 20 weeks
Monica Jennings
43 weeks – 83%
60 submissions
No current streak
Mindi Terrell
46 weeks – 88%
124 submissions
Current streak: 46 weeks
Nathanial Brown
47 weeks – 90%
77 submissions
Current streak: 31 weeks
Jesse Howard
49 weeks – 94%
62 submissions
Current streaks: 31 weeks
Mike Vest
50 weeks – 96%
50 submissions
Current streaks: 25 weeks
Brandon Kahler
51 weeks – 98%
55 submissions
Current streak: 1 week
Logan Kahler
51 weeks – 98%
81 submissions
Current streak: 30 weeks
Tamara Peterson
51 weeks – 98%
56 submissions
Current streak: 34 weeks
Micky Augustin
52 weeks – 100%
55 submissions
Current streak: 104 weeks
Shannon Bardole-Foley
52 weeks – 100%
55 submissions
Current streak: 113 weeks
Kim Barker
52 weeks – 100%
60 submissions
Current streak: 90 weeks
Christopher D. Bennett
52 weeks – 100%
52 submissions
Current streak: 537 weeks
Linda Bennett
52 weeks – 100%
91 submissions
Current streak: 75 weeks
Kio Dettman
52 weeks – 100%
107 submissions
Current streak: 115 weeks
Angie DeWaard
52 weeks – 100%
59 submissions
Current streak: 80 weeks
Joe Duff
52 weeks – 100%
71 submissions
Current streak: 91 weeks
Teresa Kahler
52 weeks – 100%
111 submissions
Current streak: 102 weeks
Dawn Krause
52 weeks – 100%
89 submissions
Current streak: 84 weeks
Cathie Morton
52 weeks – 100%
58 submissions
Current streak: 110 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen
52 weeks – 100%
72 submissions
Current streak: 111 weeks
Andy Sharp
52 weeks – 100%
72 submissions
Current streak: 105 weeks
Carla Stensland
52 weeks – 100%
90 submissions
Current streak: 102 weeks
Sarah Toot
52 weeks – 100%
96 submissions
Current streak: 76 weeks
Bill Wentworth
52 weeks – 100%
54 submissions
Current streak: 106 weeks
Here are a few quick stats from last year:
+ 44 different participants
+ 1811 photos submitted
+ Least popular theme for participation was ROCK with 16 participants
+ Most popular theme for participation was SELF-PORTRAIT with 31 participants
+ Least popular theme for submissions was ROCK with 20 submissions
+ Most popular theme for submission was LINES with 51 submissions
+ The average week had 24.6 participants
+ The average week had 34.8 submissions
To put in perspective compared to last year:
+ 15 more different participants.
+ 500 more submissions.
+ The most popular theme had 10 more participants.
+ The most popular theme by submissions has 11 more submissions.
+ The average participation was up almost 7 participants per week.
+ The average submissions was up nearly 10 per week.
Hopefully Year 11 has a similar amount of growth!
