Well, we did it! Andy said it couldn’t be done, but we hit double digits with WIND like it ain’t no thing, but a chicken wing on a string. A phrase, that while I enjoy typing, don’t understand in the slightest. 72 weeks in a row of double digit submissions!
An exciting development this week was that I received the first ever submission from Susanna Funk. For those of you that don’t know Susanna, she is one of the most badass people I know. In addition to be under the stress of being a health care professional in a state (Iowa) with a completely inept governor, she spends her spare time climbing mountains. Her WIND picture comes from Rocky Mountains National Park.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about submission rates to shove it in Andy’s face, you came to see the submissions:
Susanna Funk
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Tamara Peterson
Christopher D. Bennett
Kio Dettman
Kio Dettman
Kio Dettman
Kio Dettman
Joe Duff
Micky Augustin
Micky Augustin
Micky Augustin
Kim Barker
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
Logan Kahler
Monica Henning
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:
SYMMETRY & PATTERNS
SYMMETRY & PATTERNS! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.
I can’t help but think of Shannon when I think of the theme of SYMMETRY & PATTERNS. Back in the day, we would occasionally go to art shows and fairs together. It often ended up being a painful and frustrating experience because the art booths that she would like to stop and look at were the art that actually hurt my soul (at least a little bit) to look at. It was all symmetrical lines and shapes. I always thought, “if this is the kind of art she likes and she likes my photography, what does that say about my photography? Is it this awful and boring?”
On the other side of the coin, she also hated most of the art I liked. Considered it to be derivative of the illustrations one sees in children’s books. Whatever.
I’m not saying you should tap into your inner Shannon when making your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS picture, but it might not hurt. I’m not saying your picture should be boring and uninteresting. I borderline enjoy the theme reveal picture of the bathroom floor in front of my toilet*. I am saying that you should find a pattern and/or a subject that has symmetry. While this isn’t my favorite theme, I do look forward to seeing your interpretations. I bet Shannon will be counting down the days.
When thinking about creating your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image, think on the following quote from noted Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki:
Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.
Meditate on these words and you will no doubt, make a completely almost interesting SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image.
Then send me your submission(s) by 11 AM CST next Monday. 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 SYMMETRY & PATTERNS in this place that admittedly has some symmetry and patterns of its own next Monday.
*Admit it. You are impressed with how clean it is.
