NOTE: DON’T FORGET THAT NEXT MONDAY IS LABOR DAY. WHILE THE SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED. THE BANKS ARE CLOSED. GOVERNMENT OFFICES ARE CLOSED. MAYBE WHERE YOU WORK IS CLOSED. BUT THERE ARE NO DAYS OFF FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 139. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL. SO PLAN TO GET YOUR SUBMISSION IN BEFORE YOU GET BUSY WITH GRILLING OR VACATIONING OR WHATEVER.

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:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

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. These are the people I can think of off the top of my head that I know have won a photography award at some point in their lives: Yours Truly, Jen, Logan, Teresa, Carla, Dawn, Monica, Shannon, Nathanial, Angie, Vest, and I’m sure I’m forgetting about somebody.

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. I would say on the average week over 80% of participants seem to have understood the assignment.

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.

+++++++

STILL LIFE! A great theme! But did enough people hold still long enough to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, August 19, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Derrick Gorshe – 1 week (OH)
2-Layla Gorshe – 1 week (OH)
*3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA)
*4-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks (IA)
5-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (IA, BHS, MN)
6-Tim Panages – 3 weeks (IA)
7-Willy McAlpine – 6 weeks (IA)
8-Deanna McClain – 10 weeks (IA, MN)
9-Mike Vest – 15 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
10-Sabas Hernandez – 19 weeks (IA, OH)
*11-Adam Gordon – 24 weeks (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI)
12-Lowell Davis – 33 weeks (IA, MO)
13-Michelle Haupt – 33 weeks (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI)
14-Brandon Kahler – 34 weeks (IA, MN)
15-Scott Degeneffe – 52 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
16-Sheri Fakhouri – 62 weeks (IA, NE)
17-Logan Kahler – 63 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Nathanial Brown – 64 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS)
19-Tamara Peterson – 75 weeks (IA, MN)
*20-Mindi Terrell – 79 weeks (IA)
21-Linda Bennett – 108 weeks (KS, IA, MI)
22-Sarah Toot – 109 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC)
23-Angie DeWaard – 113 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG)
24-Dawn Krause – 117 weeks (IA, IL)
25-Kim Barker – 123 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
*26-Joe Duff – 124 weeks (TX, NY)
27-Teresa Kahler – 135 weeks (IA, NE)
28-Carla Stensland – 135 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
29-Micky Augustin – 137 weeks (IA, IL, FL)
30-Andy Sharp – 138 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI)
31-Bill Wentworth – 139 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
32-Cathie Morton – 143 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA)
33-Elizabeth Nordeen – 144 weeks (IA, OH)
34-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 146 weeks (IA, CA, NV)
*35-Kio Dettman – 148 weeks (IA)

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.

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) – 149 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Rural Rippey, Greene County, Iowa) – 147 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 145 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 144 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 140 weeks

Andy Sharp (Kohl’s – Clinton, Iowa) – 139 weeks

Micky Augustin (Story County, Iowa) – 138 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 136 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Beardshear Hall – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 136 weeks

Carla Stensland (Beardshear Hall – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 125 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 124 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Tower of London – London, England) – 114 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 110 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 109 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Perry, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Chicago, Illinois) – 65 weeks

Logan Kahler (Kansas City, Missouri) – 64 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 63 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 35 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 34 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 34 weeks

Adam Gordon (Neeble Road House – Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada) – 25 weeks

Adam Gordon (Wawa, Ontario, Canada)

Sabas Hernandez (Ogden, Iowa) – 20 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Bettendorf, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 11 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Elainie Hernandez (Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Des Moines Downtown Farmer’s Market – Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week

Amy Peterson (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Downtown Des Moines Farmer’s Market – Des Moines, Iowa)

37 participants this week. A pretty good, but not great week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Canada (2)
+ England (1)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Iowa (35)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks to Adam’s travels Canada was added to the list of foreign countries people have submitted from this year!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (19.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (9)
+ Florida (11)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1271)
+ Kansas (49)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Michigan (9)
+ Minnesota (12)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (17.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (41)
+ Nevada (4)
+ New Jersey (1)
+ New York (17)
+ North Carolina (2)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (25)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (4)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (50)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (4)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (2)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

35 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 6 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA) – 11
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI) – 10
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS) – 9
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA) – 5
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO) -5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI) – 5
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO, AR, OK, KS) – 5
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG) – 4
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL) – 3
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2
+ Dawn Krause – (IA, IL) – 2
+ Joe Duff (TX, NY) – 2
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO) – 2
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2

Jen has claimed the top spot to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” However Andy, Scott, and Nathanial are in striking distance. Jesse has fallen out of contention.

There were no milestones reached this week, but there were a few streaks snapped. Derrick and Layla couldn’t not build on their submissions from last week. Their streaks are over before they began. Worst of all, Tim’s 3 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:

SQUARE

SQUARE! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I think enough of us went to school to know what a SQUARE is. Remember a SQUARE is a rectangle. But a rectangle might not be a square. Don’t even think about trying to put a non-SQUARE rectangle past me!

I look forward to seeing 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 SQUARE in this place that might be created by one on Monday.