Category Archives: Jesse

Animals, Bokeh, Calendar, Christianity, Elainie, Greyson, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Jesse, Layla, Logan, Sign, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

I Don’t Care if it Hurts

January 8, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the July image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

JULY

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 276mm
APERTURE: f/14
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/6400
ISO: 160
DATE TAKEN: August 2, 2024

I took this picture on my trip to the Indianola National Balloon Classic with Jesse. It is always a roll of the dice when you go to the Balloon Classic because a myriad of weather conditions will keep the balloons from going up. But on the night we went the balloons went up in the air and I got a ton of great shots. This is one of my favorites and I’m considering this picture and another one I took on this evening for entry into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon this year. Which is about as forward thinking as I have ever been for that contest. Don’t worry, I’ll lie down and the feeling will pass.

There isn’t much to say about the technical aspects of the picture. High shutter speed to freeze the image and under exposure balance to a silhouette and make the colors pop.

I selected this picture to represent July because the Balloon Classic starts in July.

It was a fairly popular image and here are the people that selected it as their favorite image:

Elainie

Jason (Carpenter)

Layla

Will

I’m excited to share the August image tomorrow!

+++++++

This is one of those miscellaneous posts that cleans up some images that I took but didn’t fit into any previous posts. These images are from late May and early June. Some are of a baby deer that hung around Lori and Roger’s house for a few days. Some are of a garage sale Logan had. Some are from just around town. But most are of Bokeh. From the first failed attempts* to get the image that would become the March image and an entry to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.

I’m not sure if Logan made any money on the garage sale, but Greyson cleaned up. His grandparents bought something from his table for $60 and then turned around gave the thing back to him. That is a solid business plan if you can implement it!

*The window ended up being too dirty in these shots.

Adam, Amy, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Beckham, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Evie, Fran, Funk, Jason, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Layla, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nader, Nathanial, Nature, Sabas, Sara, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Steph, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

Weekly Photo Challenge Year 11 in Review

January 7, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

It is time to reveal the June image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

JUNE

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: SIGMA 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 395mm (but image is cropped)
APERTURE: f/11
SHUTTER: 1/160
ISO: 800
DATE TAKEN: April 8, 2024

I drove in a caravan with the Gorshes all the way to Indiana to take this picture. It isn’t the picture that was taken farthest from my home to be included in this calendar. That was the February image that was taken in New Orleans, but it is the farthest I traveled specifically to take a certain picture. And the gap between that and 2nd place this year is pretty considerable. I drove to Mines of Spain to photograph the Horseshoe Canyon. That is probably second. But those pictures didn’t make it to the calendar. Sorry for the spoiler.

When the eclipse is happening, you kind of forget everything you had planned and you have to balance between actually experiencing the total solar eclipse and photographing the total solar eclipse. It isn’t an easy balance. I can’t tell you anything about the technical settings because everything is such a blur. A rush to experience it. To get the shot. Don’t blow the shot. Then it is over. And you can’t believe how quickly it is over.

I selected this image for June because traditionally I always put a black and white image in June because June is the month of my Dad’s birth. Now he didn’t shoot only black & white, but I always associate his photography with black and white because of the black and white darkroom and the black and white postcards. However, this picture technically isn’t black and white. It is actually a color image that doesn’t have any color in it.

Everyone knows that black and white photography is my first and greatest love in photography, but there is not a single pure black and white image in the calendar in 2025. Because of that I put the closest thing I had to a black and white image in June.

Here are the people that selected this as their favorite 2025 Photography 139 Calendar image:

Alexis

Beckham

J.J.

I look forward to revealing the July image tomorrow!

+++++++

As yesterday closed the book on Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, now seems like a good time to review all that happened.

There were 56 different people that submitted photos. Ranging from submitting 1 picture to 97 pictures.

There were 2,466 photos submitted.

The average week had 36.4 participants.

The average week had 46.5 submissions.

The most popular week was Week 446. The theme was #INSTAGOOD. There were 42 participants.

The most popular week by submissions was Week 456. The theme was ANYTHING BUT A CAT. There were 60 submissions.

The least popular week by participants was Week 479. The theme was GAMES. There were 31 participants.

The least popular week by submissions was Week 483. The theme was REFLECTION. There were 38 submissions.

Here is my favorite submission from all 56 different people that submitted and some statistics about each participant.

DON’T READ INTO THIS THAT I THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST PICTURE OR THE BEST USE OF COMPOSITION OR BEST USE OF TECHNICAL SKILLS. ALSO DON’T THINK I SPENT HOURS EXAMINING EACH IMAGE. IT IS JUST MY FAVORITE THAT I SAW WHEN GIVING THEM A QUICK ONCE OVER.

WPC - WEEK 466 - SCIENCE - DERRICK GORSHE

Derrick Gorshe
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Ohio

Myriah Sharp
1 week – 2%
2 submissions
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Hawaii

Jason Stensland
1 week – 2%
2 submissions
No Current Streak
Submitted from: South Dakota

Jennie Green
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: California

Fran Duncan
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Wisconsin

Bunny
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa

Beckham Gorshe
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa

Layla Gorshe
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Ohio
Click for Layla’s Submissions

Nader Parsaei
2 weeks – 4%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Nader’s Submissions

Evie Gorshe
3 weeks – 6%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Evie’s Submissions

Susanna Funk
3 weeks – 6%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Colorado
Click for Funk’s Submissions

Kyle Sharp
4 weeks – 8%
6 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, and Colorado
Click for Kyle’s Submissions

Tim Panages
5 weeks – 9%
7 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Tim’s Submissions

Stephanie Kim
6 weeks – 11%
6 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: New York
Click for Steph’s Submissions

Amy Peterson
11 weeks – 21%
16 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Amy’s Submissions

Elainie Hernandez
17 weeks – 34%
18 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Elainie’s Submissions

Becky Parmelee
20 weeks – 38%
22 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and New York
Click for Becky’s Submissions

Deb Powers
21 weeks – 40%
39 submissions
19 week streak
Submitted from: Montana and Iowa
Click for Deb’s Submissions

Johnathan Stensland
21 weeks – 40%
22 submissions
1 week streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Johnathan’s Submissions

Jen Ensley-Gorshe
24 weeks – 46%
27 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Washington.
Click for Jen’s Submissions

Adam Gordon
31 weeks – 58%
54 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, and Canada
Click for Adam’s Submissions

Mary Green
36 weeks – 68%
64 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Puerto Rico
Click for Mary’s submissions

Alexis Stensland
41 weeks – 77%
60 submissions
Current Streak: 2 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Alexis’ submissions

Michelle Haupt
40 weeks – 75%
40 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, and Michigan
Click for Michelle’s submissions

Monica Jennings
42 weeks – 79%
48 submissions
Current Streak: 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Monica’s submissions

Deanna McClain
43 weeks – 81%
45 submissions
Current streak – 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Deanna’s submissions

Sara Lockner
42 weeks – 79%
42 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Bahamas, Minnesota, and Florida
Click for Sara’s submissions

Willy McAlpine
46 weeks – 87%
48 submissions
Current Streak: 25 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Willy’s submissions

Jesse Howard
46 weeks – 87%
53 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Minnesota, Aruba, and Curacao
Click for Jesse’s submissions

Suzie Brannen
48 weeks – 91%
65 submissions
Current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Maryland
Click for Suzie’s submissions

Sabas Hernandez
49 weeks – 92%
55 submissions
Current Streat: 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Click for Sabas’ submissions

Mike Vest
52 weeks – 96%
54 submissions
Current Streak: 33 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas
Click for Vest’s submissions

Lowell Davis
53 weeks – 100%
69 submissions
Current Streak: 53 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas
Click for Lowell’s submissions

Brandon Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
56 submissions
Current Streak: 54 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Brandon’s submissions

Scott Degeneffe
53 weeks – 100%
65 submissions
Current Streak: 72 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Florida, Utah, Colorado, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
Click for Scott’s submissions

Sheri Fakhouri
53 weeks – 100%
73 submissions
Current Streak: 82 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Nebraska, and Georgia
Click for Sheri’s submissions

Logan Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
78 submissions
Current Streak: 83 streaks
Submitted from: Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri
Click for Logan’s submissions

Nathanial Brown
53 weeks – 100%
62 submissions
Current Streak: 84 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, South Dakota, Georgia, Tennessee, Ireland, North Ireland, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York and Missouri
Click for Nathanial’s submissions

Tamara Peterson
53 weeks – 100%
56 submissions
Current Streak: 95 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Tamara’s submissions

Mindi Terrell
53 weeks – 100%
97 submissions
Current Streak: 99 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Mindi’s submissions

Linda Bennett
53 weeks – 100%
78 submissions
Current Streak: 128 weeks
Submitted from: Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Missouri
Click for Linda’s submissions

Sarah Toot
53 weeks – 100%
66 submissions
Current Streak: 129 weeks
Submitted from: Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Kansas, and Missouri
Click for Sarah’s submissions

Angie DeWaard
53 weeks – 100%
67 submissions
Current Streak: 132 weeks
Submitted: Iowa, Illinois, Scotland, England, Minnesota, and Florida
Click for Angie’s submissions

Dawn Krause
53 weeks – 100%
74 submissions
Current Streak: 137 weeks
Submitted from Iowa and Illinois
Click for Dawn’s submissions

Kim Barker
53 weeks – 100%
63 submissions
Current Streak: 143 weeks
Submitted: Iowa, Colorado, and Louisiana
Click for Kim’s submissions

Joe Duff
53 weeks – 100&
80 submissions
Current Streak: 144 weeks
Submitted from: Texas and New York
Click for Joe’s submissions

Teresa Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
88 submissions
Current Streak: 155 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Nebraska
Click for Teresa’s submissions

Carla Stensland
53 weeks
86 submissions
Current Streak: 155 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado
Click for Carla’s submissions

Micky Augustin
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 43
Current Streak: 157 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Illinois, Florida, Alaska, and Arizona
Click for Micky’s submissions

Andy Sharp
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 71
Current Streak: 158 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and South Dakota
Click for Andy’s submissions

Bill Wentworth
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 57
Current Streak: 159 weeks
Submitted from: Nebraska, Missouri, and Florida
Click for Bill’s submissions

Cathie Morton
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 62
Current Streak: 163 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Florida, Bahamas, Missouri, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah
Click for Cathie’s submissions

Elizabeth Nordeen
53 weeks – 100%
62 submissions
Current Streak: 164 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Ohio
Click for Elizabeth’s submissions

Shannon Bardole-Foley
53 weeks – 100%
57 submissions
Current Streak: 166 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, California, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, Mexico, and Texas
Click for Shannon’s submissions

Kio Dettman
53 weeks – 100%
81 submissions
Current Streak: 168 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Kio’s submissions

Christopher D. Bennett
53 weeks – 100%
53 submissions
Current Streak: 590 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and Louisiana

But as they say, it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. There were 6 participants from Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE that never got hit by the old inspo to submit once this year.

+ Lori Backous
+ Melissa Degeneffe
+ Porter Degeneffe
+ Corey Faust
+ Sarah Karber
+ Ernie Reddd

Maybe in Year 12 they will get that creative photography hankering again. Here is hoping!

In Year 11 I tracked the states pictures were submitted from closer than in the past. In the end, we had submissions from:

+ 39 states
+ 1 U.S. District
+ 1 U.S. Territory
+ 7 Foreign Countries

Here is a look at the final Year 11 THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE UNITED STATES CONQUEST MAP:

39 STATES!

Rather than listing all the states that had pictures taken from them, here are the 11 states that weren’t reached:

+ Alabama
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Idaho
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ New Hampshire
+ North Dakota
+ Oregon
+ Rhode Island
+ South Carolina

The 10 Most Popular States to Submit from:

10. Minnesota – 15
9. Florida – 16
8. Arkansas – 20.5
7. New York – 23
6. Missouri – 28.5
5. Pennsylvania – 42
4. Nebraska – 61
3. Kansas – 72
2. Texas – 79
1. Iowa – 1967

The 5 People that Submitted from the Most Locations:

5. Cathie Morton – 9
5. Scott Degeneffe – 9
4. Sarah Toot – 10
3. Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 13
2. Nathanial Brown – 15
1. Andy Sharp – 16

There were submissions from 7 foreign countries (depending on how countries are defined), here is a look at the world map:

There were a few world travelers and I know that there will be at least a few world travelers in Year 12. So maybe that map will be even more filled in after Year 12.

Finally, a look back at where we’ve been.

Here are a few quick stats from Year 9:

+ 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

The same stats from Year 10:

+ 59 different participants
+ 2311 photos submitted
+ Least popular theme for participation was a tie with TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES; REFLECTION; and SUNRISE, SUNSET each having 25 participants
+ Most popular them for participation was #INSTAGOOD with 41 participants
+ Least popular them for submissions was TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES with 30 submissions
+ The most popular them for submissions was FLOWER with 62 submissions
+ The average week had 31.1 participants
+ The average week had 44.4 submissions

Comparing Year 11 to Year 10:

+ 3 less different participants
+ 155 more submissions
+ The most popular theme had 1 more participant
+ The most popular theme had 2 less submissions
+ The average participation was up 5.3 participants per week
+ The average submissions was up 2.1 submissions per week.

Year 11 had a slight upward trend, but it was probably unrealistic to expect a giant jump like there was in Year 10. Hopefully Year 12 continues to trend upward!

I look forward to seeing all the submissions in Year 12!

Adam, Art, Carla, Flowers, Jason, Jesse, Macro, Road Trip, Russell, Shannon, Still Life, Tenderloining

Cue: Kansas City Field Work

January 5, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the April image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

APRIL

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPSOURE: 1/125
ISO: 640
DATE: April 13, 2024

I took this picture a couple of weeks before the Pella Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa. I used as small of an aperture as I could to keep as much of the picture in focus as possible. Using a decent speed on the shutter speed as I was using a longer length macro lens and was shooting handheld.

More than a couple people struggled to see that this picture was of a flower and I struggle to accept that. But my favorite memory was when Kelli was going through the calendar somebody at her table asked, “What is that a picture of?”

And another person at the table said, “It’s a flower! Like Georgia O’Keeffe!”

I picked this picture to represent April because tulips generally come up and bloom in April.

Despite the Georgia O’Keefffe comparison, April wasn’t a super popular image. But a couple of people found it to be their favorite:

I look forward to revealing the May image tomorrow!

+++++++

Back in November Carla, Jason, Jesse, and I loaded up into a car and headed to Kansas City to watch Iowa State play football in the dump known as Arrowhead Stadium. But before going to the game we stopped at a barbecue joint that I’ve wanted to try for a bit called Q39.

Here are some pictures from the meal:

Q39 is what Adam (a noted Kansas City and Memphis barbecue expert) refer to as BougieQ. And he isn’t wrong. Q39 is kind of a hipster barbecue. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t good.

If I have a major complaint about BougieQ, it is that it is expensive and the portion size are pretty dang small. But for this meal, the chicken wings were fair. I don’t know I would get them again. The brisket was fantastic, but the real show stopper were the burnt ends. They were one of the best things I ate all year. On the other end of the spectrum, the corn side was terrible. Bland. Tasteless. Hopefully it was made with Nebraska’s inferior corn an wasn’t a waste of good Iowa corn.

The final verdict is that I would eat there again, but if I was in Kansas City and was looking for barbecue, I’d still go to Joe’s first.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will take place considerably closer to home.

9 Emotions Project, Alisa, Animals, Art, Becca, Bethany, Black & White, Blogging, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Dad, Dae Hee, Dawn, Derrick, Drone, Elizabeth, Evie, Flowers, Football, Formal Portrait, Fran, History, Iowa State, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Joe Duff, Kalista, Layla, Logan, Lowell, Mission Trip, Mom, Movies, Music, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nathanial, Nature, Railroad, Road Trip, Sara, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Shorty, Sign, State Fair, Street Photography, Taylan, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Travel, Willy, Yin

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes

January 1, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

All of the 2025 Photography 139 Calendars have been distributed or mailed except for one. It is fair game now to start sharing the calendar images. This is the front cover image:

2025 Photography 139 Calendar Front Cover

FRONT COVER – 2025

Technical Details:

CAMERA: SONY 7M4
LENS: SIGMA 14-24 f/2.8 DG DN ART
FOCAL LENGTH: 20mm
APERTURE: f/8
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500
DATE TAKEN: April 27, 2024

The subject of this picture is the statue of John Wayne in front of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset, Iowa. I visited this museum with Nader on a road trip that is as close to a birthday road trip as I took in 2024. This trip was a bit of what I would call “unfinished business”. My Mom was a big fan of John Wayne movies. As are/were many members of her family. One of the last places we went to on the final road trip I took with my Mom was to Winterset and walking around the John Wayne Birthplace Museum. However, it was during the pandemic, so we never went inside. It was important to me to finally go inside and see the museum.

A few notes about the calendar.

1. I switched to a different printer. For the last several years I have had the calendar printed at VistaPrint. This year I switched to Snapfish. The movie saved me over $200. I’m very pleased with the quality. In fact, I think the quality is actually slightly higher as far as image quality and paper quality. However, the proof is usually in the pudding and what that means for the calendar is we will have to see how it holds up for 365 days. The other part of that equation is that I’m not a master of the Snapfish editing software, so there were a few mistakes made. Next year, those mistakes we hopefully be corrected, if Snapfish manages to maintain the Photography 139 account next year I look forward to correcting those. I can’t predict the future. After all, as the source of much of my Christian wisdom (Christian Mingle: The Movie) tells us. “The Heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”*

2. The calendars that are mailed were mailed on December 18th. Not a single one has arrived (as far as I know) a full 2 weeks later. And most of them weren’t going all that far. 2 to Minnesota. 2 to Kansas. 1 to Nebraska. 1 to Arizona. 1 package of 2 to Texas. Very frustrating. Unfortunately I don’t have any tracking info, so either they are just completely lost, will show up sometime in mid April, will show back up on my front porch in a month, are completely lost and will never show up, or maybe they were stolen. It is a mystery that hopefully is solved soon. Very soon!

3. When I reveal each calendar image I will reveal the people that picked it as it their favorite image from the calendar. Not a single person picked the front cover. So nothing to reveal here for this image.

Hopefully you enjoy the reveal of the calendar images for this year.

+++++++

It is a new year, but I like to look back at 2024 and reveal statistics that mostly me and Joe Duff find interesting.

Every post has categories. While I’m in the process of redoing how I do the categories, here are where the categories currently rank.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – ALL-TIME

1.Black & White – 1,298
2.Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Jesse – 795
6.Teresa – 712
7. Road Trip – 696
8. Macro – 688
9. Formal Portrait – 669
10. Carla – 665
11. Shannon – 644
12. Nature – 595
13. WPC – Submissions – 589
14. Still Life – 560
15. Candid Portrait – 533
16. Mom – 479
17. Logan – 474
18. Kim – 469
19. Photoshop – 437
20. Micky – 425

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – ALL TIME

1. Jesse – 795
2. Teresa – 712
3. Carla – 665
4. Shannon – 644
5. Mom – 479
6. Logan – 474
7. Kim – 469
8. Micky – 425
9. Vest – 417
10. Willy – 414
11. Andy – 404
12. Sara – 378
13. Jay – 376
14. Jen – 373
15. Dawn – 367
16. Derrick – 355
17. Cathie – 352
18. Tamara – 343
19. Angie – 337
20. Michelle – 330

TOP 20 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES

1. Black & White – 1,298
2. Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Road Trip – 696
6. Macro – 688
7. Formal Portrait – 669
8. Nature – 595
9. WPC – Submissions – 589
10. Still Life – 560
11. Candid Portrait – 533
12. Photoshop – 437
13. Street Photography – 410
14. History – 407
15. Self-Portrait – 405
16. Naima – 404
17. Christianity – 390
18. Iowa State – 346
19. WPC – Reminder – 322
20. Night – 281

Now to look at what were the most used categories of just 2024.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Teresa – 104
5. Jesse – 95
6. Logan – 83
7. Black & White – 77
8. Flowers – 74
9. Carla – 72
10. Road Trip – 71
11. Elizabeth – 68
12. Andy – 66
12. Sabas – 66
14. Brandon – 65
15. Kim – 63
15. Scottie D. – 63
17. Willy – 62
18. Nathanial – 61
19. Dawn – 60
19. Aunt Linda – 60

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Teresa – 104
2. Jesse – 95
3. Logan – 83
4. Carla – 72
5. Elizabeth – 68
6. Andy – 66
6. Sabas – 66
8. Brandon – 65
9. Kim – 63
9. Scottie D. – 63
11. Willy – 62
12. Nathanial – 61
13. Dawn – 60
13. Aunt Linda – 60
14. Shannon – 59
15. Vest – 58
15. Angie – 58
15. Lowell – 58
18. Cathie – 57
19. Bill – 56
20. Micky – 55
20. Mindi – 55

TOP 20 NONHUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Black & White – 77
5. Flowers – 74
6. Road Trip – 71
7. Tenderloining – 54
8. Nature – 53
8. WPC – Submissions – 53
10. Macro – 52
11. Animals – 51
12. Christianity – 47
13. Candid Portrait – 45
14. Birthdays – 43
15. Self-Portrait – 42
16. Travel – 35
17. History – 33
17. WPC – Alternate – 33
19. Music – 32
20. Railroad – 29

If you have spent any time on this website you realize the 100 most used categories are listed on the left side. When I’m looking at these stats, I also like to look at the bottom 10 of the top 100.

Bottom 10 of the Top 100

91. Nathanial – 117 (+61)
92. Russell – 114 (+3)
93. Pufferbilly Days – 105 (+14)
94. Mindi – 98 (+55)
95. Faust – 97 (+5)
96. Becca – 96 (+6)
97. Pastor Sarah – 94 (+3)
98. Writing – 93 (+1)
99. Sheri – 91 (+54)
99. House – 91 (0)
99. Layla – 91 (+2)

The categories that are most likely to fall into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Bethany
+ Blogging
+ Tenderloining
+ Jill
+ Nate

I’m sure Tenderloining is pretty safe. I need to get out of my house and visit Nate and Bethany this year. I hermitted pretty hard this year. As we will see later.

The categories that are most likely to climb into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Mary
+ Commercial
+ Andree
+ Photo Journal
+ Flat Earth Joe

Although there are probably some categories that aren’t as close to the Top 100 currently that have a better chance to break in. Like Bokeh, for example.

On to the most popular Photography 139 Galleries in 2024:

20. Drone – 54,022 Views

19. Daisies – 55,109 Views

18. South Dakota Trip – 2017 – 55,869 Views

17. Iowa State Fair – 2023 – 57,439 Views

16. Naima – 57,919 Views

15. Photo Journal Rejects – 59,548 Views

14. Phonetos – 61,145 Views

13. New Orleans – 2024 – 69,224 Views

12. Home Improvement – 72,195 Views

11. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 10 – 83,769 Views

10. 365 Day Photo Project – 2012 – 94,307 Views

9. 9 Emotions Project – 116,852 Views

8. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 125,685 Views

7. Town Sign Project – 137,773 Views

6. Life – 147,856 Views

5. 365 Day Photo Project – 2013 – 148,808 Views

4. Tenderloining – 151,436 Views

3. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 193,931 Views

2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 11 – 398,026 Views

1. Instagram – 496,850

To look at any of the galleries, you can just click on the picture and voila, you will be there. And yes, I purposely picked pictures that had people that are no long with us to represent some of the galleries.

In 2024, the gallery had 6,616,054 views.

There were the most popular days for the gallery in 2024:

1. 2024/09/21 – 72551
2. 2024/07/19 – 72168
3. 2024/04/05 – 70007
4. 2024/07/20 – 64376
5. 2024/07/21 – 56076
6. 2024/07/29 – 54710
7. 2024/08/01 – 53564
8. 2024/07/18 – 51727
9. 2024/07/22 – 51004
10. 2024/07/26 – 50839

But what about my 2024 that isn’t related to this website? I know, it is hard to believe that I exist outside of this website. But I do, I really exist in the physical world. But first, the social media world:

I had a goal to post on Instagram once a day in 2024 and failed miserably. I posted 99 times. But of those 99, these were my Top 9:

As for Snapchat?

I have no real Snapchat goals, except to not be the one who breaks the streaks. I ended the year with the following streaks:

+ Logan – 1,091
+ Brandon – 848
+ Nathanial – 681
+ Lowell – 235
+ Elizabeth – 232
+ Fran – 119
+ Dawn – 4

I don’t listen to much music on Spotify. It is almost exclusively a podcast vessel for me, but here are the highlights from my wrapped:

If you are wondering, 127,186 minutes is 2,119.8 hours. 88 days. I mostly put up that monster number because I listen to podcasts when I go to bed at night and they play all night.

But we talked about the physical world. I have to freely confess, my travels this year were pathetic!

7 States… That’s it?!!?

I never even made it to Minnesota or Kansas this year! I never saw Bethany or Nate once! The only reason I saw Becca is because she came to Iowa! I’ll have to address this in my 2025 goals.

In 2024 I attended 29 sporting events. Every single one of them was related to Iowa State. This was my favorite:

Iowa State 29 Kansas State 21

This game put Iowa State (as long as BYU beat Houston later that night) into the Big 12 Championship Game. And next to Iowa, Kansas State is the team I enjoy beating the most in football. To be honest, maybe more than beating Iowa. Farmageddon needs a trophy so freaking bad!

Honorable Mention goes to:
+ Iowa State 66 #4 Baylor 63 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 96 #7 Kansas State 93 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 69 #1 Houston 41 (Men’s Basketball – Big 12 Championship Game)
+ Iowa State 67 #25 Washington State 56 (Men’s Basketball – NCAA Tournament 2nd Round)
+ Iowa State 38 Central Florida 35 (Football)

I only saw 5 movies in the theater. A long cry from when I used to go about every week. But by far, the best movie I saw in the theater in 2024 was:

I didn’t track the concerts I went to, but it was also a pathetic number. I didn’t go to a single concert where I had to buy a ticket. A few Boone City Band concerts and some musical acts at some town festivals. The Step Show before Iowa State football games. So picking out my favorite concert was pretty easy.

Shannon Curfman

I also didn’t track how many television shows I watched this year, because the number would probably be terrifying. But the best television show I watched this year was pretty obvious:

Shrinking – Season 2

Honorable Mentions:
+ Hacks (Season 3)
+ Somebody Somewhere (Season 3)
+ Only Murders in the Building (Season 4)
+ Nobody Wants This (Season 1)
+ We Are Lady Parts (Season 2)

And finally a couple of random stats.
+ Christmas cards received – 10
+ Trick-or-Treaters – 48

+++++++

But enough about 2024. What are my goals in 2025.

In general, I want to freshen up this website. It has had the same look for years now. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing great about it either. I want to continue to add and delete and modify the way posts are categories. A fairly drastic reorganization of the Photography 139 Gallery is also underway. I hope to have a new logo in 2025, but my graphic designer has been working on it for like 3 years now. So we will see.

I hope to visit more than 7 states (including Iowa). So 8 states! I already have work trips on the calendar for Texas and Pennsylvania. I hope to go to Ireland this year, but I need to get on the ball with getting the details on that worked out. So I’m part of the way their in theory.

I always make a list of places in Iowa I want to visit. It has been fairly fruitless, but I am going to make that list again this year and this time, when I think about going to on a road trip, but am lacking inspo, I’m going to go look at the list. Duh!

But rather than making a list of places, I’m going to make a list of people I want to see in 2025. There are so many people that I haven’t seen. Some I didn’t see in 2024. But some that I haven’t seen since before pandemic or maybe even before that. Heck, you might even make that list. I know some people have chosen to remove themselves from my life. I get that, but to the others, fair warning. We are breaking bread or going to an art show or a movie or a concert.

I want to see more live music in 2025. It has been missing from my life for a few years and I need to get it back.

I plan on bringing back THE SELFIE PROJECT in 2025. Fair warning for that as well.

Finally. I’m thinking of having a birthday party in 2025. In May I will officially be older than Methuselah. I should celebrate that on some level. I have a few ideas and have my eye on a couple of you as caterers. Fair warning to you.

I wish all of you the best in the impending disaster that will be 2025! Happy New Year!

*Proverbs 16:9 in case you were wondering. (ESV)

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Bokeh, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deb, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, World Religion, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 485 – HOLIDAYS

December 30, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

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. But as we are heading into a new year, I’m going to update and tackle the FAQ in a slightly different direction. Here is the FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Who are your favorite submitters?

Obviously all of you are my favorites. But the real ones do 4 things.
1. Submit by Sunday night. (Yes, the deadline is 11 AM, but we’re talking about the real ones.)
2. Submit in the correct format. (That is .jpg or .png. Notice, not listed is .heic. I get it. You are a big time Apple fanboy. But .heic images have to be converted. Please save me from having to convert your images!)
3. Their submission communication includes that the picture if for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE and isn’t just some random image that they are sending me to share about their life, hopes, and dreams.
4. Their submission communication includes where the picture was taken.

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission text message:

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission email:

Here is an example of why size matters:

This isn’t to single Mary out. It is just an example I have from this week. Those are great pictures, but they can barely be seen. Remember that the “suggested” minimum resolution is 1280 pixels x 853 pixels for a 4 x 6 image. Don’t overcrop.* Check your email and text message settings. Are they resizing your images?

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 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

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.

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.

+++++++

HOLIDAYS! What a great theme! But did enough people holiday it up to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 23, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

*1-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
2-Elainie Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA)
3-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (IA, BHS, MN, FL)
4-Monica Jennings – 5 weeks (IA)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 6 weeks (IA, OH, WI)
*6-Suzie Brannen – 13 weeks (IA, MD)
7-Deb Powers – 17 weeks (MT, IA)
8-Willy McAlpine – 24 weeks (IA)
9-Deanna McClain – 28 weeks (IA, MN)
10-Mike Vest – 31 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
11-Lowell Davis – 51 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
12-Brandon Kahler – 52 weeks (IA, MN)
13-Scott Degeneffe – 70 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 80 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
15-Logan Kahler – 81 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
16-Nathanial Brown – 82 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
17-Tamara Peterson – 93 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Mindi Terrell – 97 weeks (IA)
*19-Linda Bennett – 126 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO)
20-Sarah Toot – 127 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS)
21-Angie DeWaard – 130 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
22-Dawn Krause – 135 weeks (IA, IL)
*23-Kim Barker – 141 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
*24-Joe Duff – 142 weeks (TX, NY)
25-Teresa Kahler – 153 weeks (IA, NE)
*26-Carla Stensland – 153 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
27-Micky Augustin – 155 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ)
28-Andy Sharp – 156 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
29-Bill Wentworth – 157 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
30-Cathie Morton – 161 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT)
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 162 weeks (IA, OH)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 164 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX, MO)
33-Kio Dettman – 166 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 (Hy-Vee – Boone, Iowa)- 167 weeks

Kio Dettman (1st Baptist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Dakota City, Iowa) – 165 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 163 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 162 weeks

Bill Wentworth (St. Louis, Missouri) – 158 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah) – 157 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)

Micky Augustin (Des Moines, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 143 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 142 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 136 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 131 weeks

Sarah Toot (Kansas City, Missouri) – 128 weeks

Sarah Toot (Charlotte Douglas International Airport – Charlotte, North Carolina)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 127 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 98 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 94 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (St. Louis, Missouri) – 83 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Nob Hill – Boone County, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 53 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 32 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 25 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Kyle Sharp (Colorado) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Becky Parmelee (Napier, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Maccabees Kosher Deli – Des Moines, Iowa)

34 participants this week! That is a fair week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona (.5)
+ Colorado (2.5)
+ Iowa (41)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Missouri (3)
+ New Mexico (.5)
+ North Carolina (1)
+ Texas (2)
+ Utah (.5)

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

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (2.5)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (11.5)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1934)
+ Kansas (71)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (27.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (60)
+ Nevada (5)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2.5)
+ New York (23)
+ North Carolina (3)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (41)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (77)
+ Utah (2.5)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (6)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY, MO) – 15
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS, AZ, CO, NM, UT) – 15
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS, MO) – 10
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT) – 9
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 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
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ) – 5
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH, WI) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO, CO) – 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
+ 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
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2

Heading into the last week of Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, Nathanial and Andy are tied to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer of Year 11!”

The milestone this week is that Lowell joined the 1 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! Micky joined the 3 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all candy canes and sugar plums! There was a literal bloodbath of people who couldn’t make merry with their camera this week. Elainie’s streak is gone at 2. Sara’s is over at 3. Monica’s streak goes kaput at 4. Sabas’ streak is no more at 6. And worst of all scarecrow, Deanna’s streak is now only something you’ll read about it in history books at 28! Bah humbug!

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:

WHEELS (Suggested by Sarah Toot)

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

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 WHEELS in this place that isn’t stationary next Monday.

*Don’t overcrop is a rule you should live by. Or as I would say, in almost all situations crop (or zoom) with your feet.

Art, Black & White, Cathie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Michelle, Micky, Music, Street Photography, Work

Witch Hunt Banquet Street Photography

December 14, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

I “run” this sports prognostication game at work known colloquially as “The Witch Hunt”. I would explain why it is called the Witch Hunt and the mythology of the game, but that would involve a fair amount of work and if you aren’t in the Witch Hunt, you don’t deserve to know.

I bring it up because at the end of the Witch Hunt we have a banquet where we tell tall tales of the battles past and coronate that year’s Witch and present them with the travelling trophy. This banquet is always at Zeno’s in Marshalltown. This year the banquet was a little light. Many of the witch hunters are sociopaths* and never show up. But this year many of the regulars came up with weak ass excuses. Elizabeth was “sick”. Likely story. Micky went to see a hillbilly in concert. Just kidding a hillbilly would be worth seeing in concert. He went to see a pretend cowboy in concert. The Clevengers ghosted. Jesse claimed he loved his family more than pizza. All of the a collection of hooligans and bad people. However I showed up. And the good people showed up. The Haupts. Cathie. Jordan and Jonah. Hopefully those that made the sin of shaft-ation (The second greatest sin after pride.) will make amends for their biggest failing of 2024.

I got to Marshalltown a bit early so I could go to their records store and do some light street photography. These are those pictures:

Ready for the next tornado to hit it.

This place has since closed and it makes me very sad!

Raindrops on roses and rock snakes of all sizes…

Some of the best street art I’ve ever seen!

I’m putting some of you on notice! Time to take your fashion up a notch.

A pig with sunglasses! A goat with a bowtie! I do believe the impossible is possible!

Don’t even try it junior.

I love van Gogh so much I even love his imitators!

Miss you. Will see you again soon!

I need to make this place into a future food adventure. Allegedly the best Maid-Rites in the world.

It was a great banquet and I’m looking forward to it again already. Hopefully only the real ones show up again.

*I define sociopath my the medical definition, which is “doesn’t love pizza”.

Birthdays, Bokeh, Jay, Jesse

Bokeh and Her Ball

December 10, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today is Jesse’s birthday so I need to wish him a happy birthday.

Happy birthday Jesse!

I hope it is an absolutely amazing birthday!

+++++++

Time to share a few more pictures of Bokeh from her early days.

They grow up so fast!

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 482 – SYMMETRY

December 9, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

NOTE: A RECENT TREND IS IPHONE USERS ARE SUBMITTING PICTURES IN .HEIC FORMAT. PICTURES NEED TO BE SUBMITTED IN .JPG OR .PNG FORMAT. PLEASE SUBMIT IN THOSE FORMATS SO I DON’T HAVE TO CONVERT YOUR IMAGES INTO A USABLE FORMAT. THANKS!

As we are approaching Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE (formerly THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT) I can reveal the 52 themes for 2025:

Year 12 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE THEMES (Not in any order):

1. BLACK & WHITE
2. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
3. SLICE OF LIFE
4. ROAD TRIP
5. STATUE
6. MUSIC
7. #INSTAGOOD
8. THINGS (PUFFERBILLY CLASS)
9. DREAM (ANDY SHARP)
10. THREE (JOE DUFF)
11. SOMETHING STUPID (LOWELL DAVIS)
12. SHOOT THROUGH (CARLA STENSLAND)
13. EMOTION RELAYED WITHOUT A FACE (ANGIE DEWAARD)
14. HISTORIC BUILDINGS (ISF Theme)
15. FLOWER
16. HUMANS (PUFFERBILLY THEME)
17. ODD CAMERA ANGLE
18. COLORFUL
19. LOVE (CARLA STENSLAND)
20. MOTION
21. TWO TONE (ANDY SHARP)
22. DAMAGED (JOE DUFF)
23. SPIRIT (LOWELL DAVIS)
24. COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY (ANGIE DEWAARD)
25. TRANSPORTATION (PUFFERBILLY CLASS)
26. FAMILY
27. PAINTING
28. DECORATION
29. BODY PART
30. STICKERS
31. PORTRAIT
32. SNEAK INTO THEATER (ANDY SHARP)
33. SPOOKY (JOE DUFF)
34. PEACE (LOWELL DAVIS)
35. MEANINGFUL (CARLA STENSLAND)
36. SILHOUETTE (ANGIE DEWAARD)
37. BEHIND THE DOOR (CARLA STENSLAND)
38. TOOL
39. FRIENDS
40. WORDS
41. WET
42. COMPETITION
43. SIGN
44. SATURDAY NIGHT
45. SUNSHINE (CARLA STENSLAND)
46. FOOD (ANGIE DEWAARD)
47. PAPER
48. CHARITY
49. ANIMAL (PUFFERBILLY CLASS)
50. WIDE ANGLE
51. CONTRAST
52. EDUCATION

If you want to know what order they are in, you can always go here to look at the Photography 139 Calendar:

Photography 139 Calendar

You can also see that I badly need to spruce up that page on my website.

The order is randomly generated by a list randomizer and then a couple of themes are then moved. For example SLICE OF LIFE is always the week of my Dad’s birthday. And maybe two more were moved to line up with a couple of holidays. But the rest are randomly assigned.

Thanks to everyone that suggested themes this year! Some of them are really outside of the box and creative. Which of course, I love!

And if you look closely, you might get an idea for some of the changes I’m going to make for the 2025 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Shhhhh!

+++++++

SYMMETRY! What a great theme! But were enough people beside themselves to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 2, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Becky Parmelee – 1 week (AR, IA, OK, NY)
2-Alexis Stensland – 1 week (IA)
*3-Mary Green – 2 weeks (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
4-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks (IA)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 3 weeks (IA, OH)
6-Jesse Howard – 9 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN)
7-Suzie Brannen – 10 weeks (IA, MD)
*8-Deb Powers – 14 weeks (MT, IA)
9-Willy McAlpine – 21 weeks (IA)
10-Deanna McClain – 25 weeks (IA, MN)
11-Mike Vest – 28 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
12-Lowell Davis – 48 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Brandon Kahler – 49 weeks (IA, MN)
14-Scott Degeneffe – 67 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
15-Sheri Fakhouri – 77 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
16-Logan Kahler – 78 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
17-Nathanial Brown – 79 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
18-Tamara Peterson – 90 weeks (IA, MN)
*19-Mindi Terrell – 94 weeks (IA)
20-Linda Bennett – 123 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO)
21-Sarah Toot – 124 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD)
22-Angie DeWaard – 127 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
23-Dawn Krause – 132 weeks (IA, IL)
24-Kim Barker – 138 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
25-Joe Duff – 139 weeks (TX, NY)
*26-Teresa Kahler – 150 weeks (IA, NE)
*27-Carla Stensland – 150 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
28-Micky Augustin – 152 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK)
*29-Andy Sharp – 153 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
*30-Bill Wentworth – 154 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
*31-Cathie Morton – 158 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 159 weeks (IA, OH)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 161 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX)
34-Kio Dettman – 163 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO 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.

WPC - WEEK 482 - SYMMETRY - ALEXIS STENSLAND

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Angie Dewaard (Iowa) – 128 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 155 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 50 weeks

Cathie Morton (Denver, Colorado) – 159 weeks

Cathie Morton (University of Utah – Salt Lake City, Utah)

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 151 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 26 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 133 weeks

Deb Powers (Iowa) – 15 weeks

Deb Powers (Iowa)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 160 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 10 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 140 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 139 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 164 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 124 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 49 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Colo, Iowa) – 153 weeks

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 29 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 95 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Sarah Toot (Caesar’s Palace – Las Vegas, Nevada) – 125 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Bondurant, Iowa) – 68 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Cancun, Mexico) – 162 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Dallas, Texas)

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 11 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 91 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 151 weeks

Willy McAlpine (High Trestle Trail Bridge – Boone County, Iowa) – 22 weeks

35 participants this week. A pretty great week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Colorado (1)
+ Iowa (35)
+ Kansas (1)
+ Mexico (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Nevada (1)
+ Texas (2)
+ Utah (1)

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

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (1)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (11)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1832)
+ Kansas (64)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (23.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (58)
+ Nevada (5)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2)
+ New York (22)
+ North Carolina (2)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (40)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (71)
+ Utah (2)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (5)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY) – 14
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS) – 11
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT) – 9
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD) – 8
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 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
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 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
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO) – 2

Nathanial is clinging lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!”

There were a couple of milestones reached this week. Jesse joined the Double Digit Streak Club. WooHoo! Deanna joined the Half Year Streak Club. WooHoo! Sheri joined the Year and a Half Steak Club. Year and a Half Club! WooHoo! Woo!

REFLECTION

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

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 REFLECTION in this place that in many ways is my mirror next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 481 – CLOTHING

December 2, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

CLOTHING! What a great theme! But were enough people not nudists to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, November 25, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

*1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA)
*2-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
3-Monica Jennings – 1 week (IA)
4-Sara Lockner – 1 week (IA, BHS, MN, FL)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA, OH)
6-Jesse Howard – 8 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN)
*7-Suzie Brannen – 9 weeks (IA, MD)
*8-Deb Powers – 13 weeks (MT, IA)
9-Willy McAlpine – 20 weeks (IA)
10-Deanna McClain – 24 weeks (IA, MN)
11-Mike Vest – 27 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
12-Lowell Davis – 47 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Brandon Kahler – 48 weeks (IA, MN)
14-Scott Degeneffe – 66 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
15-Sheri Fakhouri – 76 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
16-Logan Kahler – 77 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
17-Nathanial Brown – 78 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
18-Tamara Peterson – 89 weeks (IA, MN)
*19-Mindi Terrell – 93 weeks (IA)
20-Linda Bennett – 122 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY)
21-Sarah Toot – 123 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL)
22-Angie DeWaard – 126 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
*23-Dawn Krause – 131 weeks (IA, IL)
24-Kim Barker – 137 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
25-Joe Duff – 138 weeks (TX, NY)
26-Teresa Kahler – 149 weeks (IA, NE)
*27-Carla Stensland – 149 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
28-Micky Augustin – 151 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK)
*29-Andy Sharp – 152 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
*30-Bill Wentworth – 153 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
31-Cathie Morton – 157 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 158 weeks (IA, OH)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 160 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO)
34-Kio Dettman – 162 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO 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.

WPC - WEEK 481 - CLOTHING - BECKY PARMELEE

Becky Parmelee (New York City, New York) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Jesse Howard (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 10 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 28 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 48 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 49 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 77 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 94 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Missouri) – 123 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland) – 124 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 127 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 132 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 138 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 139 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 150 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 150 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Ames, Iowa)- 152 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 153 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 154 weeks

Cathie Morton (New Mexico) – 158 weeks

Cathie Morton (Phoenix, Arizona)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 159 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Cancun, Mexico) – 161 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 163 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 585 weeks

There were 35 participants this week. A pretty good week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona (1)
+ Iowa (34)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Mexico (1)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ New Mexico (1)
+ New York (1)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks go Cathie’s travels we added New Mexico and Arizona to the map. Thanks to Shannon’s travels we add Mexico to the map!

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

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (1)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (10)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1797)
+ Kansas (63)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (23.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (57)
+ Nevada (4)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2)
+ New York (22)
+ North Carolina (2)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (40)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (69)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (5)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (1)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY) – 14
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS) – 11
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD) – 8
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 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
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 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
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO) – 2

Nathanial is clinging to the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!”

There were a few big milestones reached this week. Suzie joined the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo. Logan joined the Year and a Half Streak Club! WooHoo! Woo!

But it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns! Jen and Sara couldn’t build on their submission and their streaks are over before they began. I will assume that they have become devout nudists that have no time for your bougie clothing.

SYMMETRY (SUGGESTED BY SARAH TOOT)

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

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 SYMMETRY in this place that isn’t very even keeled always in fashion next Monday.

Derrick, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Jesse, Jorge, Still Life, Tenderloining

Taco Tailgate – 2024

December 1, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Way back on October 5, we did our annual Taco Tailgate. It was smaller than usual. Just a few of us. Jorge, Randi, and Jesse and Derrick. Elizabeth made an appearance. So did Sean and a friend.

Here are a few pictures from the day: