Category Archives: Kim

Bethany, Candid Portrait, Dory, Kim, Railroad, Ruins, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 176 – SURPRISE

January 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

I knew SURPRISE was a tough theme and participation took a predictable hit this week. This week’s theme is considerably easier, but you might have to go out in the -50 (wind chill) temperatures to get a picture. You don’t have to, but I know I will be! Probably. You need to be careful with electronics in cold temperatures. I know a guy who recently bought a drone and can’t fly it yet because the temperatures are just too cold.

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

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

Christopher D. Bennett

Stephanie Kim

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:

RUINS

RUINS! What a great theme! But what is a RUINS photo? A RUINS photo is any photo of something in decay. Not necessarily something organic, but if you feel like interpreting the theme that way, more power to you.

I can’t wait to see your interpretations!

+++++++

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very ruinous Monday.

Andy, Carla, Kim, Macro, Self-Portrait, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 175 – MACRO

January 21, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Before we dive into the nuts and bolts of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, I want to acknowledge that today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

While the day is named after and honors Martin Luther King Jr. it is important to acknowledge that it also celebrates this country’s advancements (and recent attempts at regression) in Civil Rights.

To honor his legacy and the tremendous amounts of work that still need to be accomplished on ALL civil rights fronts, I’d like to share some words from his final speech he gave before being brutally shot down outside his hotel room in Memphis:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life — longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. So I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything, I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

He was in Memphis supporting the Sanitation Workers Strike. May we all strive to continue his legacy.

There were a decent amount of submissions this week for what can be a somewhat technically demanding theme in MACRO.

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

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Stephanie Kim

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Andy Sharp

SURPRISE!

SURPRISE! What a great theme! But what is a SURPRISE image? A SURPRISE image is a picture o somebody in the state of SURPRISE or somebody that is about to be in the state of SURPRISE or the result of a SURPRISE or somebody that is about to somebody is the state of SURPRISE.

I think this one might be one of the harder themes and I expect participation to take a dip this week. Hopefully some of you will SURPRISE me! That being said, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very surprising Monday.

Angie, Art, Kim, Macro, Michelle, Photoshop, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 174 – ART

January 14, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

I would say that ART was about an average week for participation rates. I figured it would be a higher theme, but it was only average. C’est la vie! Hopefully some people made New Year’s Resolutions to get more ART in their lives, but of course, I am biased.

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

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Angie DeWaard

Stephanie Kim (This banner was made in celebration of the 700 block of Jefferson Ave. in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn during a 2018 block party. It’s holding up well on this fence.)

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

MACRO

MACRO! What a great theme! But what is a MACRO photo? There is a painful technical definition that maybe I’ll share on Friday’s reminder, but for now, all you really need to know is that it is a close-up photo and that will be enough info to get you started.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very close Monday.

Alisa, Animals, Art, Baby Got Rack, Becky, Black & White, Blogging, Boone County Fair, Carla, Contests, Dae Hee, Dawn, Derrick, Flowers, Holidays, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Macro, Mom, Nader, Nature, Photoshop, Politics, Railroad, Road Trip, Sara, Scottie D., Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, State Fair, Teresa, Travel, Vest, Willy

Post #3252 – 2018 Year in Review

January 1, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Happy New Year to people who celebrate such things.

I like to look at some meaningless statistics every 250 posts and I also look at fairly meaningless year end statistics.

Just so happens that I get to combine them today!!

Here is both a year in review and a celebration that I have made it to 3252 blog posts. I was on the Alamo Bowl Road Trip visiting submarines, cults, and reality television stars when post #3250 came around, so I hope you can excuse the tardiness.

The first thing I want to look at are the most popular CATEGORIES in the history of “An Artist’s Notebook”.

Top 10 Journal Entry Categories

1. Portrait – 527
2. Weekly Photo Challenge – 504
3. Flowers – 497
4. Animals – 405
5. Jesse – 361
6. Photography – 355
7. Shannon – 320
8. Teresa – 296
9. Black & White – 291
10. Carla – 280

Top 10 People Categories

1. Jesse – 361
2. Shannon – 320
3. Teresa – 296
4. Carla – 280
5. Jay – 279
6. Mom – 277
7. Derrick – 256
8. Willy – 227
9. Vest – 221
10. Jen – 209

Top 10 Not-People Categories

1. Portrait – 527
2. Weekly Photo Challenge – 504
3. Flowers – 497
4. Animals – 405
5. Photography – 355
6. Black & White – 291
7. Road Trip – 262
8. Personal Photo Project – 261
9. Life – 234
10. Nature – 215

“Photography” and “Life” are general categories that I have been working on eliminating as I go back and restore historical “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory. Hopefully they will have both dropped off the Top 10 Lists by journal entry #3500.

If you are wondering how to become a Top 10 person on this list. The easiest way is to submit to the Weekly Photo Challenge. After that, the best way is to volunteer to model and photo assist for photography projects. Then after that, I would suggest going on road trips with me or attending Iowa State athletic events with me or going on road trips to Iowa State athletic events with me.

The people that are right outside of the Top 10 are:: Sara, Kim, Dawn, Becky, and Nader.

If you are looking for a goal for 2019, you could do worse than trying to crack the Photography 139 Top Ten People Category List. You obviously could do way, way, way, way, way, way, way better too.

Now we will turn out eye towards 2018.

Top 10 Most Popular Photography 139 Galleries of 2018 by Views

1. 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT – 48,722
2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE YEAR 5 – 37,614
3. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE YEAR 5 – ALTERNATES – 33,622
4. 2008 – JANUARY – JUNE – 26,032
5. SELFIE PROJECT – 2017 – 23,141
6. HOUSTON MISSION TRIP – 2018 – 22,046
7. SOUTH DAKOTA TRIP – 2017 – 21,868
8. BOONE COUNTY FAIR CONTEST NOMINEES – 2018 – 17,211
9. SAYDIE HOWARD – CLASS OF 2017 – 14,808
10. IOWA STATE CYCLONES FOOTBALL – 2018

The 10 Most Popular Photography 139 Images by Views

1. 2524

2. 2386

3. 2327

4. 1958

5. 1621

6. 1456

7. 1445

8. 1321

9. 1293

10. 1241

On the Instagram, these were my 9 Most Popular Photos based on Likes:

My theme for my 2018 Instagram posts was Black & White. My theme for 2019 will be HDR Toning. Also, I will be bringing back THE SELFIE PROJECT to Instagram in 2019.

You can follow me on Instagram here:

@christopherdbennett

I entered 3 photo contests with the following results:

Red Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Purple Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Blue Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Not Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Not Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

1st Place Photoshop – Pufferbilly Days

1st Place Photojournalism – Pufferbilly Days

Pufferbilly Days

3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County – Pufferbilly Days

Pufferbilly Days

Last note:

My goal for 2019 is the same as it was in 2018:

I’m gonna step my game up and get what is coming to me.

Good luck in 2019 everybody!

Andy, Carla, Jesse, Kim, Michelle, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 172 – FRIENDS

December 31, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I have to confess that this is one of the saddest blog posts I’ve ever had the solemn duty to post. It seems that next to nobody out there has any FRIENDS. At least not any FRIENDS that they would be willing photography.

Or perhaps the fault lies in me and I have very few FRIENDS. I do have many failings. Sorry Clarence.

Due to the extreme simplicity of this theme, I refuse to accept the “holidays” as an excuse. Perhaps I should throw a birthday party (for myself) in 2019 just to establish that I do in fact have FRIENDS and to help out the many people out there that apparently don’t have any FRIENDS.

Despite the general lack of camaraderie that is out in the world today, “An Artist’s Notebook” will break new ground today. Today marks the first ever joint submission, at least that I can recall.

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

Kim Barker/Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

Andy Sharp

Carla Stensland

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT! What a great theme! This is one of the easiest things on the big board. Not as easy as FRIENDS, but pretty darn tooting easy! An ABSTRACT image is an image where there isn’t a clearly defined subject. Taking pictures of things like lights out of focus or that are moving are excellent ways to make an ABSTRACT image.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very abstract Monday.

Boone FUMC, Formal Portrait, Jaxon, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Work, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 171 – PHOTOJOURNALISM

December 24, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The holiday season definitely hurt the amount of PHOTOJOURNALISM submissions for this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

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

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

FRIENDS

FRIENDS! What a great theme! I hope everybody has at least a few FRIENDS. If you don’t, I’m willing to be your FRIEND(S). For a small sitting fee. I don’t think it will be necessary though, because I believe what Clarence the Angel said about FRIENDS. I don’t know any failures.

Now that has been established, what is a FRIENDS photo? A FRIENDS photo is a photo that is a picture of FRIENDS. They can be your FRIENDS or it can be people that are FRIENDS that aren’t necessarily your FRIENDS. It could be a photo of a product of having FRIENDS. For example, all the Christmas cards I get, I tape to my entrance window. Now I don’t get as many as I used to get, I could take a picture of that display and it would be a FRIENDS photo.

Remember that next Monday is New Year’s Eve. While many businesses and government offices will be closed (even if the Trump shutdown is still going on), Photography 139 doesn’t take holidays. Plan accordingly!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very friendly Monday.

Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Candid Portrait, Cathie, Holidays, Jonah, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Nora, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

Weekly Photo Challenge – Week 169 – Family

December 10, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

There was somewhat of a rebound for FAMILY and this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. There is still hope!

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

SPORTS/GAMES! What a great theme! But what is a SPORTS/GAMES picture? A SPORTS/GAMES picture is any picture that that involves people that are engaged in SPORTS/GAMES. Or a picture of anything used in SPORTS/GAMES.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very sporty Monday.

Basketball, Iowa State, Johnathan, Kim, Mom, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 168 – COMMUNICATION

December 3, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Looks like another rough week for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Only a few people were able to communicate the theme COMMUNICATION. Might be time to look into retiring THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

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

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

FAMILY!

FAMILY! What a great theme! Unless your FAMILY sucks, then you have more problems that dealing with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

So what is a FAMILY picture? A FAMILY picture is any picture that involves a FAMILY. Now some people have a really strict DNA based definition of a family because they weren’t hugged enough as a child. Don’t feel constrained by somebody else’s definition of a FAMILY.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very familial Monday.

Brooke, Cathie, Elizabeth, Flat Earth Joe, Formal Portrait, Houlihan, Jesse, Jorge, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Photoshop, Vest, Work

You’re So Vain, You Probably Think this Post is About You

November 18, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This is the final post of the 2017 backlog.

I usually get tapped with taking the pictures for the day job’s holiday card.

My co-workers range from putting in a ton of effort in getting ready for their portrait to just showing up and saying “let’s get this done” to complaining incessantly about it.

I, for the most part, enjoy the exercise, even though these are little more than glorified mugshots that take up about 1 square centimeter on a card that I’m not certain many of our customers even look at.

I’m going to share the pictures of co-workers that are also subscribers to this here blog. Maybe a couple more that I just enjoy.

I don’t Photoshop these. I just turn them over to the powers that be. Okay, I might have Photoshopped Jorge’s picture a hair because I kept being told that his eyes are too small. Dude has small eyes. Why you pickin’ on him?

These aren’t the pictures used on the holiday card. They aren’t even the best pictures from their shoots. Tey are just pictures that I liked.

An Artist’s Notebook will probably take Sundays off for the time being. I think we all need the break.

Animals, Carla, Kim, Nature, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 164 – WILD ANIMAL

November 6, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

WILD ANIMAL is a tough theme for this time of year. Not really, but it could be. At least it ended up being a tough theme as there were less than a handful of submissions.

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

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Christopher D. Bennett

LANDSCAPE

LANDSCAPE! What a great theme! But what is a LANDSCAPE photo? Here is one definition:

the depiction of landscapes in art – natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view – with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.

As always, I look forward to your interpretations.

Next week, we’ll back to a Monday release for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

+++++++

That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very landscape Monday.