Category Archives: Kim

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 407 – RETAIL

July 3, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

RETAIL! We are all addicted to the consumerism that will surely destroy our planet, well maybe not destroy it but make in uninhabitable for humans. Except for minimalists like myself. But did RETAIL inspire many people’s artistic ambitions? Did many people submit today despite being sorta in the middle of a holiday weekend? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, June 26, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Scott Degeneffe – 1 week
2-Amy Peterson – 1 week
3-Sheri Fakhouri – 2 weeks
4-Mary Green – 2 weeks (3)
5-Becky Parmelee – 2 weeks
6-Johnathan Stensland – 2 weeks
7-Monica Jennings – 3 weeks (2)
8-Logan Kahler – 3 weeks (2)
9-Nathanial Brown – 4 weeks (2)
10-Jesse Howard – 4 weeks (2)
11-Sara Lockner – 6 weeks
12-Willy McAlpine – 5 weeks
13-Tamara Peterson – 7 weeks
14-Mike Vest – 9 weeks
15-Alexis Baugher – 12 weeks (2)
16-Mindi Terrell – 19 weeks (3)
17-Brandon Kahler – 44 weeks
18-Linda Bennett – 48 weeks (2)
19-Sarah Toot – 49 weeks (2)
20-Angie DeWaard – 53 weeks
21-Dawn Krause – 57 weeks (2)
22-Kim Barker – 63 weeks
23-Joe Duff – 64 weeks (2)
24-Teresa Kahler – 75 weeks (2)
25-Carla Stensland – 75 weeks (3)
26-Micky Augustin – 77 weeks
27-Andy Sharp – 78 weeks (3)
28-Bill Wentworth – 79 weeks
29-Cathie Morton – 83 weeks
30-Elizabeth Nordeen – 84 weeks
31-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 86 weeks
32-Kio Dettman – 88 weeks (2)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Buc-cee’s – Crossville, Tennessee) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 3 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Logan Kahler (Sterling, Colorado) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Burghoff Restaurant – Chicago, Illinois) – 5 weeks

Nathanial Brown (E. Monroe & S State St – Chicago, Illinois)

Nathanial Brown (Waterworks Park – Des Moines, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 8 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Mason City, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Mason City, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Mall of America – Bloomington, Minnesota) – 45 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 49 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (The Peach Music Festival – Montage Mountain – Scranton, Pennsylvania) – 50 weeks

Sarah Toot (The Peach Music Festival – Montage Mountain – Scranton, Pennsylvania)

Angie DeWaard (Menard’s – Ames, Iowa) – 54 weeks

Dawn Krause (Walcott, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Dawn Krause (Walcott, Iowa)

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 64 weeks

Joe Duff (Buc-cee’s – League City, Texas) – 65 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Herman Park – Boone, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Loess Hills – Western Iowa) – 76 weeks

Micky Augustin (Wall Drug Store – Wall, South Dakota) – 78 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 80 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 85 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Rural Warren County) – 87 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 89 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Unity Foods – Minneapolis, Minnesota) – 511 weeks

29 participants! That is a pretty great week! Unfortunately it is the first time in several weeks that we fell below 30 participants, but these things happen.

There were submissions from all over the place this week. Including, thanks to Jen, the first ever submission from Tennessee! WooHoo!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Colorado
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Minnesota
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

30 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 60% of the way there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

An astute observer with a crazy good memory might have noticed that Brandon’s streak is still intact. Despite my making a big deal last week about it being shattered. Turned out he did have a submission that he sent well within time, but his email server jacked it up.

Micky joined the Year and a Half Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. There was a veritable bloodbath of streaks snapped. Scott and Amy could build on their submission last week. Mary and Johnathan’s streaks ended at 2. Willy’s streak is over at 5. Sara’s streak is over at 6. And worst of all, Vest’s streak is over at 9.

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:

TIME

TIME! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a TIME photo? In theory, the idea of this theme is to convey TIME in on of two ways. First, you can freeze a moment in TIME by using a fast shutter speed. I would say a shutter speed that is faster than 1/1000th of a second. OR you can make time more fluid by using a slow shutter speed. I would say a shutter speed slower than 1/30th of a second.

Now I realize that most people use a cell phone camera so they don’t have the power to adjust shutter speeds in a meaningful way. You will have to find a creative way to figure out a way to take a TIME picture. Possibly just taking a picture of a clock like the theme reveal image. Or taking a picture of a distinctive TIME of day. You’ll figure out.

While considering possible subjects for your TIME submission, meditate on the following quote:

The two most power warriors are patience and time.
-Leo Tolstoy

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of TIME in this place that hopefully has passed all of its test thus far next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Nature, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 406 – ‘SCAPE

June 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

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 5 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
No.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 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 participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

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. 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.

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 largest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

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.

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.

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NOTE: WHILE NEXT MONDAY ISN’T A HOLIDAY IT IS THE DAY BEFORE A HOLIDAY, I MIGHT BE BUSY ON THAT DAY AND YOU MIGHT BE BUSY THAT DAY, SO MAKE PLANS FOR SUBMITTING ACCORDINGLY.

‘SCAPE! What a great theme! However did ‘SCAPE inspire a large group of people to get out there and take and submit and image? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

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

1-Porter Degeneffe – 1 week
2-Sheri Fakhouri – 1 week (3)
3-Mary Green – 1 week (3)
4-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
5-Nader Parsaei – 1 week
6-Johnathan Stensland – 1 week
7-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks
8-Elainie Hernandez – 2 weeks (3)
9-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks
10-Logan Kahler – 2 weeks (2)
11-Suzie Brannen – 3 weeks (3)
12-Nathanial Brown – 3 weeks (3)
13-Jesse Howard – 3 weeks
14-Sara Lockner – 5 weeks
15-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 6 weeks
17-Mike Vest – 8 weeks
18-Alexis Baugher – 11 week (3)
19-Mindi Terrell – 18 weeks (3)
20-Brandon Kahler – 43 weeks
21-Linda Bennett – 47 weeks (2)
22-Sarah Toot – 48 weeks
23-Angie DeWaard – 52 weeks
24-Dawn Krause – 56 weeks (3)
25-Kim Barker – 62 weeks (2)
26-Joe Duff – 63 weeks
27-Teresa Kahler – 74 weeks (3)
28-Carla Stensland – 74 weeks (3)
29-Micky Augustin – 76 weeks
30-Andy Sharp – 77 weeks
31-Bill Wentworth – 78 weeks
32-Cathie Morton – 82 weeks
33-Elizabeth Nordeen – 83 weeks
34-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 85 weeks
35-Kio Dettman – 87 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kio Dettman (Don Williams Golf Course – Boone County, Iowa) – 88 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 86 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 84 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 83 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Chalco Park – Omaha, Nebraska) – 79 weeks

Andy Sharp (Gilbert, Iowa) – 78 weeks

Andy Sharp (Gilbert, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 77 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Jordan, Iowa) – 75 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Jordan, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Rural Boone County, northwest of Ogden, Iowa) – 75 weeks

Carla Stensland (Antiques Iowa – Story City, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ledges State Park – Madrid, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Pasadena, Texas) – 64 weeks

Joe Duff (Pasadena, Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 63 weeks

Dawn Krause (River Bottom Raceway – Carlisle, Iowa) – 57 weeks

Dawn Krause (River Bottom Raceway – Carlisle, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Cold Links Golf Course – Ames, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Sarah Toot (New York City, New York) – 49 weeks

Sarah Toot (New York City, New York)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 48 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 44 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Nevada, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Swaledale, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 7 weeks

Sara Lockner (Des Moines, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Willy McAlpine (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa)

Jesse Howard – (Gray’s Lake – Des Moines, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Jesse Howard (High Trestle Trail Bridge – Boone County, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Huntington Beach, California) – 3 weeks

Logan Kahler (Lawson, Colorado)

Monica Jennings (Papajohn Sculpture Park – Des Moines, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Monica Jennings (Papajohn Sculpture Park – Des Moines, Iowa)

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Michigan) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Michigan)

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Between Cambridge and Nevada – Iowa) – 2 weeks

Amy Peterson (California) – 1 week

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (High Trestle Trail Bridge – Boone County, Iowa)

33 participants! That is a great week. Only a slight downturn from FLOWER, which remains King of the World! At the very least, FLOWER isn’t the pay $250,000 dollars to get crushed in a submarine that is controlled by a PS2 knock off video game controller of themes. FLOWER is definitely Jack and Fabrizio at the front of the Titanic of themes. But ‘SCAPE is no pay $250,000 to go in a submarine made out of a substance that everybody told you was a bad idea and get crushed of themes. I’m not sure where to place ‘SCAPE. Maybe ‘SCAPE is the “So, you want to go to a real party?” of themes?

There were submissions taken from a wide variety of places this week, which is cool. But no new states, which is to be expected. Cause we are definitely in a place where it is harder to knock off new states. Mostly down to New England and the Southeast. With a couple western states like Idaho and New Mexico hanging out there. Waiting to be plucked.

I know. I know. There aren’t a ton of reasons to go to Idaho (although I believe they have the best Mormons*) or New Mexico (they murdered Billy the Kid), but maybe somebody will happen across those states at some point.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ California
+ Colorado
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Michigan
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

29 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Last week was the first time ever all 5 of my biological nieces and nephews participated in the same week. They weren’t able to back it up a second week as Elainie’s 2 week streak came to end.

Brandon and Elainie weren’t the only peeps to have streaks that Rose wouldn’t move over slightly for them to get up and out of the cold waters of the Atlantic for. Also freezing to death were the streaks of Porter (1) and Nader (1) and Sabas (2) and Suzie (2).

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom and mankind’s arrogance being squished by Nature. Amy had her first submission of the year! That is exciting! WooHoo! Also, Andy reached the Year and Half Streak Club! WooHoo!

RETAIL

RETAIL! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

An astute observer that has a physical Photography 139 Calendar may notice that this week says MUSIC and not RETAIL. That was a typo that wasn’t caught by my proofreader. Mostly because I didn’t have my proofreader look over the calendar. So don’t take a music picture, unless it is at a music store. This theme was suggested by Elizabeth.

All that is nice, but what is a RETAIL image? Let’s start by defining RETAIL:

the sale of goods to the public in relatively small quantities for use or consumption rather than for resale.

A RETAIL image is simply an image that involves the sale of goods to the public. A picture of a store or inside a store or at a market or things that are used purchase things. Simple enough.

While considering possible RETAIL subjects for your submission, meditate on the following quote:

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.
-Will Rogers

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of ‘SCAPE in this place that hopefully has a least put a little dent in the landscape of photography next Monday.

* Trust me, this is a joke that only one person will get, which is how I like my jokes. Very inside.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Flowers, Jesse, Kim, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Railroad, Street Photography, Travel, Work, WPC - Reminder

The Windy City: Day 3A

June 23, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Day 3 of my work trip to Chicago was the last day I really got to take any pictures of consequence. Every day after this was mostly filled with boring work stuff. Including Day 4 which was like a 13 hour or so work day. So after we get through the pictures of Day 3, the rest of the days will just fly by. Probably.

I started Day 3 wandering around the streets around the hotel taking a little photography before the Computer Mine training session that lasted from like 8 AM to like 12 PM. Or at least it did for a few of us.

I love street art so much!

You didn’t think I wouldn’t post some flowertography, did you?

Well, did you punk?

I didn’t know Chicago also had a Harlem until this moment.

Almost… almost enough bird poop for me.

Would you believe that Kim has never ridden on a train? Not even a subway?

Almost enough dirt, rust, and grime for me.

More tulips in this flower bed than all of Orange City.

I didn’t bring any of my normal flowertography lenses, but that is okay.

This guy invited Tony to a party after inviting him to a party. Tony did not attend cause he is a fun hater.

And maybe this conversation was the impetus for Tony to think about quitting smoking.

4 hours of my life that… well you know. But Steve V. was pumped.

In Miami we spent most of Day 2 trying to get machines working. In Chicago we only had to spend a couple hours tinkering with machines. Kim was pleased.

It took a long time for Lowell and I to find lunch, but eventually we stumbled across these food trucks.

Like 6 of 8 were taco trucks.

I love the mascot so much!

Lowell fed these guys some of his street corn.

And they couldn’t get enough!

After eating, Lowell and I headed for Buckingham Fountain, but that is a tale for another day.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ‘SCAPE:

‘SCAPE

‘SCAPE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? The “‘” in the theme name allows you to substitute in a few words. Your submission could be a LANDSCAPE or a WATERSCAPE or a CITYSCAPE.

Well for one thing, it is a great theme for me to remind you that you can include the town your picture was taken in or the county and I will include that with your submission.

Did you know that the first photograph ever taken was of a landscape?

“View from the Window at Le Gras” was captured by Nicéphore Niépce, in 1827. It features a very abstract view from Niépce’s window.

It would be another 12 years before somebody would think to take a “photograph” of a stupid human. I assume the 2nd picture ever taken was of a dog.

With this theme, you are literally touching the absolute deepest root of photography. Wow! That is powerful to think about. But maybe you are still confused about what LANDSCAPE photography is. Here is a definition from the Wiki:

Landscape photography commonly involves daylight photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance—though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up, and sometimes at night.

Photography of artificial scenery, such as farm fields, orchards, gardens and architecture, may be considered “landscape” photography as well. Even the presence of man-made structures (buildings, roads and bridges, etc.) or art (such as sculpture) may be considered “landscape” if presented in artistic settings or appearing (or photographed) in artistic style.

Further, landscape photography is typically of relatively stationary subjects—arguably a form of “still life.” This tends to simplify the task, as opposed to photography of kinetic or live subjects. However, landscape photography often overlaps the activity of wildlife photography and the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably; both wildlife and landscapes may be elements of the same picture or body of work.

This isn’t the first time that ‘SCAPE or something similar was a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here is a look back at a few submissions from years past to inspire you:

Carla Stensland – Week 60

Christopher D. Bennett – Week 111

Sarah Karber – Week 111

Jesse Howard – Week 165

Micky Augustin – Week 223

Nobody objected to me killing off the Friday reminder. So next Friday will be the last Friday reminder. Then it will go the way of the dodo bird.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 405 – FLOWER

June 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

Here is another reminder that we are a little more than a month away from the deadline for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Flyers should start showing up around town this week. I hope at least a few of you enter. Or you get your kids to enter or your grandkids to enter. You don’t have be from Boone or Boone County to enter. You merely have to enjoy photography. Monica made a wonderful flyer this year:

Thanks Monica!

She had a lot of fun with this year’s Pufferbilly Days theme, which is the ’90s. I’ll probably need more volunteers than normal this year, so if that is something that might interest you. Let me know. Many hands make light work. And there might be a meal or two in it for you.

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NOTE: ALMOST EVERYBODY HAD THEIR SUBMISSIONS IN THIS WEEK BY SUNDAY NIGHT. WHILE THAT ISN’T THE DEADLINE, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT. MAKES MY JOB MUCH EASIER! THANKS!

FLOWER! What a great theme! A person would have to have no joy in their heart to not find joy in a beautiful FLOWER. In fact, I’ve even heard some suggest that next year all 52 weeks should be flower themes. One week ROSE. The next week DAISY. The next week SUNFLOWER. I mean that is just crazy talk though. So crazy it just might work. But was this year’s lone FLOWER theme enough to make a bunch of people crazy enough to submit? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out.

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

1-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
2-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
3-Monica Jennings – 1 week (3)
4-Logan Kahler – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks (3)
6-Nathanial Brown – 2 weeks
7-Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks
9-Sara Lockner – 4 weeks (2)
10-Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks
11-Mike Vest – 7 weeks
12-Alexis Baugher – 10 week (2)
13-Mindi Terrell – 17 weeks (3)
14-Brandon Kahler – 42 weeks
15-Linda Bennett – 46 weeks (2)
16-Sarah Toot – 47 weeks (2)
17-Angie DeWaard – 51 weeks
18-Dawn Krause – 55 weeks (2)
19-Kim Barker – 61 weeks
20-Joe Duff – 62 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 73 weeks (3)
22-Carla Stensland – 73 weeks (3)
23-Micky Augustin – 75 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 76 weeks
25-Bill Wentworth – 77 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 81 weeks (2)
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 82 weeks (2)
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 84 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 86 weeks

Entering today, this is the map of states where people have submitted pictures from:

Map made at visitedplaces.com

Only 1 new state added since last time I shared the map.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Willy McAlpine (30 Miles East of Ashland, Montana) – 1 week

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana) – 62 weeks

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 77 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Rural Story County, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 87 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 47 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Rural Warren County, Iowa) – 85 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Boone, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Rural Boone County, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 52 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 78 weeks

Nader Parsaei (State Center, Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Mexico) – 3 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Mexico)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 18 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Porter Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (South Dakota) – 56 weeks

Dawn Krause (South Dakota)

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 63 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 48 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 8 weeks

36 participants this week! This is a new record for participation! Making FLOWER the most popular theme in the storied history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Maybe the idea of 52 themes of FLOWER isn’t crazy after all. Marigolds one week. Pansies the next. Oooh… a week of begonias would be lovely!

36 participants breaks the previous record of 34 held by HAPPY that was set just 4 weeks ago.

36 participants is so many that it is more lines than I have in my Ledger book where I record such things for posterity. Have a look:

I’m not sure how I will record this week, but it is a great problem to have!

Also, if we continue on this trajectory (5 straight weeks of 30+ participants) I might be lowering the cap for submissions from 3 to 2. Just fair warning. Like I say in the FAQ, it isn’t about harshing anybody’s creativity buzz, but about managing workload. Hopefully, we get there!

Thanks to Willy attending a Tuesday Wedding in Montana (all weddings should be on Tuesday or Thursdays) and Kim’s work trip to Louisiana, we added two more states to the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE SUBMISSION MAP!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ Mexico
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

29 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

You might be wondering what states are currently missing. I got you:

+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Indiana
+ Kentucky
+ Maryland
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ New Hampshire
+ New Mexico
+ North Carolina
+ Rhode Island
+ South Carolina
+ Tennessee
+ Vermont
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

The Outside of the United States map is currently (I could put more info for Mexico, but nobody told me where they went in Mexico):

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I travelled about 15 steps from front door to take my submission I continue not to contribute to expanding the map.

The big accomplishment this week was Angie reaching the 52 Week Club! That is a fully year of submitting without missing a week. A big time accomplishment! WooHoo!

Bill also joined the Year and a Half Club. He isn’t the first person to join the club, but he is the first person that I have noted to have made the club. Cathie made it 4 weeks ago. Elizabeth made it 5 weeks ago. Shannon 7 weeks ago. Kio 12 weeks ago. Monster achievements for all of them!

Another sweet deal was that there wasn’t a single streak snapped this week.

‘SCAPE

‘SCAPE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? The “‘” in the theme name allows you to substitute in a few words. Your submission could be a LANDSCAPE or a WATERSCAPE or a CITYSCAPE.

Well for one thing, it is a great theme for me to remind you that you can include the town your picture was taken in or the county and I will include that with your submission.

Did you know that the first photograph ever taken was of a landscape?

“View from the Window at Le Gras” was captured by Nicéphore Niépce, in 1827. It features a very abstract view from Niépce’s window.

It would be another 12 years before somebody would think to take a “photograph” of a stupid human. I assume the 2nd picture ever taken was of a dog.

Landscape photography commonly involves daylight photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance—though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up, and sometimes at night.

Photography of artificial scenery, such as farm fields, orchards, gardens and architecture, may be considered “landscape” photography as well. Even the presence of man-made structures (buildings, roads and bridges, etc.) or art (such as sculpture) may be considered “landscape” if presented in artistic settings or appearing (or photographed) in artistic style.

Further, landscape photography is typically of relatively stationary subjects—arguably a form of “still life.” This tends to simplify the task, as opposed to photography of kinetic or live subjects. However, landscape photography often overlaps the activity of wildlife photography and the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably; both wildlife and landscapes may be elements of the same picture or body of work.

While thinking about a possible subject for your ‘SCAPE theme, meditate on the following quote:

This is the gift of the landscape photograph, that the heart finds a place to stand.
-Emmet Gowin (American Photographer)

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

Bethany, Birthdays, Elizabeth, Jesse, Kim, Nora, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Food Truckin’: Ames Food Truck Showdown Field Work

June 18, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Bethany’s birthday, so happy birthday Bethany!

I hope your birthday has all the happiness you can handle!

+++++++

About a month back, Kim and I met Elizabeth in downtown Ames for a “Food Truck Showdown” after a hard day of swinging the pick at the Computer Mine. Then after Jesse laid down his pick for the day, he joined us too. The event consisted of about a dozen food trucks that were competing to win some kind of prize. It was WAY busier than I expected. I had hoped to try multiple food trucks, but the place was packed and the lines were crazy long. In fact, I don’t think Elizabeth even got to try any food before she had to take off to do some adulting.

After making a loop around the place I decided on a place called Hotsy Totsy*. A food truck, that in addition to having an amazing name serves a wide variety of loaded tots. They serve other stuff, but when going to a food truck called Hotsy Totsy, you get the tots and you like it!

And I did! In fact I more than liked the tots. I loved them. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken Tots. Kim got the Gyro Tots. Jesse didn’t get anything. Can’t take him anywhere.

Here are some pictures:

A picture of Elizabeth bailing that I didn’t realize I had taken.

How can so much goodness exist in such a little container?

I may have licked the paper. It is hard to say.

Kim couldn’t finish off her gyro tots, so she twisted my arm and I finished those off as well. I did love the Buffalo Chicken Tots, but I think I like the Gyro Tots even more. It’s a real Sophie’s Tots Choice.

After letting the tots settle we ambled down the street to get some ice cream being made by a John Deere, I don’t really know exactly what it is, thing. It doesn’t matter what it is. If it is John Deere, I’m onboard.

I stand by the old Ted Lasso quote:

Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.

It wasn’t the best ice cream I’ve ever had, but it was still ice cream.

I’m not sure how much my tots cost because Kim bought them for my birthday. The ice cream was $5.00.

I can’t tell you much about Hotsy Totsy because their website isn’t the best, but it is definitely a food truck I would pursue if they were in my area!

The ice cream… there are better options around.

The next food adventure I’m going to share involves a bunch of Dutch nonsense. Delicious Dutch nonsense.

*Hotsy Totsy was heavily endorsed by Clevenger. This is historically a strike against it. I’ve never met anybody with such bad taste in food as Clevenger, but with Hotsy Totsy I think we may have turned a corner and found some common ground.

Baseball/Softball, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Kim, Lowell, Macro, Micky, Sara, Shannon, Street Photography, Travel, WPC - Reminder

The Windy City: Day 2C

June 16, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This final collection of images from Day 2 in Chicago start as I was doing a walkabout of Wrigley Field. When I was a kid I really loved baseball, but as an adult that love has really waned. I hate to say it, but baseball is boring and it takes WAY too long. Plus things like analytics have really ruined the game. However, I have to applaud Major League Baseball. The changes they have made to speed up the game are fantastic. It was late in the game before I knew it. It was much more enjoyable than the game I went to last year in Miami. Not just because it was in a much better stadium or involved a team that I despise.

But we continue during my walkabout:

The right field scoreboard.

Right field.

The iconic manual scoreboard.

Lowell. The usher in our section was livid that I took this picture. I thought she was going to kick me out of the stadium.

She is on the right.

Left field.

Every other usher in this stadium was cool. Except ours.

I think there was a chance I could have snuck in here, but I didn’t press it.

Would be cool… someday.

Good Sport Section… something that doesn’t exist at the Boone National Little League Park.

Sorry, I really dug the left field area.

Big screen outside of Wrigley.

Not a bad seat in the… okay lots of bad seats at Wrigley.

This is unique, but probably necessary because so many seats with obstructed views.

This girl. Think about the thing you love most in the world. Think about how much you love your children or your dog or your car. This lady loves the song “Y.M.C.A” more than you love your children. She worked the entire section during the song. Then shortly after it was over she started dry humping Kyle Schwarber’s leg until he was ready to leave. I think she is a national treasure.

The Cubs let me down and let the Dodgers beat them. I guess it doesn’t matter since the Padres SUCK!!!

Wrigleyville.

This made me think of Carla.

I love stoned Mr. Peanut!

Reminds me of Miami Beach.

We didn’t eat here, which I’m considering somewhat of a miss. But our Uber driver did pick us up here.

We took an Uber back to the hotel. I think we mostly crashed. It was our last day without the rest of the miners around. Tomorrow was potentially a very busy day.

+++++++

NOTE: I’M THINKING OF DOING AWAY WITH THIS FRIDAY REMINDER. LET ME KNOW IF YOU STRONGLY OBJECT TO IT. IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, I WILL END THESE AT THE END OF THE MONTH.

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is FLOWER:

FLOWER

FLOWER! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a FLOWER picture? Come on! You aren’t new here. You know about Thursdays! A flower picture is simply a picture of a FLOWER. Live, dead, painting, sculpture. Doesn’t matter. Time to get your flowertography on! Or as Micky might say, your flower porn on!

This is not the first time that FLOWER has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Have a look at some past submissions for inspiration:

Carla Stensland – Week 45

Micky Augustin – Week 95

Cathie Raley – Week 118

Elizabeth Nordeen – Week 205

Kim Barker – Week 259

Shannon Bardole-Foley – Week 316

Sara Lockner – Week 351

Christopher D. Bennett – Week – 95

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Angie, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Drone, Elainie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Linda, Macro, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sara, Sarah Toot, Slice of Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 404 – SLICE OF LIFE

June 12, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

SLICE OF LIFE. As you know, this is a very special theme for me. My Dad would have turned 80 years old yesterday. My hope was that his photography legacy would inspire many people to submit this week. Did it? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, June 5, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Nathanial Brown – 1 week
3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
4-Layla Gorshe – 1 week
5-Jesse Howard – 1 week (2)
6-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
7-Susanna Funk – 2 weeks (2)
8-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks
9-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks (2)
10-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks
11-Tamara Peterson – 4 weeks
12-Mike Vest – 6 weeks
13-Alexis Baugher – 9 weeks (3)
14-Mindi Terrell – 16 weeks (3)
15-Brandon Kahler – 41 weeks
16-Linda Bennett – 45 weeks
17-Sarah Toot – 46 weeks
18-Angie DeWaard – 50 weeks (2)
19-Dawn Krause – 54 weeks (2)
20-Kim Barker – 60 weeks (2
21-Joe Duff – 61 weeks
22-Teresa Kahler – 72 weeks (2)
23-Carla Stensland – 72 weeks (3)
24-Micky Augustin – 74 weeks
25-Andy Sharp – 75 weeks (3)
26-Bill Wentworth – 76 weeks
27-Cathie Morton – 80 weeks
28-Elizabeth Nordeen – 81 weeks
29-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 83 weeks
30-Kio Dettman – 85 weeks (2)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kio Dettman (Moingona, Iowa) – 86 weeks
Kate Shelley Museum, Moingona, Iowa. ( Note: In need of refunding, repair and renovation. )

Cathie Morton (Cumming, Iowa) – 81 weeks

Cathie Morton (North of Cumming, Iowa)

Monica Jennings – Front (Monicaville, Iowa) – 1 week

Monica Jennings – Back (This is not my address, so if you go looking for me, this won’t help)

Monica Jennings (Des Moines, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Rural Warren County, Iowa) – 84 weeks
This is the queen mating yard at Honey Hollow.

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 5 weeks
Nothing better than fresh popped popcorn from the popcorn stand on a June afternoon.

Bill Wentworth (Ashland, Nebraska) – 77 weeks
Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum
Ashland, NE

Angie DeWaard (Portland, Oregon) – 51 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 62 weeks
Second only to the Manhattan Project, the US Synthetic Rubber Program was critical to the success of the Allies in WWII.

Joe Duff (Texas)
Images from the historic files of a chemical plant in Houston, Texas

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 75 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 61 weeks

Andy Sharp (Albert Lea, Minnesota) – 76 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Ames, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Ames, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Wall Drug, South Dakota) – 55 weeks
Animated T-Rex at Wall Drug, SD

Dawn Krause (Badlands, South Dakota)
Badlands National Park

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 17 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Urbandale, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Adair, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks
The murals of Boone County remain mostly untouched and give us a glance of what life was like in yesteryear!

Willy McAlpine (South Dakota) – 3 weeks
Pit Stop

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Mexico) – 2 weeks

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 7 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) – 1 week

Sarah Toot (Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 47 weeks
The Sherman Theater first debuted on January 7th, 1929; exposing the Stroudsburg area to newfound cultural beginnings on opening night with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

Sarah Toot (Buttzville, New Jersey)
Hot Dog Johnny: New Jersey
SINCE 1944
Hot Dog Johnny’s – With the Pequest River flowing in the background, Hot Dog Johnny’s is a landmark to anyone having traveled Route 46 through Buttzville, New Jersey.

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 42 weeks
I’d send a postcard with dp on it

Elainie Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) – 1 week
National Museum of the American Sailor in Great Lakes, IL

Logan Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Baugher (Swaledale, Iowa) – 10 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Nevada, Iowa)

Linda Toot (Boone, Iowa) – 46 weeks
🌷Since 1983🌷
Van Hemert’s Dutch Oven Bakery
605 Story Street. Boone, Iowa

Linda Bennett (Iowa)
This is a print produced by the owner of the Slice of Life postcard company. It was sent to me in 1983. Perhaps not one to use on a post card to encourage visitors to come to a particular spot but I’ve always liked it.

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ledges State Park, Boone County, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone County, Iowa)

30 participants! That is a great week. I think the 4th in a row where we’ve broken 30. In this theme that is an homage to my Dad’s photography, there were submission from one of his nieces, his sister (and last living sibling), 4 of 5 grandchildren, one grandson-in-law and all 3 of his children. (I know. I know. You don’t need to bring it up Elizabeth. )

I think that is a great legacy.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ Mexico
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ New Jersey
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

27 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I travelled about 70 miles or so to take the images for my composite, but never left Boone County. I continue not to contribute to expanding the map.

The big accomplishment this week was Alexis hitting the double digit club! WooHoo!

Also, Elainie submitted for the 1st time ever! WooHoo!

But there was a veritable bloodbath of streaks snapped. Jen, Layla, and Becky couldn’t build on last week’s submissions. Funk’s streak is gone at 2. Scott’s streak is over at 3.

FLOWER

FLOWER! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

While considering possible flower subjects for your submission, meditate on the following quote, and I have no doubt you will make a great flowertography image!

“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
— Henri Matisse

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of FLOWER in this place that has a rose for a favicon next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Art, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Elizabeth, Funk, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Macro, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Nature, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Slice of Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 403 – TEXTURE

June 5, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

NOTE: THERE ARE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S THEME, SO MAKE SURE TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THEM. JUST DON’T SKIM BY THEM. NOT THAT ANYBODY DOES THAT. EVERYBODY HANGS ON MY EVERY WORD.

TEXTURE. It is something you really have to feel. But as a theme, did a bunch of people feel it? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 29, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Susanna Funk – 1 week (3)
2-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
3-Melissa Degeneffe – 2 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 2 weeks (2)
5-Mary Green – 2 weeks (3)
6-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
7-Tamara Peterson – 3 weeks (2)
8-Sabas Hernandez – 5 weeks
9-Mike Vest – 5 weeks
10-Alexis Baugher – 8 weeks (3)
11-Mindi Terrell – 15 weeks (3)
12-Monica Jennings – 20 weeks (2)
13-Brandon Kahler – 40 weeks
14-Linda Bennett – 44 weeks
15-Sarah Toot – 45 weeks (2)
16-Angie DeWaard – 49 weeks
17-Dawn Krause – 53 weeks (3)
18-Kim Barker – 59 weeks
19-Joe Duff – 60 weeks (2)
20-Logan Kahler – 62 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 71 weeks (2)
22-Carla Stensland – 71 weeks
23-Micky Augustin – 73 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 74 weeks (2)
25-Bill Wentworth – 75 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 79 weeks
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 80 weeks
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 82 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 84 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Layla Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa)

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Susanna Funk (Oregon) – 2 weeks

Susanna Funk (Oregon)

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 16 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 41 weeks

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 46 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 50 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Altoona, Iowa) – 60 weeks

Kim Barker (Altoona, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 61 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 74 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 75 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 76 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 80 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 85 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 507 weeks

Before I get into participation rates and all that jazz, I want to reveal something on I saw on Instagram from one of our regular participants yesterday. I came across one of Mindi’s posts and the caption was:

Weekly Photo Challenge has made me excited about photography again.

This is up there with one of my favorite things anybody has ever said about THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It is up there with when Joe told me that THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE changed the way he sees the world.

To be excited about photography and change the way you see the world. These are two of the very unstated goals of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Thanks Mindi! I’m very excited that you are a regular participant and I always look forward to seeing your submissions.
However, the answer is still “No” about starting a Facebook group. Maybe a THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE participants “party” could happen though. Probably not though.

31 participants! That is a GREAT week! That is 3 straight weeks with 30+ participants. WooHoo!

Thanks to Funk being a mountain climbing badass, Oregon was added to the map this week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

27 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 24 steps from my front door, so I continue to not contribute to expanding the map.

There were no major milestones reached this week. But there are some people closing in on some in the coming weeks. Particularly exciting this week was the 1st submission of the year from Layla! WooHoo!

However, it wasn’t all good news. There was a bloodbath of streaks, including some major streaks biting the dust. Melissa and Mary’s 2 week streaks are no more. Sabas’ 5 week streak is also no more. Monica’s 20 streak is history. Devastating. Just devastating. But perhaps most heartbreaking is that Logan’s 62 week streak is over. The longest streak to ever come to an end.

SLICE OF LIFE

SLICE OF LIFE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SLICE OF LIFE image? This is where I normally give you kind of a broad definition of the theme, but not this week. For those that don’t know SLICE OF LIFE is the name of the postcard company that my Dad started and ran out of the basement darkroom in our house.

Here is the Trade Name documentation he filed in March of 1984:

He passed away in December of the same year.

He specialized in black & white postcards of local interest. Here is this week’s assignment. It is to take a picture that you could see being used on a postcard. Now back in the day, they used to take pictures of all sorts of things and put them on postcards. So don’t think that there is nothing in your area that would make it on a postcard. It could be a building that is interesting looking or has a historical significance. It could simply be a pretty scene. Back when I was doing THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, sometimes they took pictures of downtown intersections and put those on postcards.

While I will require your submission to be a postcard like image, meaning don’t try to “interpret” Slice of Life to mean something different, I will only strongly encourage you to submit the picture in black & white and also only slightly encourage you to throw some text on the image, if you have the editing skills or software.

There is one more thing. The is the one and only theme where if you write a SHORT description of your image (like you would see on the backside of a postcard) that I will include it along with your submission.

Here are some examples of my Dad’s postcards that will hopefully inspire you (excuse the low quality of the scans):

I don’t manipulate the order of themes for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I put the 52 themes in a random generate it and then I have it generate the theme the number of times as there are letters in the name of my favorite person at that moment*. EXCEPT for this theme. This theme I put this week specifically. This week is my Dad’s birthday. So it seemed apropos to put the theme that is an homage to him during this week.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SLICE OF LIFE in this place that is a continuation in many ways next Monday.

Angie, Art, Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Carla, Flat Earth Joe, Kim, Lowell, Naima, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, Sarah Toot, Street Photography, Travel, Work

The Windy City: Day 2A

June 2, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Day 2 in Chicago was the first day where I actually had to work. Kim was setting up things at the convention center in the morning and let us know when to head over to do our thing. Tony, Lowell, and I got breakfast at the hotel and then walked around the neighborhood a little bit. We scouted out the location of Garrett’s Popcorn and then looked for a mailbox that was closer than the one I had found the night before.

I wish more things in Iowa were covered with stickers.

There was supposed to be a mailbox in this building but it was closed.

I’ll do my best sidewalk sticker.

Here’s the best part. In the convention center there was a mailbox. Problem solved.

The Computer Mine Booth. Kim got a guy fired for smoking a joint while putting our booth together. Narc.

And that made us popular with the rest of the union guys.

Computer Mine Booth, reverse angle.

Hooking the HDMI cables up to these monitors and then getting these monitors mounted, what dreams are made of… I meant nightmares.

Tony’s thinking pose.

Home the next several days.

The reception desk.

The closet. Where union guys go to change pants and miners go to hide from customers.

The snack selection. Tony, Lowell, and I crushed those Slim Jims. Not sure anybody else got any.

Hello Kim!

Only slightly smelled like pot.

After we were done, we headed outside to catch an Uber.

It took us about 15 minutes to get to the convention center on the shuttle in the morning.

It took over 30 minutes to get back to the hotel.

Which sucked because we were going to a Cubs game that night and we were in a time crunch.

Our Uber ride back to the hotel.

The ride from the hotel to Wrigley Field was about 45 minutes. We got there 30 minutes after the game was supposed to start.

Which ended up being okay, because the game started an hour late.

Still plenty more pictures from Day 2 to share. Most of them from Wrigley Field.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is TEXTURE:

TEXTURE

TEXTURE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! Also, this theme was suggested by Sarah Toot.

But what in Wes Wallace is a TEXTURE image? Well, let’s start with the definition of TEXTURE: the structure, feel, and appearance of something (as a fabric) the smooth texture of silk. wood with a rough texture. In photography that means: the visual depiction of variations in the color, shape, and depth of an object’s surface. What you are trying to do here is to convey the feel of the surface of an object through photography.

This is not the first time that TEXTURE has been a theme. Here are some past submissions for TEXTURE that might get your creative juices going:

Angie DeWaard – Week 17

Carla Stensland – Week 227

Sarah Karber – Week 227

Tamara Peterson – Week 227

Christopher D. Bennett – Week 227

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Art, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Formal Portrait, History, Holidays, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Melissa, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 402 – PARK

May 29, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I should start this entry by hoping everybody had a good Memorial Day!

And You Left Me There Cryin' Wonderin' What I Did Wrong

I know, I shared that exact same picture on Saturday. But I like it and it seems to fit Memorial Day.

I’d like to take this little piece of this website to share the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCare:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

This poem inspired the wearing of poppies as a rememberance symbol for those who died in war.

From the History Channel website:

In the spring of 1915, bright red flowers began poking through the battle-ravaged land across northern France and Flanders (northern Belgium). Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who served as a brigade surgeon for an Allied artillery unit, spotted a cluster of the poppies shortly after serving as a brigade surgeon during the bloody Second Battle of Ypres. The sight of the bright red flowers against the dreary backdrop of war inspired McCrae to pen the poem, “In Flanders Field,” in which he gives voice to the soldiers who had been killed in battle and lay buried beneath the poppy-covered grounds. Later that year, a Georgia teacher and volunteer war worker named Moina Michael read the poem in Ladies’ Home Journal and wrote her own poem, “We Shall Keep the Faith” to begin a campaign to make the poppy a symbol of tribute to all who died in war. The poppy remains a symbol of remembrance to this day.

Now you are wondering about Moina Michael’s poem. Here it is:

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
I hope you have learned a little something today.

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It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 5 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
No.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

If participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

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?

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

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.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

Suggestions are closed for next year’s list. It will be a minute before they open up for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

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PARK! A great place to spend some time. But did many people spend time in a PARK and get a picture for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 22, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week (3)
2-Melissa Degeneffe – 1 week (2)
3-Scott Degeneffe – 1 week
4-Mary Green – 1 week (3)
5-Stephanie Kim – 1 week
6-Sara Lockner – 1 week (2)
7-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
8-Nader Parsaei – 1 week
9-Nathanial Brown – 2 weeks (3)
10-Tamara Peterson – 2 weeks
11-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
12-Mike Vest – 4 weeks
13-Alexis Baugher – 7 weeks (3)
14-Jesse Howard – 7 weeks (2)
15-Mindi Terrell – 14 weeks (3)
16-Monica Jennings – 19 weeks
17-Brandon Kahler – 39 weeks
18-Linda Bennett – 43 weeks
19-Sarah Toot – 44 weeks (3)
20-Angie DeWaard – 48 weeks
21-Dawn Krause – 52 weeks (3)
22-Kim Barker – 58 weeks
23-Joe Duff – 58 weeks (2)
24-Logan Kahler – 61 weeks
25-Teresa Kahler – 70 weeks (3)
26-Carla Stensland – 70 weeks
27-Micky Augustin – 72 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 73 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 74 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 78 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 79 weeks (2)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 81 weeks
33-Kio Dettman – 83 weeks (3)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Willy McAlpine (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Dawn Krause (Boone National Little League Park – Boone, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone National Little League Park – Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (South Side Park – Slater, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Hunziker Park – Ames, Iowa) – 49 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 59 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Andy Sharp (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 62 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Mindi’s Animal Habitat – Iowa) – 15 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Terra Park – Johnston, Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Neil Smith Trail – Iowa) – 20 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Ada Haydn Park – Ames, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Arnolds Park Green Space – Arnolds Park, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Melissa Degeneffe (Porter’s Badass Campsite – Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Porter’s Badass Campsite – Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Dickcissel Park – Boone, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Donovan Park – Houston, Texas) – 59 weeks

Joe Duff (Donovan Park – Houston, Texas)

Carla Stensland (Arnolds Park – Arnolds Park, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Kio Dettman (Opal Dubois Anderson Park – Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Kio Dettman (Opal Dubois Anderson Park – Boone, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Memorial Park – Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 44 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park – Rural Warren County) – 82 weeks

Sarah Toot (Municipal Park – Pennsylvania) – 45 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Tamara Peterson (Pattee Park – Perry, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Pattee Park – Perry, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Inis Grove Park – Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Inis Grove Park – Ames, Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Ada Haydn Park – Ames, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Chalco Park – Omaha, Nebraska) – 75 weeks

Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Jester Park – Polk City, Iowa)

29 participants! That’s a pretty great week, considering the holiday weekend and all!

There were no new states added to the map this week and at this point, I’m betting new states added will be an increasingly rare thing. Time will tell.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

25 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 24 miles from my front door, so I continue to not contribute.

There were no major milestones this week. However, there was a blood bath of streaks being snapped. Suzie, Stephanie, Becky, and Nader couldn’t build on last week’s submission. That wasn’t totally unexpected for Stephanie and Nader. Nathanial’s 2 week streak no more. Most heartbreaking is that Jesse’s 7 week streak is just a memory now.

TEXTURE

TEXTURE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

While considering possible topics for your TEXTURE submissions, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an amazing image:

I search for realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture about it… I always want to see the third dimension of something.. I want to come alive with the object.
-Andrew Wyeth

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of TEXTURE in this place that is a little rough around the edges some next Monday.