Category Archives: Kio

Funk, Jen, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Micky, Monica, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 283 – WIND

February 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 24 Comments

Well, we did it! Andy said it couldn’t be done, but we hit double digits with WIND like it ain’t no thing, but a chicken wing on a string. A phrase, that while I enjoy typing, don’t understand in the slightest. 72 weeks in a row of double digit submissions!

An exciting development this week was that I received the first ever submission from Susanna Funk. For those of you that don’t know Susanna, she is one of the most badass people I know. In addition to be under the stress of being a health care professional in a state (Iowa) with a completely inept governor, she spends her spare time climbing mountains. Her WIND picture comes from Rocky Mountains National Park.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about submission rates to shove it in Andy’s face, you came to see the submissions:

Susanna Funk

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Kio Dettman

Joe Duff

Micky Augustin

Kim Barker

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Logan Kahler

Monica Henning

But enough dwelling on the past. Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

SYMMETRY & PATTERNS

SYMMETRY & PATTERNS! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

I can’t help but think of Shannon when I think of the theme of SYMMETRY & PATTERNS. Back in the day, we would occasionally go to art shows and fairs together. It often ended up being a painful and frustrating experience because the art booths that she would like to stop and look at were the art that actually hurt my soul (at least a little bit) to look at. It was all symmetrical lines and shapes. I always thought, “if this is the kind of art she likes and she likes my photography, what does that say about my photography? Is it this awful and boring?”

On the other side of the coin, she also hated most of the art I liked. Considered it to be derivative of the illustrations one sees in children’s books. Whatever.

I’m not saying you should tap into your inner Shannon when making your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS picture, but it might not hurt. I’m not saying your picture should be boring and uninteresting. I borderline enjoy the theme reveal picture of the bathroom floor in front of my toilet*. I am saying that you should find a pattern and/or a subject that has symmetry. While this isn’t my favorite theme, I do look forward to seeing your interpretations. I bet Shannon will be counting down the days.

When thinking about creating your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image, think on the following quote from noted Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki:

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.

Meditate on these words and you will no doubt, make a completely almost interesting SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image.

Then send me your submission(s) by 11 AM CST next Monday. The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of SYMMETRY & PATTERNS in this place that admittedly has some symmetry and patterns of its own next Monday.

*Admit it. You are impressed with how clean it is.

Becky, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Kim, Kio, Micky, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 282 – USE OF SPACE

February 8, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I have to confess, I had my doubts about USE OF SPACE. It is a little more technical theme and the technical themes scare many people away. But we did it! 71 weeks in a row of double digits!

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

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Teresa Kahler

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Kio Dettman

Cathie Raley

WIND

WIND! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

WIND was a theme that was suggested by Andy. He practically dared me to use it as a theme because he said it would break the double digit streak. Well, challenge accepted!

But what is a WIND picture? You can’t see the WIND after all. While WIND might be invisible, you can see the effects of WIND on many, many things. In the photo reveal/example image, it is WIND that is blowing snow across the road. Tamara’s submission for USE OF SPACE could just as easily be WIND submission. At least here in central Iowa, WIND will be a major factor in our lives this week. WIND chill temperatures could get lower than -30. Andy says we can’t do double digit submissions for WIND. I say that it is almost too easy!

But while thinking of how you are going to compose your wind image, think on the song (one of my favorite songs of all-time) lyrics to this song by Yusuf Islam:

I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul
Where I’ll end up, well, I think only God really knows
I’ve sat upon the setting sun
But never, never, never, never
I never wanted water once
No never, never, never
I listen to my words but they fall far below
I let my music take me where my heart wants to go
I swam upon the Devil’s lake
But never, never, never, never
I’ll never make the same mistake
No, never, never, never

Meditate on those words while you make your WIND interpretation.

Then send me you submission(s) by 11 AM CST next Monday. Remember, while I might consider you FAMILY, the picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of WIND in this place that can be windy when its CDO gets talking next Monday.

Andy, Becky, Carla, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 281 – BLACK

February 1, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

BLACK! Another theme. Another Monday. Another week of double digit submissions! 70 weeks in a row to be exact! WooHoo!

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

Jesse Howard

Kim Barker

Jesse Howard

Kio Dettman

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Michelle Haupt

Kio Dettman

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Andy Sharp

Dawn Krause

Elizabeth Nordeen

Becky Parmelee

Monica Henning

Micky Augustin

USE OF SPACE

USE OF SPACE! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

USE OF SPACE is an important theme historically for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It was the very first theme ever for THE WEEKY PHOTO CHALLLENGE. All the way back when Vest and I invented THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE in the build area of the Computer Mine. Back then it was called THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT and the theme was determined each week by a program that Vest wrote. Back then we both received submissions and he also published submissions on his website.
Much has changed back then, and not just the name. While that little bit of history is fascinating, it doesn’t answer the question, what is a USE OF SPACE picture?

It is possibly a confusing theme on the surface, but couldn’t be simpler in reality. All you have to understand is that in an image, there are two types of “space”. Positive space and negative space.

Positive space is the area in the photo that attracts the viewer’s eye. It’s the main subject that commands attention in the composition.

Negative space is the space in the composition that is typically the background. It usually doesn’t attract very much attention. It is used to define or contour the positive space.

In the example, my hand is the positive space. The brick wall is the negative space. In a USE OF SPACE (or negative space) photo, the photographer uses the space that is usually not the primary focus and uses it to fill in most of the composition. The negative space commands more attention than the positive space and creates a unique perspective. It also adds definition and can create strong emotions.

The challenge of this week is to make an image that is mostly negative space.

It is a counterintuitive way to compose an image. The natural instinct is to fill most of the frame with positive space. But you can really ratchet up the emotional impact by putting more negative space in an image than you normally would.

Of course, there are other ways to define USE OF SPACE. You can meditate on this quote by Bob Dylan, while you think about how to compose your USE OF SPACE picture:

Gates appeal to me because of the negative space they allow. They can be closed but at the same time they allow the seasons and breezes to enter and flow. They can shut you out or shut you in. And in some ways there is no difference.

Meditate on these words while you thinking about how you are going to create your USE OF SPACE photo.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of USE OF SPACE in this place that is tries to make wise USE OF SPACE next Monday.

Andy, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kio, Linda, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 280 – HOBBIES

January 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

HOBBIES! People seem to love them and it is no surprise that HOBBIES was the 69th theme in a row to crack double digit submissions! It did it easy as well. In fact, this might be the record for most submissions ever in one week. The problem is, I don’t know what the record is. I’ll have to do some research and get back to you, but if this isn’t the record, it has to be pretty close!

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

Andy Sharp

Dawn Krause

Linda Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Cathie Raley

Joe Duff

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Kio Dettman

Teresa Kahler

Micky Augustin

Becky Parmelee

Bill Wentworth

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Monica Henning

Carla Stensland

Jesse Howard

BLACK

BLACK! Another great them for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What defines a BLACK photo? Well, to be honest, the reason I selected BLACK as one of the themes this year is because I did not allow myself to use any of the Hall of Fame themes for Year 8. That meant no BLACK AND WHITE theme. So I split them up and this year there is a BLACK theme and a WHITE theme. That doesn’t mean that your submission has to be BLACK AND WHITE. I’m just taking you behind the curtain of my thought process.

While all that is very interesting to me and I’ll guess three other people, it doesn’t answer the question, what defines a BLACK photo? BLACK is the very darkest color. It is the absence of light. However, BLACK has many other definitions.

I don’t have a movie quote for you to meditate on this week, instead I have song lyrics from Johnny Cash:

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black
Why you never see bright colors on my back
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down
Living in the hopeless, hungry side of town
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime
But is there because he’s a victim of the time

I wear the black for those who’ve never read
Or listened to the words that Jesus said
About the road to happiness through love and charity
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me

Well, we’re doing mighty fine, I do suppose
In our streak of lightning cars and fancy clothes
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back
Up front there ought to be a man in black

I wear it for the sick and lonely old
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold
I wear the black in mourning for the lives that could have been
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men

And I wear it for the thousands who have died
Believing that the Lord was on their side
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died
Believing that we all were on their side

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know
And things need changing everywhere you go
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day
And tell the world that everything’s okay
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back
‘Til things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black

Meditate on the words of the greatest country singer, while thinking about how to create your BLACK image.

Then send me you submission(s) by 11 AM next Monday. Remember, while I might consider you FAMILY, the picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of BLACK in this place that is more purple than BLACK next Monday.

Andy, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Christianity, Commercial, Dawn, History, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 279 – COMMERCIAL

January 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start by noting that today is the day we honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

I’d like to share a teaching on The Good Samaritan from the last speech that King ever gave as my small part of honoring his legacy today:

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base…. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side.

They didn’t stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his brother.

Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn’t stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn’t be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that “One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.” And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem — or down to Jericho, rather to organize a “Jericho Road Improvement Association.”

That’s a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect.

But I’m going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It’s possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, “I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable.” It’s a winding, meandering road. It’s really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles — or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you’re about 2200 feet below sea level. That’s a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.”

And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?”
That’s the question.

In a time where we have white supremacist terrorists threatening our country, we should all heed the widsom of Martin Luther King Jr. and we should all strive for his calling of dangerous unselfishness.

And to honor the fact that the pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.’s church was just elected to the United States Senate. While the white supremacists throw a big shadow in this country, it is just a shadow. There are more of us, than there are of them. The election of Raphael Warnock is proof of that.

+++++++

I do want to point out that last week, in the chaos that was my 11 AM hour, I missed Cathie’s submission for FAMILY. I have corrected that error and it has since been added to last Monday’s journal entry. I encourage you to go to the website to see it. My apologies Cathie!

I was actually worried that this is the theme that would break the streak. I figured COMMERCIAL would be a tough nut to crack for many people. But we did it! For the 68th week in a row, we hit double digits!

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

Kim Barker

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Andy Sharp

Shannon Bardole-Foley

HOBBIES

HOBBIES! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What defines a HOBBIES photo? HOBBIES are activities done regularly in one’s leisure time for pleasure. What do you do in your leisure time, regularly, for pleasure? What do your friends or family do regularly in their leisure time for pleasure. Take a picture of somebody that is engaged in their leisure time pleasure. Or take a picture of an item that is used for leisure time pleasure. We aren’t here to judge what people do for leisure time pleasure. We are just here to photograph what give somebody leisure time pleasure.

As you should know, the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic PSYCHO is tied for being my favorite movie of all-time. Think about the scene is PSYCHO where Marion Crane and Norman Bates are eating supper together in the backroom of the Bates Motel office, with all of the birds that Norman has stuffed.

INT. NORMAN’S PARLOR -(NIGHT)

In the darkened room, lit only by the light from the office spilling in, we see Norman placing the tray on a table. Mary comes to the doorway, pauses. Norman straightens up, goes to lamp, turns on the light.

Mary is startled by the room. Even in the dimness of one lamp, the strange, extraordinary nature of the room rushes
up at one. It is a room of birds. Stuffed birds, all over the room, on every available surface, one even clinging to
the old fashioned fringed shade of the lamp. The birds are of many varieties, beautiful, grand, horrible, preying. Mary
stares in awe and a certain fascinated horror.

CLOSE UP – THE VARIOUS BIRDS TWO SHOT – MARY AND NORMAN

NORMAN
Please sit down. On the sofa.

As Norman goes about spreading out the bread and ham and pouring the milk, we follow Mary across the room. She studies
the birds as she walks, briefly examines a bookcase stacked with books on the subject of “Taxidermy.”

CLOSE UP – THE BOOKS ON TAXIDERMY MED. CLOSE SHOT – MARY

She notices, too, the paintings on the wall; nudes, primarily, and many with a vaguely religious overtone.

Finally Mary reaches the sofa, sits down, looks at the spread.

MARY
You’re very… kind.

NORMAN
It’s all for you. I’m not hungry.
Please go ahead.

Mary begins to eat, her attitude a bit tense. She takes up a small slice of ham, bites off a tiny bite, nibbles at it in the manner of one disturbed and preoccupied.

Norman gazes at her, at the tiny bite she has taken, smiles and then laughs.

NORMAN
You eat like a bird.

MARY
You’d know, of course.

NORMAN
Not really. I hear that expression,
that one eats “like a bird,” is really
a falsie, I mean a falsity, because
birds eat a tremendous lot.
(A pause, then
explaining)
Oh, I don’t know anything about birds.
My hobby is stuffing things…
taxidermy. And I guess I’d just rather
stuff birds because… well, I hate
the look of beasts when they’re
stuffed, foxes and chimps and all…
some people even stuff dogs and
cats… but I can’t… I think only
birds look well stuffed because
they’re rather… passive, to begin
with… most of them…

He trails off, his exuberance failing in the rushing return of his natural hesitancy and discomfort. Mary looks at him,
with some compression, smiles.

MARY
It’s a strange hobby. Curious, I
mean.

NORMAN
Uncommon, too.

MARY
I imagine so.

NORMAN
It’s not as expensive as you’d think.
Cheap, really. Needles, thread,
sawdust .. the chemicals are all
that cost anything.
(He goes quiet, looks
disturbed)

MARY
A man should have a hobby.

NORMAN
It’s more than a hobby… sometimes…
a hobby is supposed to pass the time,
not fill it.

When you are preparing to take your HOBBIES photo, meditate on an activity that passes the time, but doesn’t fill it.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of HOBBIES in this place that passes the time next Monday.

Andy, Angie, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Commercial, Dawn, Elizabeth, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Naima, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 278 – FAMILY

January 11, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Here it is! The first week of Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I asked people to submit a picture that showed what they think, when they think of FAMILY. For the 67th week in a row, we had double digit submissions!

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

Kim Barker

Elizabeth Nordeen

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Micky Augustin

Teresa Kahler

Dawn Krause

Carla Stensland

Angie DeWaard

Carla Stensland

Angie DeWaard

Becky Parmelee

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

COMMERCIAL

COMMERCIAL! The second theme of Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What defines a COMMERCIAL photo? I want you to think of something that you really like. Maybe even love it. Something that you think other people would enjoy or find useful. It could be something that you already sell. Now think about how would you sell it to other people through the language of photography.

While this image, might recall a bit of the old days of magazines (anybody remember magazines, I used to subscribe to 6 or 7 of them), advertising, isn’t the only avenue of sales. For example, the picture that people take and put on dating apps, that is a way of trying to sell yourself.

That is this week’s challenge, to think of something (or even somebody) and try to photograph it in away that other people would think, I want some of that.

You can think of trying to make a COMMERCIAL image for something that is reprehensible like smoking. Here is a quote from a character named Nick Naylor from the movie THANK YOU FOR SMOKING. Nick Naylor is a lobbyist for the tobacco companies and this is an exchange he has during a meeting with tobacco executives:

Nick Naylor: [during a meeting with company executives and other staff members] In 1910, the US was producing ten billion cigarettes a year, by 1930 we were up to one hundred twenty three billion, what happened in between? Three things: a world war, dieting and movies

BR: Movies?

Nick Naylor : In, 1927 talking pictures are born and suddenly directors need to give their actors something to do while their talking, Cary Grant and Carole Lombard lighting up, Bette Davis a “chimney”, and Bogart, remember the first picture with him and Lauren Bacall?

BR: Not specifically

Nick Naylor : She shimmies through the doorway nineteen years old, pure sex, she says “anyone got a match?” and Bogie throws the matches at her, she catches them, greatest romance in the century, how did it start? lighting a cigarette, we need the cast of Will & Grace smoking in their living room, Forrest Gump puffing away between his boxes of chocolates, Hugh Grant earning back the love of Julia Roberts by buying her favorite brand, her Virginia Slims, most of the actors smoke already, when they start doing it onscreen, we can put the sex back into cigarettes.

Meditate on that, while thinking of how to make a COMMERCIAL image.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of COMMERICAL in this maybe not all that sexy place next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Becky, Candid Portrait, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jesse, Kio, Kupono, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 277 – TRANSPORTATION

January 4, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the final week of the Hall of Fame THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes. TRANSPORTATION is a good way to end it, I suppose. 66! That is the number of weeks in a row we have hit double digit submissions! WooHoo!

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

Kio Dettman

Becky Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Elizabeth Nordeen

Cathie Raley

Monica Henning

Andy Sharp

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jesse Howard

If you want to take a look back at all the images submitted for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – HALL OF FAME, click on the link below:

Weekly Photo Challenge – HOF

FAMILY

FAMILY! The first theme of the 8th (full) year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What defines a FAMILY photo? First, you need to define what makes a FAMILY? Is it a group of people that share the same Deoxyribonucleic Acid? Or does the definition stretch a little bit farther than what can be placed in a test tube? Is a FAMILY a group of people that have a common set of beliefs? A common set of values? A common set of goals? A common set of experiences? Or perhaps the one thing that binds a group and makes them a FAMILY is LOVE? I’m sure there are more than a few that have come from a dysfunctional FAMILY would argue that love does not define a FAMILY. And others that would argue that just because you share that double helix with somebody, doesn’t make them FAMILY at all.

Personally, I like to think that FAMILY is more than what is in the blood in your body, but is more defined by the people (sentient beings) that you would spill blood for. Yours or others.

There is a scene in one of my favorite movies (Top 100 for sure) GARDEN STATE where the main character (Andrew Largeman) is discussing the idea of home with his romantic interest (Sam). They have the following interaction:

Andrew Largeman: You know that point in your life when you realize the house you grew up in isn’t really your home anymore? All of a sudden even though you have some place where you put your shit, that idea of home is gone.

Sam: I still feel at home in my house.

Andrew Largeman: You’ll see one day when you move out it just sort of happens one day and it’s gone. You feel like you can never get it back. It’s like you feel homesick for a place that doesn’t even exist. Maybe it’s like this rite of passage, you know. You won’t ever have this feeling again until you create a new idea of home for yourself, you know, for your kids, for the family you start, it’s like a cycle or something. I don’t know, but I miss the idea of it, you know. Maybe that’s all family really is. A group of people that miss the same imaginary place.

Sam: [cuddles up to Andrew] Maybe.

Meditate on what FAMILY means to you and take an image that shows exactly that.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of FAMILY in this not quite imaginary, but not quite real place next Monday.

Aaron, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Flowers, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Nature, Road Trip, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 276 – ROAD TRIP

December 28, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The September image for the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar is a picture of an orange gazania that I sprayed down with a water bottle. This gazania was grown in the Photography 139 Flower Garden. It is one of the bucket flower pots that lives in the front yard next to my front porch. This picture was taken on June 27, 2020.

Here are details of the photo:

DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: FE 50mm 2.8 Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 50mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 1/100
ISO: 100
FIELD OF VIEW: 39.6 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.05523
LONGITUDE: -93.87072

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The theme that will be revealed later in this post for this week is the last theme in the run of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE HALL OF FAME themes. We will start a fresh new set of theme as we change to a new calendar. Particularly, if you have received a Photography 139 Calendar, you will see that the new theme for every week is printed on every Monday. I did not include any of the Hall of Fame theme is the next set of 52 themes. When we get to those set of themes next Monday, my description of every theme might sound a little bit difference to my descriptions in the past.

Here is a look at the next 52 Themes:

1. FAMILY
2. COMMERCIAL
3. HOBBIES
4. BLACK
5. USE OF SPACE
6. WIND
7. SYMMETRY & PATTERNS
8. LINES
9. PLAY
10. PICTURE IN PICTURE
11. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
12. LOVE
13. LOCAL INTEREST – SLICE OF LIFE
14. DRINKS
15. SHADOW
16. HANDS
17. TRAVEL
18. FACE
19. LIGHT
20. GOVERNMENT
21. IN THE AIR
22. WORDS
23. RED
24. WHITE
25. COMMUNICATION
26. ADVENTURE
27. HISTORY
28. MUSIC
29. ARCHITECTURE
30. PATHS
31. TOY
32. MOVEMENT
33. FRIENDS
34. PEOPLE
35. ‘SCAPE
36. JUNK
37. WORK
38. DREAM JOB
39. FLOWER
40. TIME
41. PASSION
42. GREEN
43. HERO
44. BUSINESS
45. RELIGION
46. REFLECTION
47. NATURE
48. BLUE
49. ODD CAMERA ANGLE
50. CANDID PORTRAIT
51. HOLIDAY
52. EDUCATION

There are many themes that we have tackled in the past. Some that haven’t been used in years. Some that have never been used before. Thanks to Andy for being the one person to suggest themes for what will be the 8th Year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE… born the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT a decade ago.

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ROAD TRIP was another theme that triggered plenty of creativity, despite the holiday season. I had double digit submission before I even went to bed Sunday night! 65 straight weeks of double digit submissions.

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

Aaron Barnett

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Jesse Howard

Cathie Raley

Monica Henning

Carla Stensland

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION! What a great theme! But what is a TRANSPORTATION picture? Any picture that has to deal with transporting things from point A to point B. A road is used in the example, but cars that drive on that road could be used. So could railroad tracks. Trains. Planes. Boats. Horses. Anything that takes anything or anybody from point A to point B is fair game!

Here is a look back at all the times in the past that TRANSPORTATION has been a theme:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 42 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 67 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 114 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 180 – TRANSPORTATION

WPC – WEEK 256 – TRANSPORTATION

I look forward to seeing the new interpretations!

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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.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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.

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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 transported Monday!

Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Road Trip, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 275 – COLORFUL

December 21, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

The February image for the Photography 139 2021 Calendar is a macro photo of my favorite flower, the moonflower. It is taken with a flash ring. It was taken on July 28, 2020.

Here are some details on the picture:

DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 50mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/60
ISO: 160
LATITUDE: 42.05226
LONGITUDE: -93.87074

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COLORFUL is a theme that really spoke to a ton of people. I had double digit submission before I even went to bed last night. That is 64 straight weeks. Also exciting, is there was a first time contributor in Elizabeth’s son Alexander!

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Alexander Jackson

Elizabeth Nordeen

Robyn Augustin

Micky Augustin

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Joe Duff

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

Kim Barker

ROAD TRIP

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme! But what is a ROAD TRIP photo? A ROAD TRIP photo is any photo you take while on a ROAD TRIP. Or if you aren’t leaving your house this week, any picture that could be taken while planning for a ROAD TRIP. What qualifies as a ROAD TRIP? To me, it is any time your car leaves your drive way. I mean, my Mom lives 3 blocks from me and I can crush a whole bag of Funyuns in that drive, which makes that journey a ROAD TRIP to me.

Here is a look back at all the times in the past that ROAD TRIP was a theme:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 51 – ROAD TRIP

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 59 – ROAD TRIP

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 134 – ROAD TRIP

WPC – WEEK 199 – ROAD TRIP

WPC – WEEK 249 – ROAD TRIP

I look forward to seeing your new interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

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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 road worthy Monday!

Boone FUMC, Event, Holidays, Johnathan, Kio

Community Thanksgiving – 2020

December 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

On Thanksgiving, my church (Boone First United Methodist) served nearly 800 free meals to the community. I could write about it, but why bother, when Kio has already done such a great job at that:

Seven hundred seventy one meals were served at First United Methodist Church’s 23rd annual free Thanksgiving dinner held on Nov. 26 at the church, 703 Arden St. in Boone.

Meals were also delivered to the local police and fire stations, an apartment complex and a homeless shelter in Ames. Due to COVID-19, this year’s event was drive-thru pickup only.

According to the event’s chairperson, Brad Filipiak, “the drive-thru was very busy the first 35 minutes with cars lined up for over three blocks. We had to add another serving line and enlist more food baggers.”

Food for the event included 35 turkeys, 12 pans of dressing, 10 pans of mashed potatoes with side helpings of gravy, 24 commercial size cans of green beans, 8 gallons of cranberry sauce, 748 rolls and 60 apple and pumpkin pies.

Preparing, handling and serving of the food followed strict health and safety guidelines. To make social distancing easier, the number of volunteers needed to put on the event was reduced from the 60 of past years to 25 this year. Couples and families were encouraged to volunteer to keep the amount of households to a minimum. Everyone was required to wear gloves and masks.

Dealing with COVID-19 gave this year’s meal a different feeling. Filipiak added, “We didn’t have the normal fellowship of the in-person meal.” The event still provided a meal for many people who wouldn’t otherwise have the means to make it get a Thanksgiving dinner.

In looking back on the event during this time of a pandemic, Filipiak said, “it showed that with everything going on we can still find a way to calm our fears and serve our community”.

As for next year’s Boone First United Methodist Church free Thanksgiving dinner, Filipiak hopes it will be back to the normal in-person meal with a new goal of serving 800 to 1,000 meals.

Kio’s write-up appeared in the “Boone News Republican”.

Here are some pictures from the day: