Category Archives: Layla

Andy, Becky, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Logan, Micky, Monica, Shannon, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 330 – BLACK + WHITE

January 10, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

As we are about to kickoff the 9th Year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE (birthed into this world kicking and screaming as the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT) I thought we could look at what we accomplished as a community in Year 8.

+ There were 866 total submissions by 35 different participants. Averaging 16.65 submissions a week.
+ The most popular themes were HOBBIES and FRIENDS. Both had 30 submissions.
+ SYMMETRY + PATTERNS had the most participants with 19.

Here are the individual statistics for the 35 different participants:
+ Christopher D. Bennett – 52 weeks, 52 photos.
+ Kio Dettman – 50 weeks, 119 photos.
+ Micky Augustin – 44 weeks, 53 photos.
+ Tamara Peterson – 44 weeks, 44 photos.
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 42 weeks, 42 photos.
+ Kim Barker – 36 weeks, 43 photos.
+ Carla Stensland – 32 weeks, 73 photos.
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 32 weeks, 40 photos.
+ Michelle Haupt – 28 weeks, 28 photos.
+ Bill Wentworth – 28 weeks, 28 photos.
+ Cathie Raley – 26 weeks, 26 photos.
+ Andy Sharp – 26 weeks, 52 photos.
+ Teresa Kahler – 22 weeks, 42 photos.
+ Joe Duff – 19 weeks, 25 photos.
+ Mike Vest – 16 weeks, 16 photos.
+ Logan Kahler – 14 weeks, 32 photos.
+ Jesse Howard – 14 weeks, 17 photos.
+ Dawn Krause – 14 weeks, 17 photos.
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 12 weeks, 20 photos.
+ Angie DeWaard – 12 weeks, 14 photos.
+ Monica Henning – 11 weeks, 24 photos.
+ Becky Parmelee – 11 weeks, 11 photos.
+ Linda Bennett – 5 weeks, 8 photos.
+ Sara Lockner – 5 weeks, 6 photos.
+ Amy Peterson – 4 weeks, 6 photos.
+ Susanna Funk – 3 weeks, 3 photos.
+ Aaron Barnett – 3 weeks, 3 photos.
+ Lori Backous – 2 weeks, 4 photos.
+ Steve White – 2 weeks, 4 photos.
+ Jodie Cue – 1 week, 3 photos.
+ Sarah Karber – 1 week, 1 photo.
+ Derrick Gorshe – 1 week, 1 photo.
+ Layla Gorshe – 1 week, 1 photo.
+ Evie Gorshe – 1 week, 1 photo.
+ Mike Parmelee – 1 week, 1 photo.

Thanks to everybody that participated on any level!

I’ve gotten slightly into Snapchat streaks in the last few weeks and I’m going to carry the idea of streaks over to THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Heading into this week, these are the people that have “streaks” of submitting photos for consecutive weeks:

+ Layla Gorshe – 1 week.
+ Evie Gorshe – 1 week.
+ Becky Parmelee – 1 week.
+ Mike Parmelee – 1 week.
+ Angie DeWaard – 1 week.
+ Andy Sharp – 1 week.
+ Teresa Kahler – 1 week.
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week.
+ Bill Wentworth – 2 weeks.
+ Joe Duff – 2 weeks.
+ Dawn Krause – 3 weeks.
+ Cathie Raley – 6 weeks.
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 7 weeks.
+ Kim Barker – 9 weeks.
+ Tamara Peterson – 12 weeks.
+ Kio Dettman – 12 weeks.
+ Christopher D. Bennett – 431 weeks.

Okay, in fairness, I run this show and it does bend around my schedule, slightly, so my streak doesn’t really count for much. It will be interesting to see who is able to build on their streak this week and who has their streak snapped.

As we start up Year 9, just a reminder that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme. The picture needs to be taken somewhere between 12:01 PM on the Monday the theme is revealed and 11:00 AM the following Monday, when I click Schedule on this post and head to lunch. This is a get off your butt and TAKE photos challenge. It is NOT a curate your photos challenge.

Photos are not evaluated for quality (at least not by me) to be posted. This challenge is about doing the work. You put in the work, the quality will come. What I am saying is, don’t hold back a submission because you don’t think it is good enough.

There are two ways to submit your photos to me. You can email me at bennett@photography139.com OR you can text them to my phone. Either one is perfectly acceptable.

These are not rules, but I’d say fairplay guidelines:

+ Don’t send me multiple pictures of the same subject in the same week. Send me multiple pictures, sure, but make them unique.
+ Don’t send me multiple pictures and ask me to choose the best one. I won’t do it. Even on a theme that is coming up in a few weeks where there will be for the first time ever a limitation of 1 submission per participant, I still won’t do it.
+ Watch the resolution of the images you submit. The size should be at least 800 pixels for it to look decent on the website.
+ YOU should be the one taking the picture. If a friend of yours takes a picture and you want to submit it for them, that is fine, but they should get the credit for the picture and they should be cool with it being posted.

Enough of that noise. You didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates and the best ways to participate, you came to see the submissions:

Evie Gorshe (2 weeks)

Layla Gorshe (2 weeks)

Kim Barker (10 weeks)

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin (1 week)

Carla Stensland (1 week)

Carla Stensland

Shannon Bardole-Foley (10 weeks)

Bill Wentworth (3 weeks)

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson (13 weeks)

Cathie Raley (7 weeks)

Teresa Kahler (2 weeks)

Elizabeth Nordeen (8 weeks)

Elizabeth Nordeen

Linda Bennett (1 week)

Kio Dettman (13 weeks)

Kio Dettman

Dawn Krause (4 weeks)

Jesse Howard (1 week)

Jesse Howard

Logan Kahler (1 week)

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp (2 weeks)

Andy Sharp

Monica Henning (1 week)

Monica Henning

Becky Parmelee (2 weeks)

29 submissions from 20 participants. That 20 participants is more than any theme had last year! I’m pumped now! That is a great week! Lots of streaks continued. Only the streaks of Mike Parmelee, Angie DeWaard, and Jen Ensley-Gorshe came to an end.

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:

ROCK

ROCK! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ROCK photo? Well, there are several types of rocks. Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. All you have to do is find a rock you like (I’m partial to igneous) and take a picture of it. And ROCKs have so many uses, they can hold historical markers, they are canvasses for artists, and people build things out of them. Just to name a few. Of course, ROCK can have multiple meanings. There is the type of ROCK that Twisted Sister wants to do. Which isn’t all that different from the kind of ROCK that AC/DC salutes those about to engage in or that Queen wants to do to you. Whatever definition of ROCK you use, it will be the right one for you.

I’d be remiss, if I didn’t point out that ROCK was a theme suggested by Angie. Thanks for the suggestion Angie.

While thinking on your possible subjects for your ROCK picture, think on this following quote from one of my old time favorite movies. INHERIT THE WIND. It is a highly dramatized telling of the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial. One of the lawyers that is prosecuting the teacher on trial for teaching evolution has taken the stand as an expert on The Bible. The lawyer defending the teacher is cross examining him.

Drummond: It’s sad that we don’t all have your positive knowledge of what is right and wrong, Mr. Brady. How old do you think this rock is?

Brady: I am more interested in the “Rock of Ages” than I am in the age of rocks.

Drummond: Dr. Paige of Oberlin College tells me this rock is at least 10 million years old.

Brady: Well, well, Colonel Drummond, you managed to speak here some of that scientific testimony, after all.

Drummond: Look, Mr. Brady. These are the fossil remains of a marine prehistoric creature found in this very county, and which lived here millions of years ago when these very mountain ranges were submerged in water.

Brady: I know. The Bible gives a fine account of the flood. But your Professor’s a little mixed up in his dates. That rock is not more than six thousand years old.

Drummond: How do ya know?

Brady: A fine biblical scholar, Bishop Usher, has determined for us the exact date and hour of the Creation. It occurred in the year 4004 B.C.

Drummond: Well, that’s Bishop Usher’s opinion.

Brady: It’s not an opinion. It’s a literal fact — which the good Bishop arrived at through careful computation of the ages of the prophets, as set down in the Old Testament. In fact, he determined that the Lord began the Creation on the 23rd of October, 4004 B.C. at, uh, 9:00am.

Drummond: [Is] that Eastern Standard Time? Or Rocky Mountain Time? It wasn’t Daylight Saving Time, was it, because the Lord didn’t make the sun until the fourth day.

Brady: That is correct.

Drummond: That first day, what do you think, it was 24 hours long?

Brady: [The] Bible says it was a day.

Drummond: Well, there was no sun out. How do you know how long it was?

Brady: The Bible says it was a day!

Drummond: Well, was it a normal day, a literal day, 24 hour day?

Brady: I don’t know.

Drummond: What do you think?

Brady: I do not think about things that I do not think about.

Now maybe that scene doesn’t have much to do with rocks, but any chance I can even tangentially reference that movie I will. I look forward to seeing your ROCK interpretations.

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.

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 ROCK in this place that records my metamorphic change next Monday.

Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, Jen, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Layla, Mom, Naima, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 329 – EDUCATION

January 3, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Here we are. The end of Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. There were 866 images submitted this year. Smashing the record set by Year 7, 807. Hopefully we break the record again in Year 9. To have a look at them, click on the link below:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 8

EDUCATION has proven to be a very popular theme.

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Layla Gorshe

Evie Gorshe

Bill Wentworth

Becky Parmelee

Tamara Peterson

Mike Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker

Angie DeWaard

Andy Sharp

Teresa Kahler

Joe Duff

Dawn Krause

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Kio Dettman

Cathie Raley

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

BLACK + WHITE

BLACK + WHITE! What a great theme to kick off Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

To know me at all, is to know that my first love in photography is always been BLACK + WHITE. But what is BLACK + WHITE photo? Well, the obvious answer is that it simply a picture that is monochrome. Not color. But BLACK + WHITE. However, there are some things to know about taking a good BLACK + WHITE picture. Once you remove color from an image, you can’t rely on color to provide interest. Here are things to think about to make a good BLACK + WHITE image:

+ Shape and Form – The shapes of things will be more dominant.
+ Contrast – Without colors to separate your subjects, you will need the contrast between BLACK + WHITE to separate the objects in the picture.
+ Texture – A good subject in BLACK + WHITE photography will have texture. Texture really pops.

While considering possible subjects for your BLACK + WHITE picture, consider this quote by Ansel Adams:

“Our lives at times seem a study in contrast… love & hate, birth & death, right & wrong… everything seen in absolutes of black & white. Too often we are not aware that it is the shades of grey that add depth & meaning to the starkness of those extremes.”
-Ansel Adams

RULES

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 + WHITE in this place that is little more than my shades of gray next Monday.

Andy, Christianity, Dahlia, Derrick, Greyson, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Naima, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Teresa, Vest, Willy

Selfie Project – October

November 2, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On Sunday I completed another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. One thing that always happens when I look back at a month’s worth of pictures I’m always surprised at some of the things that all happened in the same month. That? That happened this month? I thought that was like 2 months ago.

Here are my favorites from October:

October 1

October 2

October 3

October 4

October 5

October 7

October 8

October 9

October 12

October 14

October 16

October 17

October 18

October 20

October 22

October 23

October 24

October 25

October 28

October 30

October 31

There can be only one Selfie per day, but here are some of favorite alternate selfies from October:

Hopefully November is a good month too.

Alexis, Angie, Bill, Blogging, Carla, Derrick, Evie, Jason, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Russ, Sara, Shannon, Sheri, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy

Journal Entry #4,250

October 17, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Can you believe that this is the 4,250th post in this crazy little thing called “An Artist’s Notebook’. 4,250 posts! It has been 5,549 days since I took keyboard in hand on August 9, 2006 and typed these words:

So here is the first journal entry.

The name of that first journal entry was “First Journal Entry”. I really started out with a bang!

What was that first journal entry?

A set of goals:

+ To write in this journal. Mission accomplished.
+ To be truthful. I’m sure there are some that would disagree, but I’m calling that mission accomplished.
+ To record my achievements and failures in the world of art. Mission accomplished.
+ To produce something that makes me “worthy” of having a pretentious sounding journal title like: “An Artist’s Notebook. Jury might still be out on that one.

In that first entry I also wrote about attending the Photography Salon Reception with Sara. I go on to complain about the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest and tell a tale about how Jay convinced me to enter the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest that year.

That was it. A simple beginning for a simple man. 5,549 days ago.

When I hit these milestones, I like to check in on a few statistics, to see how things are trending. I like statistics cause they seem to bring order to chaos. It is like the saying goes: “There are three types of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics.”

Here are some damn lying statistics.

I use “Categories” to help organize this blog. There are 194 of them and the 100 most used Categories can be found on the sidebar of every page on this website. The 100th most used Category is a 3 way tie amongst “Jaycees”, “Vacation”, and “DaeHee”. I’ve use those 3 Categories 65 times each. The 2 Categories that have the greatest shot at breaking into the Top 100 are “Kelly” at 61 current uses and “Town Sign Project” at 59 current uses.

These are the 10 Most Used Categories (Post 4000 Rank and entries):

10. Art – 408 (NR)
9. WPC – Submissions – 417 (8 – 381)
8. Mom – 422 (10 – 363)
7. Carla – 435 (7 – 391)
6. Portrait – 450 (5 -472)
5. Shannon – 458 (6 – 421)
4. Jesse – 529 (4 – 495)
3. Animals – 665 (3 – 620)
2. Flowers – 754 (2 – 693)
1. Black and White – 819 (1 – 698)

These are the 10 Most Used Not a Person Categories:

10. Photoshop – 368 (8 – 327)
9. Nature – 379 (6 – 349)
8. Macro – 390 (7 – 332)
7. Road Trip – 394 (9 – 326)
6. Art – 408 (10 – 314)
5. WPC – Submissions – 417 (5 – 381)
4. Portrait – 450 – (4 – 472)
3. Animals – 665 – (3 – 620_
2. Flowers – 754 – (2 – 693)
1. Black and White – 819 (1 – 698)

There are the 10 Most Used Person Categories (Post 4000 Rank and entries):

10. Vest – 274 (9 – 258)
9. Jen – 277 (10 – 254)
8. Willy – 278 (8 – 268)
7. Derrick – 311 (7 – 295)
6. Jay – 329 (6 – 320)
5. Teresa – 405 (4 – 364)
4. Mom – 422 (5 – 363)
3. Carla – 435 (3 – 391)
2. Shannon – 458 (2 – 421)
1. Jesse – 529 (1 – 495)

The Non Person Categories most likely to break into the Top Ten are “Naima” at 323, “Formal Portrait” at 320, and “Candid Portrait” at 303.

The Person Categories that are most likely to break into the Top Ten are “Kim” at 263, “Logan” at 248, “Sara” and “Micky” both at 239.

After 750 posts, “Photography”, “Friends”, and “Life” were my three most used Categories. I’ve since tried to de-centralize those Categories and they have fallen. I’m trying to do the same with “Portrait”, so It should eventually fall out of the Top Ten as well.

After 1,000 posts, “Jay”, Jesse”, and “Shannon” were the most used Person Categories.

After 1,500 posts, “Jesse”, “Jay”, and “Shannon” were the most used Person Categories”.

After 2,500 posts, “Jesse, “Teresa”, and “Shannon” were the most used Person Categories. It was the same after 3000 posts.

After 4,000 posts, Top 3 had changed to “Jesse”, “Shannon”, and “Carla”. I’ll be curious to see where these number are in another 250 posts.

If you are wondering how to increase your Category usage, it is simple. Submit to THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Be a photo assistant. Show up in THE SELFIE PROJECT. Go on road trips with me. It doesn’t hurt to be related to me either.

But this is a photography online journal, so let’s look at what are the most popular images and galleries on my website?

Most Popular Photography 139 Galleries of the last 365 days:

#10 Weekly Photo Challenge – HOF – 25,192 Views

#9 Daisies 26,286 Views

#8 Christopher D. Bennett 31,665 Views

#7 9 Emotions Project 49,215 Views

#6 Iowa 59,724 Views

#5 Gorshe Family 60,179 Views

#4 Town Sign Project 72,850 Views

#3 Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 8 82,681 Views

#2 Selfie Project – 2021 128,029 Views

#1 Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020 236,976 Views

At post 4,000 The most popular album was “WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 7”. #2. Was “Christopher D. Bennett”. #3. was “9 Emotions Project”. I’m impressed with the sustained popularity of THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT. I haven’t taken a new picture for it in years. Although I do want to fire it up again.

#10. Maven’s Gift Table – 2,013 Views

#9. Moingona Town Sign – 2,029 Views

#8. Alexis Cheering at the 2010 Iowa State Fair – 2,177 Views

#7. Mom’s Retirement Party – 2,669 Views

#6. Mom and I at John Wayne Birthplace Museum – 3,716 Views

#5. Andrea, Josh, and Kids at Youth Group Fundraiser – 2010 – 4,221 Views

#4. Alexis Pregnant with Anela – 5,485 Views

#3. Selfie in Ackley – 6,369 Views

#2. Selfie in Front Yard – 6,587 Views

#1. Alexis Pregnant with Anela – 10.355 Views

That picture of Alexis was also #1 at the 4,000 Post Mark, but the other 9 Pictures are completely different. Last time #2 was a picture of Taylan and #3 was a picture of me and Scottie D. at the Pufferbilly Days Parade.

That leads us to my most popular individual posts.

#10. TOWN SIGN PROJECT: HAMILTON COUNTY – 21 Comments

#10. POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT – MAMIE DOUD EISENHOWER BIRTHPLACE – 21 Comments

#10. TOWN SIGN PROJECT: DALLAS COUNTY – 21 Comments

#7. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 43 – SUNRISE/SUNSET 22 Comments

#7. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 9 – FOOD – 22 Comments

#7. POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT – SOME CHURCHES – 22 Comments

#3. THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE – ROUND TWO – 24 Comments

#3. TENDERLOIN APPRECIATION SOCIETY – WORKING AT HOME – 24 Comments

#3. CARROLL COUNTY AND CRAWFORD COUNTY AUXILIARY IMAGES – 24 Comments

#3.WPC – WEEK 283 – WIND – 24 Comments

#2. LIPTON CUP OF ZINNIA – 32 Comments

#1. TOWN SIGN PROJECT: JASPER COUNTY – 37 Comments

I have to confess that I haven’t been very good about responding to comments left on my blog lately. I swear that I will get better at this again.

The final statistic I want to share are who my most loyal email subscribers. Loyalty isn’t probably the most accurate term, but it is all I have.

Top Five Most Loyal Photography 139 Subscribers

5. Jeanette Duff – 96.4%
4. Angie DeWaard – 98.5%
2. Michelle Haupt – 99.7%
2. Joe Duff – 99.7%
1. Kio Dettman – 100%

Jeanette, Angie, and Kio are new to the Top 5. They replaced Corey, Sara, and Shannon.

Linda and Tamara are the two most likely to break into the Top 5 in the next 250 posts.

We’ll have to check in on these statistics again in another 250 posts!

Candid Portrait, Iowa State, Layla

4-H Photo Scavenger Hunt

October 10, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

On Tuesday night Layla wanted to go to a 4-H Photo Scavenger Hunt on the Iowa State Campus, but both her parents were indisposed. They asked me to take her and since 4-H photography runs through the blood of this family (both my sisters were accomplished 4-H photographers) I agreed to the excursion.

Before the hunt, there was a presentation where a Story County 4-H Photography Judge gave pointers on taking pictures for the photo contest. She mostly hammered down on the “rule of thirds” and “giving space for objects in motion to move”. Good rudimentary rules for beginning photographers.

Here are the 10 items Layla was to photograph:

+ “Images” on the ground from the sun.
+ You can see me in the water, but I never get wet.
+ A type of insect with antennae on its head. It might be found in a hill and can be red.
+ Out in nature I can be seen, I fall, but not from an evergreen.
+ Any item you can see moved by wind or force.
+ I am pretty and smell sweet, you will find me if you look down near your feet.
+ Here, books are organized by numbers and from A-Z.
+ Orange, blue, yell, green, red, indigo. What is the color this is missing from the rainbow.
+ Full of water, but not a lake. On top sits a 40 foot tank.
+ I’ve told you what to find until now, here’s your chance to make me say “WOW!”. Find an object and show your own unique perspective.

Here are pictures I took of Layla taking her pictures.

After they completed the hunt, the group posted it up in the new Student Innovation Center (which is a sweet, sweet building) and everybody showed their favorite picture from the hunt. Then the judge and her son gave the pointers and lot more talks of Rules of Thirds. But don’t be surprised if at the Story County Fair next year (I honestly have no clue where or when that is) there are lots of pictures of the Marston Water Tower.

I do think that the Photo Scavenger Hunt is a good idea for getting the youth to take pictures they can enter in a photo contest. You may not know this, but the original idea for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE (born the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT) was to generate pictures that could be used for photo contests. The idea, Vest said was that at the end of the year you would have 52 pictures you could consider for photo contests. While I’m not sure how many (or if any) pictures I have taken have ever been entered in a photo contest, but the idea still stands.

I wonder if I could somehow steal the Photo Scavenger Hunt idea to try to generate youth entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. This would be an easier idea to pull off if Boone still had a Camera Club. Hmmmm…

Andy, Brandon, Carla, Contests, Elainie, Evie, Jen, Jesse, Kio, Layla, Logan, Mom, Pufferbilly Days, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, State Fair, Teresa, Town Sign Project

Selfie Project – August 2021

September 1, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Yesterday I completed yet another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. I was surprised how packed a month it was. When I looked back at some of the images, I thought, “that happened in August? It feels like such a long time ago!”

Here are my favorites from August:

August 1, 2021

August 3, 2021

August 4, 2021

August 5, 2021

August 7, 2021

August 8, 2021

August 11, 2021

August 12, 2021

August 13, 2021

August 15, 2021

August 17, 2021

August 19, 2021

August 22, 2021

August 24, 2021

August 27, 2021

August 28, 2021

August 29, 2021

August 31, 2021

There can only be one Selfie per day, but I’ve decided to start sharing some alternate selfies from the month, that just didn’t make the cut:

If you want to peruse all the THE SELFIE PROJECT images, click on the link below:

Selfie Project – 2021

Hopefully September is another successful month!

Animals, Art, Candid Portrait, Contests, Evie, Jen, Layla, Mom, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

First Day of the Fair

August 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On the first day of the Iowa State Fair I attended it with Jen, Layla, and Evie. Evie was performing with her Irish Dance Team. We wandered around the Fair for several hours before and after watching Evie perform. Here on some of the pictures from the day:

I also went to the Fair on the last day with Jesse. I will share those pictures in the future.

If you want to take peruse the rest of my Day 1 Iowa State Fair pictures, click on the link below:

Iowa State Fair – 2021

Over 200 images in there right now.

+++++++

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

PEOPLE

PEOPLE! What a great theme! But what is a PEOPLE photo? Fortunately for you, people infest nearly every corner of this planet, so they are easy to find. All you have to do is find some PEOPLE or remnants or proof that PEOPLE were once there. This group of PEOPLE doesn’t have to have any connection. They don’t have to be friends or family. They just have to be homo sapiens. I suppose Neanderthals would work as well.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Evie, Jen, Kio, Layla, Pufferbilly Days, State Fair

Pufferbilly Days Pet Show – 2021

August 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

We are having some kind of sale at my Mom’s garage tonight and tomorrow morning.

The address is 111 South Benton Street. The sale tonight will start at 4 and end when people stop showing up. Tomorrow it will start at 7 and end when people stop showing up. Probably around 1.

The alley is a dead end, so don’t drive down it looking to park.

+++++++

I once again did the photography for the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show. It wasn’t a very good environment for photography because all the tables were crushed in together and there wasn’t a stage, so you really couldn’t see the animals that were on the ground.

There were 4 entries. All dogs. Despite the flyer having 2 cats and one dog… Just reporting the facts.

Here are some pictures from the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show:

I look forward to the 2022 Pufferbilly Days Pet Contest where there will be 6 dogs and no cats.

+++++++

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

FRIENDS

FRIENDS! What a great theme! But what is a FRIENDS photo? It is simply a picture of a group of FRIENDS or even just a picture of one of your FRIEND(S). Maybe it could even be a picture of an object that represents a FRIENDShip to you. The theme reveal picture shows Jen, Layla, and Evie. They are a family, but they are also my FRIENDS. They are also in many ways, my family. However, the lines between FRIENDS and FAMILY can blur in multiple directions. So don’t get too hung up on is this person FAMILY or a FRIEND(S)? If you have to ask the question, the answer is that they are both.

Happy photo harvesting.

Andy, Bill, Carla, Elizabeth, Evie, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Micky, State Fair, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 309 – MOVEMENT

August 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I want to start today by announcing that there will be some kind Estate/Garage/Tag/Rummage Sale at my Mom’s house on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I’m not really 100% sure of the hours, but the location is in the garage on the alley. The alley is a dead end, so don’t pull down there looking for a place to park. The address is 111 South Benton Street. It is hard to tell what is going to be for sale, but I’m sure it will involve lots of glassware and holiday decorations. When I have an idea of times, I will let you know.

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The theme MOVEMENT did cause many people to spring into action and capture an object displaying MOVEMENT of one kind or another.

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

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Andy Sharp

Logan Kahler

Jesse Howard

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

A great week of submissions!

FRIENDS

While you are thinking about your FRIENDS photo, think on this quote and you will no doubt create a photo as rare as the FRIENDShip you are trying to capture:

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

RULES

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 FRIENDS in this place that is little more than a record of my FRIENDS next Monday.

Art, Candid Portrait, Event, Jen, Layla, Sara, Shawn Lockner, WPC - Reminder

Ain’t No Party Like A Carousel Party!

July 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I was recently invited to Maven’s Birthday Party. It took place at a carousel! Yeah, all other parties are now ruined for me. You are going to have to step it up if you want this guy to make an appearance. Not entirely true. I will show up to any particular place where I could potentially get free food.

Here are some pictures from the festivities:

There was some talk of touring area carousels, but I think that has fizzled out now that Tenderloin Trail 2.0 seems to be on the horizon.

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

MUSIC

MUSIC! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a MUSIC photo? A MUSIC photo is any picture that’s composition includes anything related to MUSIC. A person playing MUSIC. Sheet MUSIC. A MUSICal instrument. Anything involved in the creation of MUSIC.

While thinking on your MUSIC photo, consider this quote:

Music is the only language in which you cannot say a mean or sarcastic thing.
-John Erskine

Happy photo harvesting!

Photography 139

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WPC – WEEK 309 – MOVEMENT

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RULES

Ain’t No Party Like A Carousel Party!

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