Category Archives: Michelle

Roundball Oracles – Year 16

It is time once again for the greatest sporting event of year. It is that time known as March Madness. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Once again, I will be sponsoring a pool. There is not cost to enter the pool, except for pride.

The winner gets a trophy. The dead last place person gets a trophy known as The Sara*.

By winning, you get your name etched on the list of immortals:

PAST ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPIONS

2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

But I said that there are 2 trophies. The 2nd trophy, The Sara, goes to the adult that finishes dead last, while trying. A person can not tank on purpose and win The Sara. The reason The Sara winner has to be an adult is that I don’t want to mock children, to their face. Probably a better rule would be that to “win” The Sara, you have to be at least a teenager. I have no problem mocking teenagers to their face. I do it pretty much every Wednesday night at Youth Group.

Past “The Sara” Winners:

2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The Sara doesn’t have the long storied history of the championship trophy, but it will get there. I have no doubts.

Last year, the tournament was cancelled. This year, we will hopefully have a tournament as the world starts to look like it will “normalize” sometime this year. Here’s hoping anyways.

If you are a basketball fan, or are just interested in having fun, click on the link below to join my pool:

Roundball Oracles – Year 16

The rules are as follows:
Round 1 = 1 point + seed
Round 2 = 2 points + seed
Round 3 = 4 points + seed
Round 4 = 8 points + seed
Round 5 = 16 points + seed
Rounds 6 = 32 points + seed

The Play-in Games (AKA the First Four) don’t matter. You can wait for those games to complete before filling out your bracket. The deadline to fill out your bracket, is tip-off of the first game on Friday. Roughly 11 AM. Yes, there are no Thursday games this year.

Under special circumstances, I will allow you to turn in a paper bracket to me. So, don’t be afraid to ask.

Yes, your child can fill out a bracket. Your dog, no.

There were 42 competitors in 2019. Now, I doubt there will be as much excitement for the tournament this year, with no Iowa State. But Drake is sorta in the Tournament, so that is exciting!

*You have to be 18 years of age to win “The Sara”.

WPC – WEEK 286 – PLAY

75! 75 straight weeks of double digit submissions! That is 3/4 of the way to triple digits on the double digits! But it won’t be able to get to the triple-double. This week’s theme couldn’t be easier, but the week after that is the theme that killed the last double digit streak. (Insert dramatic music here.)

I just want to say that this might be one of the best collection of submissions to date!

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


WEEK 286 - PLAY - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 286 - PLAY -ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 286 - PLAY - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 286 - PLAY - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 286 - PLAY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 286 - PLAY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 286 - PLAY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 286 - PLAY - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 286 - PLAY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 286 - PLAY - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 286 - PLAY - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 286 - PLAY - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

WEEK 286 - PLAY - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

WEEK 286 - PLAY - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

WEEK 286 - PLAY - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 286 - PLAY - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 286 - PLAY - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 286 - CARLA STENSLAND - PLAY
Carla Stensland

WEEK 286 - PLAY - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 286 - PLAY - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 286 - PLAY - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 286 - PLAY - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 286 - PLAY - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 286 - PLAY - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 286 - PLAY - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

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:


WEEK 287 - PICTURE IN PICTURE
PICTURE IN PICTURE

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

PICTURE IN PICTURE is a brand new theme in the 8+ year history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. In fact, I’m not sure it existed until I invented it a couple months ago.

A PICTURE IN PICTURE image isn’t just an outdated feature on a television (maybe it still exists but I haven’t used it since 1983), but it is an existing picture(s) put in your PICTURE. There are several ways to do this. One is simply to photograph an photograph that is on your wall. Another way to do this is grab a box of old prints (for you young bucks, people used to get their pictures “developed” and printed on photo paper) and spread them across a table or floor and take a picture of it. You can organize them in a way that makes sense to you, or just spread them out and enjoy the chaos. Another way to do this would be to open up a folder of images on your computer and use the Snipping tool to create an image of digital thumbnails. I’m sure there is also a way to do this on a Mac, but it probably involves paying an extra $200 for less functionality and a cute little fruit logo. Hopefully, you will find away to take an old picture and find a new way of thinking about it.

Let me just throw this out there… Photomosaic?!?!?

Think about the following quote by Ansel Adams when composing your image:

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.
-Ansel Adams

In this project, you are both the photographer and the viewer, even if you weren’t the photographer of the initial image. Meditate on that and I have no doubt you will create a great PICTURE IN PICTURE interpretation.

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 PICTURE IN PICTURE in this place that is little more than pictures in pictures in pictures next Monday.

WPC – WEEK 285 – LINES

74 straight weeks of double digit submission and we did it before I even got out of bed on Monday morning! LINES seemed to be a popular theme! I mean, who doesn’t like LINES?

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


WEEK 285 - LINES - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 285 - LINES - AARON BARNETT
Aaron Barnett

WEEK 285 - LINES - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 285 - LINES - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff
“Lines in the ceiling, floor, and walls. Plus the lines for Covid vaccine. Got mom vaccinated; well organized and looking like they are starting to hit their stride. Lots vaccinated this weekend.”

WEEK 285 - LINES - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 285 - LINES - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 285 - LINES - SUSANNA FUNK
Susanna Funk
“The Manitou Incline has 2,000 feet of stairs which are actually lines! And my hamstrings felt every one of them.”

WEEK 285 - LINES - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 285 - LINES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 285 - LINES - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 285 - LINES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 285 - LINES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 285 - LINES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 285 - LINES - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 285 - LINES - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 285 - LINES - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

WEEK 285 - LINES - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 285 - LINES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

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:


WEEK 286 - PLAY
PLAY

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

A PLAY image is simply an image where the composition includes either something that is PLAYed or somebody PLAYing. There are all types of things that can be PLAYed. Games to musical instruments to sports to people.

Of course, PLAY has multiple meanings. A PLAY can be words on a piece of paper that tell a story or a PLAY can be acting out those words on a stage. It is more than just humans that PLAY. Animals also PLAY.

Think about the following old proverb when you are considering your PLAY interpretation:

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,
All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.

Meditation on these words will no doubt lead to a fascinating PLAY 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 PLAY in this place that is little more than a little PLAYed out next Monday.

Postcard Recreation Project – More Downtown Boone

I need to start today by wishing Micky a happy birthday. Happy birthday Micky!


Pie In Your Face!

August 30, 2019

2019  Computer Mine Holiday Card

Every once in awhile I will let people behind the curtain at Photography 139. Very few people and not very often. But Micky is the reason (more or less) for my using the term “harvest” so many times when referencing taking pictures.

You see, back in the day, the west bathrooms at the Computer Mine were loaded up with hunting magazines. Now Micky isn’t necessarily the person that brought them in and dumped them in the dumping station and while I’m definitely no hunter, when you are about your business, you read what is handy.

The writing in hunting magazines is amateurish at best. Plus they try to whitewash the fact that they are murderizing animals that never really did anything to them. So these articles about personal hunting experiences almost always include a sentence about how before or after the hunter murderized the animal they said a prayer thanking God for the opportunity to murderize the animal. But they never use the term murderize (and not because it is just a word I invented) or shoot or kill. They always whitewash it with the word harvest. Like they just picked an ear of corn or some tomatoes from their grandma’s garden.

I would frequently discuss these articles with Micky and I started to use the term “harvest” to mock hunting magazines. I’m not anti-hunting, it just isn’t for me. However, I am very strongly anti-bad writing.

All of that being said, Micky, I hope your birthday is amazing as you want it to be and you get to murderize all the animals you want. But only the ones that have it coming. Like the beavers that destroyed your dock*.

+++++++

This collection of pictures from THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT is another collection of postcards of downtown Boone intersections. I wish Boone still had that sign that hung over Story Street near 9th greeting people to Boone. I have wondered why they chose that location for it. I get that Story Street is the main street in Boone, but back in the day there would have been 2 depots that served railroad passengers. The Fort Dodge, Des Moines and Southern depot was a block north of the sign. The Chicago & Northwestern Depot was about a block to two blocks west. I guess they chose the location because it was about equidistant from both depots.

Here are the postcards. You can see the old sign in three of them:


Boone, IR 787 - Original
Boone, IR – 787 Original

Boone, IR 787 - Redux
Boone, IR 787 – Redux

Story St. from 10th St. North, Boone, IA - Original
Story Street from 10th Street – North – Original

Story St. from 10th St. North, Boone, IA - Redux
Story Street from 10th Street – North – Redux

Story Street lookin South, Boone, Ia - Original
Story Street Looking South – Original

Story Street lookin South, Boone, Ia - Redux
Story Street Looking South – Redux

The Main (Story)Street, Boone, Iowa - 2226 - Original
The Main (Story) Street – Original

The Main (Story)Street, Boone, Iowa - 2226 - Redux
The Main (Story) Street – Redux

The Story St. from 10th St. postcard put me on the right path for a future THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT post. However, the next THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT post will feature a church.

+++++++

This is your reminder that THIS WEEK’S THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is LINES:


WEEK 285 - LINES
LINES

A LINES image is simply an image that heavily incorporates LINES into the composition of the image.LINES that appear in a photograph CAN BE framed and positioned by the photographer to draw the viewer’s eye towards a specific point of interest. LINES draw the viewer’s eye to a specific direction of an image.

You can use all sorts of lines in your composition. You can use horizontal LINES. You can use vertical LINES. You can use diagonal LINES. You can use converging LINES. There are just so many options!

Of course, the term LINES has more than one meaning.

Think about the following quote from Martin Luther while considering your LINES image:

God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

Meditate on these words and you will no doubt create a fascinating LINES image. No matter how crooked you think you are.

Happy photo murderizing… I mean happy photo harvesting!

*Truth is that I wish he would’ve live trapped the beavers and rehabilitated them.

WPC – WEEK 284 – SYMMETRY & PATTERNS

We did it! Again! 73 straight weeks of double digit submissions. More than a few of the submissions this week were attached to emails with people pointing out that they also like art that is heavy in SYMMETRY & PATTERNS. I immediately crossed these people off my Christmas Card List.

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


WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - AARON BARNETT
Aaron Barnett

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY  & PATTERNS - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - SUSANNA FUNK
Susanna Funk

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 284 - SYMMETRY & PATTERNS - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

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:


WEEK 285 - LINES
LINES

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

A LINES image is simply an image that heavily incorporates LINES into the composition of the image. Carla’s submission this week would also be an excellent submission for LINES. LINES that appear in a photograph CAN BE framed and positioned by the photographer to draw the viewer’s eye towards a specific point of interest. LINES draw the viewer’s eye to a specific direction of an image.

You can use all sorts of lines in your composition. You can use horizontal LINES. You can use vertical LINES. You can use diagonal LINES. You can use converging LINES. There are just so many options!

Of course, the term LINES has more than one meaning.

Think about the following quote from Martin Luther while considering your LINES image:

God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

Meditate on these words and you will create a fascinating LINES 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 LINES in this place that is little more than LINES of code next Monday.

WPC – WEEK 281 – BLACK

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!


WEEK 282 - BLACK - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

WEEK 282 - BLACK - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 282 - BLACK - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

WEEK 282 - BLACK - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 282 - BLACK - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 282 - BLACK - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 282 - BLACK - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 282 - BLACK - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 282 - BLACK - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 282 - BLACK - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 281 - BLACK - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 281 - BLACK - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 281 - BLACK - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 281 - BLACK - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 281 - BLACK - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 281 - BLACK - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 281 - BLACK - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 281 - BLACK - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 281 - BLACK - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 281 - BLACK - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

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:


WEEK 282 - USE OF SPACE
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.

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 USE OF SPACE in this place that is tries to make wise USE OF SPACE next Monday.

WPC – WEEK 280 – HOBBIES

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!


WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 280 - HOBBIES - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard

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:


WEEK 281 - BLACK
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.

Post #4,000

August 9, 2006. That was the date where I first took keyboard in hand and began typing out the blog that I entitled “An Artist’s Notebook”. I entitled that first post “First Journal Entry”. The categories for that first post were “Blogging”, “Contests”, “Jay”, and “Sara”.

This is the first paragraph I posted:

So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.

Then it goes on to talk about how I attended the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Reception with Sara to see what two pictures had been accepted for display that year. Then I would go on to talk about how Jay had talked me into entering the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

The last line of the entry was simply:

I don’t want to mail it in.

While I was actually referencing the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, it is my hope that I also didn’t choose to “mail it in” as it pertains to “An Artist’s Notebook”.

It has been 5,276 days since that first post. 5,276 days to reach this day and the 4,000th post in this blog, or “online journal” like I sometimes call it when I don’t like calling it a blog. It is hard to believe I have made it this far, for this long.

It hasn’t been necessarily smooth sailing the whole time. My website has been through a couple different servers. I have been through a couple different hosts for the blog part of the website. I have been through 4 (I think) different image hosting options in those 5,275 days. That jumping around for image hosting solutions did cause the problem that images from my posts from the first few years of this website’s existence have had to be “restored” slowly over time. So far I have semi-successfully restored all the entries though June of 2010. Which means, I still have a full year’s worth of entries left to restore. Somewhere in 2011, was when I fully made the move to my current SmugMug image hosting solution. I have unfortunately lost a few images, probably forever, mostly old phone pictures, but those old posts are as complete as they will ever be.

When I hit these milestones, I like to publish a lot of fairly meaningless stats. This one will be no different. So, here are the “An Artist’s Notebook” categories that I have used the most often:

Top 10 An Artist’s Notebook Categories

#1. Black & White – 698 Entries

#2. Flowers – 693 Entries

#3. Animals – 620 Entries

#4. Jesse – 495 Entries

#5. Portrait – 472 Entries

#6. Shannon – 421 Entries

#7. Carla – 391 Entries

#8. WPC – Submissions – 381 Entries

#9. Teresa – 364 Entries

#10. Mom – 363 Entries

Top Ten An Artist’s Notebook People Categories

#1. Jesse – 495 Entries

#2. Shannon – 421 Entries

#3. Carla – 391 Entries

#4. Teresa – 364 Entries

#5. Mom – 363 Entries

#6. Jay – 320 Entries

#7. Derrick – 295 Entries

#8. Willy – 268 Entries

#9. Vest – 258 Entries

#10. Jen – 254 Entries

Top Ten Non-People An Artist’s Notebook Categories

#1. Black & White – 698 Entries

#2. Flowers – 693 Entries

#3. Animals – 620 Entries

#4. Portrait – 472 Entries

#5. WPC – Submissions – 381 Entries

#6. Nature – 349 Entries

#7. Macro – 332 Entries

#8. Photoshop – 327 Entries

#9. Road Trip – 326 Entries

#10. Art – 314 Entries

People often ask what is the best way to improve their Photography 139 Category Score. The easiest way is to submit pictures to THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. But posing for and assisting me with photo project or photo adventures is also a very good way.

What people have a shot at cracking the Top Ten by the time we hit Post #5,000? Kim, Sara, Logan, and Micky all have a shot. But 1,000 posts is a long ways away. So anybody has a shot!

But what are the Ten Most Popular Photo Galleries in Photography 139 history? Unfortunately, I can’t answer that question. I can only process stats up to 365 days ago. However, I can tell you the Ten Most Popular Photo Galleries of the last 365 Days are.

Click on the image to peruse that gallery.

Top Ten Most Popular Photography 139 Galleries (by view) of the Last 365 Days


WEEK 209 - ARCHITECTURE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
#1. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 7 – 57697 Views

Be True
#2. Christopher D. Bennett – 41080 Views

9 Emotions Project - Johnathan
#3. 9 Emotions Project – 36972 Views

Taylan Howard
#4. Taylan Howard – 2020 – 34075 Views

Girl in the Blue Skirt - 2016
#5. Daisies – 26800 Views

Morning in America
#6. Drone – 24659 Views

WEEK 274 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
#7. Weekly Photo Challenge – HOF – 24603 Views

Be Aggressive!
#8. Family Happenings – 18,231 Views

Alexis Pregnant with Anela
#9. Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020 – 17057 Views

Black Lives Matter - Boone
#10. Black Lives Matter – Boone – 2020 – 16160 Views

The Ten Most Popular Photography 139 Images of the Last 365 Days (by Views)


Alexis Pregnant with Anela
#1. 7254 Views

Taylan Howard
#2. 3153 Views

2020 Birthday Party Invites
#3. 2460 Views (Photo by Logan Kahler)

Cousin Amy and Sam - 2009
#4. 2228 Views

Garrett Larson
#5. 2127 Views

Baier Family Photo Shoot - 2009
#6. 2111 Views

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
#7. 1971 Views

2019  Computer Mine Holiday Card
#8. 1916 Views

The Most Tolerable Third Party
#9. 1891 Views

The Hero of Africa
#10. 1830 Views

Now the secret to the popularity of some of these images is that they are cover photos for albums, but shhhh… don’t tell anybody!

Another category of meaningless statistics, I’d like to share is what have been the most popular posts since the inception of “An Artist’s Notebook”. Although it might not be the most accurate way to judge such things, the only statistic I can use to judge this is “Comments” left on each post. That doesn’t mean emails or text messages or comments I received in person. These are comments that were left in the Comments section of each post.

Most Popular An Artist’s Notebook Entries (by Comments)

#1. The People’s Choice Round Two – 24 Comments

#2. Weekly Photo Challenge – Week 9 – Food – 22 Comments

#2. Weekly Photo Challenge – Week 43 – Sunrise/Sunset – 22 Comments

#4. Town Sign Project: Hamilton County – 21 Comments

#4. Town Sign Project: Dallas County – 21 Comments

#6. Postcard Recreation Project: Some Churches – 20 Comments

#6. Rodan139: Swede Valley Lutheran Church – 20 Comments

#8. Will History Blame Me… – 19 Comments

#9. Yo, Ya Just Get in that, You Get in that Head Space, Ya Know – 15 Comments

#9. You Can Call it a Comeback – 15 Comments

#9. Wild Goose Chase – 15 Comments

#9. Sorry Not Sorry – 15 Comments

One thing to note is that each “An Artist’s Notebook” entry has its Comments section close 30 days after being posted. Some of those still have a chance to grow, but most have been locked into place forever.

The last statistic I want to share before closing out Post #4,000 is kind of a loyalty score. To even be considered for this list, you first have to have a Photography 139 Email Subscription. The following is a statistic based on “loyalty” for lack of a better term to that service.

Top Five Most Loyal Photography 139 Subscribers

1. Michelle Haupt – 99%
2. Joe Duff – 97%
3. Shannon Bardole-Foley – 94%
4. Sara Lockner – 90%
5. Corey Faust – 89%

Thanks to everybody that has supported this adventure for 14 years, 5 months, and now 10 days!

WPC – WEEK 279 – COMMERCIAL

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


Civil Rights Museum

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:


WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

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:


WEEK 280 - HOBBIES
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.

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 HOBBIES in this place that passes the time next Monday.

WPC – WEEK 278 – FAMILY

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:


WEEK 278 - FAMILY - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEL 278 - FAMILY - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 278 - FAMILY - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

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:


WEEK 279 - COMMERCIAL
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.

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 COMMERICAL in this maybe not all that sexy place next Monday.