Category Archives: Michelle

Andy, Football, Iowa State, Jesse, Michelle, Olympic Sports, Photo Journal, Work, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 13

December 28, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Before we dig into the meat of this blog, I should point out that I’m (hopefully) in San Antonio right now. Getting ready to root for the Cyclones against the Washington State Cougars in the Alamo Bowl.

You should definitely sit down and root the Cyclones to victory.

The game starts at 8 PM Central Standard Time. The channel is ESPN. Root hard, because better believe that I will be!

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Last Thursday night Andy texted me and invited me to come to an event I’ve never been to in my life. Something I’ve never really wanted to attend. However, it involved his progeny Kyle and Kyle is a good egg, so I figured, “Why not?”

It was also a good chance to put Page 13 into the completed column of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 13 – Take a picture that helps you come to terms with a personal hang-up.

How is a high school wrestling meet a personal hang-up? It isn’t really. It is more like Youth Sports is kind of a personal hang-up of mine. I helped coach Little League for 10 years and I saw very little good come from the experience.

I can say that wrestling also isn’t my thing. I don’t hold any ill-will towards the sport, but it just isn’t my thing.

I appreciate the discipline, hard work, and commitment it takes to be a wrestler, I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t take those same things and direct them towards something fun… like basketball. You know, the best sport.

But I have agreed to go to 1 Kyle wrestling meet every year for the next 3. 2 if he makes it to State.

While I can only physically adhere one picture in the physical THE PHOTO JOURNAL, I did take several more wrestling pictures.

Not sure what page we will cross off next time we check-in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. Perhaps that page will be crossed off in San Antonio!

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

FRIENDS!

A FRIENDS image is a picture of FRIENDS or anything that comes along with having FRIENDS.

Happy photo harvesting!

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

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 171 – PHOTOJOURNALISM

December 24, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

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

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

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

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:

FRIENDS

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

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

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

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 friendly Monday.

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

Weekly Photo Challenge – Week 169 – Family

December 10, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

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

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

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

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 sporty Monday.

9 Emotions Project, Alexis, Anders, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Bethany, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Colleen, Derrick, Elainie, Flat Earth Joe, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Johnathan, Jorge, Laura, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nora, Russell, Sara, Shannon, State Fair, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Willy

Blessings – 2018

November 22, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving! It is the time of year where we are supposed to count our blessings.

I thought I would share a few of my current blessings:

I am blessed with a great family!

I have plenty of friends that share my love for the Cyclones!

I have a job I don’t hate going to, where I work with several people I don’t want to punch in the face.

I have an amazing church family!

I have an amazing friends family!

I’m blessed to share my life with Naima!

This is really just a handful of the blessings in my life! But I’m already getting this out late, so I’ll cut if off here. I’ll just end with a passage from a Rob Bell NOOMA video that really spoke to me:

“So the verse in First Timothy, it says command those that are rich to not put their hope in wealth… and then it goes on and it continues… and it says, but to put their hope in God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

That phrase, a God that richly provides us with everything. All that we have is a gift.

Food. It is a gift.

Clothes. Gift.

Roof. Gift.

That breath you just took. It’s a gift.

Now there are some that will say: No, you don’t understand. I’ve worked for what I have. I deserve it. It is mine. But like it says in the book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 8: You may say to yourself, my power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me. But remember the Lord your God, because it is God that gives you the ability to produce wealth.”

I thank God for the embarrassment of riches in my life!

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

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

November 18, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This is the final post of the 2017 backlog.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animals, Jesse, Michelle, Naima, Photo Journal, Politics, Self-Portrait, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 70-71

November 16, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

As the 2018 political season wound down, I found it to be a perfect time to tackle Page 70 and then subsequently Page 71 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 70 – Take a picture of something you hate.

There are few things in the world I hate more than the “stick-to” narrative. This belief that everybody has a right to express their political opinion, except for artists and athletes. Since I happen to be both (Monstars, represent!), it is something that hits home.

When a plumber or a line cook expresses a political opinion, nobody is out there saying, “Stick to plumbing” or “Stick to cooking”.

But whenever an athlete or an actor expresses a political opinion you hear a chorus of “Hey pal, stick to sports, just stick to sports.”

Which is weird because athletes like Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali (to name just a couple) have been instrumental in leading social change.

Even stranger still is the people who come down on artists. It is the job of the artist to say some thing. That is the point of art. It isn’t always political, but sometimes, that is going to be political. Banksy is probably the greatest political artist of our times. It would be tragic if he was silent.

By the way, thanks to Michelle for making my “Stick to Photography” sign!

Page 70 leads to Page 71 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 71 – Email me the picture and I’ll email you a picture of something I hate.

Page 71 asked you to send your hate picture to the author of A PHOTO JOURNAL, and then he would email you back a picture of something he hates. The author of A PHOTO JOURNAL is Henry Carroll. This is what he emailed me back.

Not sure what page we will check in with next time we check in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. It’ll be a surprise to all of us!

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A reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is PETS:

PETS

A PETS image is any photo of a PET(S) or anything related to a PET(S).

Happy photo harvesting!

Angie, Animals, Cathie, Jesse, Michelle, Micky, Naima, Nature, Panorama, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 165 – LANDSCAPE

November 12, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Before we get too involved in the week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, I want to take a little bit of time to toot my own horn. Today at 9:36 AM, I made the final payment on the Camry. Today, that baby is mine! I don’t have the pink slip in my hand yet, but that is only a matter of time! Below is the moment I clicked “Pay”:

(Photo Cred to Michelle)

Now, right after I determine how much money I might potentially spend on going to the Big 12 Championship Game, then right after I figure out if I’m going to make calendars again this year, then right after I get the rear brakes replaced, then right after I figure out how much I might potentially spend on an Iowa State Bowl Game, then after I figure out how the GOP Tax Scam effected my tax return, I can begin drone shopping in earnest. I hope to have one purchased by February. You know. When it is too cold to use it!

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LANDSCAPE, at least in my humble opinion, can be a tough nut for some people to crack, during the time of year when everything is dying and the land is barren. Despite that fact, a few people out there were able to come up with a LANDSCAPE photo.

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

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

Micky Augustin

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

PETS

PETS! What a great theme! But what is a PETS photo? A PETS photo is any photo that involves PETS or byproducts of PETS! If you don’t have a PET(S) or feel you don’t have access to a PET(S), then Naima can be booked. Her sitting fee is 2 milk bones and 5 minutes of head scratching.

The submissions for PETS will be published next Tuesday and not next Monday. Don’t panic. I still look forward to your interpretations.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 petted Monday.

Andy, Angie, Animals, Carla, Jodie Cue, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 163 – COLORFUL

October 29, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is a big day for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! COLORFUL inspired Jodie Cue to submit for the first time ever! Welcome aboard Jodie, we know you will do great things!

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

Angie DeWaard

Jodie Cue

Christopher D. Bennett

Jodie Cue

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Michelle Haupt

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Micky Augustin

Sarah Karber

WILD ANIMAL

I should point out that I was pretty surprised to walk out my back door yesterday and see a bald eagle swooping around overhead. I’ve never seen one in my neighborhood.

WILD ANIMAL! What a great theme! But what is a WILD ANIMAL picture? It is a picture of an animal that is not domesticated. Not a pet. Not a farm animal. There is more than one definition for WILD ANIMAL. Therefore…

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

Most likely, I will be out of state next Monday. So, look for next week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE post to be posted on Tuesday.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 wild Monday.

Andy, Angie, Candid Portrait, Carla, Cathie, Football, Iowa State, Kim, Michelle, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 161 – ENTERTAINMENT

October 15, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A metric ton of people were motivated by ENTERTAINMENT this week. I think this was one of the higher submission weeks in months!

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

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Andy Sharp

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Mike Vest

COLLECTIBLE

COLLECTIBLE! What a great theme! But what is a COLLECTIBLE image. It is simple enough. It is an image of anything that is COLLECTIBLE. Some people collect Funko Pops. Some people collect old cameras. Some people collect the souls of their enemies. But enough about me. I’m sure there are other things to collect. Like spoons or shot glasses or figurines. A picture of anything that is COLLECTIBLE is a COLLECTIBLE image.

As always, I look forward to your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 collected Monday.

Carla, Cathie, Fisheye, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 157 – PERSPECTIVE

September 17, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Here we are. Starting a new 52 weeks of themes. I like to think back at all we’ve accomplished. Really puts things in PERSPECTIVE.

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

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Micky Augustin

Mike Vest

BOREDOM!

BOREDOM! What a great theme! But what is a BOREDOM photo? I snaked this theme from THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT. A BOREDOM photo is any photo of somebody that is in the throes of BOREDOM or any activity you do when you are fighting BOREDOM.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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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 bored Monday.