Category Archives: Shawn Lockner

Roundball Oracles Year 19

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 NCAA Tournament Pool. There is no cost to enter the pool, except for pride. And if pride is nothing to you, well done.

The winner gets a trophy. The dead last place person gets a trophy known as The Sara*. Nobody else gets a trophy. I’m not made of trophies people!

By winning, you get your name etched on the List of Immortals:

PAST ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPIONS – LIST OF IMMORTALS

2023 – Will Baier
2022 – Ben Baier
2021 – Micky Augustin
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. Does that mean I have no problem mocking children behind their back? Does it make me a bad person if I say yes? 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. At least, back when there was a Youth Group.

Past “The Sara” Winners:

2023 – Ben Baier
2022 – Joey Randazzo
2021 – Rachel Gildersleeve
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. This will be the 9th winner since its inception after all.

These were the final standings from last year:

1. Will Baier – 204
2. Toby Sebring – 200
3. Sarah Karber – 193
4. Tim Peterson – 189
5. Cathie Morton – 188
6. Elizabeth Nordeen- 185
7. Andy Sharp – 184
8. Russell Kennerly – 184
9. Linda Bennett – 183
10. Micky Augustin – 183
11. Carrie Baier – 180
12. Dawn Krause – 178
13. Corey Faust – 177
14. Jesse Howard – 176
15. Jason Baier – 173
16. Angie DeWaard – 171
17. Michelle Haupt – 170
18. Carla Stensland – 170
19. Jackson Faust – 168
20. Frank Meiners – 157
21. Lowell Davis – 155
22. Andree Jauhari – 154
23. Christopher D. Bennett – 154
24. Robert Henning – 154
25. Nader Parsaei – 147
26. Logan Kahler – 145
27. Rachel Gildersleeve – 145
28. Joey Randazzo – 144
29. Olivia Baier – 141
30. Jordan Toot – 141
31. JJ Baier – 141
32. Brandon Kahler – 136
33. Becky Parmelee – 131
34. Derek Dohrman – 122
35. Sara Lockner – 112
36. Shawn Lockner – 111
37. Ben Baier – 111

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 19

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 Thursday. Roughly 11 AM.

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 37 competitors in 2023. A 1 person gain from 2022. Hopefully there is continued growth in participation this year, but I don’t know that I have 1 more friend than I did in 2023. It is possible I have gained even more friends since 2023. I might be a pretty great person.

*You have to be 14 years or older to win “The Sara”.

Post 5,005

I need to start this milestone post by wishing Elainie a happy birthday!


Day 57 - February 26, 2022
Happy birthday Elainie!

I hope your birthday is amazing!!

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Today is also Layla’s birthday!


Day 278 - October 5, 2021
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYLA!

I hope you have an awesome birthday!

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Can you believe that this is the 5,005th entry in the blog known as “An Artist’s Notebook”? Every 250 posts or so I like to take a moment to reflect on where this post has been and post a lot of meaningless stats. I meant to post this post on Sunday night when it would have been Post #5,000, but you know how my week went. Not great.

As always on these posts, I like to start by quoting the very first “An Artist’s Notebook” entry that published on August 9, 2006. That first post that published 6,296 days.

That post that started with these words:

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”.

Since those words, I have posted 5,005 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.

5,005 posts. I can’t even measure the elevation changes my life have taken since then. Major ups. Major downs. Peaks and valleys. 5,005 posts and I vow to keep on chugging along.

On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.

Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:

THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #4757 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Carla – 582 (#8 – +52)
9. Teresa – 590 (#9 – +65)
8. Road Trip – 611 (#6 – +42)
7. Macro – 627 (#10 – +132)
6. Formal Portrait – 638 (NR)
5. Jesse – 684 (#4 – +54)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

Dropping from the from the Top 10 was Shannon, a category that was #7 in Post #4757.

The 5 categories that have the best shot at making the Top 10 in Post #5,250 are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, and Candid Portrait.

It should be noted that some of these increases are caused by my working on the categories on some older posts.

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 432 (#10 – +43)
9. Candid Portrait – 475 (NR)
8. Nature – 538 (+101 – #8)
7. Road Trip – 611 (#5 – +42)
6. Macro – 627 (#6 – +132)
5. Formal Portrait – 638 (#8 – +191)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

WPC-Submission fell out of the Top 10. It was ranked #7 in Post #4757.

The categories that are just right outside of the Top 10 are Still Life, Naima, History, and Self-Portrait and Christianity.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Vest – 350 (NR)
9. Jay – 353 (#6 – +5)
8. Micky – 359 (NR)
7. Logan – 380 (#9 – +61)
6. Kim – 395 (#7 – +53)
5. Mom – 464 (#5 – +6)
4. Shannon – 576 (#2 – +37)
3. Carla – 582 (#3 – +52)
2. Teresa – 590 (#4 – +65)
1. Jesse – 684 (#1 – +54)

Dropping from the rankings was Willy and Derrick.

The categories that have the best shot at cracking the next Top 10 are Willy, Derrick, Jen, Andy, and Sara.

If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.

I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.

If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 203 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #203 probably needs to be purged.


THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100

#10. Andree – 77
#10. Flat Earth Joe – 77
#10. Self-Portrait Project – 77
#9. Photo Journal – 79
#8. Commercial – 83
#7. Sabas – 84
#6. Becca – 89
#3. Pufferbilly Days – 91
#3. Pastor Sarah – 91
#3. House – 91
#1. Faust – 92
#1. Writing – 92

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Kelly, Lowell, and Suzie.

The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Sarah Toot, Lowell, Suzie, Russell, and Nate

The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Layla, Kelly, Vacation, Saydie, and Kalista

“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

Now I don't want your sympathy
10. Naima – 64,796 views

Tenderloin Trail 2.0 - Stumble Inn
9. Tenderloining – 75,558 views

9 Emotions Project - Elainie
8. 9 Emotions Project – 81,405 views

Day 267 - September 24, 2022
7. Selfie-Project – 2022 – 88,632 views

Rodan139: Water Works Park
6. Drone – 99,708 views

WEEK 364 - COLORFUL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
5. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 108,852 views

Anita, Iowa
4. Town Sign Project – 118,563 views

Las Vegas, Nevada
3. Las Vegas 2023 – 169,257 views

Plymouth County - Le Mars
2. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 219,546 views

WEEK 414 - ART - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 10 – 323,781 views

Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Christopher D. Bennett, Miami Beach, Jayton Poole, and Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020

Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Sleeping Angels – 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6, Photo Journal Rejects, Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008, and Christopher D. Bennett.

But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.

Top 10 Photography 139 Images

Sleeping Angels Fun Run - 2023
10. Sleeping Angels Fun Run – 2,772 views

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022
9. Maven’s Birthday Party – 2022 – 2,820 views

Community Thanksgiving - 2022
8. Boone FUMC Thanksgiving – 2022 – 3,073 views

Color the Wind - 2023
7. Color the Wind – 2023 – 3,149 views

Celtic Dancing - Renaissance Fair - 2022
6. Renaissance Fair – 2022 – 3,302 views

Fran & Pepper - 2022
5. Fran and Pepper – 3,687 views

World Food Festival - 2022
4. World Food Festival – 2022 – 3,754 views

Howards - 2022
3. Howards – 2022 – 3,976 views

Boone County Fair Barbecue Contest - 2023
2. 2023 Barbecue Contests – 4,168 views

2023 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship Game
1. Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship – 18,045 views

If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:

Post 1
Post 750
Post 850
Post 1,000
Post 1,101
Post 1,200
Post 1,447
Post 1,718
Post 2,500
Post 3,000
Post 3,252
Post 3,751
Post 4,000
Post 4,250
Post 4,500
Post 4,757

I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 245 posts.

WPC – WEEK 421 – RELIGION

NOTES: 1 – THE THEME FOR THIS WEEK HAS A SPECIAL RULE. MAKE SURE YOU READ THAT SPECIAL RULE DURING THE THEME REVEAL PART OF THIS HERE JOURNAL ENTRY. 2 – AT THE END OF THE MONTH I WILL BE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR’S THEMES. THE LAST MONDAY IN OCTOBER AND THE 1ST MONDAY IN NOVEMBER ARE WHEN SUGGESTIONS CAN BE MADE. THOSE SUGGESTIONS HAVE TO BE MADE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THOSE POSTS. NOT VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE, TEAMS, PHONE CONVERSATION, SNAPCHAT. ONLY IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS OF THOSE 2 POSTS. START THINKING OF THEMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEXT YEAR.

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Today is Indigenous Peoples Day!


Dignity Statue

I hope we all can find a way to celebrate and research the contributions and history of the indigenous peoples of America today and every day.

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Today is Shawn’s birthday, so I need to wish him a happy birthday. Happy birthday Shawn!


Brandi Carlile Concert

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!

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RELIGION! An estimated 6.6 billion people practice a RELIGION. But did many of those billions of people or any of the 1.2 billion unaffiliated find something of a RELIGION to photograph to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, October 2, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Elainie Stensland – 1 week (2)
2-Myriah Sharp – 1 week (3)
3-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
4-Amy Peterson – 3 weeks (2)
5-Scott Degeneffe – 6 weeks (2)
6-Sabas Hernandez – 7 weeks
7-Willy McAlpine – 7 weeks
8-Mary Green – 9 weeks (3)
9-Mike Vest – 13 weeks
10-Sheri Fakhouri – 16 weeks
11-Monica Jennings – 17 weeks
12-Logan Kahler – 17 weeks
13-Nathanial Brown – 18 weeks
14-Jesse Howard – 18 weeks
15-Tamara Peterson – 21 weeks
16-Alexis Stensland – 26 weeks
17-Mindi Terrell – 33 weeks (3)
18-Brandon Kahler – 57 weeks
19-Linda Bennett – 62 weeks (2)
20-Sarah Toot – 63 weeks
21-Angie DeWaard – 67 weeks
22-Dawn Krause – 71 weeks (3)
23-Kim Barker – 77 weeks (2)
24-Joe Duff – 78 weeks (2)
25-Teresa Kahler – 89 weeks (3)
26-Carla Stensland – 89 weeks (2)
27-Micky Augustin – 91 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 92 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 93 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 97 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 98 weeks (2)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 100 weeks
33-Kio Dettman – 102 weeks (2)

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


WEEK 421 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp (Boone First United Methodist Parsonage – Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 68 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 94 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - BRANDON KAHLER
Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 58 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Twin Lakes Bible Camp, Iowa) – 90 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - CATHIE MORTON
Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 98 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett (Es Selam Mosque – Rural Dallas County, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 72 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - ELAINIE STENSLAND
Elainie Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 99 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 19 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 79 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker (Iowa) – 78 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 103 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - LINDA BENNETt
Linda Bennett (Ames, Iowa) – 63 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett (Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - LINDA BENNET
Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 92 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 14 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 34 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MONICA JENNINGS
Monica Jennings (Otley, Iowa) – 18 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - MYRIAH SHARP
Myriah Sharp (Hawaii) – 2 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - NATHANIAL BROWN
Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 19 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SABAS HERNANDEZ
Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 8 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York) – 64 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SCOTT DEGENEFFE
Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 7 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 101 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SHERI FKAHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 17 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SHERI FKAHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SHERI FKAHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen (Austin, Texas) – 1 week

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 22 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 421 - RELIGION - WILLY MCALPINE
Willy McAlpine (Seville, Spain) – 8 weeks

31 participants! That is a pretty good week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Hawaii
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ Spain
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

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

38 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 75% of the way there!

he Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ Alto del Perdon – Spain
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Ontario, Canada
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
+ Puenta de la Reina, Spain
+ St. John pied de port, France
+ Vienna, Austria
+ Munich, Germany
+ Rome, Italy
+ Cannes, France
+ Koper, Slovenia

The major milestone reached this week was Kim joining the Year and a Half Streak Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. It was a veritable blook bath of streaks! Sara’s 2 week streak is gone. Amy’s 3 week streak is toast. Mary’s 9 week streak is over! And most heartbreaking… Alexis’ 26 week streak is but a distant memory!

But all is not lost to those who believe in the power of resurrection and this is a new week where new streaks can begin!

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 422 - INSTAGOOD
#INSTAGOOD

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

But what exactly is an #INSTAGOOD image? Here is where that special rule for this theme is revealed. An #INSTAGOOD image is simply the best image you take this week. Period. And because it is the best image you take this week (HERE IS THAT SPECIAL RULE) you can only submit ONE picture for this theme. Only one picture is your best picture.

I will add, do NOT send me multiple images and ask me to pick the best one. Remember that one rule for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is that the picture has to be taken the week of the theme because this is not a curate your pictures challenge, this is a get off your butt and go take pictures challenge! However, this week, you will have to do curate from all the pictures you take this week down to one, best picture.

The term #INSTAGOOD does come from Instagram. It is the second most popular Instagram hashtag. These are the 5 most popular Instagram hashtags.

1. #love (2.1 billion)
2. #instagood (1.7 billion)
3. #fashion (1.1 billion)
4. #instagram (1.1 billion)
5. #photooftheyday (1 billion)

You hashtag an image with #INSTAGOOD that you think it is particularly good. A picture that is definitely worth of the grid. Not the weak kind of image you might throw into your story. For the grid!

I look forward to seeing the best image you take this week!

RULES

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

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

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of best in this place that I hope is some of the best of me next Monday.

Fulton County Jane Doe

One, two, three, four…

Out in the middle of nowhere
With nothing much else to do
Oh, the night brought us together
And I lent my heart to you

Maybe you were running way from something
Without so much as a plan
Not a living soul to guide you
Jesus tattooed on your hand

And when my heart has no rest
And a thousand things are on my mind
I’ll always save some room for you
I won’t let you get left behind

Oh, and I always will remember
When the lonely day is through
That somewhere fall from Fulton County
A stranger says a prayer for you

We came into this life with nothing
And all we’re taking is a name
That’s why I’ve written you this song
This is for Fulton County Jane
-Brandi Carlile

Before I get into this Thursday’s flowertography collection, thought I would share some cruddy cell phone picture from going to see Brandi in concert in Omaha with Sara and Shawn.


Brandi Carlile Concert
Pink was there supporting Brandi.

Brandi Carlile Concert
It was nearly or over 100 degrees on this day.

Brandi Carlile Concert
But people waited in line just to get in to see Brandi.

Brandi Carlile Concert
The concert was at the baseball stadium that host the College World Series.

Brandi Carlile Concert
It was a bigger stadium than I expected.

Brandi Carlile Concert
It was nice of Pink to build this big stage for Brandi.

Brandi Carlile Concert
The opening act was Grouplove. You can see Hannah Hooper if you squint.

Brandi Carlile Concert

Brandi Carlile Concert
Brandi!

Brandi Carlile Concert
This guy’s head.

Brandi Carlile Concert
About as good of a picture as I could get of Brandi and the twins, cause of this guy’s head.

Brandi Carlile Concert

Brandi Carlile Concert
Pink closed the show for Brandi.

Brandi Carlile Concert
If you look closely, you can see Pink descending to the stage from the lips.

Brandi Carlile Concert
More descending.

Brandi Carlile Concert

Brandi Carlile Concert
I actually almost like this picture.

Brandi Carlile Concert
On her last song, Pink flew around the stadium.

It was an amazing concert that just needed more Brandi! A week ago I could have told you every song she played, but for now it is enough to note that she did play “The Story” and “Broken Horses”. The highlight of the Pink portion of the show was when she talked about how she wished she could write songs like Brandi. Then Brandi came out and they sang “Nothing Compares 2 U” as a tribute to Sinead O’Connor.

It was a great show and I can’t wait to see Brandi perform again!

But Thursdays ARE for flowers. Here are some flower pictures I took in my yard back in May:


Fulton County Jane Doe

Fulton County Jane Doe

Fulton County Jane Doe

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Solace of Ordinary Humanity - 2023

Next Thursday I might share more flower pictures from my yard or more pictures from Pella. It is a mystery that will only revealed by time.

Whatever You Do

If I don’t owe you a favor, you don’t know me
I don’t believe we’ve ever even met
If there’s a God in heaven you can show me
Then I guess I should admit I lost the bet
There are moments I could hold you forever
There are moments that lasted way too long
There are days when I change with the weather
To hold you in place would be wrong

I never met a morning I could get through
With nothing on my breath to hold the night
And I never said I’m sorry but I meant to
I never met a coward I don’t like
There are reasons why the body stays in motion
But at the moment only demons come to mine
There are days when I could walk into the ocean
With no one else but you to leave behind

There’s a road left behind me that I would rather not speak of
And a hard one ahead of me too
I love you, whatever you do
But I got a life to live too
-Brandi Carlile

As you all should know, on Monday I got a chance to see Brandi Carlile in concert for the first time in several years. It was an amazing concert! I had almost forgot how amazing of a live performer she is. Almost! I definitely can’t let it be so long before I see her live again!

I might be a little out of practice with taking selfies since I’m not doing THE SELFIE PROJECT this year so apparently the selfie I took with Sara and Shawn caused quite the stir…

I took this selfie and sent it to a few people:



One of the responses I got back was:

The girl behind you is practically showing her boob. She must know the kind of pictures you like.

I guess I walked into that one.

I guess we got Photo-boobed. I mean Boob-bombed. I mean boobs!

Anyways, I will still treasure this picture and this moment in time.

But Thursday is for flowers! Here is some flowers from my yard:


Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Rebels - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

Happiness Shared - 2023

There is one last collection of images of flowers taken from my yard on this day left to share.

The Windy City: Day 1B

I need to start out by thanking everyone that wished me a happy birthday. I believe this is a comprehensive list of everybody that wished me a happy birthday.

+ Kim and also thank you for buying me birthday Buffalo Chicken tots and the card.
+ Ron, Clevenger, Jordan, and Aaron. Although I may have bought those birthday wishes with donuts.
+ Elizabeth and also thanks for buying me candy bars I know you don’t like but the real thanks goes for looking for my favorite candy bars the Whatchamacallit and the Take 5! You are the real hero! Also, glad you are digging SHRINKING! Such a great show!
+ Steph. My birthday buddy, I hope FAST X was everything you wanted to be and I’m trying not to lose just a smidge of respect that you went to it.
+ Jesse – Sorry I was so aggressive in accusing you of eating all the mystery cheese.
+ Nader – Thanks for the frog statue!
+ Shannon- half credit for including a picture of a gross cat with your birthday wishes.
+ Michelle – good job taking a three day weekend to celebrate my birth.
+ Jay – doesn’t look like you got any rhubarb. It isn’t going to pick itself.
+ Kelly – thanks for the kind words. Not necessary, but thanks.
+ Angie – hope the postcard arrives soon.
+ Monica – thanks for sending me the picture of me in my Hulkster phase.
+ Suzie – thanks for knowing the proper animal to include in a happy birthday wish!
+ Jason – glad you are feeling better!
+ Bill – thanks for replying “no problem” when I said “thanks”. Don’t know why, but that amused me.
+ Sara Lockner – thanks for almost using enough exclamation marks in your birthday wishes!
+ Shawn – I’m sorry your wife used up all the world’s supply of punctuation in her birthday wishes and there wasn’t any punctuation left for yours.
+ Faust – thanks for pretending that banking sounds fun.
+ Teresa – thanks but I have my doubts you know who Dwight Schrute is.
+ Anders – I don’t know if it was a great one, but I’m sure May Movie Night will be.
+ Sarah Toot – Thanks for thinking I have the slightest clue what emoticons mean. Don’t feel pressure to do better next year.
+ Alexis – thanks for letting me think today was my day.
+ Baier and Dre – We didn’t have much interaction, but thanks for thinking of me.
+ Micky – thanks for multiple birthday wishes. It isn’t a contest, but if it was I think Elizabeth won. At least I think that is what she yelled at me as I walked out the door. But your message was the closest I came to having cake today. So that is something.
+ Lori – thanks, no need to apologize for transferring me my favorite kind of call, even if I really shouldn’t have been first in queue. Hope things went well today.
+ Mark – thanks. I suppose I should learn when your birthday is. Also stop using your desk for storage. Nah!
+ Lowell – thanks for the gift card. I like to think you would get me one even if the company didn’t require it.
+ Carla – thanks for getting your birthday wishes in right before the buzzer.
+ Nathanial – thanks for the final birthday wishes of my day.

I think that is the list. I think that is everybody that wished me a happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

If you are wondering what I did for my birthday, it was nothing super spectacular. It was mostly an average day.

I woke up about 5:54 AM. A little late for me. I was up late last night watching the NBA Playoffs. Then trying to watch the season finale of THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND. Dang it! This wasn’t the season they actually found treasure. And I was so sure! I also ate fried food the night before. I’m trying to eat healthier, so it is fairly rare I eat fried food these days, he said hoping that there were people that believed him. Point is I slept in. It was my birthday. Cut me some slack!

I’m not sure what I did when I first got out of bed. I think I moved to the couch and watched the news for a little bit. Then I went outside and watered the flowers. I also took apart the trunk in the Camry. I had a slight gas spill in the trunk the night before and it was creating a pretty strong smell in the rest of the car. Then I took a shower. Brushed my teeth. Got dressed. But on cologne option #2. Said goodbye to Naima. Got in the Camry. Headed out.

There is an old birthday tradition at the Computer Mine where on your birthday you bring in food for the other employees. On a good day, there are about 10 employees in the building. (On a great day there is less.) On this day, half those people were gone for various reasons. On my way to work I stopped at the Dutch Oven Bakery and picked up a dozen donuts for my co-workers.

This is a small detail of what transpired on my birthday, but perhaps one of my favorite things that happened.

I left the donuts in the breakroom and then sent an email out to the people I knew would be in the building. Here is the backstory.

About 2 weeks, Elizabeth brought in a dozen donuts from a bakery in Nevada. (For the record, and I might get rode out of Boone on a rail for saying this, these donuts buried the ones from Dutch Oven.) She cut all the donuts in half. Now I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain why, but I will. She cut them in half so that people could try multiple donuts and multiple people could try the same donut.

Back to my birthday. Based on my current work schedule, Ron gets to the building about 30 minutes before I do. Elizabeth gets to the office about 15-30 minutes after me. She is in Special Forces so she can come and go as she pleases. I guess that is really more backstory, for what I’m promising you isn’t much payoff.

So back to that email. I explained in the email that there were donuts in the breakroom for my birthday. I didn’t cut them in half (cause I’m lazy – I didn’t write that, but it was in the subtext) but maybe when Elizabeth got here she would cut the donuts in half. I added that this wasn’t sexist on my part, just she is very passionate about the donut cutting thing.

Here is the “payoff”. I’m telling you that the ink wasn’t dry on that email before Ron was standing next to my cubicle. He wished me a happy birthday and then said that he was going to go get a donut quick before Elizabeth got here and cut them in half.

I said it wasn’t much of a payoff, but I thought it was hilarious.

I think it was somewhere in here I went to take a Snap of the donuts to keep my Streaks going with Logan (501), Brandon (257), Nathanial (89), Fran (37), and Alexis (23).

Somewhere after this, Elizabeth did come in. She did not cut all the donuts in half, but she did cut the donuts she tried in half. Take that Ron! She also brought me candy! So the day was off to a great start.

After that I put in a good solid 8 hours for The Man. I was a problem solving machine. Well to be honest, in the morning I mostly did a lot of rando stuff. I think the highlight of my morning (besides the other stuff I’ve highlighted) was being on hold with a customer for about 30 minutes as they repeatedly rebooted their computer before announcing, I’ll have to call you back.

Then came my lunchbreak. I did point out that I am trying to eat healthier. That means (amongst other things) that I only drink pop once a week. I’m pretty much completely off fast food. I rarely eat fried foods. This means that one of my favorite haunts, B-Bop’s has been off the table. But I figured it was my birthday, I could treat myself to B-Bop’s.

I drove halfway across Ames and got the #2 with Cheese with a Large Pepsi.

Sidebar: A great birthday present would have been the B-Bops across the street from the Computer Mine opening back up so I don’t have to drive completely across tarnation to get B-Bops goodness. They have been remodeling for months now! How long does it take to remodel a restaurant that doesn’t have a dining room?!?!?

It was just as good as I remembered. Although, I could feel the salad place next door judging me a little bit. But I literally ate there the day before. Asian Crunch Salad, no protein. So I think we’re square. Stop looking at me lettuce!

After I got back to the work I was a machine. Updating Server Managers. Modifying hosts files. Attaching SQL databases. All a beauty of motion, while sitting in a desk chair staring at 3 monitors. Barely taking a break to try to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing (I failed).

I called it a day, leaving many a satisfied customer in my wake. (Which means next time I work I won’t be able to solve anybody’s problems.) I drove home. I like to take a route home (sometimes called Old 30) where I drive by a bunch of railroad cars just parked along the highway to see if there is any interesting graffiti to photograph. There wasn’t anything transcendent like a painting of a dog or a clown or characters from The Simpsons, but there was one I found photo worthy. I pulled over and snapped a photo. I’m collecting these images and when I hit about 20 or so I will share them. This is what passes for an art scene in Boone.

Got home. Said hello to Naima. Then mowed my back yard. Which needed to be done before it became a 3 man job… again. I was supposed to have a meeting with my friend Kelli. She is opening a wine bar and wants to use my photography on her walls. I was supposed to look at the space and kind of figure out what we wanted to put there, but that meeting got postponed cause, from what I’m gathering, one of her kids did something dumb. Like go to Grand Junction.

The cancellation opened up a hole in my schedule and I was able to take Naima to Dickcissel for a walk and some wading for her. It was also a good time for me to take the theme reveal image for next week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme.

There was a decent rain coming down on us when we completed the loop. Which meant Naima was soaked all over. I consider this to be a positive though, because the smell of wet dog masked the smell of gas. Not much of a trade up, but small victories.

I decided to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream on our way home since I’m eating healthier. Unfortunately, the line in the DQ drive-thru was crazy long, so instead I drove across town to Big Kahuna’s. This is a considerable upgrade in the quality of the ice cream for me, but it meant Naima didn’t get a pup cup. Sorry, Naima. Don’t feel too bad for her. She did get a full pork chop for supper. Me? I had a cherry amaretto ice cream waffle cone for supper. The supper of champions!

I came home and started watching the Lakers-Nuggets game to finish off my night. While sitting there I got a snap from Nathanial asking for my opinion on his options for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. He is the second person to ask for my opinion. Meanwhile, humble narrator, hasn’t even given any consideration to what he will enter. Usually at this point I at least know at least 2 of the pictures I will enter. This year I have absolutely no clue. I mean that could be a weekend project, but I don’t know I’ll have much time this weekend either. I guess we’ll see what happens.

After the Nuggets won, I watched a little bit of “90s Nation” on MTV Classic and called it a night. Nodding off into a golden slumber listening to the “Morbid” podcast on H.H. Holmes. Part 4. All in all, a pretty good birthday.

+++++++

We begin where we left off last Friday. Lowell, Tony, and I were walking around Chicago waiting for Kim to get done getting good union employees fired for smoking a joint while putting up our booth. Kim has no chill. We were going to checkout a place called Zombie Taco as a potential place for supper. Kim had told us that we were to pick the place for supper. Tacos are always a good choice. That is free advice that I’m giving you, that I wish I had listened to on Day 3 of this trip. Unfortunately when we found Zombie Taco it seemed to be only a walk-up window and on top of that, it seemed to be closed.

But back to the walkabout.


Chicago, Illinois
A play on “This American Life”. My favorite radio show. But I’m not sure what it means.

Chicago, Illinois
I think this place was abandoned.

Chicago, Illinois
Never let anybody tell you, wearing Skechers is not cool. I wear them. Snoop wears them. Tony wears them. Elizabeth’s Grandma used to wear them.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
My greatest regret from the trip to Chicago is not taking a river cruise.

Chicago, Illinois
I wonder if this was the boat that the Dave Matthews Band dumped their poop on. As awful as that must have been, still better than listening to their music.

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago has a fair collection of interesting bridges.

Chicago, Illinois
More street art.

Chicago, Illinois
Down to the River Walk.

Chicago, Illinois
Another interesting bridge.

Chicago, Illinois
It was around here I met a lady that was walking a golden retriever. Such a good dog. Also, more street art.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
I’m guessing this is to protect you from Dave Matthews dumping his poop on your head. Now if they could devise a way to protect you from his awful music.

Chicago, Illinois
I assume Dave Matthews put that there.

Chicago, Illinois
I’d tell you what I think of Salesforce, but enough work talk.

Chicago, Illinois
There is also a Dick’s Last Resort on the San Antonio River Walk. This parking garage is an excellent example of why I would never want to live in a city.

Chicago, Illinois
But it is pretty to look at.

Chicago, Illinois
My #1 goal of the Chicago Trip was to see The Bean. Crossed it off the list Day 1.

Chicago, Illinois
After telling us to pick the restaurant, Kim picked the restaurant. Which fortunately, was 1 block from The Bean.

Chicago, Illinois
The WPC theme this week was FRIENDS. Nathanial told me I could take a picture of my reflection and I could be my own FRIEND(S). I have FRIENDS Nathanial. Still a cool shot.

Chicago, Illinois
The sculptor (Anish Kapoor) of The Bean at first hated that people called it that. It’s official name is Cloud Gate.

Chicago, Illinois
It is made out of 168 stainless steel plates welded together.

Chicago, Illinois
It’s highly polished exterior has no visible seams.

Chicago, Illinois
It measures 33 x 66 x 42 feet.

Chicago, Illinois
The design was inspired by liquid mercury.

Chicago, Illinois

I still have one more collection of images to share from Day 1 of the trip to Chicago.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is HAPPY!


WEEK 400 - HAPPY
HAPPY

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

But what in the Dave Rauker is a HAPPY photo? Simply put, it is a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or a picture of something that makes you HAPPY. HAPPY is, well it is a feeling of pleasure or contentment. In case you aren’t sure you know what it means to be HAPPY.

HAPPY has been a theme one other time. Here are a few of the submissions from that time to provide you with some inspiration:


WEEK 71 - HAPPY - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 71

In fact, that was pretty much every submission I received for HAPPY. I bet there will be more submissions this time.

Happy photo harvesting!

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

I need to start the day off by wishing Andree a happy birthday. Happy birthday Andree!


Photo Journal - Page 56 Reject

I hope your birthday is filled with joy, or at least as much joy as one can feel when they are in Houston, Texas.

+++++++

Yesterday was the end of the college basketball season, which also means it is time to crown the winner for Year 18 of the Roundball Oracles.

The winner was Will Baier. Congratulations Will! Making it back to back championships for Baier brothers! It seems like almost everybody in the Baier family has won, except Jason. Hmmmm…

His name is now on the List of Immortals.

ROUNDBALL ORACLES CHAMPIONS
2023 – Will Baier
2022 – Ben Baier
2021 – Micky Augustin
2020 – Tournament Canceled
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

Also “congratulations” goes to “The Sara” winner… Ben Baier. It was a close one this year and came down to the tie-breaker. It was so close to going Shawn. Then he would have had a “The Sara” trophy and the actual The Sara living in his house. Maybe next year.

Ben Baier went from the penthouse to the outhouse in one year. Maybe next year he will be back in the penthouse and his brother will be in the outhouse. It will be interesting to watch.

THE SARA “WINNERS”

2023 – Ben Baier
2022 – Joey Randazzo
2021 – Rachel Gildersleeve
2020 – Tournament Canceled
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

Here are the final Roundball Oracles Standings:

1. Will Baier – 204
2. Toby Sebring – 200
3. Sarah Karber – 193
4. Tim Peterson – 189
5. Cathie Morton – 188
6. Elizabeth Nordeen- 185
7. Andy Sharp – 184
8. Russell Kennerly – 184
9. Linda Bennett – 183
10. Micky Augustin – 183
11. Carrie Baier – 180
12. Dawn Krause – 178
13. Corey Faust – 177
14. Jesse Howard – 176
15. Jason Baier – 173
16. Angie DeWaard – 171
17. Michelle Haupt – 170
18. Carla Stensland – 170
19. Jackson Faust – 168
20. Frank Meiners – 157
21. Lowell Davis – 155
22. Andree Jauhari – 154
23. Christopher D. Bennett – 154
24. Robert Henning – 154
25. Nader Parsaei – 147
26. Logan Kahler – 145
27. Rachel Gildersleeve – 145
28. Joey Randazzo – 144
29. Olivia Baier – 141
30. Jordan Toot – 141
31. JJ Baier – 141
32. Brandon Kahler – 136
33. Becky Parmelee – 131
34. Derek Dohrman – 122
35. Sara Lockner – 112
36. Shawn Lockner – 111
37. Ben Baier – 111

Congrats to everybody that did better than me this year. And there were a lot of them. Cherish the feeling, cause it won’t happen again. Okay, it probably will.

+++++++

A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out for a couple test flights. The second of those flights was a spin above the Pilot Mound State Forest. Here are a few pictures from that flight:


Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

Next week I will share the pictures from the final flight I took on the battery test flight day.

You Found Someone More Exciting

A good time to clean up some of the backlog. These pictures were all taken in June and never really found there way into an “Artist’s Notebook” entry. Almost all of these are from Maven’s birthday party. The other image was taken as a theme reveal for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme SELF-PORTRAIT. That picture was actually taken by Jay.


Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

You Found Someone More Exciting

You Found Someone More Exciting

You Found Someone More Exciting

One of the things that Shawn and Sara excel in is throwing parties that are photogenic. More people should look into that.

Hello 2023.

It is the first day of 2023. I’m not really a “resolutions” person. Pastor Adam was on vacation today so we had a substitute seromizer in church this morning. He gave an impassioned, longwinded sermon on resolve. It took more than a bit of my resolve to stay awake during the longest sermon these ears have heard in quite sometime.

But if I were to take the words on resolve to heart, I would say that I’m not without goals. Last year my main goal was to complete THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. I did that.

My main goal in 2023 is to complete Phase 2 of THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT and put the book together. I should be freeing up sometime to work on that buy dropping a couple of photo projects that I did in 2022.

My second goal in 2023 is to begin work and complete my new photo project. Details are still foggy, but it is to create Boone postcard. Not a bunch of Boone postcards. Not even to print up a bunch of one Boone postcard. But to make one big image of one Boone postcard. While the end goal is one image, it will involve taking at least several hundred (probably thousand) images. It will make more sense when I get going on it.

My third goal in 2023 is to keep the positive momentum that was achieved in 2022 in participation rates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I’m not likely to go out and beat the drums looking for participants, but doesn’t mean you guys can’t. Right?

My fourth goal in 2023 is to consider and maybe take action on visiting and photographing every State Park in Iowa.
That seems more straight forward than it actually is because in addition to State Parks there are State Forests and State Preserves and State Recreation Areas. Boone County contains 3 Minor State Forests alone! We will see where this one goes, but we all know I could use the exercise.

I don’t have any goals related to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. That type of stuff is a considerable amount of luck. So best not to have goals that are out of one’s hands. Maybe my goal should just be to give my best effort.

Hopefully 2023 is a good year for all of us!

+++++++

Time to share the December images for the FatMumSlim Photo A Day Challenge. This is also the final collection of images as I will be dropping this pursuit in 2023. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but it still eats up a fair amount of time. Hopefully time freed up that I can use to pursue some of those 2023 goals.

Here are the December images:


December 1
December 1 – I Love This!

December 2
December 2 – I Bought This!

December 3
December 3 – Starts with T

December 4
December 4 – I Held This

December 5
December 5 – Something Red

December 6
December 6 – Peace

December 7
December 7 – Tree

December 8
December 8 – Looking Up

December 9
December 9 – Small

December 10
December 10 – Out + About

December 11
December 11 – Free Choice

December 12
December 12 – Lights

December 13
December 13 – Something Green

December 14
December 14 – Decoration

December 15
December 15 – A Star

December 16
December 16 – Candy Cane

December 17
December 17 – A Hat

December 18
December 18 – I Made This!

December 19
December 19 – Joy Is…

December 20
December 20 – Begins with S

December 21
December 21 – On the Floor

December 22
December 22 – A Gift

December 23
December 23 – A Tradition

December 24
December 24 – Someone I Love

December 25
December 25 – My Day

December 26
December 26 – This is Delish

December 27
December 27 – Colourful

December 28
December 28 – A Book

December 29
December 29 – Us

December 30
December 30 – How I Relax

December 31
December 31 – Best Part of 2022

Top 9
Top 9 Most Popular Images

I did enjoy this project and I’m not walking away from it because I didn’t enjoy it. I “met” numerous other people in this community that I will continue to follow, like @bea.photoaday, @sara.fms.photoaday, @outnbout, @gerkgirl, @pink_koffie, and @lostfate13.

But there were other things I didn’t like. Most people used the challenge to curate images, rather than take new images every day. The person that ran the challenge is Australian. That meant that a lot of the prompts were seasonal for Australia, meaning they weren’t seasonal for Iowa. Prompts repeated an awful lot. Not that they wouldn’t after 365 days, but I felt like they repeated more than necessary.

These minor complaints aside, I would consider doing it again in a future year. Just not this year. I’m sure many of you have minor complaints about how I run THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE as well.

WPC – WEEK 377 – ANIMAL

Did ANIMAL inspire a lot of people to get out there and photograph their favorite furry or feathered creatures? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, November 28, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
2-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
3-Sarah Karber – 2 weeks
4-Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
5-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks
6-Tamara Peterson – 4 weeks
7-Becky Parmelee – 6 weeks
8-Sara Lockner – 10 weeks
9-Suzie Brannen – 14 weeks
10-Brandon Kahler – 15 weeks
11-Linda Bennett – 18 weeks
12-Sarah Toot – 19 weeks
13-Monica Jennings – 20 weeks
14-Angie DeWaard – 23 weeks
15-Dawn Krause – 27 weeks
16-Kim Barker – 33 weeks
17-Joe Duff – 35 weeks
18-Logan Kahler – 36 weeks
19-Teresa Kahler – 45 weeks (2)
20-Carla Stensland – 45 weeks (3)
21-Michelle Haupt – 46 weeks
22-Micky Augustin – 47 weeks
23-Andy Sharp – 48 weeks
24-Bill Wentworth – 49 weeks
25-Cathie Morton – 53 weeks
26-Elizabeth Nordeen – 54 weeks
27-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 56 weeks
28-Kio Dettman – 58 weeks (3)

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


WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - MARY GREEN
Mary Green – 1 week

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest – 1 week

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - JEN ENSLEY-GORSHE
Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - SABAS HERNANDEZ
Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard – 3 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - WILLY MCALPINE
Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - SHAWN LOCKNER
Sara Lockner – 11 weeks (Assisted by Shawn Lockner)

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen – 15 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - BRANDON KAHLER
Brandon Kahler – 16 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett – 19 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot – 20 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - MONICA JENNINGS
Monica Jennings – 21 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard – 24 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMALS - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause – 28 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMALS - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause
WEEK 377 - ANIMAL -  KIM BARKER
Kim Barker – 34 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL -  KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff – 36 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler – 37 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL -  TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler – 46 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL -  TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL -  TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland – 46 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt – 47 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin – 48 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp – 49 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth – 50 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - CATHIE MORTON
Cathie Morton – 54 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen – 55 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley – 57 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman – 59 weeks

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 377 - ANIMAL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – 480 weeks


29 participants! That is a great week!

Had submissions from (assumptions on my part mostly) Pennsylvania, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and St. Thomas of the Virgin Islands.

My picture was taken about 15 steps from my back door, but with this week’s theme I will have to travel farther than that.

There were no big milestones and only two streaks came to an end. Sarah Karber’s 2 week streak came to a halt. Surprising when she is a big dog lover. Becky Parmelee (another big dog lover) had her streak halt at 6 weeks. There could have been more dogs!

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 378 - STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

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

But what is STREET PHOTOGRAPHY? Besides consistently the least popular theme… every single year. This is the most important thing to note: it is NOT a picture of a street. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is photography that is done in a public place. The most popular version would be candid portraits, but it doesn’t have to be a portrait. It can be anything found in public. Like a piece of public art. Anything you find in public that interests you.

And if you think you need some extra inspiration, look into the works of Vivian Maier, Henri Cartier-Besson, Saul Leiter, Robert Frank, and Garry Winogrand. Some of the greatest street photographers of all-time.

Vivian Maier’s history is particularly interesting, and worth a Google search.

While thinking about possible subject, meditate on the following quote:

Street photography is like fishing. Catching the fish is more exciting than eating it.
-Thomas Leuthard

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

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

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 your idea of STREET PHOTOGRAPHY in this place that learned many a lesson on the streets next Monday.