The pictures from the folder named 2009-08-29 are mostly from a photo session I did with Stephanie. If I recall correctly, these pictures were supposed to be a headshot for her music career. I decided to convert those to black and white and save them for posterity.
The other pictures in this folder are from my garden.
This is the first time that I’ve published any of these images.
Next week’s walk down memory lane will involve Ottumwa, Iowa and fire.
A HUGE week for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! A COLOSSAL week! WORK was the 18th week in a row with double digit submissions!
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Kim Barker
Carla Stensland
Tamara Peterson
Carla Stensland
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Michelle Haupt
Christopher D. Bennett
Stephanie Kim
Becky Parmelee
Dawn Krause
Dawn Krause
Logan Kahler
Logan Kahler
Logan Kahler
Andy Sharp
Cathie Raley
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
Elizabeth Nordeen
Kim Barker
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:
REFLECTION! What a great theme! But what is a REFLECTION picture? Well, a REFLECTION picture is any picture that includes a REFLECTION as an essential part of its composition. A picture with a mirror would be the most common kind of REFLECTION picture. But many things have RELFLECTIONs. Including water and really anything that is shiny.
Remember that REFLECTION has more than one meaning. I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 reflective Monday!
I would be remiss if I didn’t open today without wishing everybody a Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Today, I want to share some of his words following the end of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Often our movement has been referred to as a boycott movement. The word boycott, however, does not adequately describe the true spirit of our movement. The word boycott is suggestive of merely an economic squeeze devoid of any positive value. We have never allowed ourselves to get bogged in the negative; we have always sought to accentuate the positive. Our aim has never been to put the bus company out of business, but rather to put justice in business.
These twelve months have not at all been easy. Our feet have often been tired. We have struggle against tremendous odds to maintain alternative transportation. There have been moments when roaring waters of disappointment poured upon us in staggering torrents. We can remember days when unfavorable court decisions came upon us like tidal waves, leaving us treading in the deep and confused waters of despair. But amid all of this we have kept going with the faith that as we struggle, God struggles with us, and that the arc of the moral universe, although long, is bending toward justice.5 We have lived under the agony and darkness of Good Friday with the conviction that one day the heightening glow of Easter would emerge on the horizon. We have seen truth crucified and goodness buried, but we have kept going with the conviction that truth crushed to earth will rise again.6
(later)
This is the time that we must evince calm dignity and wise restraint. Emotions must not run wild. Violence must not come from any of us, for if we become victimized with violent intents, we will have walked in vain, and our twelve months of glorious dignity will be transformed into an eve of gloomy catastrophy. As we go back to the busses let us be loving enough to turn an enemy into a friend. We must now move from protest to reconciliation. It is my firm conviction that God is working in Montgomery. Let all men of goodwill, both Negro and white, continue to work with Him. With this dedication we will be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man’s inhumanity to man to the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice.
If you are ever in Memphis, I can’t urge you to visit the Civil Rights Museum strongly enough.
It is an extremely powerful and rage inducing experience.
As white supremacy continues to be emboldened in this country and has made an ugly resurgence in the last couple of years, I pray that after this current shameful chapter in American history closes, that there is some real healing in this country.
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WooHoo! TEXTURE makes is 17 straight weeks of double digit submissions! I was a little worried about this week because TEXTURE is one of the more abstract themes. Not technically difficult, but a little on the obtuse side. Plus, at least in central Iowa the temperature barely climbed into positive digits all weekend. But, we hit double digits and I barely had to twist any arms this morning!
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates, you came to see the submissions:
Monica Henning
Elizabeth Nordeen
Carla Stensland
Michelle Haupt
Sarah Karber
Stephanie Kim
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Christopher D. Bennett
Dawn Krause
Becky Parmelee
Micky Augustin
Cathie Raley
Tamara Peterson
Tamara Peterson
Kim Barker
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:
COUNTRY! What a great theme! But what is a COUNTRY photo? A COUNTRY photo is really just any photo that is taken outside of a town, city, village, or hamlet. This should be easy enough. I know plenty of you (like me) drive through the COUNTRY to get to work. Some of you live in the COUNTRY. But something doesn’t have to be in the COUNTRY to suggest the COUNTRY. Plus, remember that the word COUNTRY has more than one meaning. A quality tip for people who live in the middle of say Brooklyn or Minneapolis.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
+++++++
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 country Monday!
FOOD was another very popular theme. We have reached 16 straight weeks of double digit submissions! Someday I’m going to have to have a look and see what is the record for the most submissions for one week. I don’t think today is that record, but there were a healthy number of people that enjoy photographing their food. I spoke about the “Doris Gene” when I wrote about my Grandma recently. Photographing your food is definitely a “Bennett Gene”. I discovered that when I visited my cousin Sarah in New York City what feels like… well way too long ago.
In fact, there could have been even more submissions, but apparently people don’t eat cats. I’m sure there are some people out there that eat cats, but I digress…
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about submission rates. You came to see the submissions:
Elizabeth Nordeen
Micky Augustin
Dawn Krause
Andy Sharp
Teresa Kahler
Andy Sharp
Linda Bennett
Kim Barker
Linda Bennett
Sarah Karber
Stephanie Kim
Cathie Raley
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
Christopher D. Bennett
Carla Stensland
Becky Parmelee
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:
TEXTURE! What a great theme! But what is a TEXTURE photo? A TEXTURE photo is simply a picture that accents and object that has TEXTURE. An object that isn’t smooth. If you are looking for more of a challenge than just taking a picture of your siding, here is a good opportunity to combine two pictures to add texture to a subject that doesn’t have texture. This would be called multi-exposure in the old film days. But you can replicate double exposure in image editing software.
Here is another hint, black and white photography shows off texture more than color photography.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
+++++++
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Congratulations to Randy Rios (not actual last name) for being the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I don’t know that she really wanted the subscription, but Jorge told her it would be good for her. Jorge is the law.
+++++++
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 textured Monday!
I’m not surprised easily, but you guys surprised me this week. Enough of you dipped your toe into the HDR world to keep the streak of double digit submissions going and to hit 15 straight weeks!
But you didn’t come her to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates, you came to see the submissions:
Linda Bennett
Tamara Peterson
Christopher D. Bennett
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Monica Henning
Monica Henning
Monica Henning
Stephanie Kim
Andy Sharp
Andy Sharp
Jen Ensley-Gorshe
Jen Ensley Gorshe
Dawn Krause
Mike Vest
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:
FOOD! What a great theme! This is about as easy as a theme can get. Just take a picture of FOOD or somebody preparing FOOD or somebody eating FOOD or anything that is related to FOOD.
Don’t be surprised if your FOOD picture ends up looking disgusting. In some ways, this is THE GREASY STRANGLER of themes. Delicious food often looks disgusting when photographed. That is why in most food advertising, food is often fake. Also, why when local restaurants just do their food photography themselves, the food ends up looking disgusting on their menu. Looking at you Colorado Grill.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations.
+++++++
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 hungry Monday!
Today is Indigenous Peoples’ Day… To some who don’t know about this holiday, here is are 5 ways to celebrate: from bustle.com:
1. Participate in Cultural Appreciation – No, cultural appreciation is not the same thing as cultural appropriation. Cultural appreciation is all about respecting different cultures, understanding the role you play in oppressing or erasing said culture, and not trivializing sacred cultural traditions by simply adopting them.
2. Donate to Indigenous People’s Rights Organizations – Consider donating to the Bears Ears Intertribal Coalition, a group made up of five nations (and supported by 30 Native American Tribes!) who are in a battle to preserve Bear Ears National Monument that has come under threat because of the Trump administration. Or, donate to Stand With Standing Rock, the group formed of Native activists, different tribes, and allies who halted the Dakota Access Pipeline — and are still fighting against it.
3. Attend vigils, rallies, or other events that Native activists organize – On Indigenous People’s Day, let’s celebrate Native culture, but let’s also recognize why the holiday is needed in the first place. Systemic racism has long erased the narratives of indigenous people from American history, and contributes to the large health and wellness disparities Native Americans face today, when compared to all other Americans. Native American women are especially marginalized, as they are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted than women of any other race. Additionally, so many Native American women end up missing or murdered that North Dakota senators are calling it an “epidemic.” If Native Activists organize vigils or rallies on Indigenous People’s Day, try to show up and acknowledge the harm the United States has inflicted on different nations.
4. Purchase art from Native Americans – Put your money where your mouth is, and support indigenous communities’ artwork and business. Being an ally means showing support through action — not just talking.
5. Don’t just celebrate Indigenous People’s Day; actively disavow Columbus Day – No one’s trying to “rewrite American history,” Brenda — Native Americans have been brutalized and subjected to genocide since the inception of America, and as the popular chant goes: your silence is violence. Sign petitions if your city has yet to recognize Indigenous People’s Day, and don’t be hesitant to have conversations with other white people about why it’s important to celebrate it over Columbus Day.
Why does Christopher Columbus not deserve a holiday? Here is some information from owlcation.com:
For the second voyage to Haiti the following year (1493), Ferdinand and Isabella gave him the resources needed to subdue the population. When he returned to Haiti, Columbus demanded food, gold, and cotton thread, and was increasingly met with resistance. This resistance gave him the opportunity he needed to declare war on the Arawaks. According to Bartolomé de Las Casas, who was there with the Spanish, Columbus chose “200 foot soldiers and 20 cavalry, with many crossbows and small cannon, lances, and swords, and a still more terrible weapon against the Indians, in addition to the horses: this was 20 hunting dogs, who were turned loose and immediately tore the Indians apart.”
The Spanish won the war, of course, for the Arawaks had only rudimentary weapons. As Columbus still could not find the gold he sought, and needed to bring something back to Spain, he rounded up 1,000 Arawaks to be used as slaves. Five hundred of these he brought back to Spain, and the remaining 500 he gave to the Spanish then “governing” the island.
Tribute System
Though now in control of the Arawak Indians and their island Haiti, Christopher Columbus still could not find the gold that he was sure was somewhere on the island.The Arawaks, I’m sure, were not very willing to tell him where it was. Therefore, he set up a “tribute system” which worked thus:
Every three months, each Haitian over 14 years of age would be required to pay Columbus with either 25 pounds in cotton or a large “hawk’s bell” of gold dust (a lot of gold dust.)
Once the slaves paid this, they would receive a metal token. This token was worn around their necks as a signal that they were home-free for another 3 months (during which time they saved up for their next token, of course.)
Those who did not pay had their nose & both of their hands chopped off.
Genocide
Due to the tribute system, the Arawaks were forced to work in the mines instead of growing food in their fields, which led to generalized malnutrition. According to a letter written by Pedro de Cordoba to King Ferdinand, “As a result of the sufferings and hard labor they endured, the Indians choose and have chosen suicide. The women, exhausted by labor, have shunned conception and childbirth…Many, when pregnant, have taken something to abort and have aborted. Others after delivery have killed their children with their own hands, so as not to leave them in such oppressive slavery.”The initial Arawak population was estimated at 8,000,000. By 1516 only around 12,000 were still alive. By 1542, less than 200 remained. By 1555, the Arawaks were all gone
Thus, the crime of genocide was perpetuated by Christopher Columbus; not exactly what I learned in public school. He completely exterminated an entire race of 8,000,000 people –and that’s only counting one of the cultures he decimated. “Haiti under the Spanish is one of the primary instances of genocide in all human history.” – Dr. James W. LoewenTransatlantic Slave Trade
Columbus wasn’t just into subjugating and decimating; he was also interested in the sexual aspect of slavery. According to a letter written by Michele de Cuneo, before his first voyage had even reached Haiti in 1492, “Columbus was rewarding his lieutenants with native women to rape.” Columbus wrote in 1500: “A hundred castellanoes are as easily obtained for a woman as for a farm, and it is very general and there are plenty of dealers who go about looking for girls; those from nine to ten are now in demand.”Aside from sexual slavery, there existed, of course, the aspect of using slavery for profit. When there were no more Arawaks to mine his gold for him–for they no longer existed–Columbus systematically depleted the Bahamas of their peoples for this task. Tens of thousands of slaves from the Bahamas were transported to Haiti, leaving the islands behind deserted. Peter Martyr reported in 1516: “Packed in below deck, with hatchways closed to prevent their escape, so many slaves died on the trip that a ship without a compass, chart, or guide, but only following the trail of dead Indians who had been thrown from the ships could find its way from the Bahamas to Hispaniola.”
After the new batch of slaves died, Columbus depleted Puerto Rico, and then Cuba. When they had all succumbed, he turned his eyes to Africa, thus establishing the transatlantic slave trade and the concept of “race.” Through his exploits in Haiti, Columbus lead the way for other European nations to begin seeking wealth through domination, conquest, and slavery. In essence, Columbus changed the world, and we recognize this in one way or another by delineating history as being either pre- or post-Columbian.
Getting rid of Columbus Day isn’t about “erasing history”, it is about decided who and what should be exalted by our society.
In short, Christopher Columbus was responsible for the extincion of an entire tribe of people that once numbered over 8 million! Then turned around and invented transatlantic slave trade.
Christopher Columbus does not deserve to be exalted.
Or to put it another way:
+++
For the third week in a row we have hit double digit submissions! Woohoo! LOW PERSPECTIVE didn’t lead to low participation rates.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Andy Sharp
Kim Barker
Andy Sharp
Stephanie Kim
Michelle Haupt
Carla Stensland
Tamara Peterson
Cathie Raley
Cathie Raley
Kim Barker
Monica Henning
Linda 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:
STILL LIFE! What a great theme! But what is a STILL LIFE photo? A STILL LIFE photo is a photo of an inanimate object. A picture of your kid, not STILL LIFE. A picture of a bowl of fruit. STILL LIFE. A picture of tools. STILL LIFE. A picture of your dog. Not STILL LIFE. If it isn’t alive and it is something you can arrange. That is a subject for STILL LIFE.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
+++++++
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 still Monday!
Welcome to Year 7 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!!! THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE was born under the name THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. It was actually originally the idea of Mike Vest. Back in the day we used to collaborate on the project with both our websites. Then, after a couple of years it had seemed to run its course, as I was lucky to get maybe 3 or 4 submissions on a good week. I decided to drop it because if people weren’t interested, I wasn’t going to put forth the effort. I got better things I can do with my Monday lunch hour. Like eating lunch. Or not being at my Computer Mine Cubicle.
After a several month hiatus, I got a few people start sending me emails or text messages about how they really missed THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. They wished I would bring it back. I remember Carla (who regularly participates) and Dawn (who regularly gives me excuses) being at the forefront of wanting it back.
So here it is. Back. I have no doubt that it is currently at its apex. I don’t even know how many weeks in a row that we have had double digit submissions. Even this week, where I have found ARCHITECTURE to usually be one of the least popular themes, we have double digit submissions.
I have my doubts that next week we will hit double digit submissions because it is a theme that takes most people out of their comfort zone, but I defy you people to prove me wrong!
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Elizabeth Nordeen
Elizabeth Nordeen
Logan Kahler
Andy Sharp
Cathie Raley
Cathie Raley
Christopher D. Bennett
Carla Stensland
Carla Stensland
Kim Barker
Micky Augustin
Stephanie Kim
Kim Barker
Tamara Peterson
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:
STREET PHOTOGRAPHY! What a great theme! But what is a STREET PHOTOGRAPHY image? STREET PHOTOGRAPHY isn’t a picture of a STREET. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is “conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.”
The 2 most important things. RANDOM and PUBLIC. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is often mistaken for CANDID PORTRAITS. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY has to be done in a public place. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a portrait. It can be a piece of art. It can be a building. It can be a sign. It doesn’t have to be on a street. It can be at a football game. It can be at an art festival. A political event. It only has to meet those 2 criteria: public and random.
THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes were randomly selected, but I think that there is a chance that this week being STREET PHOTOGRAPHY might have been destined. Something that might have fallen through the cracks in last week’s news was that Robert Frank passed away.
Robert Frank was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. His book “The Americans” was one of the most influential photography books every published and it practically redefined STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.
Here is an excerpt from an NPR story on Robert Frank:
Influential photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank has died at the age of 94. He died of natural causes on Monday night in Nova Scotia, Canada. His death was confirmed by his longtime friend and gallerist Peter MacGill.
He was best known for his 1959 book The Americans, a collection of black-and-white photographs he took while road-tripping across the country starting in 1955. Frank’s images were dark, grainy and free from nostalgia; they showed a country at odds with the optimistic views of prosperity that characterized so much American photography at the time.
His Leica camera captured gay men in New York, factory workers in Detroit and a segregated trolley in New Orleans — sour and defiant white faces in front and the anguished face of a black man in back.
The book was savaged — mainstream critics called Frank sloppy and joyless. And Frank remembered the slights.
“The Museum of Modern Art wouldn’t even sell the book,” he told NPR for a story in 1994. “I mean, certain things, one doesn’t forget so easy. But the younger people caught on.”
Eventually, the photographs in The Americans became canon, inspiring legions. Photographer Joel Meyerowitz remembered watching Frank at work early on.
“And it was such an unbelievable and powerful experience watching him twisting, turning, bobbing, weaving,” Meyerowitz said in 1994. “And every time I heard his Leica go ‘click,’ I would see the moment freeze in front of Robert.”
I do not make this a commandment for STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, however let me suggest that when you do your STREET PHOTOGRAPHY image, you consider doing it in black & white to honor the late, great Robert Frank.
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 public and random Monday!
RED was another extremely popular theme. In fact, I daresay that these last few weeks have been the most successful weeks in the history of THE 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:
Andy Sharp
Andy Sharp
Jodie Cue
Kim Barker
Kim Barker
Tamara Peterson
Tamara Peterson
Jodie Cue
Christopher D. Bennett
Stephanie Kim
Micky Augustin
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Elizabeth Nordeen
Cathie Raley
Logan Kahler
Monica Henning
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:
TOY! What a great theme! But what is a TOY photo? A TOY photo is any image that involves a TOY. Or is taken by a TOY camera or with the TOY setting on a camera. The definition of a TOY can vary widely. One person’s tool is another person’s TOY.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very childish Monday!
There is 1 day left to vote in the polls that will determine what pictures I enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.
If voting in all 6 polls at once is too much for you, you can at least cast a ballot in the last poll. Hidden Treasures of Boone County.
If you are ready to vote in all 6 polls, click on the link below:
Thanks for voting!
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It looks like there are lots of people that have MUSIC in their lives as MUSIC was a theme that once again hit double digits in submissions. This is, I believe, the 6th week in a row where a theme reached double digits in submissions.
There are only 4 weeks left in this cycle of themes. If you have any ideas or suggestions for themes for the next 4 weeks, leave them in the Comments section of this here post.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions!
Andy Sharp
Monica Henning
Monica Henning
Kim Barker
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Tamara Peterson
Stephanie Kim
Tamara Peterson
Cathie Raley
Christopher D. Bennett
Micky Augustin
Mike Vest
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:
FLOWER
FLOWER! What a great theme! As luck would have it, this time the FLOWER theme popped up during a time of year where almost all of us can just walk into our backyard and take a picture of a FLOWER. Or we can go to a park and take a picture of a FLOWER. This might be the best time of year for wildFLOWERs.
As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
+++++++
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 flowery Monday!
LETTERS OR NUMBERS was another solid week! Hitting double digits for submissions for I think the 5th week in a row. I’ll check my math on that at some point in the future.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates, you came to see the submissions:
Becky Parmeleee
Carla Stensland
Christopher D. Bennett
Kim Barker
Kim Barker
Micky Augustin
Micky Augustin
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Michelle Haupt
Tamara Peterson
Stephanie Kim
Angie DeWaard
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:
MUSIC! What a great theme! But what is a MUSIC photo? A MUSIC photo is any photo of anything involved in the production of or listening to MUSIC.
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
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.
OR
I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.
It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.
+++++++
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 musical Monday!
