Category Archives: Vest

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

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 157 – PERSPECTIVE

September 17, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

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

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

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Micky Augustin

Mike Vest

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:

BOREDOM!

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

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very bored Monday.

Andy, Animals, Cathie, Flowers, Jesse, Kim, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Photoshop, Shannon, State Fair, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 153 – ANIMAL

August 20, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

ANIMAL seemed to really bring out the creative impulses of a lot of people. Plenty of ANIMAL 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

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Mike Vest

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

A solid week of submissions!

COMPETITION!

COMPETITION! What a great theme! But what is a COMPETITION photo? A COMPETITION photo is any photo that deals with competing. It could be a race. A football game. A board game. It could be people preparing for competition, like practice or working out. People don’t just compete against other people. They compete against time. They compete against themselves. Humans aren’t the only beings to compete either.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very competitive Monday.

Animals, Formal Portrait, Kio, Photoshop, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 96

August 17, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Before anything, I want to ask for your prayers for the Herrick family. Today we put to rest Earl Herrick. He was my Dad’s best friend, so we are close to the family.

I would like to share the poem that the pastor read at the graveside service. You may have heard it before. It is called “What God Hath Promised”.

WHAT GOD HATH PROMISED

God hath not promised skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

God hath not promised we shall not know
Toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear
many a burden, many a care.

God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,
Swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,
Never a river turbid and deep

But God hath promised strength for the day,
Rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,
Unfailing sympathy, undying love

Author: Annie Johnson Flint

I took a picture of one of the program from Earl’s funeral because it included several “Earlisms”. I’m sharing that so you can have an idea of what kind of person Earl was:

Earlisms

“It takes a mighty big dog to weight a ton.”
“They’ll get happy in the same pants they got mad in.”
“I wouldn’t shit you – you’re my favorite turd.”
“Pet and Repeat sitting on a fence… Pete fell off – who was left? Repeat…. Pete and Repeat sitting on a fence…”
When asked, what’s that? “It’s cat’s fur to make kitten britches.”
“Don’t do anything I would do – just don’t get caught.”

Keep Linda, Wendi, Amy, and Mike in your prayers. Thanks.

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Here is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ANIMAL.

ANIMAL!

An ANIMAL picture is any picture that features an ANIMAL or an ANIMAL by product.

Happy photo harvesting!

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2 days before I left for the mission trip, Kio commissioned me to do the graduation photography for the Boone Area Humane Society’s Dog Obedience Class. It was a perfect time to knock off Page 96 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 96 – Photograph an animal as if it were a human.

Although I took several pictures of many amazing dogs, only one can physically be adhered into the physical PHOTO JOURNAL. The physical PHOTO JOURNAL is housed at the Photography 139 Studio. It can be seen by appointment. It is protected by the Photography 139 security dog (who did not graduate from any dog obedience program) when I am not there.

Here are the one that won’t be in the book:

It is hard to tell what page we will check in with the next time we check into THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. But quite possibly Page 52.

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Also,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERESA!

You are definitely a top 2 sister!

Baby Got Rack, Bethany, Boone FUMC, Carla, Contests, Flowers, Football, Movies, Nature, Photo Journal, Photoshop, Vest, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 86

August 10, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

First of all, thanks to everybody who voted to determine what pictures I will enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. I have the 6 entries determined and will be ordering them this weekend.

Pufferbilly Days is September 7, 8, and 9 this year. You can see the photos at the new KWBG Building. That is located on the corner of 9th and Keeler. I don’t know for certain, but my sister Carla will most likely be entering photos as well. She did last year and did very well. There is also a fair chance that frequent WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE contributor Mike Vest will be entering as well.

Other Pufferbilly Days activities you might enjoy watching. Bethany will be running in the 10K. I don’t that Willy is, but I bet he does.

I normally don’t recommend going to parades. They are boring. Too long. Also, they are boring. However, you might want to give some consideration to going to the parade this year. While it isn’t a certainty, there is a pretty good chance I’ll be in the parade for Boone First United Methodist Church. Represent!

Also, on September 8, I’ll be opening the doors of the Union Street Theater* for an Iowa State-Team Out East Game Watch. All Cyclone fans are invited! Hawk fans, I think I can find an old analog television I can set up for you to watch in the garage. Kickoff is 4 PM. There will be snacks. You never know, I might have a popcorn machine by then. Probably not though. I have an electricity thing that I need done and all my electrician type friends have fallen through.

There is a rumor that Baby Got Rack will be competing in a barbecue contest on the Sunday of Pufferbilly Days, but they don’t list such a contest on the Pufferbilly Days website, so stay tuned for more information on that. Otherwise, you can come down to the Iowa State Fair on Tuesday to support us as we compete in the barbecue contest down there. Although, admittedly, we won’t be going all out down there. If there is a Pufferbilly Days contest, we will be bringing out the Cow. Probably Sir-Pigs-a-Lot as well. Stay tuned!

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

FEAR!

I would describe the difference between a FEAR photo and a SCARY photo as a SCARY photo is a picture of something SCARY while a FEAR photo is a reaction to something SCARY. However, feel free to interpret the theme any way you see fit.

Happy photo harvesting!

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A week or so back, a nice little storm ripped through Boone. I used it as a good opportunity to knock out Page 86 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 86 – Use Exposure as a Metaphor

This is the water tower that is about a block from where I live. The exposure compensation for this picture was set at -2.3.

Although I took several pictures, only one can be physically adhered into the physical PHOTO JOURNAL. The physical PHOTO JOURNAL is housed at Photography 139 Studio. It can be seen by appointment. It is protected by the Photography 139 security dog when I am not there.

Here are the ones that won’t be in the book:

-4.3

-3.0

-2.7

-3.0

-4.0

-2.3

-2.0

-2.3

-3.7

-4.0, but this one also had a lot of Photoshop tinkering done to it.

Next time we check into THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, we will probably visit Page 52, but nothing in life is certain, but death and taxes and Iowa football players getting arrested. For mistaking a police car. For an Uber.

*The Union Street Theater Movie Club’s August meeting will be August 26. Projector rolls at 6 PM. This month the double feature is bird themed. The B movie will be BIRDEMIC 2: THE RESURRECTION. The feature film will be the Alfred Hitchcock classic THE BIRDS. Snacks may also be bird themed. Or not. I have to talk to a guy.

Andy, Black & White, Cathie, Dawn, Kim, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 151 – TREE

August 6, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

REMINDER

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T VOTED YET, VOTE!!! THERE IS A 3 WAY TIE IN 2 CATEGORIES. IN 2 OTHER CATEGORIES, 1 VOTE SEPARATES 1ST AND 2ND. 2 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE.

It is once again time for me (and by me, I mean you guys) to pick out my photos to enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Once again, I am going to leave it up to a popular vote.

The Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest allows you to enter up to 6 photos.

There are 4 Categories:

1. Nature
2. Photojournalism
3. Photoshop Enhanced
4. Hidden Treasures of Boone County.

I have selected 60 images for you to consider. To simplify things, I have split the 60 photos into 6 sets of 10. If you wish to exercise your enfranchisement, clicking on the link below will take you to Poll #1. Vote for one of those pictures and then move onto the next poll, until you have voted in all six polls.

The winner of EACH poll will be entered into the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Click on the link below to start voting:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominees

Voting will end at midnight, August 8.

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TREE seemed to be a theme that motivated several people to get up off their couch and take some photos this week. Maybe I’ll have to keep it around for the next set of 52 themes.

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

Kim Barker

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

A solid week of submissions!

FEAR!

FEAR! What a great theme! I know this might come off as one of the harder themes and I admit, it probably is one of the harder themes. Some might argue that it is redundant because earlier int he challenge we had the theme SCARY. Those people are wrong though.

A SCARY photograph challenged you to take a picture of something you find SCARY. Like snakes or spiders or ghosts or the truth.

A FEAR photograph challenges you to take a picture of the reaction to something scary. Like running away from a snake or a spider or a ghost or the truth.

Of course, there is more than one way to skin a community cat… I mean interpret a theme. I look forward to your interpretations.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Congratulations to Jodie Cue! She is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. Jodie has one of the hardest jobs in the world. She is a Pastor’s Wife. She also has a job that pays her where she works with kids with special needs. I can stop right there and you get the idea of what kind of an amazing person she is, but I won’t. She works with the middle school students at our church’s youth group, helps teach Sunday School AND started a laundry soap ministry at our church. Laundry detergent is one of the major needs at food banks, (but like female hygiene products) it is something that people just don’t think about when they donate to their local food banks. Our local food bank can barely keep the laundry detergent on the shelf. We are able to make it for for pennies. I’m not sure how many pennies, but pennies!

So if you see Jodie out on the mean streets of Boone, feel free to give her a knowing glance and teach her the super secret Photography 139 handshake.

Welcome aboard Jodie, I know you will fare well!

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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 fearful Monday.

Animals, Becky, Blogging, Commercial, Contests, Derrick, Event, Jaycees, Mom, Music, Shannon, Shorty, Vest

06-14-08

August 4, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

REMINDER

It is once again time for me (and by me, I mean you guys) to pick out my photos to enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Once again, I am going to leave it up to a popular vote.

The Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest allows you to enter up to 6 photos.

There are 4 Categories:

1. Nature
2. Photojournalism
3. Photoshop Enhanced
4. Hidden Treasures of Boone County.

The winner of EACH poll will be entered into the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Click on the link below to start voting:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominees

Voting will end at midnight, August 8.

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TRIGGER WARNING!!! TRIGGER WARNING!!! TRIGGER WARNING!!!

If your name is Micky and you are a purpose of a cowardly disposition, be warned, snakes lie ahead!

Normally I don’t like to warn people that there might be something they find scary or offensive ahead. However, I know Micky is particularly scared of snakes. So much so, that he brokered a deal with his wife that she handles any snakes that they come across along the path of their wedded bliss.

The hype about him being a great outdoorsman might be a little overhyped.

Now that little bit of unpleasantness is out of the way, the images that come from the folder 06-14-08 are mostly from Ames on the Half Shell. However, some involve a snake. Some involve the Ames Party Bus.

Here are the pictures:

The snake was in Shorty and Doris’ flowerbed. The band that was playing Ames on the Half Shell was Burnin’ Sensations. They are still together and still playing. I haven’t seen them in several years, but back in the day, they used to be a real fun band to watch play.

By adding these pictures to the Photography Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

Flowerbed Buddy

Burnin’ Sensations

There are more pictures from the Burnin’ Sensations that I didn’t include in this blog, but you can peruse them by clicking on the link below:

AMES THE HALF SHELL – 2008

Next week’s walk down memory lane will involve more Ames on the Half Shell, some Little League, and maybe, just maybe some tenderloining.

Andy, Animals, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Macro, Michelle, Night, Photoshop, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 149 – NIGHT

July 23, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

I think NIGHT can be one of the tougher themes, but we still had plenty of submissions!

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

So without further adieu, I present the NIGHT photos:

Andy Sharp

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Mike Vest

Tamara Peterson

FEET!

FEET! What a great theme! But what is a FEET picture, you might ask? A FEET picture is any picture that involves FEET. Most people have FEET! And did you know that humans aren’t the only animals with FEET. Many other animals have FEET as well. Even tables have FEET.

As always, feel free to define FEET any way you see fit. I look forward to seeing all the interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE THEME DIVISION

At this point, there is only a handful of week’s left in this 52 week run of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. If you wish to make suggestions for the next set of 52 themes, you should leave them n the Comments section of this here blog.

So far Andy has provided many solid suggestions:

Desert/dessert”the ice cream one”
Your vehicle
Family
Your pet(cats excluded)
Favorite color
Chris’s beard look alike
Pet peeves
Favorite wall of your house/inside or out
Pizza
Sporting event(ANF vs Actually Helping Farmers, for example)
Footwear
Halloween costume
Hat/headwear
Hair
Breakfast
Screenshot
License plate close or farthest away on flat earth
Favorite restaurant
Good deed
Water
Sunrise
Sunset
Samwich”southern pronounceiation”/sandwich
Music”the type baptists appose
Outhouse/old town sign

Now obviously, nobody could match my beard, so that one in an obvious non-starter, but I bet you’ll see a few of those make their way into the next set of 52.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTS AVATAR DIVISION

Congratulations to Dawn for becoming the latest person to earn a Photography 139 Comments Avatar. Every time that Dawn comments on “An Artist’s Notebook”, she now has a customized avatar that will show up next to her commentary.

Would you like a spiffy Photography 139 comment avatar? All you have to do is leave some form of commentary in the Comments section of a blog entry and I will make you one. Guaranteed!

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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 footed Monday.

Andy, Formal Portrait, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Photoshop, Tamara, Vest, Willy, WPC, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 147 – HANDS

July 9, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

HANDS was a popular theme! I’ll mark that down and make sure it isn’t in the next set of 52.

Oh, you don’t like that? Then you better get to suggesting themes for the next 52. The way to do that is in the “Comments” section of this here blog.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates and the next 52 themes, you came to see the HANDS submissions:

Tamra Peterson

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

A solid week of submissions!

HUMOR!

HUMOR! What a great theme! But what is a HUMOR photo? A HUMOR photo can be of something that is funny or at least trying to be funny. An example of something that is trying desperately to be funny, but is failing miserably would be a Mike Huckabee tweet. However, it is still an example of humor. Another HUMOR photo would be somebody reacting to something that is funny. I believe the usual reaction is laughter. I don’t know. It is well-documented that I don’t have a sense of humor.

Of course, there is more than one definition of HUMOR. I look forward to your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very humoruos Monday.

Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Contests, Flowers, Football, Holidays, Iowa State, Kio, Linda, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, Shannon, Teresa, Travel, Vest

Freedom and Flowers

July 4, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

With freedom, books, flowers, and the moon, who could not be happy?
-Oscar Wilde

Before we get into the meat of today’s blog, we need to start with…

Happy 4th of July!

I hope you had an continue to have an enjoyable 4th of July!

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Time to hit up the back log and publish more pictures from Donna Jones’s flower bed!

There are more of Donna Jones’ flowers in the hopper. For those of you that are fans of “flower porn” as Micky likes to call it.

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The votes have been tabulated and these are the photos that I will be entering in the Boone County Fair:

Technically there was a frog picture that got more votes than the picture of Shorty, but I’m not going a photo contest without entering a black & white image.

Thanks to the people that voted: Sarah Karber, Michelle, Micky, Vest, Mom, Teresa, Shannon, Kio, Aunt Linda, Jordan, Andy, and all of the fellow SmugMuggers that voted.

If you want to see the photos in the flesh (so to speak) they will be on display at the Community Building at the Boone County Fairgrounds. on July 21 and 22.

Baby Got Rack will also probably be competing on July 21. So mark your calendar!

We will do something similar when it comes to the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Angie, Animals, Carla, Cathie, Contests, Kim, Macro, Nature, Photoshop, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 146 – BLACK

July 2, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

If you are having difficulty leaving a comment, just email/text me the numbers.

Reminder, you have until Tomorrow at midnight to vote on what pictures I enter at the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. Click on the link below to vote:

BOONE COUNTY FAIR PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY SELECTION

You must have a Facebook account or a Google+ account to vote. You vote by leaving a comment on a photo. You can vote for up to 5 photos.

If you are having difficulty leaving a comment, just email/text me the numbers.

As of this writing, there have been about 25 votes. Here are the currently leaders:

If future votes don’t change things, these will be the 5 photos that I enter in the Boone County Fair Photo Contest.

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It would seem that BLACK inspired a few people to crack out their cameras this weekend.

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

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Cathie Raley

Mike Vest

Angie DeWaard

A solid week of submissions!

HANDS!

HANDS! What a great theme! But what is a HANDS picture? A picture that features HANDS! That is it! But remember that there is more than one definition of the word HANDS.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

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

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very handsy Monday.