Category Archives: Becca

Andy, Baier, Becca, Bill, Bokeh, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Christmas, Equipment, Gretchen, Harrison, Jay, Jorge, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Micky, Nader, Nature, Sara, Scottie D., Still Life, Vest

Sweet 22: The Beginning

January 4, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the March image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

MARCH

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: 14-24 Sigma f/2.8 DG DN Art
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSUER: 1/800
ISO: 400
DATE: June 12, 2024

I took this picture because I wanted a Bokeh picture to enter into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It took 3 different photo sessions before I got the image that I wanted. Or as close as an artist ever gets to their real vision. Art is never finished after all, only abandoned. On one of these sessions, Becca was the photo assistant. Shoutout Becca! What you might not realize is that the hardest part of this image was getting it without a reflection. For the most part Bokeh would hang out on top of the window long enough for me to get a few images. But battling reflections in the glass took some tinkering with the setup. Hint: The solution ended up involving blankets.

I chose a fairly small aperture to keep as much of the image in focus as possible. I used a relatively fast shutter speed to freeze any motions Bokeh made. I overexposed the image by nearly a full stop to try capture Bokeh as bright as possible, but without fully blowing out the sky.

I picked this image to represent March because Bokeh’s birthday is in March. Check your calendar if you doubt me. (Sorry to people that the USPS lost their calendar.)

This was by far the most popular image from the 2025 Photography Calendar. Here are the people that picked it as their favorite:

Andy

Harrison

Brandon

Jay

Jorge

Kim

Kio

Micky

Nader

Olivia

Sara and Gretchen

Scott

Vest

Bill

Tomorrow I will reveal the April image. I’m so excited. I can barely hide it. Fair chance I will lose control. I think I’m moderately enjoying it.

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I’m efforting to get better at sharing when I add new equipment to the arsenal. I’m not a big equipment nerd. I’m about the craft and not about the equipment. But like (and I can’t stress this enough) all art, the equipment you have does have a say in what you make. But what I really like are nerdy manual focus lenses with limited purposes.

I’m sure at least one other photographer thought, “Why doesn’t he just say Lensbaby lenses?”

And you got me hypothetical photographer friend. The most recent piece of glass I’ve added is indeed a Lensbaby lens. For the last few years it has been traditional for me to give my self a Lensbaby lens for Christmas. However, unless they release some new lenses, I’m probably just about out of Lensbaby lenses I can buy. Maybe this Christmas it will be a 7Artisans lens.

If we are being honest, I do totally have the 7Artisans website up on a different monitor right now thinking about their new 60mm f/2.8 2x macro lens. So that might be my birthday present to myself. Or maybe that will be Bokeh’s birthday present to me. I can tell she really wants me to have that lens.

But we’ve gathered here today, to get through this thing called “life”. And the most recent lens I’ve purchased from Lensbaby to get me through life is the Sweet 22.

This is what the bad boy looks like:

If you were to go to the Lensbaby website for a description of this lens you would read something like this:

The Sweet 22 pancake lens from Lensbaby features the smallest sweet spot with the most blur outside the sweet spot of any Lensbaby lens. With a compact, robust metal body and built-in focus down to 5 inches from the front element, this new mirrorless-only creative effects lens brings dramatic optical effects to stills and video imagery that have never before been possible.

The tiny, tack-sharp, centered sweet spot created by the Sweet 22 gives a sense of motion to still images while creating dramatic focus transitions of moving subject matter coming into or out of the Sweet 22’s sweet spot when shooting video. A sea of impressionistic blur gradually transitioning to a precise, tack sharp sweet spot gives photographers the chance to create imagery more dramatic than previous selective focus lenses.

And if you were a big equipment nerd, you might click on the specs and read something like this:

Focal Length: 22mm
Primary Effect: Spot of Focus
Optic Swap Compatible: No
Aperture: f/3.5 fixed
Circular Aperture: Yes
Minimum Focusing Distance: 127mm (5.0in)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:5
Filter threads: 46 mm
Format Compatibility: 35mm Full Frame; APS-C
Camera Compatibility: MIL cameras
Focus Type: Manual Barrel Focus
Diagonal Angle of View: Full Frame: 90°; APS-C (1.5x): 64°
Angle of Tilt: N/A
Diaphragm Blades: None
Elements/Groups: Zone Plate: 4 elements / 2 groups
Coating: Broadband multi-coated anti-reflective

But since all of you are nerds, but nerds of a different flavor, you just want to see a picture taken with it. So here is a collection of the first few pictures I took with the new sweetness… The Sweet 22:

You might be wondering why I bought a lens with such a peculiar purpose that produces images that are destined to be unpopular. And if that is the case:

1. You must be new here.
2. I have no doubt I’m going to take some bomb images with the new sweetness. Even if it is only in my mind.

You will just have to stay tuned.

9 Emotions Project, Alisa, Animals, Art, Becca, Bethany, Black & White, Blogging, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Dad, Dae Hee, Dawn, Derrick, Drone, Elizabeth, Evie, Flowers, Football, Formal Portrait, Fran, History, Iowa State, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Joe Duff, Kalista, Layla, Logan, Lowell, Mission Trip, Mom, Movies, Music, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nathanial, Nature, Railroad, Road Trip, Sara, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Shorty, Sign, State Fair, Street Photography, Taylan, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Travel, Willy, Yin

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes

January 1, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

All of the 2025 Photography 139 Calendars have been distributed or mailed except for one. It is fair game now to start sharing the calendar images. This is the front cover image:

2025 Photography 139 Calendar Front Cover

FRONT COVER – 2025

Technical Details:

CAMERA: SONY 7M4
LENS: SIGMA 14-24 f/2.8 DG DN ART
FOCAL LENGTH: 20mm
APERTURE: f/8
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500
DATE TAKEN: April 27, 2024

The subject of this picture is the statue of John Wayne in front of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset, Iowa. I visited this museum with Nader on a road trip that is as close to a birthday road trip as I took in 2024. This trip was a bit of what I would call “unfinished business”. My Mom was a big fan of John Wayne movies. As are/were many members of her family. One of the last places we went to on the final road trip I took with my Mom was to Winterset and walking around the John Wayne Birthplace Museum. However, it was during the pandemic, so we never went inside. It was important to me to finally go inside and see the museum.

A few notes about the calendar.

1. I switched to a different printer. For the last several years I have had the calendar printed at VistaPrint. This year I switched to Snapfish. The movie saved me over $200. I’m very pleased with the quality. In fact, I think the quality is actually slightly higher as far as image quality and paper quality. However, the proof is usually in the pudding and what that means for the calendar is we will have to see how it holds up for 365 days. The other part of that equation is that I’m not a master of the Snapfish editing software, so there were a few mistakes made. Next year, those mistakes we hopefully be corrected, if Snapfish manages to maintain the Photography 139 account next year I look forward to correcting those. I can’t predict the future. After all, as the source of much of my Christian wisdom (Christian Mingle: The Movie) tells us. “The Heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”*

2. The calendars that are mailed were mailed on December 18th. Not a single one has arrived (as far as I know) a full 2 weeks later. And most of them weren’t going all that far. 2 to Minnesota. 2 to Kansas. 1 to Nebraska. 1 to Arizona. 1 package of 2 to Texas. Very frustrating. Unfortunately I don’t have any tracking info, so either they are just completely lost, will show up sometime in mid April, will show back up on my front porch in a month, are completely lost and will never show up, or maybe they were stolen. It is a mystery that hopefully is solved soon. Very soon!

3. When I reveal each calendar image I will reveal the people that picked it as it their favorite image from the calendar. Not a single person picked the front cover. So nothing to reveal here for this image.

Hopefully you enjoy the reveal of the calendar images for this year.

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It is a new year, but I like to look back at 2024 and reveal statistics that mostly me and Joe Duff find interesting.

Every post has categories. While I’m in the process of redoing how I do the categories, here are where the categories currently rank.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – ALL-TIME

1.Black & White – 1,298
2.Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Jesse – 795
6.Teresa – 712
7. Road Trip – 696
8. Macro – 688
9. Formal Portrait – 669
10. Carla – 665
11. Shannon – 644
12. Nature – 595
13. WPC – Submissions – 589
14. Still Life – 560
15. Candid Portrait – 533
16. Mom – 479
17. Logan – 474
18. Kim – 469
19. Photoshop – 437
20. Micky – 425

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – ALL TIME

1. Jesse – 795
2. Teresa – 712
3. Carla – 665
4. Shannon – 644
5. Mom – 479
6. Logan – 474
7. Kim – 469
8. Micky – 425
9. Vest – 417
10. Willy – 414
11. Andy – 404
12. Sara – 378
13. Jay – 376
14. Jen – 373
15. Dawn – 367
16. Derrick – 355
17. Cathie – 352
18. Tamara – 343
19. Angie – 337
20. Michelle – 330

TOP 20 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES

1. Black & White – 1,298
2. Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Road Trip – 696
6. Macro – 688
7. Formal Portrait – 669
8. Nature – 595
9. WPC – Submissions – 589
10. Still Life – 560
11. Candid Portrait – 533
12. Photoshop – 437
13. Street Photography – 410
14. History – 407
15. Self-Portrait – 405
16. Naima – 404
17. Christianity – 390
18. Iowa State – 346
19. WPC – Reminder – 322
20. Night – 281

Now to look at what were the most used categories of just 2024.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Teresa – 104
5. Jesse – 95
6. Logan – 83
7. Black & White – 77
8. Flowers – 74
9. Carla – 72
10. Road Trip – 71
11. Elizabeth – 68
12. Andy – 66
12. Sabas – 66
14. Brandon – 65
15. Kim – 63
15. Scottie D. – 63
17. Willy – 62
18. Nathanial – 61
19. Dawn – 60
19. Aunt Linda – 60

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Teresa – 104
2. Jesse – 95
3. Logan – 83
4. Carla – 72
5. Elizabeth – 68
6. Andy – 66
6. Sabas – 66
8. Brandon – 65
9. Kim – 63
9. Scottie D. – 63
11. Willy – 62
12. Nathanial – 61
13. Dawn – 60
13. Aunt Linda – 60
14. Shannon – 59
15. Vest – 58
15. Angie – 58
15. Lowell – 58
18. Cathie – 57
19. Bill – 56
20. Micky – 55
20. Mindi – 55

TOP 20 NONHUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Black & White – 77
5. Flowers – 74
6. Road Trip – 71
7. Tenderloining – 54
8. Nature – 53
8. WPC – Submissions – 53
10. Macro – 52
11. Animals – 51
12. Christianity – 47
13. Candid Portrait – 45
14. Birthdays – 43
15. Self-Portrait – 42
16. Travel – 35
17. History – 33
17. WPC – Alternate – 33
19. Music – 32
20. Railroad – 29

If you have spent any time on this website you realize the 100 most used categories are listed on the left side. When I’m looking at these stats, I also like to look at the bottom 10 of the top 100.

Bottom 10 of the Top 100

91. Nathanial – 117 (+61)
92. Russell – 114 (+3)
93. Pufferbilly Days – 105 (+14)
94. Mindi – 98 (+55)
95. Faust – 97 (+5)
96. Becca – 96 (+6)
97. Pastor Sarah – 94 (+3)
98. Writing – 93 (+1)
99. Sheri – 91 (+54)
99. House – 91 (0)
99. Layla – 91 (+2)

The categories that are most likely to fall into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Bethany
+ Blogging
+ Tenderloining
+ Jill
+ Nate

I’m sure Tenderloining is pretty safe. I need to get out of my house and visit Nate and Bethany this year. I hermitted pretty hard this year. As we will see later.

The categories that are most likely to climb into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Mary
+ Commercial
+ Andree
+ Photo Journal
+ Flat Earth Joe

Although there are probably some categories that aren’t as close to the Top 100 currently that have a better chance to break in. Like Bokeh, for example.

On to the most popular Photography 139 Galleries in 2024:

20. Drone – 54,022 Views

19. Daisies – 55,109 Views

18. South Dakota Trip – 2017 – 55,869 Views

17. Iowa State Fair – 2023 – 57,439 Views

16. Naima – 57,919 Views

15. Photo Journal Rejects – 59,548 Views

14. Phonetos – 61,145 Views

13. New Orleans – 2024 – 69,224 Views

12. Home Improvement – 72,195 Views

11. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 10 – 83,769 Views

10. 365 Day Photo Project – 2012 – 94,307 Views

9. 9 Emotions Project – 116,852 Views

8. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 125,685 Views

7. Town Sign Project – 137,773 Views

6. Life – 147,856 Views

5. 365 Day Photo Project – 2013 – 148,808 Views

4. Tenderloining – 151,436 Views

3. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 193,931 Views

2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 11 – 398,026 Views

1. Instagram – 496,850

To look at any of the galleries, you can just click on the picture and voila, you will be there. And yes, I purposely picked pictures that had people that are no long with us to represent some of the galleries.

In 2024, the gallery had 6,616,054 views.

There were the most popular days for the gallery in 2024:

1. 2024/09/21 – 72551
2. 2024/07/19 – 72168
3. 2024/04/05 – 70007
4. 2024/07/20 – 64376
5. 2024/07/21 – 56076
6. 2024/07/29 – 54710
7. 2024/08/01 – 53564
8. 2024/07/18 – 51727
9. 2024/07/22 – 51004
10. 2024/07/26 – 50839

But what about my 2024 that isn’t related to this website? I know, it is hard to believe that I exist outside of this website. But I do, I really exist in the physical world. But first, the social media world:

I had a goal to post on Instagram once a day in 2024 and failed miserably. I posted 99 times. But of those 99, these were my Top 9:

As for Snapchat?

I have no real Snapchat goals, except to not be the one who breaks the streaks. I ended the year with the following streaks:

+ Logan – 1,091
+ Brandon – 848
+ Nathanial – 681
+ Lowell – 235
+ Elizabeth – 232
+ Fran – 119
+ Dawn – 4

I don’t listen to much music on Spotify. It is almost exclusively a podcast vessel for me, but here are the highlights from my wrapped:

If you are wondering, 127,186 minutes is 2,119.8 hours. 88 days. I mostly put up that monster number because I listen to podcasts when I go to bed at night and they play all night.

But we talked about the physical world. I have to freely confess, my travels this year were pathetic!

7 States… That’s it?!!?

I never even made it to Minnesota or Kansas this year! I never saw Bethany or Nate once! The only reason I saw Becca is because she came to Iowa! I’ll have to address this in my 2025 goals.

In 2024 I attended 29 sporting events. Every single one of them was related to Iowa State. This was my favorite:

Iowa State 29 Kansas State 21

This game put Iowa State (as long as BYU beat Houston later that night) into the Big 12 Championship Game. And next to Iowa, Kansas State is the team I enjoy beating the most in football. To be honest, maybe more than beating Iowa. Farmageddon needs a trophy so freaking bad!

Honorable Mention goes to:
+ Iowa State 66 #4 Baylor 63 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 96 #7 Kansas State 93 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 69 #1 Houston 41 (Men’s Basketball – Big 12 Championship Game)
+ Iowa State 67 #25 Washington State 56 (Men’s Basketball – NCAA Tournament 2nd Round)
+ Iowa State 38 Central Florida 35 (Football)

I only saw 5 movies in the theater. A long cry from when I used to go about every week. But by far, the best movie I saw in the theater in 2024 was:

I didn’t track the concerts I went to, but it was also a pathetic number. I didn’t go to a single concert where I had to buy a ticket. A few Boone City Band concerts and some musical acts at some town festivals. The Step Show before Iowa State football games. So picking out my favorite concert was pretty easy.

Shannon Curfman

I also didn’t track how many television shows I watched this year, because the number would probably be terrifying. But the best television show I watched this year was pretty obvious:

Shrinking – Season 2

Honorable Mentions:
+ Hacks (Season 3)
+ Somebody Somewhere (Season 3)
+ Only Murders in the Building (Season 4)
+ Nobody Wants This (Season 1)
+ We Are Lady Parts (Season 2)

And finally a couple of random stats.
+ Christmas cards received – 10
+ Trick-or-Treaters – 48

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But enough about 2024. What are my goals in 2025.

In general, I want to freshen up this website. It has had the same look for years now. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing great about it either. I want to continue to add and delete and modify the way posts are categories. A fairly drastic reorganization of the Photography 139 Gallery is also underway. I hope to have a new logo in 2025, but my graphic designer has been working on it for like 3 years now. So we will see.

I hope to visit more than 7 states (including Iowa). So 8 states! I already have work trips on the calendar for Texas and Pennsylvania. I hope to go to Ireland this year, but I need to get on the ball with getting the details on that worked out. So I’m part of the way their in theory.

I always make a list of places in Iowa I want to visit. It has been fairly fruitless, but I am going to make that list again this year and this time, when I think about going to on a road trip, but am lacking inspo, I’m going to go look at the list. Duh!

But rather than making a list of places, I’m going to make a list of people I want to see in 2025. There are so many people that I haven’t seen. Some I didn’t see in 2024. But some that I haven’t seen since before pandemic or maybe even before that. Heck, you might even make that list. I know some people have chosen to remove themselves from my life. I get that, but to the others, fair warning. We are breaking bread or going to an art show or a movie or a concert.

I want to see more live music in 2025. It has been missing from my life for a few years and I need to get it back.

I plan on bringing back THE SELFIE PROJECT in 2025. Fair warning for that as well.

Finally. I’m thinking of having a birthday party in 2025. In May I will officially be older than Methuselah. I should celebrate that on some level. I have a few ideas and have my eye on a couple of you as caterers. Fair warning to you.

I wish all of you the best in the impending disaster that will be 2025! Happy New Year!

*Proverbs 16:9 in case you were wondering. (ESV)

Becca, Black & White, Bridge, Candid Portrait, Nature, New Year's, Night, Railroad, Sign, Willy

Rail Explorers Denouement

December 31, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

I need to start by wishing everyone a Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

That image didn’t turn out quite like I wanted, but I’m pretty up front about sharing my failures a long with my success! As few as they may be. Thanks to Willy for assisting with making this image!

I hope everybody has a safe and joyous celebration. I’m sure I will long be in the Land of Nod* when midnight strikes in the Cyclone State. So I’ll be safe. Joyous? Depends on what I’m dreaming about.

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Time to share the final collection of Rail Explorers images from my trip on their with Becca, Becca’s boyfriend, and Willy. I once again hope you like images of railroad tracks. I mean, who doesn’t right?

That concludes all the pictures from what was a great adventure! I can’t endorse going on the Rail Explorers enough. Pretty much any physical fitness level can do it too. You don’t have to be super buff like me.

*Sleeping. Not where Cain was sent after killing Abel.

Becca, Black & White, Christmas, Nature, Railroad, Willy

Son of God, Love’s Pure Light

December 24, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

I want to start by wishing everyone a happy Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve!

I know that Santa doesn’t have anything to do with the lyrics to “Silent Night”. But tonight is my FAVORITE worship service every year. Candlelight Service! Just one of the reasons I love it, is it is the service where we get to sing all the banger hymns! Silent Night is probably my favorite hymn. I know it isn’t a toe tapper like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, but it hits me right in the feels.

If you are looking for a candlelight service to attend tonight, do I have news for you. Some might say “good news”. You can come to my church (I don’t technically own it, but I do have “ownership”.) tonight.

There is a piano concert at 5:30. Worship service follows at 6. If you don’t know where Boone First United Methodist Church, I wonder if we are even friends.

It is located at:

703 Arden Street
Boone, Iowa

The only thing you need to bring is your singing voice.

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Time to share more pictures from my trip on the Rail Explorers with Becca, Willy, and Becca’s boyfriend:

Still one more collection of images from this trip left to share!

Becca, Black & White, Nature, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Street Photography, Willy

Rail Explorers I

December 17, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Back in June I got a call out to go to lunch with Becca to meet her new boyfriend and hit up the Rail Explorers. It was exciting on multiple fronts! Doing the Rail Explorers was on my list of things I wanted to do this year. Sadly, one of the few I actually did. We needed a 4th and Willy stepped up to be that person.

Here is a collection of images from the experience:

So many more pictures left to share! I hope you like pictures of railroad tracks!

I can’t recommend the Rail Explorer experience more! If you need a 2nd or a 4th, I’m your huckleberry!

9 Emotions Project, Anders, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Baier, Becca, Becky, Black & White, Blogging, Candid Portrait, Carla, Christianity, Drone, Evie, Faust, Formal Portrait, Jaycees, Jesse, Kim, Layla, Logan, Micky, Mom, Naima, Nathanial, Nature, Night, Pastor Sarah, Pufferbilly Days, Railroad, Shannon, Still Life, Tenderloining, Teresa, Town Sign Project, Vest, Willy

Post 5,250

July 6, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

Can you believe that this is the 5,250th 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.

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 5,250 journal entries. 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.

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 #5005 & INCREASE SINCE BEGINING OF 2024)

10. Carla – 632 (#10 – 39)
9. Formal Portrait – 655 (#6 – 6)
8. Teresa – 657 – (#9 – 49)
7. Road Trip – 657 (#8 – 32)
6. Macro – 662 (#7 – 26)
5. Jesse – 754 (#5 – 54)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)

No categories dropped from the Top 10. The categories with the best shot at cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, Candid Portrait, & Still Life.

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Candid Portrait – 504 (#9 – 16)
9. WPC-Submissions – 563 (NR – 27)
8. Nature – 568 (#8 – 26)
7. Formal Portrait – 655 (#5 – 6)
6. Road Trip – 657 (#7 – 32)
5. Macro – 662 (#9 – 26)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)

Photoshop dropped out of the Top 10.

The categories with the best shot of cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Still Life, Photoshop, Naima, History, and Self-portrait.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES

10. Willy – 379 (NR – 27)
9. Vest – 388 (#10 – 29)
8. Micky – 399 (#8 – 29)
7. Logan – 428 (#7 – 37)
6. Kim – 441 (#6 – 35)
5. Mom – 473 (#5)
4. Shannon – 615 (#4 – 30)
3. Carla – 632 (#3 – 39)
2. Teresa – 657 (#2 – 49)
1. Jesse – 754 (#1 – 54)

Jay dropped out of he Top 10. The categories that have the best chance of breaking into the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Andy, Jay, Jen, Sara, and Derrick.

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 208 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but no real reason. Some of those categories probably need to be purged. I do like to cover the Top 10 of the Bottom 100 though.

THE BOTTOME 10 OF THE TOP 100

10. Nathanial – 82 (+29)
9. Layla – 84 (+8)
8. Commercial – 84 (0)
7. House – 91 (+1)
6. Writing – 92 (0)
5. Becca – 92 (+2)
4. Pastor Sarah – 93 (+2)
3. Pufferbilly Days – 95 (+4)
2. Tenderloining – 96 (+25)
1. Faust – 96 (+4)

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Andree, Flat Earth Joe, Self-Portrait Project, and Sabas

The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Russell, Nate, Jill, Blogging, Sabas, and Lowell.

The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Andree, Photo Journal, Self-Portrait Project, Flat Earth Joe, and Mary.

I’m now starting to track what categories have had the greatest gain. These are the ones that have the greatest gain since the beginning of 2024.

THE TOP 10 CATEGORIES BY GAIN

10. Kim – 35
10. Andy – 35
10. Michelle – 35
8. Logan – 37
8. Elizabeth – 37
7. Carla – 39
6. Flowers – 40
5. Teresa – 49
4. Jesse – 54
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN

9. Nature -26
9. Nature – 26
7. Black & White – 27
7. WPC – Submissions – 27
6. Road Trip – 32
5. Animals – 34
4. Flowers – 40
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN

9. Scottie. D. – 33
9. Linda – 33
9. Sabas – 33
6. Kim – 35
6. Andy – 35
6. Michelle – 35
4. Logan – 37
4. Elizabeth – 37
3. Carla – 39
2. Teresa – 49
1. Jesse – 54

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.

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

10. Naima – 72,941 views

9. Drone – 73,421 views

8. 9 Emotions Project – 98,062 views

7. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 124,533 views

6. Town Sign Project – 127,555 views

5. Tenderloining – 134,777 views

4. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 172,671 views

3. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 192,976 views

2. Instagram – 212,131 views

1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 289,984 views

Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Las Vegas 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge Year 9, Selfie Project – 2022,

Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Life, 365 Day Photo Project -2013, Memphis – 2023, New Orleans – 2024, Phot Journal Rejects.

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

10. 2,475 views

9. 2,508 views

8. 2,812 views

7. 3,774 views

6. 3,875 views

5. 3,999 views

4. 4,020 views

3. 4,305 views

2. 4,816 views

1. 20,050 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
Post 5,005

I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 250 posts.

Animals, Art, Becca, Bethany, Billy, Birthdays, Christianity, Colleen, Dory, History, J.T., Jonah, Kim, Michelle, Nate, Night, Nora, Railroad, Still Life, Street Photography, Travel

The Big Easy – Day 2 & 3 Phone Pictures

May 28, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is my mother-in-law Colleen’s birthday, so I need to wish her a happy birthday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I hope your birthday is magical!

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I didn’t take many phone pictures on Day 2 and Day 3 in New Orleans, so I’m combining them into one post. Day 2 is when the work begins on setting up for The Big Meeting. Day 3 involves a “training” session and then finishing off setup. But I had sometime to explore on those days.

Here are the pictures:

I started Day 2 with a leftover beignet from Cafe Du Monde.

Then I took a walk up to Jackson Square to see if it was open. It wasn’t.

But got a nice view of the Saint Louis Cathedral.

Then I walked down the river walk and found this cool collection of love locks.

I would love to know this story.

Preach.

Tony and I got to the Convention Center while they were still putting the booth together.

This is by far and I mean by FAR the fastest internet we’ve ever had in a booth.

These snacks were delicious!

The booth put together.

Back at the hotel. I’m kind of a connoisseur of southern mayonnaise. This one has ALL the yolks.

One of my goals was to ride the trolley.

They stopped the trolley so this girl could take a graduation photo with it.

Inside trolley.

Pralines!

That night I had supper with Kim, Michelle, Diane and Gina. Afterwards I ended back up at Jackson Square.

This is the New Orleans Holocaust Memorial.

Final picture I took before going back to the hotel.

Day 3 starts with a 4 hour training session that feels like 8 hours.

Back to the Convention Center.

Got done early enough that I could see the inside of the Saint Louis Cathedral.

They took credit cards.

It is pretty in there.

The altar.

I didn’t take a horse and carriage ride. But I wish I had.

Best name for a restaurant. Ever!

The Rolling Stones played the Jazz Festival the night before.

Taking the trolley to the Garden District.

This guy openly boozed on the trolley. Was super friendly.

Nood Fountain in Audubon Park.

Back on Canal Street. Maybe my favorite graffiti ever.

Last cell phone picture of Day 3.

Still 4 more days of cell phone pictures left to share.

Becca, Bethany, Jonah, Mom, Nate, Shorty, Tim

Farewell Shorty

March 16, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Last Wednesday my step-grandfather-in-law Shorty Peterson passed away. I include the “step” and “in-law” in front of his name not to indicate a distance, but to illustrate that sometimes titles, whether or correct or not do not indicate what it means to be “family”. Because Shorty and his wife Doris, helped define the word family for me as much as almost anybody I’ve ever known. Hint: It doesn’t have a damn thing to do with sharing DNA.

I’m sharing Shorty’s obituary here so that I know that there is a place I can find it.

Paul “Shorty” Peterson Obituary

Paul “Shorty” Peterson, 97, of Boone and formerly of Boxholm, Iowa, passed away on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Westhaven Community in Boone, Iowa.

A visitation for Shorty will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 17, 2024, at Carson-Stapp Funeral Home in Ogden with his memorial service to follow at 2:00 P.M. Rev. Bryan Latchaw will officiate. Burial will follow at Lawn Cemetery in rural Boxholm, Iowa. Graveside Military Rites will be conducted by the Boone Veterans Council. Shorty’s memorial service will be live streamed on the Carson-Stapp Funeral Home Facebook page. For online obituaries and condolences, please visit: www.carsonstappfuneralhome.com

Paul (Shorty) Peterson, son of Alfred and Sigrid (Rydman) Peterson was born on February 23, 1927, in Boxholm, Iowa. He received his education in Harcourt and Boxholm, graduating from Boxholm High School in 1945. Shorty served in the U.S. Army during WWII with the Occupation forces in Italy from June 4, 1945 until his honorable discharge on January 31, 1947.

On August 14, 1949, Shorty married Doris LaVonne Ewing in Dayton. The couple resided and farmed south of Boxholm for over 55 years until moving into Boxholm in 2004. Shorty was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Boxholm. He served on the board of directors and was past president of the Westside Apartments and was past president for Boxholm Development. He was involved with the Boone County ASCS and Farmers COOP. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #63 of Boxholm. Shorty volunteered at the Boone and Scenic Valley Railroad as a tour guide, announcer for Thomas the Train, and as Santa on the Santa Express. In 2017, Shorty moved to Westhaven Community in Boone.

In addition to his parents, Shorty was also preceded in death by his loving wife of 65 years, Doris; granddaughter, Olivia; and great grandson, Samuel. He is also preceded in death by his siblings, Clinton, Welden, Fern, and Thelma; parents-in-law, Buryl and Clara; and brothers-in-law, Gayle, Claude, and Harold.

Shorty is survived by his children, Janice and Tim. Also surviving are his grandchildren, Nate, Bethany, and Becca; five great grandchildren, grandson-in-law, Chris and sister-in-law, Marge.

Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.

Thought I would share a few pictures of Shorty:

He was a truly great person and I will miss him!

Animals, Art, Becca, Bethany, Billy, Candid Portrait, Colleen, Dory, Formal Portrait, J.T., Laura, Nate, Nora, Road Trip

Minnesota Independence Day Road Trip – Day 1

December 20, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Back in July I took a road trip up to Minnesota near the 4th of July to visit family. Here are a few pictures from Day 1 of the trip:

Independence Day Minnesota Road Trip - Day 1

Coming across Minnesota’s Largest Candy Store was a welcome surprise. Apparently Nora has wanted to go there forever, but Bethany has always shot her down, but this time I talked them into guy. Cause that is what I do. I make dreams come true. Especially dreams that involve candy.

A collection of pictures from Day 2 is still to come!

Becca, Bethany, Billy, Birthdays, Colleen, Dory, J.T., Jonah, Nate, Nora, Still Life, Tenderloining

Salad Shooting: Ames Field Work

May 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Colleen’s birthday, so happy birthday Colleen!

I hope it is as magical as you want it to be!

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On the health spectrum, this post is about a food item that couldn’t be more on the opposite end of the “healthy eating” spectrum than a tenderloin if it tried. Not that a tenderloin is the most unhealthy thing you can eat. That is probably cheesy fries. But it is no secret that any fried food is unhealthy. Delicious, but unhealthy.

Now a salad? They are usually pretty healthy. Unless you add unhealthy elements to it, like fried chicken. And then coat it with ranch or Caesar dressing. Or any salad dressing with the word “creamy” in it. However, I think we can all agree that ranch dressing does not belong on salad. It only belongs as a dipping sauce for things like onion rings and fried mushrooms and fried cheese and buffalo wings. Caesar salad doesn’t belong anywhere.

Ames recently had a new salad restaurant open. It is extremely unique. It is drive-thru only. Why? Because they grow all the greens inside the building.

This is what their website (https://www.claytonfarms.com/salads) says:

Welcome to Clayton Farms Salads, a drive-thru restaurant that is all about fresh, healthy, and smart eating. Our greens are grown onsite, ensuring that our salads and smoothies are the freshest in the world. Whether you’re on the go or simply looking for a quick and nutritious meal, we’ve got you covered with our delicious menu options. From bright and colorful salads, to refreshing and energizing smoothies, we’ve got everything you need, to fuel your day the healthiest way. So why wait? Swing through our drive-thru to taste the difference yourself, or to order delivery!

I think it is a brilliant idea! If you can keep up with demand. Despite that, I have a couple friends who loaded up their haterade with extra hate just to make sure they had enough hate for this restaurant. They are actively rooting against Clayton Farms Salads being successful. One has gone so far as to proclaim:

October of 2024, gentlemen. Mark me. “Salad Dreams” or whatever its called will have shuttered by then.

I have marked it on the calendar Jay.

They started with 4 salads and recently added a 5th salad:
+ Garden Salad
+ Caesar Salad
+ Crunch Asian Salad
+ Southwest Salad
+ Mediterranean Salad

To cut to the chase, it is the best salad(s) I’ve ever had in my life. The freshness of the greens is incredible and it makes a huge difference in the taste. I put the experience like this… it must be what it would be like to not be from Iowa, visit Iowa and then stop at a Peaches and Cream corn stand. Pick up some corn and go home and cook it. For them, it would be like eating corn for the first time in their life.

I’m not trying too hard to rely on Plato’s ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE for this example.

So let me put it another way. It is like the difference between cooking with produce you purchased at a big chain grocery store vs with ingredients you bought at a farmer’s market. If you know anybody that works in a grocery store warehouse, ask them about the room they use to ripen bananas. It will blow your mind.

Or one last example…

It was like the first time I got a watermelon in Muscatine County in the height of watermelon season.

That is what my first salad at Clayton Farms Salads was like. It was like I had never had a salad before. (By looking at me, it is possible you think that I’ve never had a salad in my life, but I love vegetables. I also love a good order of cheesy fries too.)

Here are some pictures of my Clayton Farms Salads experiences:

“Our greens are BETTER” is an understatement.

This guy is a member.

Southwest Salad

All the salads come with Salad Girl Dressing which is an organic line of dressings.

Even their forks are compostable.

Caesar Salad

Garden Salad

Farmer’s Punch – also delicious.

Crunchy Asian Salad

Mediterranean Salad

I’d rank the salads like this:

1. Garden Salad – romaine, sunflower microgreens, red onions, green onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pistachios. and lemony herb dressing.
2. Crunch Asian Salad – romaine, pea microgreens, purple cabbage, edanmae, carrots, green onions, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, crunchy chow mein noodles, toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette.
3. Mediterranean Salad – butterhead/arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, garbanzo beans, red bell peppers, red onions, sliced almonds, lemony herb dressing.
4. Caesar Salad – romaine, broccoli microgreens, cucumber, parmesan cheese, croutons, lemony Caesar dressing.
5. Southwest Salad – butterhead, radish microgreens, orange & yellow bell pepper, black beans, red onion, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, avocado, pepitas, cilantro, chili limon dressing.

I’m not going to lie, when you add protein to the salad, it isn’t cheap. Each salad runs almost or over $15 after you add chicken. A dollar more if you add steak. At this point, I consider a meal that is under $15 as affordable. If I get a meal for less than $10, I alert the media.

The ultimate verdict is, would I pursue this meal? Yes I would. In fact, since I’m currently working in Ames 5 days a week, I pretty much eat here once a week.

You can find Clayton Farms Salads here:

2435 Grand Avenue
Ames, Iowa

They are open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM.

The next food adventure will be a road trip double dip.

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Top 10 Photography 139 Images 10. 2,475 views 9. 2,508 views 8. 2,812 views 7. 3,774 views 6. 3,875 views 5. 3,999 views 4. 4,020 views 3. 4,305 views 2. 4,816 views 1. 20,050 views

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Paul “Shorty” Peterson Obituary

Top 10 Photography 139 Images

10. 2,475 views

9. 2,508 views

8. 2,812 views

7. 3,774 views

6. 3,875 views

5. 3,999 views

4. 4,020 views

3. 4,305 views

2. 4,816 views

1. 20,050 views