Category Archives: Becky

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WPC – WEEK 487 – MOTION

January 13, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the December image of the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

DECEMBER

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7 IV
LENS: Sony 50mm f/2.8 Macro
APERTURE: f/8
SHUTTER: 1/2000
ISO: 100
DATE: April 13, 2024

This picture of a bird soaring through the sky was taken at the Last Chance Cemetery near Chariton, Iowa. I ended up there as I was lunching nearby and saw it on the map and thought Last Chance Cemetery was a peculiar name and I decided to go visit it hoping for some photography opportunities. I had hoped for at the very least, a photogenic sign. However, the cemetery was fairly pedestrian. But while looking towards the heavens I saw a bird flying through a beautiful sky. It was not a wasted trip after all.

Here are the people that chose December as their favorite image:

Johnathan

Sabas

That concludes the calendar images, but tomorrow I will reveal all the images that I considered for the calendar, but decided to leave out for one reason or another.

+++++++

Here we are! Year 12. A far cry from when THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE was birthed violently into this world on January 14, 2010 under the name the Random Weekly Photo Experiment.

These were the two pictures submitted for the first ever theme of USE OF SPACE:

Christopher D. Bennett

Mike Vest

Then on January 2, 2012, I put the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT to bed. It had never really grown much in popularity. In the last several weeks of its existence, Vest and I were the only people to submit. It was time to admit it was a failure.

These were the last 2 pictures submitted for the final theme of SELF-PORTRAIT:

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

But the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE wouldn’t stay down. There were a few people that lobbied for it to return. In particular I remember Dawn and Angie making a case for its return. I brought it out of mothballs. Knocked the crust out of its eyes. Gave it a new name. THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It was brought back to life on September 21, 2015. The rest, as they say, is photography community history.

Here are the submissions for that week, for the theme of NIGHT:

Angie DeWaard

Becky Perkovich

Michael Augustin

Michelle Haupt

Dawn Krause

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

The original point of the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT was simple. The idea was to take 52 different themes and by merely taking on the challenge of tackling the themes you would improve your photography skills. Either through just the act of practicing the craft or through taking photographs that are outside your comfort zone or area of expertise. You don’t improve by NOT taking pictures and this challenge would force you to touch your camera at least once a week. At the end of the year you would have 52 unique images. Images that you could consider for entering into photo contests if you want.

Sometimes people mistakenly think this is a contest. It is not. Merely a challenge. I’m glad so many people have been up for it!

Here we are now. 11 years of submissions complete. Ready to start the 12th year. I hope you are as excited as I am!

Let us begin, shall we?

MOTION! What a great theme! But how many people got their photography juices in motion? Keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, January 6, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

1-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
2-Monica Jennings – 1 week
3-Deanna McClain – 1 week
4-Johnathan Stensland – 1 week
5-Alexis Stensland – 2 weeks
6-Suzie Brannen – 14 weeks
*7-Deb Powers – 19 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 25 weeks
9-Mike Vest – 33 weeks
10-Lowell Davis – 53 weeks
11-Brandon Kahler – 54 weeks
12-Scott Degeneffe – 72 weeks
13-Sheri Fakhouri – 82 weeks
*14-Logan Kahler – 83 weeks
15-Nathanial Brown – 84 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 95 weeks
*17-Mindi Terrell – 99 weeks
18-Linda Bennett – 128 weeks
19-Sarah Toot – 129 weeks
20-Angie DeWaard – 132 weeks
*21-Dawn Krause – 137 weeks
22-Kim Barker – 143 weeks
*23-Joe Duff – 144 weeks
*24-Teresa Kahler – 155 weeks
*25-Carla Stensland – 155 weeks
26-Micky Augustin – 157 weeks
*27-Andy Sharp – 158 weeks
28-Bill Wentworth – 159 weeks
29-Cathie Morton – 163 weeks
30-Elizabeth Nordeen – 164 weeks
31-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 166 weeks
32-Kio Dettman – 168 weeks

Here is the list of rules for Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit. If you submit 2 pictures, make sure they are of different subjects.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM Central Time the following Monday. But that is a deadline. Pictures can be submitted as soon as you take them.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.
6. Please include the location of where the picture was taken with your submission.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

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

WPC - WEEK 487 - MOTION - ALEXIS STENSLAND

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Andy Sharp (West Roads Mall – Omaha, Nebraska) – 159 weeks

Andy Sharp (West Roads Mall – Omaha, Nebraska)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 133 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 160 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 55 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 164 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton Coliseum – Ames, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 138 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 20 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 165 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 145 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 144 weeks

Kio Dettman (Ogden, Iowa) – 169 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 129 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Story County, Iowa) – 158 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 34 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 100 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Ohio) – 85 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Brenton Park – Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 130 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Summerset, Iowa) – 167 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 96 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 26 weeks

34 participants this week. That is a solid way to start Year 12.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Iowa (32)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Nebraska (3)
+ Ohio (1)
+ Pennsylvania (2)
+ Texas (1)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Iowa (32)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Nebraska (3)
+ Ohio (1)
+ Pennsylvania (2)
+ Texas (1)

There were quite a few milestones this week! Willy hit the Half Year Streak Club! Woo! Mindi hit the Triple Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! Sarah hit the 2.5 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! Woo! Carla and Teresa both hit the 3 Year Streak Club! WooHoo WooHoo! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. Johnathan couldn’t build on his submission from last week. His streak is over before it began. Suzie’s streak is gone after 14 weeks.

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:

COLORFUL

COLORFUL! A great theme for Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP OF THE WEEK

There are several ways to make colors really pop in a picture, but the easiest by far is to slightly underexpose the image.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see a bunch of COLORFUL submissions in this place that tries to be splashed in saturation next Monday.

Animals, Becky, Black & White, Calendar, Elizabeth, Flowers, Macro, Melissa, Michelle

Don’t Be Cruel

January 9, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

August

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 16mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/3200
ISO: 160
DATE: July 29, 2024

I took this picture just south of US30. A little east of Ogden. Next to the Harrier Marsh. A sunflower patch was planted out there. I wandered around it with a very wide angle lens because I mostly was looking to capture an image of a lot of sunflowers in the field. But after looking at the images, this ending up being my favorite. Catching a glint of the sun as it was starting to descend in the western sky. I remember as I was beginning to leave the sunflower patch a mom with several teenage girls pulled up to take selfies in the sunflower patch.

Here are the people that picked August as their favorite image:

Becky

Elizabeth

Melissa

Michelle

I’m excited to share the September image tomorrow!

+++++++

You know I can be found
Sitting home all alone
If you can’t come around
At least please telephone
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true

Baby, if I made you mad
For something I might have said
Please, let’s forget my past
The future looks bright ahead
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
I don’t want no other love
Baby it’s just you I’m thinking of, mmh

Don’t stop thinking of me
Don’t make me feel this way
Come on over here and love me
You know what I want you to say
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
Why should we be apart?
I really love you baby, cross my heart

Let’s walk up to the preacher
And let us say I do
Then you’ll know you’ll have me
And I’ll know that I’ll have you
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
I don’t want no other love
Baby it’s just you I’m thinking of

Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true
I don’t want no other love
Baby it’s just you I’m thinking of
-Written by Elvis Presley and Otis Blackwell
-Performed by Elvis Presley

Yesterday was Elvis’ 90th birthday, so it seems apropos that I pick one of his great love songs.

An interesting story is the song was almost 100% written by Otis Blackwell. But here is some info on how Elvis got a writing credit from The Wiki:

“Don’t Be Cruel” was the first song that Presley’s song publishers, Hill & Range, brought to him to record. Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the “hottest new singer around covered it”. But unfortunately he had already sold the song for only $25 ($289 in 2024), as he stated in an interview of American Songwriter.

Freddy Bienstock, Presley’s music publisher, gave the following explanation for why Presley received co-writing credit for songs like “Don’t Be Cruel”. “In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn’t just what is known as a ‘cut-in’. His name did not appear after the first year. But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis’.”

Presley recorded the song on July 2, 1956, during an exhaustive recording session at RCA Victor Studios in New York City.[1] During this session he also recorded “Hound Dog”, and “Any Way You Want Me”. The song featured Presley’s band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar (with Presley usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on double bass, D. J. Fontana on drums, Shorty Long on piano, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires. The producing credit was given to RCA’s Stephen H. Sholes, although the studio recordings reveal that Presley produced the songs in this session by selecting the song, reworking the arrangement on piano, and insisting on 28 takes before he was satisfied with it. He also ran through 31 takes of “Hound Dog”.

“Don’t Be Cruel” was the B Side for “Hound Dog”. Amazing.

Happy birthday Elvis and I hope you know a little more about one of the greatest songwriters of the 1950s, Otis Blackwell.

But Thursdays are for flowers. This flowertography session took place in my yard.

Next Thursday’s flowertography session actually won’t take place in my yard!

Adam, Amy, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Beckham, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Evie, Fran, Funk, Jason, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Layla, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nader, Nathanial, Nature, Sabas, Sara, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Steph, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

Weekly Photo Challenge Year 11 in Review

January 7, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

It is time to reveal the June image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

JUNE

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: SIGMA 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 395mm (but image is cropped)
APERTURE: f/11
SHUTTER: 1/160
ISO: 800
DATE TAKEN: April 8, 2024

I drove in a caravan with the Gorshes all the way to Indiana to take this picture. It isn’t the picture that was taken farthest from my home to be included in this calendar. That was the February image that was taken in New Orleans, but it is the farthest I traveled specifically to take a certain picture. And the gap between that and 2nd place this year is pretty considerable. I drove to Mines of Spain to photograph the Horseshoe Canyon. That is probably second. But those pictures didn’t make it to the calendar. Sorry for the spoiler.

When the eclipse is happening, you kind of forget everything you had planned and you have to balance between actually experiencing the total solar eclipse and photographing the total solar eclipse. It isn’t an easy balance. I can’t tell you anything about the technical settings because everything is such a blur. A rush to experience it. To get the shot. Don’t blow the shot. Then it is over. And you can’t believe how quickly it is over.

I selected this image for June because traditionally I always put a black and white image in June because June is the month of my Dad’s birth. Now he didn’t shoot only black & white, but I always associate his photography with black and white because of the black and white darkroom and the black and white postcards. However, this picture technically isn’t black and white. It is actually a color image that doesn’t have any color in it.

Everyone knows that black and white photography is my first and greatest love in photography, but there is not a single pure black and white image in the calendar in 2025. Because of that I put the closest thing I had to a black and white image in June.

Here are the people that selected this as their favorite 2025 Photography 139 Calendar image:

Alexis

Beckham

J.J.

I look forward to revealing the July image tomorrow!

+++++++

As yesterday closed the book on Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, now seems like a good time to review all that happened.

There were 56 different people that submitted photos. Ranging from submitting 1 picture to 97 pictures.

There were 2,466 photos submitted.

The average week had 36.4 participants.

The average week had 46.5 submissions.

The most popular week was Week 446. The theme was #INSTAGOOD. There were 42 participants.

The most popular week by submissions was Week 456. The theme was ANYTHING BUT A CAT. There were 60 submissions.

The least popular week by participants was Week 479. The theme was GAMES. There were 31 participants.

The least popular week by submissions was Week 483. The theme was REFLECTION. There were 38 submissions.

Here is my favorite submission from all 56 different people that submitted and some statistics about each participant.

DON’T READ INTO THIS THAT I THINK THIS IS YOUR BEST PICTURE OR THE BEST USE OF COMPOSITION OR BEST USE OF TECHNICAL SKILLS. ALSO DON’T THINK I SPENT HOURS EXAMINING EACH IMAGE. IT IS JUST MY FAVORITE THAT I SAW WHEN GIVING THEM A QUICK ONCE OVER.

WPC - WEEK 466 - SCIENCE - DERRICK GORSHE

Derrick Gorshe
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Ohio

Myriah Sharp
1 week – 2%
2 submissions
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Hawaii

Jason Stensland
1 week – 2%
2 submissions
No Current Streak
Submitted from: South Dakota

Jennie Green
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: California

Fran Duncan
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Wisconsin

Bunny
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No Current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa

Beckham Gorshe
1 week – 2%
1 submission
No current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa

Layla Gorshe
2 weeks – 4%
2 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Ohio
Click for Layla’s Submissions

Nader Parsaei
2 weeks – 4%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Nader’s Submissions

Evie Gorshe
3 weeks – 6%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Evie’s Submissions

Susanna Funk
3 weeks – 6%
3 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Colorado
Click for Funk’s Submissions

Kyle Sharp
4 weeks – 8%
6 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, and Colorado
Click for Kyle’s Submissions

Tim Panages
5 weeks – 9%
7 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Tim’s Submissions

Stephanie Kim
6 weeks – 11%
6 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: New York
Click for Steph’s Submissions

Amy Peterson
11 weeks – 21%
16 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Amy’s Submissions

Elainie Hernandez
17 weeks – 34%
18 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Elainie’s Submissions

Becky Parmelee
20 weeks – 38%
22 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and New York
Click for Becky’s Submissions

Deb Powers
21 weeks – 40%
39 submissions
19 week streak
Submitted from: Montana and Iowa
Click for Deb’s Submissions

Johnathan Stensland
21 weeks – 40%
22 submissions
1 week streak
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Johnathan’s Submissions

Jen Ensley-Gorshe
24 weeks – 46%
27 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Colorado, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Illinois, Florida, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and Washington.
Click for Jen’s Submissions

Adam Gordon
31 weeks – 58%
54 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, and Canada
Click for Adam’s Submissions

Mary Green
36 weeks – 68%
64 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and Puerto Rico
Click for Mary’s submissions

Alexis Stensland
41 weeks – 77%
60 submissions
Current Streak: 2 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Alexis’ submissions

Michelle Haupt
40 weeks – 75%
40 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Louisiana, and Michigan
Click for Michelle’s submissions

Monica Jennings
42 weeks – 79%
48 submissions
Current Streak: 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Monica’s submissions

Deanna McClain
43 weeks – 81%
45 submissions
Current streak – 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Deanna’s submissions

Sara Lockner
42 weeks – 79%
42 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Bahamas, Minnesota, and Florida
Click for Sara’s submissions

Willy McAlpine
46 weeks – 87%
48 submissions
Current Streak: 25 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Willy’s submissions

Jesse Howard
46 weeks – 87%
53 submissions
No current streak
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Florida, Minnesota, Aruba, and Curacao
Click for Jesse’s submissions

Suzie Brannen
48 weeks – 91%
65 submissions
Current Streak
Submitted from: Iowa and Maryland
Click for Suzie’s submissions

Sabas Hernandez
49 weeks – 92%
55 submissions
Current Streat: 1 week
Submitted from: Iowa, Ohio, and Wisconsin
Click for Sabas’ submissions

Mike Vest
52 weeks – 96%
54 submissions
Current Streak: 33 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas
Click for Vest’s submissions

Lowell Davis
53 weeks – 100%
69 submissions
Current Streak: 53 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas
Click for Lowell’s submissions

Brandon Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
56 submissions
Current Streak: 54 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Brandon’s submissions

Scott Degeneffe
53 weeks – 100%
65 submissions
Current Streak: 72 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Florida, Utah, Colorado, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
Click for Scott’s submissions

Sheri Fakhouri
53 weeks – 100%
73 submissions
Current Streak: 82 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Nebraska, and Georgia
Click for Sheri’s submissions

Logan Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
78 submissions
Current Streak: 83 streaks
Submitted from: Iowa, Minnesota, and Missouri
Click for Logan’s submissions

Nathanial Brown
53 weeks – 100%
62 submissions
Current Streak: 84 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, South Dakota, Georgia, Tennessee, Ireland, North Ireland, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, New York and Missouri
Click for Nathanial’s submissions

Tamara Peterson
53 weeks – 100%
56 submissions
Current Streak: 95 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Minnesota
Click for Tamara’s submissions

Mindi Terrell
53 weeks – 100%
97 submissions
Current Streak: 99 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Mindi’s submissions

Linda Bennett
53 weeks – 100%
78 submissions
Current Streak: 128 weeks
Submitted from: Kansas, Iowa, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Missouri
Click for Linda’s submissions

Sarah Toot
53 weeks – 100%
66 submissions
Current Streak: 129 weeks
Submitted from: Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Florida, Maryland, Kansas, and Missouri
Click for Sarah’s submissions

Angie DeWaard
53 weeks – 100%
67 submissions
Current Streak: 132 weeks
Submitted: Iowa, Illinois, Scotland, England, Minnesota, and Florida
Click for Angie’s submissions

Dawn Krause
53 weeks – 100%
74 submissions
Current Streak: 137 weeks
Submitted from Iowa and Illinois
Click for Dawn’s submissions

Kim Barker
53 weeks – 100%
63 submissions
Current Streak: 143 weeks
Submitted: Iowa, Colorado, and Louisiana
Click for Kim’s submissions

Joe Duff
53 weeks – 100&
80 submissions
Current Streak: 144 weeks
Submitted from: Texas and New York
Click for Joe’s submissions

Teresa Kahler
53 weeks – 100%
88 submissions
Current Streak: 155 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Nebraska
Click for Teresa’s submissions

Carla Stensland
53 weeks
86 submissions
Current Streak: 155 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado
Click for Carla’s submissions

Micky Augustin
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 43
Current Streak: 157 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Illinois, Florida, Alaska, and Arizona
Click for Micky’s submissions

Andy Sharp
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 71
Current Streak: 158 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Louisiana, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and South Dakota
Click for Andy’s submissions

Bill Wentworth
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 57
Current Streak: 159 weeks
Submitted from: Nebraska, Missouri, and Florida
Click for Bill’s submissions

Cathie Morton
53 weeks – 100%
Submissions: 62
Current Streak: 163 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Florida, Bahamas, Missouri, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah
Click for Cathie’s submissions

Elizabeth Nordeen
53 weeks – 100%
62 submissions
Current Streak: 164 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa and Ohio
Click for Elizabeth’s submissions

Shannon Bardole-Foley
53 weeks – 100%
57 submissions
Current Streak: 166 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, California, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri, Mexico, and Texas
Click for Shannon’s submissions

Kio Dettman
53 weeks – 100%
81 submissions
Current Streak: 168 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa
Click for Kio’s submissions

Christopher D. Bennett
53 weeks – 100%
53 submissions
Current Streak: 590 weeks
Submitted from: Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, and Louisiana

But as they say, it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. There were 6 participants from Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE that never got hit by the old inspo to submit once this year.

+ Lori Backous
+ Melissa Degeneffe
+ Porter Degeneffe
+ Corey Faust
+ Sarah Karber
+ Ernie Reddd

Maybe in Year 12 they will get that creative photography hankering again. Here is hoping!

In Year 11 I tracked the states pictures were submitted from closer than in the past. In the end, we had submissions from:

+ 39 states
+ 1 U.S. District
+ 1 U.S. Territory
+ 7 Foreign Countries

Here is a look at the final Year 11 THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE UNITED STATES CONQUEST MAP:

39 STATES!

Rather than listing all the states that had pictures taken from them, here are the 11 states that weren’t reached:

+ Alabama
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Idaho
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ New Hampshire
+ North Dakota
+ Oregon
+ Rhode Island
+ South Carolina

The 10 Most Popular States to Submit from:

10. Minnesota – 15
9. Florida – 16
8. Arkansas – 20.5
7. New York – 23
6. Missouri – 28.5
5. Pennsylvania – 42
4. Nebraska – 61
3. Kansas – 72
2. Texas – 79
1. Iowa – 1967

The 5 People that Submitted from the Most Locations:

5. Cathie Morton – 9
5. Scott Degeneffe – 9
4. Sarah Toot – 10
3. Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 13
2. Nathanial Brown – 15
1. Andy Sharp – 16

There were submissions from 7 foreign countries (depending on how countries are defined), here is a look at the world map:

There were a few world travelers and I know that there will be at least a few world travelers in Year 12. So maybe that map will be even more filled in after Year 12.

Finally, a look back at where we’ve been.

Here are a few quick stats from Year 9:

+ 44 different participants
+ 1811 photos submitted
+ Least popular theme for participation was ROCK with 16 participants
+ Most popular theme for participation was SELF-PORTRAIT with 31 participants
+ Least popular theme for submissions was ROCK with 20 submissions
+ Most popular theme for submission was LINES with 51 submissions
+ The average week had 24.6 participants
+ The average week had 34.8 submissions

The same stats from Year 10:

+ 59 different participants
+ 2311 photos submitted
+ Least popular theme for participation was a tie with TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES; REFLECTION; and SUNRISE, SUNSET each having 25 participants
+ Most popular them for participation was #INSTAGOOD with 41 participants
+ Least popular them for submissions was TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES with 30 submissions
+ The most popular them for submissions was FLOWER with 62 submissions
+ The average week had 31.1 participants
+ The average week had 44.4 submissions

Comparing Year 11 to Year 10:

+ 3 less different participants
+ 155 more submissions
+ The most popular theme had 1 more participant
+ The most popular theme had 2 less submissions
+ The average participation was up 5.3 participants per week
+ The average submissions was up 2.1 submissions per week.

Year 11 had a slight upward trend, but it was probably unrealistic to expect a giant jump like there was in Year 10. Hopefully Year 12 continues to trend upward!

I look forward to seeing all the submissions in Year 12!

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Bokeh, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deb, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, World Religion, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 485 – HOLIDAYS

December 30, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. But as we are heading into a new year, I’m going to update and tackle the FAQ in a slightly different direction. Here is the FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Who are your favorite submitters?

Obviously all of you are my favorites. But the real ones do 4 things.
1. Submit by Sunday night. (Yes, the deadline is 11 AM, but we’re talking about the real ones.)
2. Submit in the correct format. (That is .jpg or .png. Notice, not listed is .heic. I get it. You are a big time Apple fanboy. But .heic images have to be converted. Please save me from having to convert your images!)
3. Their submission communication includes that the picture if for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE and isn’t just some random image that they are sending me to share about their life, hopes, and dreams.
4. Their submission communication includes where the picture was taken.

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission text message:

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission email:

Here is an example of why size matters:

This isn’t to single Mary out. It is just an example I have from this week. Those are great pictures, but they can barely be seen. Remember that the “suggested” minimum resolution is 1280 pixels x 853 pixels for a 4 x 6 image. Don’t overcrop.* Check your email and text message settings. Are they resizing your images?

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If I start to average 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.

+++++++

HOLIDAYS! What a great theme! But did enough people holiday it up to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 23, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

*1-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
2-Elainie Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA)
3-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (IA, BHS, MN, FL)
4-Monica Jennings – 5 weeks (IA)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 6 weeks (IA, OH, WI)
*6-Suzie Brannen – 13 weeks (IA, MD)
7-Deb Powers – 17 weeks (MT, IA)
8-Willy McAlpine – 24 weeks (IA)
9-Deanna McClain – 28 weeks (IA, MN)
10-Mike Vest – 31 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
11-Lowell Davis – 51 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
12-Brandon Kahler – 52 weeks (IA, MN)
13-Scott Degeneffe – 70 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 80 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
15-Logan Kahler – 81 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
16-Nathanial Brown – 82 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
17-Tamara Peterson – 93 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Mindi Terrell – 97 weeks (IA)
*19-Linda Bennett – 126 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO)
20-Sarah Toot – 127 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS)
21-Angie DeWaard – 130 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
22-Dawn Krause – 135 weeks (IA, IL)
*23-Kim Barker – 141 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
*24-Joe Duff – 142 weeks (TX, NY)
25-Teresa Kahler – 153 weeks (IA, NE)
*26-Carla Stensland – 153 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
27-Micky Augustin – 155 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ)
28-Andy Sharp – 156 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
29-Bill Wentworth – 157 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
30-Cathie Morton – 161 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT)
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 162 weeks (IA, OH)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 164 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX, MO)
33-Kio Dettman – 166 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Kio Dettman (Hy-Vee – Boone, Iowa)- 167 weeks

Kio Dettman (1st Baptist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Dakota City, Iowa) – 165 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 163 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 162 weeks

Bill Wentworth (St. Louis, Missouri) – 158 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah) – 157 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)

Micky Augustin (Des Moines, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 143 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 142 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 136 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 131 weeks

Sarah Toot (Kansas City, Missouri) – 128 weeks

Sarah Toot (Charlotte Douglas International Airport – Charlotte, North Carolina)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 127 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 98 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 94 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (St. Louis, Missouri) – 83 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Nob Hill – Boone County, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 53 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 32 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 25 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Kyle Sharp (Colorado) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Becky Parmelee (Napier, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Maccabees Kosher Deli – Des Moines, Iowa)

34 participants this week! That is a fair week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona (.5)
+ Colorado (2.5)
+ Iowa (41)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Missouri (3)
+ New Mexico (.5)
+ North Carolina (1)
+ Texas (2)
+ Utah (.5)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (2.5)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (11.5)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1934)
+ Kansas (71)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (27.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (60)
+ Nevada (5)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2.5)
+ New York (23)
+ North Carolina (3)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (41)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (77)
+ Utah (2.5)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (6)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY, MO) – 15
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS, AZ, CO, NM, UT) – 15
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS, MO) – 10
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT) – 9
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 5
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO) -5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI) – 5
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO, AR, OK, KS) – 5
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ) – 5
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH, WI) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO, CO) – 3
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2
+ Dawn Krause – (IA, IL) – 2
+ Joe Duff (TX, NY) – 2
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2

Heading into the last week of Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, Nathanial and Andy are tied to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer of Year 11!”

The milestone this week is that Lowell joined the 1 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! Micky joined the 3 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all candy canes and sugar plums! There was a literal bloodbath of people who couldn’t make merry with their camera this week. Elainie’s streak is gone at 2. Sara’s is over at 3. Monica’s streak goes kaput at 4. Sabas’ streak is no more at 6. And worst of all scarecrow, Deanna’s streak is now only something you’ll read about it in history books at 28! Bah humbug!

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:

WHEELS (Suggested by Sarah Toot)

WHEELS! What a great FINAL theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of WHEELS in this place that isn’t stationary next Monday.

*Don’t overcrop is a rule you should live by. Or as I would say, in almost all situations crop (or zoom) with your feet.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 481 – CLOTHING

December 2, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

CLOTHING! What a great theme! But were enough people not nudists to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, November 25, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

*1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA)
*2-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
3-Monica Jennings – 1 week (IA)
4-Sara Lockner – 1 week (IA, BHS, MN, FL)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA, OH)
6-Jesse Howard – 8 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN)
*7-Suzie Brannen – 9 weeks (IA, MD)
*8-Deb Powers – 13 weeks (MT, IA)
9-Willy McAlpine – 20 weeks (IA)
10-Deanna McClain – 24 weeks (IA, MN)
11-Mike Vest – 27 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
12-Lowell Davis – 47 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Brandon Kahler – 48 weeks (IA, MN)
14-Scott Degeneffe – 66 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
15-Sheri Fakhouri – 76 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
16-Logan Kahler – 77 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
17-Nathanial Brown – 78 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
18-Tamara Peterson – 89 weeks (IA, MN)
*19-Mindi Terrell – 93 weeks (IA)
20-Linda Bennett – 122 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY)
21-Sarah Toot – 123 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL)
22-Angie DeWaard – 126 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
*23-Dawn Krause – 131 weeks (IA, IL)
24-Kim Barker – 137 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
25-Joe Duff – 138 weeks (TX, NY)
26-Teresa Kahler – 149 weeks (IA, NE)
*27-Carla Stensland – 149 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
28-Micky Augustin – 151 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK)
*29-Andy Sharp – 152 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
*30-Bill Wentworth – 153 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
31-Cathie Morton – 157 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 158 weeks (IA, OH)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 160 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO)
34-Kio Dettman – 162 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

WPC - WEEK 481 - CLOTHING - BECKY PARMELEE

Becky Parmelee (New York City, New York) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Jesse Howard (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 10 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 28 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 48 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 49 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 77 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 94 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Missouri) – 123 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland) – 124 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 127 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 132 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 138 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 139 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 150 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 150 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Ames, Iowa)- 152 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 153 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 154 weeks

Cathie Morton (New Mexico) – 158 weeks

Cathie Morton (Phoenix, Arizona)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 159 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Cancun, Mexico) – 161 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 163 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 585 weeks

There were 35 participants this week. A pretty good week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona (1)
+ Iowa (34)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Mexico (1)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ New Mexico (1)
+ New York (1)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks go Cathie’s travels we added New Mexico and Arizona to the map. Thanks to Shannon’s travels we add Mexico to the map!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (1)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (10)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1797)
+ Kansas (63)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (23.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (57)
+ Nevada (4)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2)
+ New York (22)
+ North Carolina (2)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (40)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (69)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (5)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (1)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY) – 14
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS) – 11
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD) – 8
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 5
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO) -5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI) – 5
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO, AR, OK, KS) – 5
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2
+ Dawn Krause – (IA, IL) – 2
+ Joe Duff (TX, NY) – 2
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO) – 2

Nathanial is clinging to the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!”

There were a few big milestones reached this week. Suzie joined the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo. Logan joined the Year and a Half Streak Club! WooHoo! Woo!

But it wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns! Jen and Sara couldn’t build on their submission and their streaks are over before they began. I will assume that they have become devout nudists that have no time for your bougie clothing.

SYMMETRY (SUGGESTED BY SARAH TOOT)

SYMMETRY! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of SYMMETRY in this place that isn’t very even keeled always in fashion next Monday.

Art, Becky, Birthdays, Black & White, Christianity, History, Road Trip, Still Life

Dubuque County Road Trip – III

October 16, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Today is Becky’s birthday so I have to wish her a happy birthday.

Happy birthday Becky!

This is the final collection of images from my trip to Dubuque County back in March. Most of these are taken on The Way of the Cross and the Pieta Chapel that are part of the Saint Donatus Catholic Church in Saint Donatus. Here is a little history of the property from “the Wiki”:

The original church building, modeled after St. Boniface Church in New Vienna, was completed in 1858. It was destroyed in a fire on November 24, 1907. The exterior stone walls survived, and were used to build the present church. It was completed in 1908. The stone for the bell tower was quarried from the nearby bluffs. It is capped by a wooden steeple. There is little in the way of exterior ornamentation. The exterior stone walls have been covered with a coating of cement and lime. The parish cemetery is located behind the church. Some of the earlier graves are marked by elaborate iron crosses. Some of the early stone headstones were made in Dubuque, while others were created by 0. Wenzler of Milwaukee. The rectory, located next to the church, is a contemporary of the original church. It was built of stone that was quarried nearby and covered with light yellow/brown stucco. It is capped with a hip roof that features cross gabled dormer windows. The moderate pitch of the roof and the lack of eaves are typical of traditional Luxembourg architecture.

The parish is known for its outdoor Stations of the Cross located on the hill behind the church. They were constructed in 1861 under the direction of the Rev. J. Michael Flammang, and may be one of the first developed in the United States. Each of the fourteen stations are 5 by 5 feet (1.5 by 1.5 m), and are placed in open, arched entrances and gabled roofs. They are spaced at intervals of about 250 feet (76 m) along a dirt footpath that winds its way to the top of the bluff and the Pieta Chapel. During Holy Week the church sponsors a procession through the outdoor stations to the small chapel at the top of this hill. The chapel is modeled after the Chapel du Bildchen near Vianden, Luxembourg. The simple cut-stone structure was completed in 1885. The exterior stone has been left bare, and has little ornamentation. A simple wooden bell tower is located above the front gable.

Here are the final pictures:

It was a pretty great little trip. I need to head that way to do a tenderloin double header in the near future. Might have to go to some of these places again. Thinking of maybe a trip to Saint Donatus again during Holy Week next year. Good Friday is April 18. As good of a reason as any to take a day off from the Computer Mine.

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.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Slice of Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 457 – SLICE OF LIFE

June 17, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

SLICE OF LIFE! A great theme, but did enough people dabble in the theme that is an homage to my Dad to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, June 3, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL)
2-Beckham Gorshe – 1 week (IA)
3-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR) <2>
4-Eliainie Hernandez – 1 week (IA)
5-Sara Lockner – 1 week (IA, BHS, MN)
6-Nader Parsaei – 1 week (IA) <2>
7-Kyle Sharp – 1 week (IA)
8-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks (IA)
9-Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks (IA)
10-Johnathan Stensland – 4 weeks (IA)
11-Suzie Brannen – 5 weeks (IA, MD) <2>
12-Mike Vest – 5 weeks (IA, MO)
13-Alexis Stensland – 7 weeks (IA) <2>
14-Sabas Hernandez – 9 weeks (IA, OH) <2>
15-Adam Gordon – 15 weeks (IA, MS, MO) <2>
16-Becky Parmelee – 16 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
17-Lowell Davis – 23 weeks (IA) <2>
18-Michelle Haupt – 23 weeks (IA, MO, KS, LA)
19-Brandon Kahler – 24 weeks (IA, MN)
20-Scott Degeneffe – 42 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL52)
21-Sheri Fakhouri – 52 weeks (IA, NE)
22-Logan Kahler – 52 weeks (IA, MN) <2>
23-Nathanial Brown – 54 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL) <2>
24-Jesse Howard – 54 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW)
25-Tamara Peterson – 66 weeks (IA, MN)
26-Mindi Terrell – 69 weeks (IA) <2>
27-Linda Bennett – 98 weeks (KS) <2>
28-Sarah Toot – 99 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV) <2>
29-Angie DeWaard – 103 weeks (IA, IL) <2>
30-Dawn Krause – 107 weeks (IA)
31-Kim Barker – 113 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
32-Joe Duff – 114 weeks (TX) <2>
33-Teresa Kahler – 125 weeks (IA, NE) <2>
34-Carla Stensland – 125 weeks (IA, MO)
35-Micky Augustin – 127weeks (IA, IL)
36-Andy Sharp – 128 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA) <2>
37-Bill Wentworth – 129 weeks (NE, MO)
38-Cathie Morton – 132 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA)
39-Elizabeth Nordeen – 134 weeks (IA, OH) <2>
40-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 136 weeks (IA, CA, NV)
41-Kio Dettman – 138 weeks (IA)

It is the third week of the month and on the third week of the month I like to share a map of all the states where people have submitted from heading into today. Here is that map:

29 States. 1 U.S. Territory. 4 foreign countries.

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

WPC - WEEK 457 - SLICE OF LIFE - MICKY AUGUSTIN

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 128 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Wild black raspberries picked at Honey Hollow, rural Warren County, IA) – 137 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 114 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone County, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Linwood Cemetery – Boone, Iowa) – 99 weeks

Linda Bennett (Linwood Cemetery – Boone, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Named after a 200 year old secret society, The Muddlers Club serves meticulously prepared dishes. The restaurant has held a Micehlin Star since 2020.) – 55 weeks

Nathanial Brown (This narrow road weaving through sharp cliff faces is one of the highest mountain pass roads in Ireland.)

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 24 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa) – 139 weeks

Kio Dettman (Monigona, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 104 weeks

Joe Duff (Seabrook’s hidden gem for live music, hot food, and cold drinks. Barge 295 on Clear Lake.) – 115 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (North Ankeny, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Adam Gordon (Kansas City, Missouri) – 16 weeks

Adam Gordon (Kansas City Missouri)

Mary Green (Iglesias Methodista, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Gate to the city, Old San Juan Puerto Rico)

Michelle Haupt (Wellsburg, Iowa) – 24 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 10 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (We will do all we can to not only help you leave this life in peace, but also help you live until you die.) – 55 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 126 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Ogden Bulldog #33 hists a pop fly.) – 108 weeks

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa)- 4 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 1 week

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 133 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 135 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bentonville AR – Corn on a table) – 17 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Andy Sharp (Council Bluffs, Iowa) – 129 weeks

Andy Sharp (Council Bluffs, Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 126 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 70 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Sarah Toot (New Jersey) – 100 weeks

Sarah Toot (New York City, New York)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 130 weeks

There were 39 participants this week! That is a great number for what is a somewhat abstract theme! It is always interesting to see what people think would be on a postcard.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa (40)
+ Ireland (1)
+ Missouri (2)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ New Jersey (1)
+ New York (1)
+ Puerto Rico (2)
+ Texas (1)
+ North Ireland (1)

Thanks to Sarah’s travels, we’ve added New Jersey to the map WooHoo! Thanks to Nathanial’s travels we’ve added North Ireland to the map WooHoo!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (15.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (2)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (7)
+ Indiana (4)
+ Iowa (870)
+ Ireland (3)
+ Kansas (34)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (8)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (15.5)
+ Nebraska (31)
+ Nevada (4)
+ New Jersey (1)
+ New York (14)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Ohio (2)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (16)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (36)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (1)

30 states so far! 1 U.S. Terriorty! 5 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR) – 6
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA) – 5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA) – 4
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA) – 2
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2

Jen is currently in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy and Scott and Nathanial are in striking distance though!

There were several big milestones this week! Sabas joined the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! Sarah joined the Triple Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! WooHoo! Angie joined the 2 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! Bill joined the 2.5 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! Woo! All of them amazing accomplishments!

But it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows! Beckham, Nader, and Kyle couldn’t build on their submissions from last week. Their streaks are over before they even began! Johnathan’s streak is over at 4!

CAMERA

CAMERA! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of CAMERA in this place that relies on one heavily next Monday.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Beckham, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nader, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Slice of Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 456 – ANYTHING BUT A CAT

June 10, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

READ THE THEME DESCRIPTION THIS WEEK. THERE ARE SPECIAL RULES!

ANYTHING BUT A CAT! A great theme, but did enough people get pumped to not take a picture of a cat to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, June 3, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Monica Jennings – 1 week (IA) <2>
2-Willy McAlpine – 2 weeks (IA)
3-Johnathan Stensland – 3 weeks (IA)
4-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks (IA, MD) <2>
5-Mike Vest – 4 weeks (IA, MO)
6-Alexis Stensland – 6 weeks (IA) <2>
7-Sabas Hernandez – 8 weeks (IA, OH) <2>
8-Adam Gordon – 14 weeks (IA, MS, MO) <2>
9-Becky Parmelee – 15 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
10-Lowell Davis – 22 weeks (IA) <2>
11-Michelle Haupt – 22 weeks (IA, MO, KS, LA)
12-Brandon Kahler – 23 weeks (IA, MN)
13-Scott Degeneffe – 41 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN)
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 51 weeks (IA, NE)
15-Logan Kahler – 51 weeks (IA, MN) <2>
16-Nathanial Brown – 53 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
17-Jesse Howard – 53 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) <2>
18-Tamara Peterson – 65 weeks (IA, MN)
19-Mindi Terrell – 68 weeks (IA) <2>
20-Linda Bennett – 97 weeks (KS) <2>
21-Sarah Toot – 98 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
22-Angie DeWaard – 102 weeks (IA, IL) <2>
23-Dawn Krause – 106 weeks (IA) <2>
24-Kim Barker – 112 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
25-Joe Duff – 113 weeks (TX)
26-Teresa Kahler – 124 weeks (IA, NE) <2>
27-Carla Stensland – 124 weeks (IA, MO) <2>
28-Micky Augustin – 126 weeks (IA, IL)
29-Andy Sharp – 127 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA) <2>
30-Bill Wentworth – 128 weeks (NE, MO) <2>
31-Cathie Morton – 131 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 133 weeks (IA, OH)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 135 weeks (IA, CA, NV)
34-Kio Dettman – 137 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

WPC - WEEK 456 - ANYTHING BUT A CAT - ADAM GORDON

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 15 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 7 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 128 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa)

Beckham Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 16 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 129 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 24 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Cathie Morton (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 132 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 107 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 134 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Waukee, Iowa) – 54 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 114 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 113 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 138 weeks

Kyle Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 98 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 52 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 23 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa)

Mary Green (Vieques, Puerto Rico) – 1 week

Mary Green (Vieques, Puerto Rico)

Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 23 weeks

Micky Augustin (Colo, Iowa) – 127 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nader Parsaei (Iowa) – 1 week

Nader Parsaei (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Guinness Storehouse – Dublin, Ireland) – 54 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Teeling Distillery – Dublin, Ireland)

Sabas Hernandez (Marshalltown, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (State Center, Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Sarah Toot (New York City, New York) – 99 weeks

Sarah Toot (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 42 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Illinois)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 136 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 52 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Teresa Kahler (McHose Park – Boone, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Lost Lake – Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 2 weeks

NOTE: A surly person that might have sent me hate mail over this theme may have noticed that there is one picture that does in fact include a cat. You might be wondering why that picture was NOT rejected. It isn’t cause I like Scott more than the rest of you. Although he does feed me. (But the list of people that have cooked me or given me some kind of food is pretty extensive. – See Michelle’s submission.) It is for 2 reasons. That cat is Fred. And Fred, I’m told, identifies as a dog. And on this website we believe that Love is Love. Black Lives Matter. Women’s Rights are Human Rights. No Human is Illegal. Science is Real. Kindness is Everything. In Religious Freedom. Hate Has No Home Here. But secondly and sadly, sometime between when that picture was taken and this post published, Fred may have crossed over the rainbow bridge. Fred was not expected to make it through the night. And I would not deny Fred, who has the outwards appearance of being a cat, but is in fact a dog, one final appearance on this website. And if this makes you mad, ask yourself, why you hate cats so much?

42 participants this week! Man, people were so thirsty for pictures that don’t have cats in them. I guess that Andy Sharp knows how to come up with the theme ideas!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Illinois (1)
+ Iowa (47)
+ Ireland (2)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Nevada (1)
+ New York (1)
+ Puerto Rico (2)
+ Texas (2)

Thanks to the travels of Nathanial we added Ireland to the list. And thanks to the travels of Mary we added Puerto Rico to the list! WooHoo!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (15.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (2)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (7)
+ Indiana (4)
+ Iowa (830)
+ Ireland (2)
+ Kansas (34)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (8)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (13.5)
+ Nebraska (30)
+ Nevada (4)
+ New York (13)
+ Ohio (2)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (16)
+ Puerto Rico (2)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (35)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (1)

29 states so far! 1 U.S. Terriorty! 4 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA) – 5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA) – 2
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2

Jen is currently in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy and Scott are in striking distance though!

There were a couple of big milestones this week! Sheri and Logan both reached the 1 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo!

No streaks were killed this week! WooHoo!

SLICE OF LIFE – IN HONOR OF MY DAD

SLICE OF LIFE! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SLICE OF LIFE image? This is where I normally give you kind of a broad definition of the theme, but not this week. For those that don’t know SLICE OF LIFE is the name of the postcard company that my Dad started and ran out of the basement darkroom in our house.

He specialized in black & white postcards of local interest. Here is this week’s assignment. It is to take a picture that you could see being used on a postcard. Now back in the day, they used to take pictures of all sorts of things and put them on postcards. So don’t think that there is nothing in your area that would make it on a postcard. It could be a building that is interesting looking or has a historical significance. It could simply be a pretty scene. Back when I was doing THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, sometimes they took pictures of downtown intersections and put those on postcards.

While I will require your submission to be a postcard like image, meaning don’t try to “interpret” Slice of Life to mean something different, I will only strongly encourage you to submit the picture in black & white and also only slightly encourage you to throw some text on the image, if you have the editing skills or software. You know, design a postcard!

There is one more thing. This is the one and only theme where if you write a SHORT description of your image (like you would see on the backside of a postcard) that I will include it along with your submission.

I don’t manipulate the order of themes for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I put the 52 themes in a random generator and then I have it generate the the order of the themes EXCEPT for this theme. This theme I put this week specifically. This week is my Dad’s birthday. In fact, it is tomorrow. He would have turned 81. So it seemed apropos to put the theme that is an homage to him during this week.

And if you don’t know, he is the person in the theme reveal image.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SLICE OF LIFE in this place that is a continuation in many ways next Monday.

Adam, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 455 – SIGN

June 3, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

SIGN! A great theme, but did enough people see the signs to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 27, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Fran Duncan – 1 week (WI)
2-Willy McAlpine – 1 week (IA)
3-Mary Green – 2 weeks (MI, IA, IN, IL)
4-Johnathan Stensland – 2 weeks (IA)
5-Suzie Brannen – 3 weeks (IA, MD)
6-Mike Vest – 3 weeks (IA, MO)
7-Alexis Stensland – 5 weeks (IA)
8-Sabas Hernandez – 7 weeks (IA, OH)
9-Deanna McClain – 9 weeks (IA, MN)
10-Adam Gordon – 13 weeks (IA, MS, MO) <2>
11-Becky Parmelee – 14 weeks (AR, IA, OK) <2>
12-Lowell Davis – 21 weeks (IA)
13-Michelle Haupt – 21 weeks (IA, MO, KS, LA)
14-Brandon Kahler – 22 weeks (IA, MN)
15-Scott Degeneffe – 40 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN)
16-Sheri Fakhouri – 50 weeks (IA, NE) <2>
17-Logan Kahler – 50 weeks (IA, MN) <2>
18-Nathanial Brown – 52 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
19-Jesse Howard – 52 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) <2>
20-Tamara Peterson – 64 weeks (IA, MN)
21-Mindi Terrell – 67 weeks (IA)
22-Linda Bennett – 96 weeks (KS)
23-Sarah Toot – 97 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
24-Angie DeWaard – 101 weeks (IA, IL)
25-Dawn Krause – 105 weeks (IA) <2>
26-Kim Barker – 111 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
27-Joe Duff – 112 weeks (TX) <2>
28-Teresa Kahler – 123 weeks (IA, NE) <2>
29-Carla Stensland – 123 weeks (IA, MO) <2>
30-Micky Augustin – 125 weeks (IA, IL)
31-Andy Sharp – 126 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA)
32-Bill Wentworth – 127 weeks (NE, MO) <2>
33-Cathie Morton – 130 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA) <2>
34-Elizabeth Nordeen – 132 weeks (IA, OH)
35-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 134 weeks (IA, CA, NV)
36-Kio Dettman – 136 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Madrid, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa)

Adam Gordon (Mission, Kansas) – 14 weeks

Adam Gordon (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Becky Parmelee (Rogers, Arkansas) – 15 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 22 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa)

Michelle Haupt (Iowa) – 22 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Des Moines, Iowa) – 23 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 41 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 51 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 51 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Des Moines, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 65 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 68 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 97 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (Las Vegas, Nevada) – 98 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 106 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (McCallsburg, Iowa) – 112 weeks

Joe Duff (Houston, Texas) – 113 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 124 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Spirit Lake, Iowa) – 124 weeks

Carla Stensland (Boone High School Auditorium – Boone, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Kennebec, Iowa) – 126 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 127 weeks

Andy Sharp (Omaha, Nebraska)

Bill Wentworth (Saint Louis, Missouri) – 128 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 131 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 133 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 135 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 137 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 558 weeks

35 participants this week! Actually that doesn’t deserve and exclamation point. More like a sad face emoticon. That is a drop of 4 participants from last week. People don’t like signs!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Iowa (41)
+ Kansas (3)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Nevada (1)
+ Texas (1)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (13.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (2)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (6)
+ Indiana (4)
+ Iowa (784)
+ Kansas (32)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (8)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (13.5)
+ Nebraska (29)
+ Nevada (3)
+ New York (12)
+ Ohio (2)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (16)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (33)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (1)

29 states so far! 3 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY) – 6
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA) – 4
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL) – 4
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA) – 2
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2

Jen is currently in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy and Scott are in striking distance though! And she hasn’t submitted in weeks. She is ripe to be knocked off the throne!

There were no major milestones reached this week. But on the other hand, streaks bit the dust left and right! Fran couldn’t build on last week’s streak and it was over before it began. Mary’s 2 week streak is kaput!Deanna’s streak calls it quit 1 week short of joining the Double Digit Streak Club! The humanity!

ANYTHING BUT A CAT – SUGGESTED BY ANDY SHARP

ANYTHING BUT A CAT! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I have thought about including a “wild card” theme again for the last few years, but hadn’t pulled the trigger. I liked Andy’s idea of bringing back a wild card but eliminating one thing. Maybe it seems spiteful, but you’ll have to take that up with Andy.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of ANYTHING BUT A CAT in this place that doesn’t feature many cats next Monday.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

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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

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