Category Archives: Birthdays

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Bill, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Evie, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Joe Duff, Jonah, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 423 – VINTAGE

October 23, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

NOTE: – AT THE END OF THE MONTH I WILL BE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR’S THEMES. THE LAST MONDAY IN OCTOBER AND THE 1ST MONDAY IN NOVEMBER ARE WHEN SUGGESTIONS CAN BE MADE. THOSE SUGGESTIONS HAVE TO BE MADE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THOSE POSTS. NOT VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE, TEAMS, PHONE CONVERSATION, SNAPCHAT. ONLY IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS OF THOSE 2 POSTS. START THINKING OF THEMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEXT YEAR.

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Today is Jonah’s birthday, so I need to wish him a happy birthday:

Happy birthday Jonah!

I hope it is an amazing birthday!

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VINTAGE! Many people are into old stuff. But are enough people into it enough to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, October 216, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Lori Backous – 1 week
2-Pepper Duncan – 1 week
3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
4-Susanna Funk – 1 week
5-Derrick Gorshe – 1 week
6-Evie Gorshe – 1 week
7-Layla Gorshe – 1 week
8-Mary Green – 1 week
9-Sara Lockner – 1 week
10-Amy Peterson – 1 week
11-Alexis Stensland – 1 week
12-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks
13-Elainie Hernandez – 3 weeks
14-Scott Degeneffe – 8 weeks
15-Sabas Hernandez – 9 weeks
16-Willy McAlpine – 9 weeks
17-Mike Vest – 15 weeks
18-Sheri Fakhouri – 18 weeks
19-Monica Jennings – 19 weeks
20-Logan Kahler – 19 weeks
21-Nathanial Brown – 20 weeks
22-Jesse Howard – 20 weeks
23-Tamara Peterson – 23 weeks
24-Mindi Terrell – 35 weeks
25-Brandon Kahler – 59 weeks
26-Linda Bennett – 64 weeks
27-Sarah Toot – 65 weeks
28-Angie DeWaard – 69 weeks
29-Dawn Krause – 73 weeks
30-Kim Barker – 79 weeks
31-Joe Duff – 80 weeks
32-Teresa Kahler – 91 weeks
33-Carla Stensland – 91 weeks
34-Micky Augustin – 93 weeks
35-Andy Sharp – 94 weeks
36-Bill Wentworth – 95 weeks
37-Cathie Morton – 99 weeks
38-Elizabeth Nordeen – 100 weeks
39-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 102 weeks
40-Kio Dettman – 104 weeks

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

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 96 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Riviera Maya Mexico) – 103 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 24 weeks

Cathie Morton (Disney Springs, Florida) – 100 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 65 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Adam Gordon (Vicksburg, Mississippi)- 1 week

Adam Gordon (Vicksburg, Mississippi)

Teresa Kahler (Boone County, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone County, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Tybee Island, Georgia) – 19 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Tybee Island, Georgia)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 36 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Boone County, Iowa) – 21 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 80 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 101 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Don Williams Park – Boone County, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 81 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 105 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 66 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Micky Augustin (Iowa)- 94 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mary Green (Riverside Bible Camp – Story City, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Riverside Bible Camp – Story City, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Spain) – 10 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 74 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 95 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Don Williams Park – Boone County, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 20 weeks

Logan Kahler (Clive, Iowa)

Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Harrison Gorshe (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 10 weeks

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 60 weeks

Jesse Howard (Center Grove Orchard – Cambridge, Iowa) – 21 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 20 weeks

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 16 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 9 weeks

36 participants! That is a great week! And with Adam’s submissions from Mississippi, there is another stated added to the Photography 139 submission map!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Mexico
+ Mississippi
+ Missouri
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

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

40 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 75% of the way there! Every continental state west of the Mississippi is now accounted for.

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

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

There were a few milestones this week and 1 major one! Cathie joins the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo! Sabas and Willy joined the Double Digit Club! WooHoo! Plus the first every submission from Adam. I don’t know that it will continue, but maybe it will. You never know.

But it wasn’t all good times. A ton of streaks and wannabe streaks bit the dust. Lori, Pepper, Funk, Derrick, Layla, and Amy couldn’t make it 2 weeks in a row. Suzie’s 2 week streak is also history.

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:

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM – SUGGESTED BY ANDY SHARP

FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM! What a great them for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM image? It is simply a picture that deals with your FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM. It doesn’t have to be of the team in action. A picture of article of clothing or the stadium they play in or any form of memorabilia. While I wouldn’t make a rule against, I would suggest doing more than just taking a picture of them playing on the television. Find something else that represents the team. It doesn’t have to be a professional or college sports team. Maybe your Tuesday night bowling team is your favorite team. Or maybe that Little League team you played for when you were 9 was your favorite team. Maybe the rec league basketball team is your favorite team. Maybe your son’s middle school soccer team is your favorite team.

I know many of you don’t even like sports. In that case, just take out the word “sports” and capture a picture that suggests your favorite team.

When considering a way to capture your FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM, meditate on the following quote and I have not doubt you will capture a great image:

I always turn to the sports pages first, which records people’s accomplishments. The front page has nothing but man’s failures.
-Earl Warren

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

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

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

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of FAVORITE SPORTS TEAM in this place that is a Cyclones fan site next Monday.

Animals, Art, Billy, Birthdays, Black & White, Christianity, Dory, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, J.T., Logan, Nature, Railroad, Still Life, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate

150-600

October 21, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Today is the birthday of the Miller Triplets. So I must wish them happy birthday!

Happy birthday Doris, Jimmy, and Billy!

This picture was taken at their 1st birthday party in 2019 so that makes them… 5! They are 5 years old?!? How did this happen!

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Back in February I purchased a new lens. It was a Sigma 150-600mm DG DN OS Sports Lens. At one point, I was going to write a long post on it with a collection of the first images I took with it. But here it is. Halfway through October and the lens is old news now, so real need to go into too much details about the specifications of the lens. But I still want to share some of the first images I took with it. I went down to the Kate Shelley High Bridge and went to Lake LaVerne and took a few pictures of Logan.

Here are those pictures:

On the day I went to Lake LaVerne I also hit up the Ames Library. I took pictures there for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme BOOKS. I didn’t use any of those images. Here is a collection of those:

I do love that lens. It is kind of a limited purpose lens, but I should find more of those limited purpose opportunities.

Alexis, Amy, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Fran, Funk, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Nature, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC- WEEK 422 – #INSTAGOOD

October 16, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

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Today is Becky’s birthday, so I must wisher her a happy birthday.

Happy birthday Becky!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you can handle!

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#INSTAGOOD! A simple theme. Only asking people to submit the best picture they took this week. But did a bunch of people pick a best picture to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out! It will be exciting to see the best picture that people took last week!

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

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Myriah Sharp – 2 weeks
3-Elainie Stensland – 2 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 7 weeks
5-Sabas Hernandez – 8 weeks
6-Willy McAlpine – 8 weeks
7-Mike Vest – 14 weeks
8-Sheri Fakhouri – 17 weeks (3)
9-Monica Jennings – 18 weeks
10-Logan Kahler – 18 weeks
11-Nathanial Brown – 19 weeks
12-Jesse Howard – 19 weeks (2)
13-Tamara Peterson – 22 weeks
14-Mindi Terrell – 34 weeks (3)
15-Brandon Kahler – 58 weeks
16-Linda Bennett – 63 weeks (3)
17-Sarah Toot – 64 weeks
18-Angie DeWaard – 68 weeks
19-Dawn Krause – 72 weeks
20-Kim Barker – 78 weeks
21-Joe Duff – 79 weeks
22-Teresa Kahler – 90 weeks (2)
23-Carla Stensland – 90 weeks
24-Micky Augustin – 92 weeks
25-Andy Sharp – 93 weeks
26-Bill Wentworth – 94 weeks
27-Cathie Morton – 98 weeks
28-Elizabeth Nordeen – 99 weeks (2)
29-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 101 weeks
30-Kio Dettman – 103 weeks (3)

The third week of each month I like to share a map of all the state that have had pictures taken in that were submitted for this calendar year. Well, I checked my calendar and this is the third Monday of the month. Here is the map, heading into this week:

That is a lot of states filled in. In fact, going into this week, there are only 12 states that haven’t been visited and photographed by somebody that submits here. I don’t think there is any chance we will fill in the entire map this year, but we sure have gotten a lot closer than I ever would have guessed!

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

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 93 weeks

Lori Backous (Iowa) – 1 week

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 102 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 64 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Texas) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Faribault County, Minnesota) – 20 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa) – 8 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 104 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 69 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 80 weeks

Pepper Duncan (Iowa) – 1 week

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Santa Fe, New Mexico) – 1 week

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Susanna Funk (Iowa) – 1 week

Derrick Gorshe (New Mexico) – 1 week

Evie Gorshe (New Mexico) – 1 week

Layla Gorshe (New Mexico) – 1 week

Mary Green (Lake Christian Home – Holt, Michigan) – 1 week

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Eldon, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 59 weeks

Logan Kahler (Ada Haydn Park – Ames, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 91 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 73 weeks

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Nerja Beach – Spain) – 9 weeks

Cathie Morton (Cumming, Iowa) – 99 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Kansas) – 100 weeks

Amy Peterson (Iowa) – 1 week

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 23 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 94 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Des Moines, Iowa) – 1 week

Carla Stensland (Highway 330 – Iowa) – 91 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 35 weeks

Sarah Toot (Kilmaine Saints band at Finola’s Bar – Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 65 weeks

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 15 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 95 weeks

41 participants! I think that is a new record!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Kansas
+ Iowa
+ Minnesota
+ New Mexico
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas

Thanks to the Gorshe trip to New Mexico, we have added another state to our list.

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

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

39 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 75% of the way there! Every continental state west of the Mississippi is now accounted for.

This is the list of states currently missing:
+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Indiana
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ Rhode Island
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

The big, huge, monster milestone this week is Elizabeth joining the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo!

The other big milestone was the first ever submission from Pepper Duncan. I know it was a bit of a accidental Snapchat fluke that lead to the submission, but maybe it is the beginning of big things in the future.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and flowers. Myriah’s 2 week streak came to an end.

VINTAGE – Suggested by Sarah Toot

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

But what is a VINTAGE image? It is simply a picture where the subject of a major compositional element is something that is VINTAGE. So what is VINTAGE? Is it just a nice way to say old?

Yes and no.

Old but not that old. But not new. Generally speaking to be considered VINTAGE, it should be no older than 100 years old. But not newer than 20 years old. Older than 100 years is an antique. Newer than 20 years old and looks old… well that is just retro.

While considering possible subjects for your VINTAGE image, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a great picture:

It is easily overlooked that what is now called vintage was once brand new.
-Tony Visconti

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

RULES

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

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of VINTAGE in this place that is ran by somebody that is considered VINTAGE these days next Monday.

Animals, Birthdays, Boone FUMC, Football, Naima, Nature, Railroad, Sarah Toot

Don’t You Think I Loved You Too Much to be Used and Discarded?

October 14, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Sarah’s birthday so I need to say Happy birthday Sarah!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Weird thing is that the picture above was taken during the great solar eclipse debacle of 2017 and today there is a solar eclipse that you can see in a few parts of these United States. Iowa wasn’t one of them, but I won’t hold a grudge against the sun and moon.

Anyways, I hope Sarah’s birthday is as amazing as she can handle. Filled with good music and without her plans getting rained on!

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Time once again for another whack at the January backlog. This time, the rest of the backlog has been whacked and thrown into the fires of… finished. I don’t know, I’m still workshopping a better name for that.

These pictures never really fit into a previous blog. Some of them are alternates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Now it is time to start working on the February backlog!

Andy, Angie, Animals, Bill, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Holidays, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Macro, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 421 – RELIGION

October 9, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

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

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Today is Indigenous Peoples Day!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Andy Sharp (Boone First United Methodist Parsonage – Boone, Iowa) – 93 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 68 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 94 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Story City, Iowa) – 58 weeks

Carla Stensland (Twin Lakes Bible Camp, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 98 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Es Selam Mosque – Rural Dallas County, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Elainie Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 99 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Jesse Howard (Marion Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 79 weeks

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 78 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 103 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Ames, Iowa) – 63 weeks

Linda Bennett (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 92 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 34 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Otley, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Myriah Sharp (Hawaii) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York) – 64 weeks

Sarah Toot (Bethpage Golf Course – Farmingdale, New York)

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Austin, Texas) – 1 week

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 22 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Seville, Spain) – 8 weeks

31 participants! That is a pretty good week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

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

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

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

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

he Outside of the United States map is currently:

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

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

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

#INSTAGOOD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

RULES

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

That is it. Thems the rules!

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

Birthdays, Flowers, Johnathan, Macro

Right on Time

October 5, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Today is Johnathan’s birthday, so I need to wish him a happy birthday!

Happy birthday!! I hope your day is filled with all the joy you can handle and I hope you win your battle with the robot vacuum cleaner!

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Come back now, even if you call me out
You might be angry now, of course you are
I’m scared too, didn’t mean to take it out on you
I know I always do, you’re the strongest person in the room

Don’t look down, I can feel it when your heart starts pounding
It’s beyond your control, you know it is
It’s getting to the point where I can’t carry on
I never held my breath for quite this long
And I don’t take it back, I did what I had to do

It’s not too late
Either way, I lose you in these silent days
It wasn’t right
But it was right on time
-Brandi Carlile

“Right on Time” is the first song I’m using as a journal title from Brandi’s most recent studio album “In These Silent Days”.

Thursdays are for flowers! This collection of flowertography consists of peonies and irises:

As a general rule, I don’t like irises, so it is rare that I photograph them. But I do understand why people plant them. It isn’t because they are pretty, it is because they are so ugly that deer won’t eat them and if you plant them around pretty flowers, it will protect them from get chomped down by deer.

Everything does have a purpose in nature!

Next Flowertography Thursday, I will share more pictures from this day.

Birthdays, Drone, Nature, Panorama, Sara, Scottie D.

Rodan139: Water Works Park

October 3, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Today is Sara’s birthday, which means I have to wish Sara a happy birthday!

Happy birthday Sara!!! I hope your day is filled with a bunch of Brandi Carlile and some Tres leches cake!

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Today is also Scottie D.’s birthday! Which means I get to say Happy birthday Scottie D.!!

I hope your birthday is filled with good food, expensive bourbon, and even just a little bit of DMB!

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It is getting near the end of drone season so I really need to start taking Rodan139 out as much as possible. Although I need to sort out a firmware update and some Remote ID stuff here shortly. I did take Rodan139 out for a brief flight around Water Works Bridge recently though. Here are some pictures:

I don’t have any other drone pictures in the can right now, but I’m sure I’ll take it out for a flight sometime in the near future.

Animals, Art, Birthdays, Black & White, Elizabeth, Flowers, Iowa State, Macro, Nature, Still Life, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate

I’d Say You Broke My Heart

September 29, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Elizabeth’s birthday, so I have to wish her a happy birthday!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you can handle! Filled with breakfast burritos without hashbrowns and/or Happy Joe’s Pizza!

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Today I’m going to share a collection of images I took last Friday for last week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Because I got stuck at the Computer Mine a couple of nights earlier in the week I planned on leaving at 9 AM, but I hung on until 11 since there is a lot of sickly in my department.

I think I made lunch and then probably took a nap. The I took Naima to the vet for her shots. Then I went to Iowa State to maybe pick up some stuff for the game the next day. Then I went down to Ankeny to pickup a bunch of Iowa State stuff for future tailgates. I took pictures on a bunch of it.

Here is the collection of pictures from the day:

That is it for Friday, but there are two more days of black & white images left to share!

Birthdays, Drone, Nature, Vest

Rodan139: North Harrier Marsh

August 29, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Vest’s birthday. Happy birthday Vest!

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

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The other day I took Rodan139 out for a flight around the north end of the Harrier Marsh. I just needed to spread its wings and runs some pixels through it. I haven’t taken any pictures from that side of the marsh before, so it was a new experience.

The next time Rodan139 takes to the skies, it will be in Moingona.

Birthdays, Black & White, Kanoa, Nature

A Foggy Morn on the Trail

August 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I realized yesterday that I had forgot to wish my great nephew Kanoa a happy birthday, cause I suck. So happy birthday Kanoa!

I hope it was a pretty great birthday!

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Back at the beginning of the year I took a foggy morning hike to the High Trestle Trail Bridge. Of course I took some pictures. Here is the first collection: