Category Archives: Animals

Animals, Black & White, WPC - Alternate

Now I Know I’m Being Used

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I don’t normally explain too much with anything, but I feel I should at least answer a question that will be going through your mind while looking at these pictures.

Yes, I think water fowl are ANGRY. All the time.

Probably with good reason. We are always trying to kill them for no real good reason. But they need to get over themselves, we are always trying to kill each other for no good reason, you think killing a duck even registers.

Any ways, here are the ANGRY photos that didn’t make the cut for this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:


Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

Loser - Angry

If only these images believed in themselves, they might be able to accomplish anything.

Also, shout out to Kio Dettman who assisted with these photos.

Angie, Animals, Bill, Cathie, Dawn, Kim, Naima, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 77 – ANIMAL

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There seems to be a very strong recurring theme in the majority of this week’s submissions for ANIMAL. I didn’t get the weekly reminder out this week because I was sick most of last week and sickness always turns into laziness for me.

But you don’t want to listen to me talk all tommyrot about trends. You just want to see the submissions:


WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - DAWN KRAUSE 1
Dawn Krause 1

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - DAWN KRAUSE 2
Dawn Krause 2

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - CATHIE RALEY 1
Cathie Raley 1

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - CATHIE RALEY 2
Cathie Raley 2

WEEK 77 - ANIMAL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

I might have to make a no cat rule for next cycle’s ANIMAL theme.

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:


WEEK 78 - SILHOUETTE
SILHOUETTE!

But what is a SILHOUETTE! How about this definition:

the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light.

Seems like a solid definition to me. You might not need to worry about the dim light part so much. It would help, but definitely backlight something, so you can only see the outline of your subject. Should be interesting! Good luck!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

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

Animals, Blogging, Derrick, History, Jay, Jesse, Shannon, Teresa

Post No. 2500

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This blog has hit a milestone. This is the 2500th post since I started “An Artist’s Notebook” on August 9, 2006. A lot of different things have went through these pages over the last 10+ years, but I hope I’ve stayed true to the original vision I laid down in that very first post:

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”.

I do also have a goal of producing something that makes me worthy of having a pretentious sounding journal title like: “An Artist’s Notebook”.

It is strange to think that one of the things that I was originally committed to was the TRUTH. For many years the “motto” of this blog was “Art is a lie that reveals the truth.” Now we live in a post-truth society. Truth has had a hard time. If Justin Timberlake can bring sexy back. I can bring truth back.

I hope in these last 10+ years I’ve stayed pretentious enough for the title “An Artist’s Notebook”. I’m sure some of you will argue that I have. Those of you that like to push the “elitist” lie.

The first JOURNAL ENTRY would go on to tell a story about Photo Contests:

So last night, I attended the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Reception with Sara. I figured that the two pictures that I had accepted for display would be a picture of Jay entitled “Portrait of a Self Portrait” and a picture of a bullfrog entitled “Kentucky Appetizer”. I didn’t have any real strong images to enter into the contest this year, but I felt that I had some that were good enough to display, but probably not good enough for ribbons. I was correct. Those were the two pictures selected for display. They did not receive ribbons.

So now I turn my attention to the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. I wasn’t going to enter this contest because I have been frustrated in the past by the way it is ran. The pictures are never displayed on the day that they are supposed to be displayed. Instead, they might be displayed as late as 48 hours. The second thing about this contest that sticks in my craw is that they don’t put the names of the photographers or of the image up anywhere. Basically, there are a bunch of pictures up and who knows who took them.

I don’t complain because I seek the fame and fortune that comes with having your picture displayed at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. I complain because I would like to know who took some of the other pictures. Sadly, 1 town west the now defunct Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest was ran a million times better.

Jay talked me into entering this year’s contest. I told him that I didn’t like having to put any emotional investment into this contest, when it was so poorly ran.

He said it wouldn’t require any emotional investment. I could just put the pictures I made for the Ogden Fun Days Contest into the Pufferbilly Contest and whatever happens happened.

For better or worse, I’m just not wired in such a manner. There are very few things in my life I can just say “what happens, happens.” Photography certainly isn’t one of them.

He did convince me it was a waste not to enter one of the few contests around here just because it was so poorly ran. So, I am entering. I need to come up with 6 entries by August 31. That is the limit and I do not want to do anything less than the limit. I don’t want to mail it in.

So I started a sentence with the word “so”. How very lazy of me. Hopefully I’ve improved in that vein over the years.

It is interesting that I’ve now semi-retired from Photo Contests. I haven’t entered the Pufferbilly Days Contest in years because it is so terribly, dreadfully run. Last year I didn’t enter the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon for the first time in probably 15 years. I just didn’t have the fire in my belly for it. The Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest folded after 1 year.

I may come out of retirement this year. Even though the Pufferbilly Days Contest, is so terribly, dreadfully, awfully run.

Maybe you are wondering what KENTUCKY APPETIZER looked like. Something like this:



Kentucky Appetizer

That picture of Jay? Use your imagination.

In 2500 posts, this blog has went through 3 different platforms. There have been 2,166 comments left. That makes me kind of sad. But I’m sure I’ve received some feedback via email. I’m hoping.

The most popular post category is:

Flowers – 362 Posts

The people to be referenced in posts the most often:

1. Jesse – 283 Posts
2. Teresa – 244 Posts
3. Shannon – 231 Posts
3. Jay – 231 Posts
5. Derrick – 220 Posts

Thanks to everybody that has given this blog a modicum of success through 2500 posts. Here is to the next 2500!