Category Archives: Black & White

9 Emotions Project, Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Mom, Monica, Naima, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 425 – SIGNS

November 6, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

NOTE: – THIS IS ONE OF TWO POSTS WHERE YOU CAN SUBMIT 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.

THANKS TO ANDY AND JOE WHO MADE SEVERAL STRONG SUGGESTIONS IN LAST MONDAY’S (ACTUALLY TUESDAY’S) COMMENTS SECTION!

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Thank you to everybody that has helped me with Naima’s passing either through helping with her remains to bringing me food to offering to talk or offering to attend a service or to just having kind words or to posting your own pictures of Naima. It all has been helpful.

I had Naima’s remains cremated and I’m not 100% sure what I’m going to do with the ashes yet. But I’ll figure that out in due course.

Below is sort of the THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT image I made of Naima for one of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes in Year 7.

WEEK 243 - EMOTIONS - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Don’t think this will be the last time I share a story about Naima, but I do want to share a story about when I told my 85 year-old neighbor Stan about Naima passing. She was in many ways also his dog. Back when he and his wife were in better health, they would make special trips to Ames to buy Naima treats.

Stan had a dog well before I moved in and he has never really got over that dog’s passing. He has told me before and he told me that again.

He told me that he will miss her. That she was the best dog that loved everybody and didn’t have a mean bone in her body. Of course all of that is true.

Because he doesn’t move very well any more, he kept dog treats for her on his window ledge so if he saw her out he didn’t have to go inside to get her treats.

Stan’s wife has dementia and I’ve had the same conversation with her about Naima in the past couple of years at least 50 times. She always would say that Naima is the most beautiful dog she’s ever seen. She is the most beautiful color. She wished all dogs were that color.

Stan was the first person to ask me if I was getting another dog. Which I suppose I will. I guess it isn’t a shocker that Stan was the first person to ask. Naima was his dog as well and he will miss not having a dog too.

I told him I thought I would, but it wouldn’t be anytime soon. There was a 5 year gap between Karma and Naima. There were a lot of reasons for that gap. Most of those reasons aren’t around any more.

He told me okay, he would get rid of Naima’s treats cause he didn’t think they would still be good by the time I got another dog. I told him that was okay. Maybe early next year would be the right time.

The conversation did check off another box of closure for me. A bigger box than you would probably expect.

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SIGNS! They are everywhere if you open your eyes! But did many people find SIGNS to photography to make SIGNS a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, October 29, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Amy Peterson – 1 week
2-Mary Green – 3 weeks
3-Alexis Stensland – 3 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 10 weeks
5-Sabas Hernandez – 11 weeks
6-Willy McAlpine – 11 weeks
7-Mike Vest – 17 weeks
8-Sheri Fakhouri – 20 weeks (2)
9-Logan Kahler – 21 weeks
10-Nathanial Brown – 22 weeks
11-Jesse Howard – 22 weeks
12-Tamara Peterson – 25 weeks
13-Mindi Terrell – 37 weeks (2)
14-Brandon Kahler – 61 weeks
15-Linda Bennett – 66 weeks (2)
16-Sarah Toot – 67 weeks
17-Angie DeWaard – 71 weeks
18-Dawn Krause – 75 weeks
19-Kim Barker – 81 weeks
20-Joe Duff – 82 weeks
21-Teresa Kahler – 93 weeks
22-Carla Stensland – 93 weeks
23-Micky Augustin – 95 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 96 weeks
25-Bill Wentworth – 97 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 101 weeks
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 102 weeks
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 104 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 106 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:

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Elainie Hernandez (Iowa) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Iowa)- 1 week

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Julie Sharp (Whatcha’ Smokin’ – Luther, Iowa)- 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Kansas City, Missouri) – 11 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Kansas City, Missouri)

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Spain) – 12 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Spain)

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 22 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Lake City, Iowa) – 23 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Boone, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 23 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 26 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)- 38 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 62 weeks

Linda Bennett (Poconos, Pennsylvania) – 67 weeks

Linda Bennett (New York City, New York)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 68 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 72 weeks

Dawn Krause (Ames, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 82 weeks

Joe Duff (Museum of Fine Arts – Houston, Texas) – 83 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Webster City, Iowa) – 94 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 94 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 96 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 97 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 98 weeks

Cathie Morton (Anaheim, California) – 102 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 103 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 105 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 107 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Webster City, Iowa) – 529 weeks

35 participants! That is a great week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Iowa
+ Missouri
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ 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

The major milestone reached this week was Tamara hitting the Half Year Streak Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. Amy couldn’t build on her submission from last week.

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:

FOOD – SUGGESTED BY ANDY SHARP

FULL DISCLOSURE: Andy didn’t exactly suggest FOOD. He suggested like 10 different versions of FOOD and I just combined them all into FOOD.

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

But what is a FOOD image? Simply enough, it is a picture of FOOD. Or a picture of a place that serves FOOD. Or a picture of something that is involved in the preparation of FOOD. You won’t be judge on the quality of FOOD you photograph. Or judged at all for that matter.

While considering possible FOOD to photograph, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will create a fascinating image!

Part of the secret of success is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside.
-Mark Twain

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 FOOD in this place that definitely eats next Monday.

9 Emotions Project, Art, Basketball, Birthdays, Black & White, Blogging, Boone County Fair, Boone FUMC, Carla, Drone, Elainie, Evie, Formal Portrait, Fran, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Kim, Layla, Logan, Micky, Mom, Naima, Road Trip, Saydie, Shannon, Shawn Lockner, Still Life, Street Photography, Tenderloining, Teresa, Vest

Post 5,005

November 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start this milestone post by wishing Elainie a happy birthday!

Happy birthday Elainie!

I hope your birthday is amazing!!

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Today is also Layla’s birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAYLA!

I hope you have an awesome birthday!

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Can you believe that this is the 5,005th 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. I meant to post this post on Sunday night when it would have been Post #5,000, but you know how my week went. Not great.

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 5,005 journal entries. (Normally I would do this little exercise on post #4,750, but I was in Vegas at that time.) 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.

5,005 posts. I can’t even measure the elevation changes my life have taken since then. Major ups. Major downs. Peaks and valleys. 5,005 posts and I vow to keep on chugging along.

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 #4757 & INCREASE SINCE THEN)
10. Carla – 582 (#8 – +52)
9. Teresa – 590 (#9 – +65)
8. Road Trip – 611 (#6 – +42)
7. Macro – 627 (#10 – +132)
6. Formal Portrait – 638 (NR)
5. Jesse – 684 (#4 – +54)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

Dropping from the from the Top 10 was Shannon, a category that was #7 in Post #4757.

The 5 categories that have the best shot at making the Top 10 in Post #5,250 are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, and Candid Portrait.

It should be noted that some of these increases are caused by my working on the categories on some older posts.

THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Photoshop – 432 (#10 – +43)
9. Candid Portrait – 475 (NR)
8. Nature – 538 (+101 – #8)
7. Road Trip – 611 (#5 – +42)
6. Macro – 627 (#6 – +132)
5. Formal Portrait – 638 (#8 – +191)
4. Art – 744 (#5 – +122)
3. Animals – 790 (#3 – +65)
2. Flowers – 958 (#2 – +77)
1. Black & White – 1,212 (#1 – +220)

WPC-Submission fell out of the Top 10. It was ranked #7 in Post #4757.

The categories that are just right outside of the Top 10 are Still Life, Naima, History, and Self-Portrait and Christianity.

THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Vest – 350 (NR)
9. Jay – 353 (#6 – +5)
8. Micky – 359 (NR)
7. Logan – 380 (#9 – +61)
6. Kim – 395 (#7 – +53)
5. Mom – 464 (#5 – +6)
4. Shannon – 576 (#2 – +37)
3. Carla – 582 (#3 – +52)
2. Teresa – 590 (#4 – +65)
1. Jesse – 684 (#1 – +54)

Dropping from the rankings was Willy and Derrick.

The categories that have the best shot at cracking the next Top 10 are Willy, Derrick, Jen, Andy, and Sara.

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.

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 203 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but they are mostly people that either very recently came into the life of this website by birth (Jonah Kahler) or another way (Nathanial, Mindi, Fran). Or people that I thought would be a bigger part of my life and then weren’t. No need to cover those people. The Category that is #203 probably needs to be purged.

THE BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100
#10. Andree – 77
#10. Flat Earth Joe – 77
#10. Self-Portrait Project – 77
#9. Photo Journal – 79
#8. Commercial – 83
#7. Sabas – 84
#6. Becca – 89
#3. Pufferbilly Days – 91
#3. Pastor Sarah – 91
#3. House – 91
#1. Faust – 92
#1. Writing – 92

The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Kelly, Lowell, and Suzie.

The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Sarah Toot, Lowell, Suzie, Russell, and Nate

The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Layla, Kelly, Vacation, Saydie, and Kalista

“An Artist’s Notebook” is part of Photography 139. The 139 comes from Psalm 139:1-12. The Photography part comes from the fact this website is supposed to be filled with photography. So, what are the most popular photo galleries on the Photography 139 website? Glad you asked:

TOP 10 PHOTOGRAPHY 139 PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERIES (LAST 365 DAYS)

To View the Gallery, Click on its Representative Image

10. Naima – 64,796 views

9. Tenderloining – 75,558 views

8. 9 Emotions Project – 81,405 views

7. Selfie-Project – 2022 – 88,632 views

6. Drone – 99,708 views

5. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 9 – 108,852 views

4. Town Sign Project – 118,563 views

3. Las Vegas 2023 – 169,257 views

2. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 219,546 views

1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 10 – 323,781 views

Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Christopher D. Bennett, Miami Beach, Jayton Poole, and Alexis Pregnancy Photo Shoot – 2020

Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Sleeping Angels – 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6, Photo Journal Rejects, Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008, and Christopher D. Bennett.

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. Sleeping Angels Fun Run – 2,772 views

9. Maven’s Birthday Party – 2022 – 2,820 views

8. Boone FUMC Thanksgiving – 2022 – 3,073 views

7. Color the Wind – 2023 – 3,149 views

6. Renaissance Fair – 2022 – 3,302 views

5. Fran and Pepper – 3,687 views

4. World Food Festival – 2022 – 3,754 views

3. Howards – 2022 – 3,976 views

2. 2023 Barbecue Contests – 4,168 views

1. Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship – 18,045 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

I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 245 posts.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, Jesse, Nader, Road Trip, Street Photography, Town Sign Project

Birthday Road Trip Denouement

November 3, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is the final collection of images from the birthday road trip I took with Jesse and Nader. On the way back we stopped at The Grotto of the Redemption. Nader had never been to it before, which was no shocker. But this was also Jesse’s first trip there.

But before we made it to The Grotto of the Redemption, we stumbled across an unincorporated town with a town sign that had a town sign I hadn’t harvested:

Langdon, Iowa – Unincorporated
LANGDON
IOWA
EST. 1899 POP. 53

Maybe not a great town sign, but a solid town sign.

When we pulled up to The Grotto, I wasn’t sure if Nader was going to get out of the car. He was being a grumpypants and was pretty addicted to his phone. But he did finally get out of the car and then after he saw the Grotto he described it as the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life. It is definitely beautiful.

Here are the pictures:

I wonder where I will go for my birthday road trip in 2024?

Black & White, Mom, Naima, WPC - Reminder

Farewell Naima

October 30, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

I have to report the news that Naima passed away last night and for that reason I’m not necessarily in the mood right now to share this week’s FAVORITE SPORTS TEAMS images. I will do that later tonight or more likely tomorrow.

Instead, I’m going to share pictures of Naima:

She truly was a great dog! She had no enemies and truly loved everyone. Her groomer called her a natural therapy dog and this was definitely the truth. She was spoiled from every direction. From my family to friends to my neighbors to complete strangers. She will be missed by so many people.

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So you can get started on this week’s theme:

SIGNS

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

But what is a SIGNS image? It is simply an image of a SIGN(S) or a singular SIGN. That is all there is to it.

Animals, Birthdays, Black & White, Nader, Naima, Street Photography, Teresa, WPC - Alternate

Don’t You Think I Loved You Too Much to Think I Deserve Nothing?

October 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is Nader’s birthday so I have to wish him a happy birthday.

Happy Birthday Nader!!!

I hope your birthday is fantastic!

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Time to finish off the February backlog. This is a collection of images that I took back in February that never made it into previous posts. Some are alternates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Some are not.

Don't You Think I Loved You Too Much to Think I Deserve Nothing?

On to working on the March backlog!

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.

Animals, Art, Black & White, History, Road Trip, Street Photography

Scott County Aux. – Vol. 5

October 18, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This is the fifth and final collection of images I took on my trip to Scott County to harvest their town signs for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT.

But I want to start by discussing Georges Seurat. I’m not a huge fan of Georges Seurat, which isn’t to say that I don’t like him. But my favorite painter is Van Gogh and I’m not sure their styles could be any different. However, I still like Seurat and I think you should too.

Here is a little information on him from the Wiki:

Georges Pierre Seurat 2 December 1859 – 29 March 1891) was a French post-Impressionist artist. He devised the painting techniques known as chromoluminarism and pointillism and used conté crayon for drawings on paper with a rough surface.

Seurat’s artistic personality combined qualities that are usually thought of as opposed and incompatible: on the one hand, his extreme and delicate sensibility, on the other, a passion for logical abstraction and an almost mathematical precision of mind. His large-scale work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (1884–1886) altered the direction of modern art by initiating Neo-Impressionism, and is one of the icons of late 19th-century painting.

Why am I bringing him up and pointing out his contributions to the history of art?

Check out this final collection to find out:

Walcott

Iowa City

Newhall – I tried to buy some meat here, but I got kicked out because I’m not an elitist. Just a simple working class no-collar joe. It was really eye-opening for anybody that thinks I’m an elitist.

The statue version of Seurat’s “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” is one of the coolest things I didn’t know existed that I stumbled across on this journey to get to know Iowa better. It is one of the things I want to go back and photograph again. I just absolutely love it!

The next time we hit the dusty trail to finish up the auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will visit Davis County.

Art, Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Railroad, Road Trip, Street Photography

Scott County Aux. – Vol. 4

October 11, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for another collection of images from my trip to Scott County to harvest their town signs for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. This collection was taken entirely in Davenport.

Here is the fourth collection:

Still one more collection of images from Scott County left to share. Then it will be off to the last county from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT.

Alexis, Amy, Andy, Angie, Art, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Christianity, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Street Photography, Tamara, Tenderloining, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 420 – ARCHITECTURE

October 2, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 10 Comments

NOTES: 1 – SOME OF THE SUBMISSIONS ARE STARTING TO COME IN VERY SMALL. WATCH THE SIZE OF THE IMAGES YOU SEND IN. IDEALLY THEY SHOULD BE AT LEAST 1,000 PIXELS. SMALLER IMAGES MIGHT LOOK GOOD ON YOUR PHONE SCREEN, BUT DON’T LOOK GOOD ON A COMPUTER MONITOR. 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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This morning the Iowa Pork Producers Association released the finalists for this year’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin. There are 5 finalists and 3 of them are close to Boone!

Here are the Finalists:

+ Cliff’s Place – Manning (80 minutes)
+ Spillway Supper Club – Harpers Ferry (3 hours 35 minutes)
+ Stumpy’s Bar & Grill – Duncombe (45 minutes)
+ ToJo’s Bar & Grill – Jamaica (42 minutes)
+ The Roadhouse – Orange City (3 hours 11 miuntes)

A total of 774 restaurants were nominated this year.

Looks like it is time for me to get out on the open road again.

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ARCHITECTURE! Everybody lives or works in or near a building or structure that is a form of ARCHITECTURE. But were there structures around enough people to inspire them to take and submit a picture? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

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

1-Corey Faust – 1 week
2-Sara Lockner – 1 week
3-Amy Peterson – 2 weeks (2)
4-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 3 weeks
5-Susanna Funk – 4 weeks
6-Scott Degeneffe – 5 weeks (2)
7-Sabas Hernandez – 6 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 6 weeks
9-Mary Green – 8 weeks
10-Mike Vest – 12 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 15 weeks (2)
12-Monica Jennings – 16 weeks (2)
13-Logan Kahler – 16 weeks (2)
14-Nathanial Brown – 17 weeks (2)
15-Jesse Howard – 17 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 20 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 25 weeks (3)
18-Mindi Terrell – 32 weeks (3)
19-Brandon Kahler – 56 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 61 weeks
21-Sarah Toot – 62 weeks (3)
22-Angie DeWaard – 66 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 70 weeks (3)
24-Kim Barker – 76 weeks (2)
25-Joe Duff – 77 weeks
26-Teresa Kahler – 88 weeks (3)
27-Carla Stensland – 88 weeks (3)
28-Micky Augustin – 90 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 91 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 92 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 96 weeks (2)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 97 weeks (2)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 99 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 101 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:

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - ELAINIE HERNANDEZ

Elainie Hernandez (West Side Market – Cleveland, Ohio) – 1 week

Elainie Hernandez (West Side Market – Cleveland, Ohio)

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Myriah Sharp (Maui, Hawaii) – 1 week

Myriah Sharp (Maui, Hawaii)

Sara Lockner (Windsor Heights, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.) – 3 weeks

Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.)

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Cleveland, Ohio) – 7 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Spain) – 7 weeks

Mary Green (Edgewood, Iowa) – 9 weeks

Mary Green (Edgewood, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye – Ankeny, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Des Moines, Iowa) – 26 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Des Moines, Iowa) – 33 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Des Moines, Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 57 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 62 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 63 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 67 weeks

Dawn Krause (Barcelona, Spain) – 71 weeks

Dawn Krause (Barcelona, Spain)

Kim Barker (Austin, Texas) – 77 weeks

Kim Barker (Ms. Congeniality Stage – San Antonio, Texas)

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 78 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas)

Teresa Kahler (Linwood Cemetery – Boone, Iowa) – 89 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa State Fairgrounds – Des Moines, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Eldora, Iowa) – 89 weeks

Carla Stensland (Pine Lake – Eldora, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 91 weeks

Andy Sharp (UNI Dome – Cedar Falls, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 93 weeks

Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 97 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 98 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Mackinac Island, Michigan) – 100 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 102 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Des Moines, Iowa) – 524 weeks

34 submissions! That is a pretty great week. Could have been 35 if TJ Maxx has more inspiring buildings or 36 if Funk could have found a building in the mountains. But I digress.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Hawaii
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Michigan
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas

Thanks to Myriah’s trip to Hawaii, we get to add Hawaii to the 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 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:

There were some pretty big milestones reached this week! Shannon became the 2nd member ever of the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo! Joe reached the Year and a Half Club! WooHoo! Finally Alexis reached the Half Year Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. Faust couldn’t build on his submission from last week. Jen’s streak went up in flames at 3. Funk’s streak tumbled back down the mountain after 4 weeks. The humanity!

RELIGION

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

RELIGION! I bet a few people groaned when they saw this was the theme. That is okay. You didn’t think a website that is grounded in Christianity would go a year without the RELIGION theme did you? Where do you think the name Photography 139 comes from? I’m not forcing you to go to church to take this picture. A RELIGION picture could be as easy as taking a picture of a house of worship. Doesn’t have to be a church. There are a ton of RELIGIONs in the world and a ton of them are probably practiced near you. Within 20 minutes of where I live in central Iowa there are synagogues, mosques, and even a mandir. But it doesn’t have to be of a building. Or even a worship service. It can be a picture of a book or a song or a symbol. There are religious symbols all over, if you take a second to look. There are so many possibilities!

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

Science gives man knowledge which is power, religion gives man wisdom which is control.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

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 RELIGION in this place that is was built on a foundation of Christianity next Monday.

Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kalista, Kelly, Music, Naima, Nature, Saydie, Still Life, Street Photography, Taylan, WPC - Alternate

Now I Don’t Want Your Sympathy

October 1, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

We’ve come to the end of the black & white week. Time to share the black & white pictures I took last Sunday. Some of these pictures are from wandering around my yard. Some are from the Howard Family Photo Shoot. Some are from the Octagon Art Festival.

This might be the biggest collection yet, so we might as well get to it:

If you are wondering about the Howard family photos, I kept a separate camera set to black & white to snap a few photos here and there. The photo shoot was not in black & white. Except for the clothes they are wearing.

If you are wondering how many black & white photos I took last week to get one submission for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE… the answer is…

872

Although to be transparent, somewhere on Tuesday I knew the basic setup of the picture I was going to use for my submission. So you could say I took that image and then over 800 safeties.

Black & White Week has concluded. But remember.

There was nothing wrong with this website. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. I am controlling transmission. If I wish to make it louder, I will bring up the volume. If I wish to make it softer, I will tune it to a whisper. I will control the horizontal. I will control the vertical. I can roll the image, make it flutter. I can change the focus to a soft blur, or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For this last week, you sat quietly and I controlled all that you saw and heard. There is nothing wrong with this website. You participated in a great adventure. You experienced the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to… Black & White Week.

I now return control of this website (not really) to you, until next year, when the Control Voice will take you to Black & White Week!