Category Archives: Black & White

Animals, Black & White, Faust, Fisheye, Flowers, Football, Iowa State, Lensbaby, Music, Naima, Nature, Self-Portrait, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate

But You Broke Much More Than That

September 30, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I took a ton of pictures on Saturday that are alternates for the BLACK & WHITE theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. So buckle up, this is going to be a long post. Even though most of these images can be broken into two different events.

1. Trip to Jester Park.
2. Iowa State football game.

No reason to keep dinking around. Here are the images from last Saturday:

I believe this is the 1st time I’ve seen Faust since before the pandemic. That is a damn shame!

Jester Park

I didn’t tailgate for the game on Saturday. Derrick and I got to stadium in time to catch the end of the warmups. I took in a cheap point & shoot I bought at a computer mine auction several years ago. I haven’t fired pixels through it in over 4 years. I didn’t take many game pictures for a variety of reasons, but I took plenty of pictures of the things that surround the game.

I love that they still use the Twitter logo. F Elon Musk.

I think it was a pretty good to great day!

Only one more pretty big sized collection of black & white images before we return to our normal broadcast schedule.

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!

+++++++

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!

Animals, Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Macro, Naima, Nature, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography, Vest, Work

About Someone Who Loved You More

September 27, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

This collection of alternate images for last week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE will include pictures I took on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Most of them I took on my lunch break from the computer mine on Wednesday. I went to downtown Ames to talk to Derrick about the upcoming football game on Saturday, but he was actually at the bank. So I did wander around a little bit and do some street photography.

I got stuck working late yet again on Wednesday night, so I didn’t take many pictures in the evening.

Here is the collection of images from Wednesday:

On Thursday I woke up to a foggy morning. I had to work at the Computer Mine worldwide headquarters. So I snapped some pictures on the way there. Then I snapped a few pictures at work and then did some shopping after work. Then took a few more when I got home.

Here are the Thursday pictures:

A lot of examples in this collection for why I love black & white photography so much. Or one of the reasons. There is just so much play in the exposure control that you get with black & white that you don’t get with color photography. Which isn’t to say that it is less demanding, because if anything, it can be more demanding. However, there is so much latitude in exposure and some of the things that can destroy a color photo like grain (or digital noise) can actually enhance a black & white image.

4 days down, but believe you me… we are just starting to get warmed up.

Black & White, Christianity, Fisheye, Flowers, Naima, Nature, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate

But God, You Couldn’t Have Cared Less

September 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I told you that BLACK & WHITE was my favorite theme and I wasn’t joking. I took a ton of BLACK & WHITE pictures for last week’s theme and every day (well almost every day) this week I’m going to share another collection of alternates. This first collection consists of the pictures that I took on Monday and Tuesday.

There is a rule in digital photography that you should never take pictures in black & white. You should take them in color and convert the images to black & white with editing software. The reason for this is because you can always take color away from a digital image, but you can’t add color back to it, if it was never there. (I mean, that is close enough to the truth. If you really wanted to you could make an attempt to add color to a black & white image, but it would probably come out looking like an outtake from THE INFENRAL CAULDRON.

Any Georges Méliès fans in the house? No? I’ll move on.

But I decided to ignore the rules and took all my pictures in “High Contrast Monochrome”. Cause you know how I feel about rules.

Rules are for fools.
Rules are for tools.
Rules are for ghouls.
Rules are for pools.

But rules for photography? Well, mostly they are guidelines that can and should be broken. From time to time.

I had big plans to get out there everyday and take plenty of beautiful, dare I say, tasty High Contrast Monochrome images. But right out of the bat, my Monday went south on me. There was a virtual mine collapse at the Computer Mine and I ended up working from 7 AM to nearly 11 PM. I only got a few pictures taken here and there while I was able to take a few breaks.

So most of the Monday images are just testing camera settings, playing with my old friend the fisheye and testing a point and shoot that I would need to use later in the week.

Here are the Monday images:

I swear that when I saw this image on the small screen I thought there was a reflection of Naima staring back at me from the lid of my grill. I mean it is an uncanny likeness.

This is actually “Rich Monochrome”. Basically a HDR black & white image. A setting, that has its uses, but I don’t love it.

My desk. Been thinking about building my own desk lately.

Test shot with the point & shoot

Tuesday I also wasn’t as active as I originally thought I might be. I actually got out of work on time, but I think Monday sucked my will to live out of me. I had a pretty lazy Tuesday. But I did get out of the house for a little bit to take Naima on a car ride and to take my neighbor’s cans to the can redemption center. I took a bit of street photography while I was out and about.

Here are Tuesday’s images:

Still so very, very, very, many black & white pictures to share with you guys!

Alexis, Amy, Andy, Angie, Bill, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Faust, Funk, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 419 – BLACK AND WHITE

September 25, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the last collection of submissions for the month of September, so it is a good time to revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ. I’ve noticed an uptick in small-sized submissions lately. It wouldn’t hurt to review the resolution FAQ if you haven’t looked at it lately.

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO.

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

Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 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. This limit is tentatively scheduled to go down to 2 at the beginning of 2024. Unless there is a sudden big falloff in participants.

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 participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

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. 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.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that.

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.

+++++++

BLACK & WHITE! Everybody knows that it is my favorite theme, but did a bunch of people love it as much as I do to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 18, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
2-Amy Peterson – 1 week
3-Ernie Redd – 1 week
4-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks
5-Susanna Funk – 3 weeks (2)
6-Scott Degeneffe – 4 weeks (2)
7-Sabas Hernandez – 5 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 5 weeks
9-Mary Green – 7 weeks (3)
10-Mike Vest – 11 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 14 weeks
12-Monica Jennings – 15 weeks
13-Logan Kahler – 15 weeks
14-Nathanial Brown – 16 weeks
15-Jesse Howard – 16 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 19 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 24 weeks (3)
18-Mindi Terrell – 31 weeks (3)
19-Brandon Kahler – 55 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 60 weeks (3)
21-Sarah Toot – 61 weeks (2)
22-Angie DeWaard – 65 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 69 weeks (2)
24-Kim Barker – 75 weeks (2)
25-Joe Duff – 76 weeks (3)
26-Teresa Kahler – 87 weeks (2)
27-Carla Stensland – 87 weeks (3)
28-Micky Augustin – 89 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 90 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 91 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 95 weeks
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 96 weeks
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 98 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 100 weeks (3)

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:

Kio Dettman (Rural Ogden, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 99 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 97 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Des Moines, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Cathie Morton (Ames, Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 92 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 91 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 90 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 88 weeks

Carla Stensland (Sioux City, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Boxholm, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 88 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Houston, Texas) – 77 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Dawn Krause (Cannes, France) – 70 weeks

Dawn Krause (Rome, Italy)

Dawn Krause (Koper, Slovenia)

Angie DeWaard (Scottsdale, Arizona) – 66 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland) 62 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 61 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 56 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 32 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Galesburg, Illinois) – 17 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Princeton, Illinois)

Jesse Howard (Grimes, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Logan Kahler (Near Luther, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Logan Kahler (High Trestle Trail Bridge – Boone County, Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye Care – Ankeny, Iowa) – 15 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye Care – Ankeny, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Mary Green (Holt, Michigan) – 8 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Albuergue in Foncebadón – Spain) – 6 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Niagara Falls, New York) – 6 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Carroll, Iowa)

Susanna Funk (Dallas County, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Houston, Texas) – 3 weeks

Amy Peterson (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Amy Peterson (Iowa)

Corey Faust (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

35 participants!! That is a great week! I know I’m prejudiced, but I think this is one of the best collection of submissions. Every week there are at least a couple of pictures where i think, “I wish I had taken that picture.” This week there were more than usual!

No new states added this week, but at this point that is to be expected. One new country though. Dawn submitted the first picture from Italy this calendar year!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona
+ France
+ Kansas
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Italy
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ New York
+ Slovenia
+ Spain
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ 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

37 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% of the way there!

he 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 big milestone this week was Faust’s first ever submission!! I don’t know if it will lead to more submissions in the future, but I certainly hope it does.

On a personal note, watching the Iowa State-Ohio “football” game last week was an absolutely soul crushing experience. The only reason I didn’t give up on the season is because the Big 12 is hot garbage this year and I thought there was still the chance to win a few games.

Then this week… an entirely different football team showed up. I know part of that was that they were over the virus that plagued the team last week. However, you may have noticed that both Elizabeth and Faust were at the game (not together, they don’t know each other) for the first time this season. Suddenly Iowa State doesn’t suck. One of them is clearly good luck and they both better go to every game the rest of the season.

One thing I’ve learned in my long tenure as an Iowa State fan, I am not good luck. But I digress…

There weren’t any other big milestones reached this week. But we are closing in on some big ones next week. However, there was some heartache. Becky and Ernie could not build on their submissions from last week. Their streaks are over before they even began.

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:

ARCHITECTURE

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

But what exactly is an ARCHITECTURE image? It is an image where the focus is on buildings or structures. It is image of the interior or exterior of buildings, bridges, structures, or cityscapes.

While considering the building and/or structure you want to photograph, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will create a great image:

Buildings are deeply emotive structures which form our psyche.
-David Adjaye

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 ARCHITECTURE in this place that is built on an Apache infrastructure I should next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Art, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Ernie, Funk, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Road Trip, Sabas, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Street Photography, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 418 – SKY

September 18, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

SKY! A great theme, but was it the limit for the amount of people that would participate this week? You will have to keep scrolling to find out:

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 4, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
3-Susanna Funk – 2 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks
5-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
6-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks
7-Mary Green – 6 weeks (2)
8-Sara Lockner – 6 weeks
9-Mike Vest – 10 weeks
10-Sheri Fakhouri – 13 weeks
11-Monica Jennings – 14 weeks (2)
12-Logan Kahler – 14 weeks
13-Nathanial Brown – 15 weeks
14-Jesse Howard – 15 weeks
15-Tamara Peterson – 18 weeks
16-Alexis Stensland – 23 weeks
17-Mindi Terrell – 30 weeks (3)
18-Brandon Kahler – 54 weeks
19-Linda Bennett – 59 weeks
20-Sarah Toot – 60 weeks
21-Angie DeWaard – 64 weeks
22-Dawn Krause – 68 weeks
23-Kim Barker – 74 weeks
24-Joe Duff – 75 weeks
25-Teresa Kahler – 86 weeks (2)
26-Carla Stensland – 86 weeks
27-Micky Augustin – 88 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 89 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 90 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 94 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 95 weeks
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 97 weeks (2)
33-Kio Dettman – 99 weeks (2)

Heading into this week, this is the current map of states where submissions have come from:

Getting pretty full!

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:

Joe Duff (Texas) – 76 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 91 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa) – 100 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Boone County, Iowa) – 60 weeks

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Mary Green (Cleveland, Ohio) – 7 weeks

Mary Green (Cleveland, Ohio)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 19 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 24 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Vienna, Austria) – 69 weeks

Dawn Krause (Munich, Germany)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 65 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) 14 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Oskaloosa, Iowa) – 15 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 31 weeks

Mindi Terrell (West Des Moines, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 96 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Britt, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 89 weeks

Susanna Funk (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Susanna Funk (Iowa)

Ernie Redd (Kentucky) – 1 week

Kim Barker (Estes Park, Colorado) – 75 weeks

Kim Barker (Estes Park, Colorado)

Willy McAlpine (Sahagun, Spain) – 5 weeks

Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.) – 1 week

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 87 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Spencer, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Logan Kahler (Stratford, Iowa) – 15 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 95 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 55 weeks

Carla Stensland (Lake Okoboji, Iowa) – 87 weeks

Carla Stensland (Clay County Fair – Spencer, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Arnold’s Park, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 98 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 61 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 5 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 11 weeks

35 participants! That is a great week! Thanks to Ernie’s first ever submission, we get to add Kentucky to the submission map!!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Austria
+ Colorado
+ Germany
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ Ohio
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas
+ Washington D.C.

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

37 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% of the way there!

The current states missing are:

+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Hawaii
+ Indiana
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ New Mexico
+ Rhode Island
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

I took my picture about 140 miles from my front door, but still in Iowa. I continue not to contribute.

The big… huge… gargantuan milestone reached this week is Kio is the first person to ever hit the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo!!

But it wasn’t all good news. Sara’s streak ends at 6 and Suzie couldn’t build her streak to 2.

BLACK & WHITE

BLACK & WHITE! If you know me at all, you know that this is my absolutely favorite theme!

What is a BLACK & WHTIE image? Bro! It is a BLACK & WHITE picture. Period. End of story.

But just a reminder. BLACK & WHITE photography is all about tones and textures. Remember that and you will do great.

While thinking on possible subjects for your BLACK & WHITE submission, meditate on the following quote and I no doubt you will take a great picture:

To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.
-Andri Cauldwell

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 BLACK & WHITE in this place that behind the scenes is all monochrome I should next Monday.

Animals, Black & White, Nature, Street Photography

Even More of a Foggy Morn on the Trail

September 16, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

Time for the final collection of images I took on a foggy January morning out walking the High Trestle Trail. What is different about many of the pictures from this collection from the ones in the previous collections is that many of these are taken with a telephoto lens. The reason for this is, that the longer a lens, the more compressed the background and foreground become. I wanted the effect of the bars across the bridge to be practically on top of one another. I don’t want to break my arm slapping myself on the back, but I was pretty pleased with the results.

As you know, I don’t do a very good job planning for the Iowa State Fair Photo Salon, but next year’s special theme class is “Leading Lines” and I would consider one of these pictures for an entry, if I remember they exist around the time the State Fair comes along. I’d also consider the Boone High Parking lot from Tuesday’s post as well. Although I have this believe that the photo judges don’t like drone pictures. But with all opinions on judges, they are just beliefs.

Here is the final collection:

This wasn’t the last time I went to the High Trestle Trail Bridge this year. And I’m sure there are at least a couple more trips before this year is over. It is truly one of the most magical places in Iowa to visit.

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

WPC – WEEK 415 – SHADOW

August 28, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the last collection of submissions of the month, so it is a good time revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO.

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

If participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

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

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

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that.

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.

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SHADOW! A great theme, but did inspire people to lurk in the dark or come out into the light of participation? You’ll have to keep streaming to find out!

I do want to say that hope at least somebody appreciates my submission this week. I was pretty close to kicked out of a museum for taking it.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, August 21, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
2-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
3-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
4-Nader Parsaei – 1 week
5-Mary Green – 3 weeks (2)
6-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (3
7-Mike Vest – 7 weeks
8-Sheri Fakhouri – 10 weeks
9-Monica Jennings – 11 weeks
10-Logan Kahler – 11 weeks (2)
11-Nathanial Brown – 12 weeks
12-Jesse Howard – 12 weeks
13-Tamara Peterson – 15 weeks
14-Alexis Stensland – 20 weeks
15-Mindi Terrell – 27 weeks (3)
16-Brandon Kahler – 51 weeks
17-Linda Bennett – 56 weeks (2)
18-Sarah Toot – 57 weeks (2)
19-Angie DeWaard – 61 weeks
20-Dawn Krause – 65 weeks (2)
21-Kim Barker – 71 weeks
22-Joe Duff – 72 weeks (2)
23-Teresa Kahler – 83 weeks (3)
24-Carla Stensland – 83 weeks (3)
25-Micky Augustin – 85 weeks
26-Andy Sharp – 86 weeks
27-Bill Wentworth – 87 weeks
28-Cathie Morton – 91 weeks
29-Elizabeth Nordeen – 92 weeks
30-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 94 weeks
31-Kio Dettman – 96 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:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 97 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 95 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 93 weeks

Cathie Morton (Water Works Park – Des Moines, Iowa) – 92 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 88 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 87 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 86 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Joe Duff (Dallas, Texas) – 73 weeks

Joe Duff (Dallas, Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 72 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 66 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 62 weeks

Sarah Toot (East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 58 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 57 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 28 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 21 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 16 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 13 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 13 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 12 weeks

Logan Kahler (Guthrie Center, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mary Green (Camp Wyoming – Wyoming, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Becky Parmelee (King Author Flour & Bakery – Norwich, Vermont) – 2 weeks

Becky Parmelee (West Lebanon, New Hampshire)

Becky Parmelee (Atlanta, Georgia)

Sabas Hernandez (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Cleveland, Ohio) – 2 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Evie Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Scott Degeneffe (Dickcissel Park – Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Union Station – Omaha, Nebraska)

34 participants! That is a pretty great week! And pictures were taken from all over the country this week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Georgia
+ Kansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ Ohio
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas
+ Vermont

Thanks to Becky’s recent travels, 2 more states have been filled in on the map. New Hampshire and Vermont. WooHoo!

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ 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

35 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% of the way there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture 156 miles from my front door. In a state where a regular contributor resides. I continue not to contribute.

The big milestone this week is Brandon joining THE YEAR LONG STREAK CLUB! WooHoo! Congratulations Brandon!

But it wasn’t all good news! Nader could not build on their submissions last week and their streaks are over before the began.

NATURE

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

But what exactly is a NATURE photo? “Nature photography is a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.”

That encompasses a lot of the world. So what isn’t NATURE? Humans and anything created by humans. Although those elements can be included in a NATURE photo. But they aren’t the main subject matter.

While thinking about possible subjects for your NATURE photo meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a fascinating image:

Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.
-Khalil Gibran

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 NATURE in this place that shows mine next Monday.

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:

Almost every time one visits the High Trestle Trail Bridge, it is magical. But I think the most magical is when the river valley is filled with fog.

There are more pictures from this trip still to share.

Automobiles, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Logan, Naima, Nathanial, Still Life, Street Photography, WPC - Alternate

And Maybe I’m Just Not As Interesting

August 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time once again to clean up some backlog. These pictures I took during December of 2022, but they didn’t really fit into any previous posts. Some were taken at the Community Christmas Concert that I went to, to watch Logan and Nathanial and Logan work it. Some are alternates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme WATER. Some are taken at the candlelight service at Boone First United Methodist Church. Some are just of Naima.

Apparently Logan and Nathanial and Janae did a pretty good job with the Christmas Concert video because now an independent movie company wants to come to Boone and shoot a movie based on seeing the video on the internet. It will be interesting to see if that actually happens.