Category Archives: Calendar

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I Wanna Have Control

January 14, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Here we are. Time to share all the pictures I considered for the 2025 Calendar but did not make the cut for one reason or another. Could be that I decided it wasn’t good enough. Or because a similar picture was chosen over it to be placed in the calendar. Or it just didn’t seem to fit.

Here are the rejects:

I did get a few last minute calendar favorites and I better show those:

Jeanette

Joe

Andree

And that closes the book on Photography 139 Calendars for another year! But before I know it, I’ll have to start working on next year’s calendar.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Animals, Aunt Linda, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Deb, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Night, Photoshop, Sabas, Sara, Sarah, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 487 – MOTION

January 13, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

DECEMBER

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

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

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

Johnathan

Sabas

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

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

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

Christopher D. Bennett

Mike Vest

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

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

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

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

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

Angie DeWaard

Becky Perkovich

Michael Augustin

Michelle Haupt

Dawn Krause

Mike Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

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

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

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

Let us begin, shall we?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WPC - WEEK 487 - MOTION - ALEXIS STENSLAND

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 3 weeks

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

Andy Sharp (West Roads Mall – Omaha, Nebraska)

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 133 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 160 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 55 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 164 weeks

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

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 138 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 20 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 165 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 145 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 144 weeks

Kio Dettman (Ogden, Iowa) – 169 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 129 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 84 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Story County, Iowa) – 158 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 34 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 100 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Ohio) – 85 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa)

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

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

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 73 weeks

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

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 96 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 26 weeks

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

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

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

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

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

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

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

Enough dwelling on the past! Time to look to the future. We are all interested in the future, for that is where you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, future events such as these will affect you in the future! This week’s theme:

COLORFUL

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

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP OF THE WEEK

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

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

Calendar, Flowers, Logan, Sign, Still Life, Tenderloining, Teresa

#BREAKFASTBURRITOLIFE: Ames Field Work

January 12, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett

Time to reveal the November image from the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

NOVEMBER

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7IV
LENS: SIGMA 105mm f/2.8 DG DN MACRO
FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm
APERTURE: f/8
SHUTTER: 1/125
DATE: May 26, 2024

I took this macro strawflower picture in my yard. Strawflowers are one of my favorite flowers. Perhaps my favorite annual. I think I might have wet down this flower with a spray bottle. Or it might have been after a rain. May was a long time ago. This is the one picture I wasn’t crazy about how it printed in the calendar. But it printed well enough.

Here is the lone person to deem it their favorite calendar image:

Logan

Tomorrow I reveal the final 2025 Photography 139 Calendar.

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A couple of weeks ago Teresa and I tried one of the newer Cafes in Ames. It is called the Dot and it is in one of the old Pizza Huts. I believe the building last housed an Indian Restaurant.

I decided to try their breakfast burrito, which was the daily special, because as you know, I’m a notorious fiend for breakfast burritos!

Here are the images:

According to their website:

Welcome to The Dot, a cozy haven in the heart of Ames, where Midwest nostalgia meets culinary creativity. As a proud woman-owned small business, The Dot brings you the comforting flavors you grew up loving, reimagined with a fresh, modern twist.

We believe great food should be for everyone. That’s why our locally sourced, inclusive menu features options for all dietary needs, including dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian dishes.

Our cafe is more than just a place to grab a bite–it’s a community gathering spot where warmth and creativity come together. Whether you’re looking for a quiet corner to enjoy your morning coffee or a welcoming spot to catch up with friends, The Dot invites you to experience a taste of home with a touch of love in every bite.

Stop in, stay awhile, and enjoy the charm of the Midwest, redefined at The Dot.

First of all, The Dot Cafe is super cute. The decorations are amazing. The staff was very friendly. The burrito was great. The chocolate milk was subpar. It was clearly just chocolate syrup mixed in white milk and not particularly well.

THE GOOD

+ Cute decor
+ Friendly Staff
+ Burrito was fantastic
+ Food is locally sourced
+ Inclusive menu

THE BAD

+ For not being very busy, the food prep seemed a little slow
+ Chocolate milk was not a winner, but there was lots of it

THE UGLY

+ $19.26 feels a little steep for a breakfast burrito, chocolate milk, and a tip.

THE VERDICT

I would eat here again. I will eat here again. Just not on the regular cause I feel it is a tad pricey.

The Dot is located:
127 Dotson Drive
Ames, Iowa

Hours:
Wednesday – Sunday: 7 AM – 3 PM

The next food adventure will also involve breakfast!

Animals, Boone County Fair, Calendar, Flowers, Macro, Sign, Street Photography

A Saturday at the Boone County Fair

January 11, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Time to share the October image from the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

OCTOBER

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm
APERTURE: f/3.2
EXPOSURE: 1/160
DATE: July 23, 2024

This dandelion picture was taken in my yard. I take no pride in that as I don’t want to see dandelions sprouting around my yard, but it isn’t by far the worst weed. I would take a ton of dandelions to have zero thistles or no creeping Charlie. Despite not wanting them in my yard, dandelions can be beautiful. Especially at the macro level.

Only one unique person said that this was their favorite image in the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

Kelli

I’m excited to reveal the November image tomorrow.

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I spent a good chunk of the Saturday of the Boone County Fair hanging out with Logan and “assisting” him with the barbecue competition. But not all of time was spent there. In the morning I worked the “hospitality tent” for the Boone First United Methodist Church. Then most of the rest of the day was spent hanging with Logan (except for when I made a quick trip to Stanhope), but I snapped a few pictures that weren’t related to the barbecue contest.

Have a look:

That is all the pictures I have from the Boone County Fair on the Saturday of the Fair, but I took a bunch more in Stanhope that I will share soon!

(NOTE: Experimenting with some backend changes to the website. If something looks wonky, that is why.)

Anders, Andy, Art, Baier, Birthdays, Calendar, Elainie, History, Kim, Lowell, Nature, Railroad, Sabas, Sign, Street Photography, Travel

New Orleans Day 2: River Walk

January 10, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today’s is Lowell’s birthday so I need to wish him a happy birthday.

Happy birthday Lowell!

If you don’t know, he isn’t the super tall guy and he isn’t Kim.

I simply hope your birthday is without any health emergencies!

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Today is also Sabas’ birthday! So I need to wish him a happy birthday.

Happy birthday Sabas!

I hope your birthday is also not filled with medical emergencies, but for a different reason.

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It is time to share the September image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

SEPTEMBER

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M2
LENS: Sigma 14-24 f/2.8 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 21mm
APERTURE: f/2.8
SHUTTER: 1/2500
DATE: September 5, 2024

The September image is of the Union Pacific’s Big Boy. It was taken just a few miles west of Colo. I took the day off to grab a few pictures of the Big Boy as it passed through central Iowa. I also followed the Big Boy on the day before and took some pictures of it while it rested in Boone overnight. Day 2 of trying to the photograph was different then Day 1. It was more successful than Day 1. I made several strategic mistakes on Day 1. It was sad. I don’t like talking about it. A joy of Day 2 was that I spent some time with “foamers”.

If you don’t know what a foamer is, it is the derogatory term that railroaders use to describe railfans as they think that they foam at the mouth anytime they see a train. Shout out to Andy for teaching me this term.

Foamers are an interesting breed of people, but they aren’t any different than your other types of nerds. I use the word “nerd” not in a disparaging way. Almost everyone is a nerd about something. These people are nerds about trains. And boy do they really like trains. They knew just about everything there was to know about the Big Boy. Many of them were working in teams. Communicating with each other over radios, while being stationed several miles apart.

This is the 2nd time the Big Boy has appeared in the Photography 139 Calendar. I don’t think the Iowan has ever appeared in the calendar. I should effort to rectify that situation in 2026.

These are the people that selected September as their favorite image:

Anders

Austin

Will

Carrie

I look forward to revealing the October image tomorrow!

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Time to share more images from my Day 2 in New Orleans morning walkabout. Most of these images were taken along the river walk.

I can read this in so many different ways.

A keen observer will have detected the February image from the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar and now you know what the rest of the fence pier thing looks like.

There is still one more collection of images from Day 2 left to share.

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

Don’t Be Cruel

January 9, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

August

TECHNICAL DETAILS

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

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

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

Becky

Elizabeth

Melissa

Michelle

I’m excited to share the September image tomorrow!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animals, Bokeh, Calendar, Christianity, Elainie, Greyson, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Jesse, Layla, Logan, Sign, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

I Don’t Care if it Hurts

January 8, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

JULY

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 276mm
APERTURE: f/14
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/6400
ISO: 160
DATE TAKEN: August 2, 2024

I took this picture on my trip to the Indianola National Balloon Classic with Jesse. It is always a roll of the dice when you go to the Balloon Classic because a myriad of weather conditions will keep the balloons from going up. But on the night we went the balloons went up in the air and I got a ton of great shots. This is one of my favorites and I’m considering this picture and another one I took on this evening for entry into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon this year. Which is about as forward thinking as I have ever been for that contest. Don’t worry, I’ll lie down and the feeling will pass.

There isn’t much to say about the technical aspects of the picture. High shutter speed to freeze the image and under exposure balance to a silhouette and make the colors pop.

I selected this picture to represent July because the Balloon Classic starts in July.

It was a fairly popular image and here are the people that selected it as their favorite image:

Elainie

Jason (Carpenter)

Layla

Will

I’m excited to share the August image tomorrow!

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This is one of those miscellaneous posts that cleans up some images that I took but didn’t fit into any previous posts. These images are from late May and early June. Some are of a baby deer that hung around Lori and Roger’s house for a few days. Some are of a garage sale Logan had. Some are from just around town. But most are of Bokeh. From the first failed attempts* to get the image that would become the March image and an entry to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.

I’m not sure if Logan made any money on the garage sale, but Greyson cleaned up. His grandparents bought something from his table for $60 and then turned around gave the thing back to him. That is a solid business plan if you can implement it!

*The window ended up being too dirty in these shots.

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

Weekly Photo Challenge Year 11 in Review

January 7, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett

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

JUNE

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alexis

Beckham

J.J.

I look forward to revealing the July image tomorrow!

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

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

There were 2,466 photos submitted.

The average week had 36.4 participants.

The average week had 46.5 submissions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

WPC - WEEK 466 - SCIENCE - DERRICK GORSHE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

39 STATES!

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

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

The 10 Most Popular States to Submit from:

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

The 5 People that Submitted from the Most Locations:

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

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

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

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

Here are a few quick stats from Year 9:

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

The same stats from Year 10:

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

Comparing Year 11 to Year 10:

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

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

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

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

WPC – WEEK 486 – WHEELS

January 6, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

May

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG DN Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 105mm
APERTURE: f/9
EXPOSURE: 1/125
ISO: 800
DATE: August 13, 2024

I took this picture of a bee on a zinnia at the Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden. Well-documented to be one of my favorite parts of the Iowa State Fair. I used a longer macro lens to get closer to the bee without spooking it. I used a smaller aperture to try to keep as much of the bee in focus as possible. Then a somewhat faster shutter speed because of the length of the lens. To compensate for the small aperture and quick shutter speed I used a higher ISO than normal.

I don’t have a good reason for why this picture was selected for May. I normally put a picture that I personally love but think has a small audience appeal in May, since it is my birthday month. However, this picture ended up as the May image as it was the last image that didn’t have a home. Kind of disappointing reasoning I know.

May wasn’t a super popular image, but here are the people that selected it as their favorite:

Carla

Roger and Carol

I look forward to revealing the June image tomorrow!

+++++++

WHEELS! What a great theme! But did enough people roll out and get a WHEELS image to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 30, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA)
2-Jesse Howard – 1 week (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN)
3-Becky Parmelee – 1 week (AR, IA, OK, NY)
*4-Kyle Sharp – 1 week (IA, MO, CO)
*5-Alexis Stensland – 1 week (IA)
*6-Mary Green – 2 weeks (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
*7-Suzie Brannen – 14 weeks (IA, MD)
*8-Deb Powers – 18 weeks (MT, IA)
9-Willy McAlpine – 25 weeks (IA)
10-Mike Vest – 32 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
11-Lowell Davis – 52 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
12-Brandon Kahler – 53 weeks (IA, MN)
13-Scott Degeneffe – 71 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 81 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
*15-Logan Kahler – 82 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
16-Nathanial Brown – 83 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY, MO)
*17-Tamara Peterson – 94 weeks (IA, MN)
*18-Mindi Terrell – 98 weeks (IA)
*19-Linda Bennett – 127 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO)
*20-Sarah Toot – 128 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS, MO)
21-Angie DeWaard – 131 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
22-Dawn Krause – 136 weeks (IA, IL)
*23-Kim Barker – 142 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
*24-Joe Duff – 143 weeks (TX, NY)
*25-Teresa Kahler – 154 weeks (IA, NE)
*26-Carla Stensland – 154 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
27-Micky Augustin – 156 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ)
*28-Andy Sharp – 157 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS, AZ, CO, NM, UT)
29-Bill Wentworth – 158 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
30-Cathie Morton – 162 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT)
*31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 163 weeks (IA, OH)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 165 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX, MO)
*33-Kio Dettman – 167 weeks (IA)

WHEELS was the last theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The rule for Year 12 are pretty much the same, maybe some minor tweaks to the language.

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

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

WPC - WEEK 486 - WHEELS - SABAS HERNANDEZ

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 1 week

Deanna McClain (Perry, Iowa) – 1 week

Johnathan Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – Ogden, Iowa

Alexis Stensland (Ames, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 15 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 26 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 33 weeks

Lowell Davis (Ames, Iowa) – 53 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 72 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 82 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 83 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (Saint Louis, Missouri) – 84 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 95 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 99 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 128 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 129 weeks

Angie DeWaard (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 132 weeks

Dawn Krause (Les’s Auto – Boone, Iowa) – 137 weeks

Dawn Krause (Urbandale, Iowa)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 143 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 144 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 155 weeks

Teresa Kahler (House of Colour – Ankeny, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 155 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Ames, Iowa) – 157 weeks

Andy Sharp (Ankeny, Iowa) – 158 weeks

Andy Sharp (Dakota Dunes, South Dakota)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 159 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 163 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 164 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Rural Warren County, Iowa) – 166 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone County Courthouse – Boone, Iowa) – 168 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 590 weeks

There were 33 participants this week. Year 11 goes out with a bit of whimper. But not doubt Year 12 will see a significant rebound in participation!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa (35)
+ Missouri (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Pennsylvania (1)
+ South Dakota (1)
+ Texas (2)

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

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (2.5)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (14)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1968)
+ Kansas (71)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (28.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (61)
+ Nevada (5)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (1.5)
+ New York (23)
+ North Carolina (3)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (42)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (6)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (79)
+ Utah (2.5)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (6)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

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

+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS, AZ, CO, NM, UT, SD) – 16
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY, MO) – 15
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS, MO) – 10
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT) – 9
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 5
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO) -5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI) – 5
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO, AR, OK, KS) – 5
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ) – 5
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH, WI) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO, CO) – 3
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2
+ Dawn Krause – (IA, IL) – 2
+ Joe Duff (TX, NY) – 2
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2

Andy ends Year 11 as the “THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE most travelled photographer!”

Amazingly, there were no minor or major milestones reached this week. But on the contrary, there was a bloodbath of streaks. Jen, Jesse, Becky, and Kyle. Not a one of them could build on last week’s theme and their streaks are over before they began. Mary’s streak goes kaput at 2 weeks. It was indeed a bleak week in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE world.

MOTION

MOTION! What a great first theme for Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

There are really two ways to capture MOTION in a photograph.

1. Use a fast shutter speed to freeze motion.
2. Use a slow shutter speed to blur the motion.

I look forward to your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your MOTION in this place that tries to keep moving forward next Monday.

Andy, Baier, Becca, Bill, Bokeh, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Christmas, Equipment, Gretchen, Harrison, Jay, Jorge, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Micky, Nader, Nature, Sara, Scottie D., Still Life, Vest

Sweet 22: The Beginning

January 4, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

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

MARCH

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: 14-24 Sigma f/2.8 DG DN Art
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSUER: 1/800
ISO: 400
DATE: June 12, 2024

I took this picture because I wanted a Bokeh picture to enter into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It took 3 different photo sessions before I got the image that I wanted. Or as close as an artist ever gets to their real vision. Art is never finished after all, only abandoned. On one of these sessions, Becca was the photo assistant. Shoutout Becca! What you might not realize is that the hardest part of this image was getting it without a reflection. For the most part Bokeh would hang out on top of the window long enough for me to get a few images. But battling reflections in the glass took some tinkering with the setup. Hint: The solution ended up involving blankets.

I chose a fairly small aperture to keep as much of the image in focus as possible. I used a relatively fast shutter speed to freeze any motions Bokeh made. I overexposed the image by nearly a full stop to try capture Bokeh as bright as possible, but without fully blowing out the sky.

I picked this image to represent March because Bokeh’s birthday is in March. Check your calendar if you doubt me. (Sorry to people that the USPS lost their calendar.)

This was by far the most popular image from the 2025 Photography Calendar. Here are the people that picked it as their favorite:

Andy

Harrison

Brandon

Jay

Jorge

Kim

Kio

Micky

Nader

Olivia

Sara and Gretchen

Scott

Vest

Bill

Tomorrow I will reveal the April image. I’m so excited. I can barely hide it. Fair chance I will lose control. I think I’m moderately enjoying it.

+++++++

I’m efforting to get better at sharing when I add new equipment to the arsenal. I’m not a big equipment nerd. I’m about the craft and not about the equipment. But like (and I can’t stress this enough) all art, the equipment you have does have a say in what you make. But what I really like are nerdy manual focus lenses with limited purposes.

I’m sure at least one other photographer thought, “Why doesn’t he just say Lensbaby lenses?”

And you got me hypothetical photographer friend. The most recent piece of glass I’ve added is indeed a Lensbaby lens. For the last few years it has been traditional for me to give my self a Lensbaby lens for Christmas. However, unless they release some new lenses, I’m probably just about out of Lensbaby lenses I can buy. Maybe this Christmas it will be a 7Artisans lens.

If we are being honest, I do totally have the 7Artisans website up on a different monitor right now thinking about their new 60mm f/2.8 2x macro lens. So that might be my birthday present to myself. Or maybe that will be Bokeh’s birthday present to me. I can tell she really wants me to have that lens.

But we’ve gathered here today, to get through this thing called “life”. And the most recent lens I’ve purchased from Lensbaby to get me through life is the Sweet 22.

This is what the bad boy looks like:

If you were to go to the Lensbaby website for a description of this lens you would read something like this:

The Sweet 22 pancake lens from Lensbaby features the smallest sweet spot with the most blur outside the sweet spot of any Lensbaby lens. With a compact, robust metal body and built-in focus down to 5 inches from the front element, this new mirrorless-only creative effects lens brings dramatic optical effects to stills and video imagery that have never before been possible.

The tiny, tack-sharp, centered sweet spot created by the Sweet 22 gives a sense of motion to still images while creating dramatic focus transitions of moving subject matter coming into or out of the Sweet 22’s sweet spot when shooting video. A sea of impressionistic blur gradually transitioning to a precise, tack sharp sweet spot gives photographers the chance to create imagery more dramatic than previous selective focus lenses.

And if you were a big equipment nerd, you might click on the specs and read something like this:

Focal Length: 22mm
Primary Effect: Spot of Focus
Optic Swap Compatible: No
Aperture: f/3.5 fixed
Circular Aperture: Yes
Minimum Focusing Distance: 127mm (5.0in)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:5
Filter threads: 46 mm
Format Compatibility: 35mm Full Frame; APS-C
Camera Compatibility: MIL cameras
Focus Type: Manual Barrel Focus
Diagonal Angle of View: Full Frame: 90°; APS-C (1.5x): 64°
Angle of Tilt: N/A
Diaphragm Blades: None
Elements/Groups: Zone Plate: 4 elements / 2 groups
Coating: Broadband multi-coated anti-reflective

But since all of you are nerds, but nerds of a different flavor, you just want to see a picture taken with it. So here is a collection of the first few pictures I took with the new sweetness… The Sweet 22:

You might be wondering why I bought a lens with such a peculiar purpose that produces images that are destined to be unpopular. And if that is the case:

1. You must be new here.
2. I have no doubt I’m going to take some bomb images with the new sweetness. Even if it is only in my mind.

You will just have to stay tuned.