Category Archives: Lensbaby

Most of All

September 14, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

I haven’t seen my father in some time
But his face is always staring back at me
His heavy hands hang at the ends of my arms
And my colors change like the sea

But I don’t worry much about time lost
I’m not gunning for the dreams I couldn’t find
‘Cause he taught me how to walk the best that I can
On the road I’ve left behind

But most of all
He taught me to forgive
How to keep a cool head
How to love the one you’re with
And when I’m far into the distance
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love

I haven’t heard my mother’s voice in a while
But her words are always falling out my mouth
My mind and spirit are at odds sometimes
And they fight like the north and the south

But I still care enough to bear the weight
Of the heaviness to which my heart is tethered
She taught me how to be strong and say goodbye
And that love is forever

But most of all
She taught me how to fight
How to move across the line
Between the wrong and the right
And when I’m turned out in the darkness
And the pushing comes to shove
To remember what comes back
When you give away your love

Give away your love
When you give your love away
Give away your love
-Brandi Carlile

I think everybody can relate to that song. Particularly anybody that has lost one or both of their parents. During an NPR interview Brandi was asked about this song. She said:

I watched both my parents lose their mothers last year. It was really interesting, because throughout the process of growing up, I listened to all of their grievances and gripes about their mamas, the things that kept them from answering the phone sometimes and all that stuff. And then as soon as those women were gone, it was like all memory of any of that immediately just evaporated, and it was all funny stories and good things. There are people that could criticize the way that we that we react towards our loved ones when they’re gone, and say that we make them inhuman or perfect — but then, there is the argument to be made that suddenly we see things for real for the first time.

That suddenly we see things for real for the first time…

But enough diving in the deep end. Thursdays are for flowers! This is the final collection of images I took on my usually annual trip to Pella to do some tulip flowertography. Some of my favorites are in this collection:

This last picture features some AI Photoshop work in it, for fun.

There might be a State Fair picture or a Photography 139 Calendar image in that collection. Time will tell.

I’m already looking forward to my trip to Pella in 2024. If you would like to book a seat on the trip with me, you know where to find me. We can eat at #DutchFix.

The next set of flowertography pictures are taken on the same day, but are from Red Haw State Park.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro, Music, Sara, Shawn Lockner

Fulton County Jane Doe

August 31, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

One, two, three, four…

Out in the middle of nowhere
With nothing much else to do
Oh, the night brought us together
And I lent my heart to you

Maybe you were running way from something
Without so much as a plan
Not a living soul to guide you
Jesus tattooed on your hand

And when my heart has no rest
And a thousand things are on my mind
I’ll always save some room for you
I won’t let you get left behind

Oh, and I always will remember
When the lonely day is through
That somewhere fall from Fulton County
A stranger says a prayer for you

We came into this life with nothing
And all we’re taking is a name
That’s why I’ve written you this song
This is for Fulton County Jane
-Brandi Carlile

Before I get into this Thursday’s flowertography collection, thought I would share some cruddy cell phone picture from going to see Brandi in concert in Omaha with Sara and Shawn.

Pink was there supporting Brandi.

It was nearly or over 100 degrees on this day.

But people waited in line just to get in to see Brandi.

The concert was at the baseball stadium that host the College World Series.

It was a bigger stadium than I expected.

It was nice of Pink to build this big stage for Brandi.

The opening act was Grouplove. You can see Hannah Hooper if you squint.

Brandi!

This guy’s head.

About as good of a picture as I could get of Brandi and the twins, cause of this guy’s head.

Pink closed the show for Brandi.

If you look closely, you can see Pink descending to the stage from the lips.

More descending.

I actually almost like this picture.

On her last song, Pink flew around the stadium.

It was an amazing concert that just needed more Brandi! A week ago I could have told you every song she played, but for now it is enough to note that she did play “The Story” and “Broken Horses”. The highlight of the Pink portion of the show was when she talked about how she wished she could write songs like Brandi. Then Brandi came out and they sang “Nothing Compares 2 U” as a tribute to Sinead O’Connor.

It was a great show and I can’t wait to see Brandi perform again!

But Thursdays ARE for flowers. Here are some flower pictures I took in my yard back in May:

Next Thursday I might share more flower pictures from my yard or more pictures from Pella. It is a mystery that will only revealed by time.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro, Music, Sara, Self-Portrait, Shawn Lockner

Whatever You Do

August 24, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

If I don’t owe you a favor, you don’t know me
I don’t believe we’ve ever even met
If there’s a God in heaven you can show me
Then I guess I should admit I lost the bet
There are moments I could hold you forever
There are moments that lasted way too long
There are days when I change with the weather
To hold you in place would be wrong

I never met a morning I could get through
With nothing on my breath to hold the night
And I never said I’m sorry but I meant to
I never met a coward I don’t like
There are reasons why the body stays in motion
But at the moment only demons come to mine
There are days when I could walk into the ocean
With no one else but you to leave behind

There’s a road left behind me that I would rather not speak of
And a hard one ahead of me too
I love you, whatever you do
But I got a life to live too
-Brandi Carlile

As you all should know, on Monday I got a chance to see Brandi Carlile in concert for the first time in several years. It was an amazing concert! I had almost forgot how amazing of a live performer she is. Almost! I definitely can’t let it be so long before I see her live again!

I might be a little out of practice with taking selfies since I’m not doing THE SELFIE PROJECT this year so apparently the selfie I took with Sara and Shawn caused quite the stir…

I took this selfie and sent it to a few people:

One of the responses I got back was:

The girl behind you is practically showing her boob. She must know the kind of pictures you like.

I guess I walked into that one.

I guess we got Photo-boobed. I mean Boob-bombed. I mean boobs!

Anyways, I will still treasure this picture and this moment in time.

But Thursday is for flowers! Here is some flowers from my yard:

There is one last collection of images of flowers taken from my yard on this day left to share.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro

Heroes and Songs

July 20, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Some rights and some wrongs
Some heroes and songs
Are much better left unsung
Between fiction and fact
Illusion and pact
Where we’ve been into what we’ve become
Although we have changed
We’re never estranged
And there’s nothing I’d trade from before

I’ll never ally
Although this is goodbye
To the magical mystery tour
Keep the tears that I cried
In my youth and my pride
And my sorrow like never before

I’ve got thank you’s and smiles
And affection for miles
And I always will look unto you
You held open the door
For who I’m sent here for
To come in and make my dreams come true

Although it was sad
And it hurt ’cause it had to
There’s nothing I’d change from before

I love you my friend
My dear means to an end
But you’re not in my dreams anymore
-Brandi Carlile

Sometimes Brandi Carlile’s lyrics really hit hard in a special place. This is one of those songs.

AND… it is only a month and one day until I go to Omaha to see Brandi Carlile in concert! WooHoo! I promise I won’t talk about it constantly. But if you have HBO or MAX, you should check out her concert movie that she recorded in Laurel Canyon that you can currently stream.

But while Thursdays are for great song lyrics, it is also about flowers. Thought I would visit the collection of tulip pictures I took when I visited Pella a week before their tulip festival. Many of these pictures were taken with a Lensbaby lens. Lensbaby is my favorite line of art lenses. I would explain that more, but I recently added another Lensbaby lens into the arsenal. One I have coveted for quite some time. So I will cover Lensbaby in depth when I do an equipment post on the new sweetness.

Here are some tulip pictures from Pella:

I still have over 200 tulip pictures from Pella to curate, edit, and post. So next week will probably feature more tulip pictures from Pella.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro

Alibi

June 29, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

I done some bad, bad things
The kind you don’t bring up at confession
Somewhere in my life, woah
I took the wrong direction
I swear on my soul
I didn’t wanna hurt no one
But I got no way to justify
The things I done

I swear some people in this world
They got no moral compass
I know the wicked ones
I feel them walk among us
The hangman begs for mercy
Only when his time has come
Because he got no way to rectify the things he done

If you’re good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won’t have to atone for my sins
If you’re good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won’t take the fall for where I’ve been
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! And this Thursday I’m sharing more pictures of tulips I took in Pella.

Still so many pictures from Pella to share. No joke, this is the 5th collection of Tulip pictures from Pella that I’ve shared and there are still nearly 300 pictures that I haven’t even looked at. That being said, next Thursday I’ll probably share a collection of flower pictures I took in my own yard.

Flowers, Lensbaby

I Belong to You

June 22, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Last night I had the exact same dream as you
I killed a bird to save your life
And you gave me your shoes
You said clip my wings
And walk my miles
And I said I would too
Then I woke up
But, I wasn’t gonna tell you

Today I sang the same damn tune as you
It was Lady in Red
I hate that song
And I know you do too
You didn’t catch me singing along
But I always sing with you
Nice and quietly
‘Cause I don’t want to stop you

I see the world the exact same way that you do
We lend our hands and take our stands
In tandem when we do
When I lied and said I knew the way
I hid my eyes from you
I still don’t know why
I probably didn’t want to scare you

I know I could be spending a little too much time with you
But time and too much don’t belong together like we do
If I had all my yesterdays
I’d give them to you too
I belong to you now
I belong to you
-Brandi Carlile

Thursdays are for flowers! And this Thursday I’m share more pictures I took of tulips in Pella the week before the Pella Tulip Festival.

Next Thursday I’ll probably share some more tulip pictures from Pella.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 405 – FLOWER

June 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

Here is another reminder that we are a little more than a month away from the deadline for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Flyers should start showing up around town this week. I hope at least a few of you enter. Or you get your kids to enter or your grandkids to enter. You don’t have be from Boone or Boone County to enter. You merely have to enjoy photography. Monica made a wonderful flyer this year:

Thanks Monica!

She had a lot of fun with this year’s Pufferbilly Days theme, which is the ’90s. I’ll probably need more volunteers than normal this year, so if that is something that might interest you. Let me know. Many hands make light work. And there might be a meal or two in it for you.

+++++++

NOTE: ALMOST EVERYBODY HAD THEIR SUBMISSIONS IN THIS WEEK BY SUNDAY NIGHT. WHILE THAT ISN’T THE DEADLINE, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT. MAKES MY JOB MUCH EASIER! THANKS!

FLOWER! What a great theme! A person would have to have no joy in their heart to not find joy in a beautiful FLOWER. In fact, I’ve even heard some suggest that next year all 52 weeks should be flower themes. One week ROSE. The next week DAISY. The next week SUNFLOWER. I mean that is just crazy talk though. So crazy it just might work. But was this year’s lone FLOWER theme enough to make a bunch of people crazy enough to submit? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out.

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

1-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
2-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
3-Monica Jennings – 1 week (3)
4-Logan Kahler – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks (3)
6-Nathanial Brown – 2 weeks
7-Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks
9-Sara Lockner – 4 weeks (2)
10-Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks
11-Mike Vest – 7 weeks
12-Alexis Baugher – 10 week (2)
13-Mindi Terrell – 17 weeks (3)
14-Brandon Kahler – 42 weeks
15-Linda Bennett – 46 weeks (2)
16-Sarah Toot – 47 weeks (2)
17-Angie DeWaard – 51 weeks
18-Dawn Krause – 55 weeks (2)
19-Kim Barker – 61 weeks
20-Joe Duff – 62 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 73 weeks (3)
22-Carla Stensland – 73 weeks (3)
23-Micky Augustin – 75 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 76 weeks
25-Bill Wentworth – 77 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 81 weeks (2)
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 82 weeks (2)
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 84 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 86 weeks

Entering today, this is the map of states where people have submitted pictures from:

Map made at visitedplaces.com

Only 1 new state added since last time I shared the map.

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:

Willy McAlpine (30 Miles East of Ashland, Montana) – 1 week

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana) – 62 weeks

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 77 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Rural Story County, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 87 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 47 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Rural Warren County, Iowa) – 85 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Boone, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Rural Boone County, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 52 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 78 weeks

Nader Parsaei (State Center, Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Mexico) – 3 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Mexico)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 18 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Porter Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (South Dakota) – 56 weeks

Dawn Krause (South Dakota)

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 63 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 48 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 8 weeks

36 participants this week! This is a new record for participation! Making FLOWER the most popular theme in the storied history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Maybe the idea of 52 themes of FLOWER isn’t crazy after all. Marigolds one week. Pansies the next. Oooh… a week of begonias would be lovely!

36 participants breaks the previous record of 34 held by HAPPY that was set just 4 weeks ago.

36 participants is so many that it is more lines than I have in my Ledger book where I record such things for posterity. Have a look:

I’m not sure how I will record this week, but it is a great problem to have!

Also, if we continue on this trajectory (5 straight weeks of 30+ participants) I might be lowering the cap for submissions from 3 to 2. Just fair warning. Like I say in the FAQ, it isn’t about harshing anybody’s creativity buzz, but about managing workload. Hopefully, we get there!

Thanks to Willy attending a Tuesday Wedding in Montana (all weddings should be on Tuesday or Thursdays) and Kim’s work trip to Louisiana, we added two more states to the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE SUBMISSION MAP!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ Mexico
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

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

29 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

You might be wondering what states are currently missing. I got you:

+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Indiana
+ Kentucky
+ Maryland
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ New Hampshire
+ New Mexico
+ North Carolina
+ Rhode Island
+ South Carolina
+ Tennessee
+ Vermont
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

The Outside of the United States map is currently (I could put more info for Mexico, but nobody told me where they went in Mexico):

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I travelled about 15 steps from front door to take my submission I continue not to contribute to expanding the map.

The big accomplishment this week was Angie reaching the 52 Week Club! That is a fully year of submitting without missing a week. A big time accomplishment! WooHoo!

Bill also joined the Year and a Half Club. He isn’t the first person to join the club, but he is the first person that I have noted to have made the club. Cathie made it 4 weeks ago. Elizabeth made it 5 weeks ago. Shannon 7 weeks ago. Kio 12 weeks ago. Monster achievements for all of them!

Another sweet deal was that there wasn’t a single streak snapped this 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:

‘SCAPE

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

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? The “‘” in the theme name allows you to substitute in a few words. Your submission could be a LANDSCAPE or a WATERSCAPE or a CITYSCAPE.

Well for one thing, it is a great theme for me to remind you that you can include the town your picture was taken in or the county and I will include that with your submission.

Did you know that the first photograph ever taken was of a landscape?

“View from the Window at Le Gras” was captured by Nicéphore Niépce, in 1827. It features a very abstract view from Niépce’s window.

It would be another 12 years before somebody would think to take a “photograph” of a stupid human. I assume the 2nd picture ever taken was of a dog.

With this theme, you are literally touching the absolute deepest root of photography. Wow! That is powerful to think about. But maybe you are still confused about what LANDSCAPE photography is. Here is a definition from the Wiki:

Landscape photography commonly involves daylight photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance—though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up, and sometimes at night.

Photography of artificial scenery, such as farm fields, orchards, gardens and architecture, may be considered “landscape” photography as well. Even the presence of man-made structures (buildings, roads and bridges, etc.) or art (such as sculpture) may be considered “landscape” if presented in artistic settings or appearing (or photographed) in artistic style.

Further, landscape photography is typically of relatively stationary subjects—arguably a form of “still life.” This tends to simplify the task, as opposed to photography of kinetic or live subjects. However, landscape photography often overlaps the activity of wildlife photography and the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably; both wildlife and landscapes may be elements of the same picture or body of work.

While thinking about a possible subject for your ‘SCAPE theme, meditate on the following quote:

This is the gift of the landscape photograph, that the heart finds a place to stand.
-Emmet Gowin (American Photographer)

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 ‘SCAPE in this place that hopefully has a least put a little dent in the landscape of photography next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Linda, Logan, Macro, Micky, Monica, Nathanial, Road Trip, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 398 – ROAD TRIP

May 1, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme and an even better way to spend a day or two. Nothing calls to me like the open road.
But did it call to many other people? Or did people stay firmly entrenched on their couches? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 24, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Heather Courtney – 1 week
2-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks
3-Jesse Howard – 3 weeks
4-Alexis Baugher – 3 weeks
5-Mindi Terrell – 9 weeks (3)
6-Suzie Brannen – 14 weeks
7-Monica Jennings – 14 weeks
8-Tamara Peterson – 25 weeks (2)
9-Brandon Kahler – 35 weeks
10-Linda Bennett – 39 weeks (2)
11-Sarah Toot – 40 weeks (2)
12-Angie DeWaard – 44 weeks
13-Dawn Krause – 48 weeks
14-Kim Barker – 53 weeks (2)
15-Joe Duff – 55 weeks (2)
16-Logan Kahler – 56 weeks (2)
17-Teresa Kahler – 66 weeks (2)
18-Carla Stensland – 66 weeks
19-Micky Augustin – 67 weeks
20-Andy Sharp – 69 weeks
21-Bill Wentworth – 70 weeks
22-Cathie Morton – 74 weeks
23-Elizabeth Nordeen – 75 weeks
24-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 76 weeks (2)
25-Kio Dettman – 79 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:

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 1 week

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Iowa) – 1 week

Mike Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Baugher (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 10 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 15 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 26 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 36 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 40 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Sarah Toot (New Jersey) – 41 weeks

Sarah Toot (New Jersey)

Angie DeWaard (Mexico) – 45 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Mexico)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 49 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 56 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 57 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 67 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Carla Stensland

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 68 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 71 weeks

Cathie Morton (Illinois) – 75 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 76 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 77 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 80 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Iowa) – 502 weeks

31 participants! That is a great week! I believe it ties the high for this calendar year. Strange that more people love the open road than love their friends, but maybe it isn’t so strange.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Mexico
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

24 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Thanks to Angie’s vacation, Mexico has been added to the list of international places!

I took my picture 87 miles from my front door. So Angie isn’t the only world traveler.

The big accomplishments this week… Mindi joined the Double Digits Club! WooHoo! Tamara joined the Half Year Club! WooHoo! Mike Parmelee had his first submission of the year! WooHoo! I finally got Alexis’ last name right! WooHoo !

But it wasn’t all unicorns and double rainbows. Heather wasn’t able to build her submission from last week into a streak. And most tragically, Suzie’s 14 week streak is a goner. ROAD TRIPs are her Waterloo.

SCHOOL

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Let me tell you about IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY!

Iowa State University (ISU) is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1858 as Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, and it became the first land-grant institution in the United States in 1862, thanks to the Morrill Act.

Today, ISU is a comprehensive university with more than 35,000 students and offers over 100 undergraduate majors, 112 master’s degree programs, and 83 doctoral degree programs. The university is organized into eight colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Business, Design, Engineering, Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, Veterinary Medicine, and Graduate.

ISU is known for its strong programs in agriculture, engineering, and science, and it has a reputation for being one of the top public universities in the United States. The university is home to several research centers and institutes, including the Bioeconomy Institute, the Ames Laboratory, and the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center for Biorenewable Chemicals (CBiRC).

The university’s mascot is Cy the Cardinal, and the school colors are cardinal and gold. The Cyclones, ISU’s athletic teams, compete in the Big 12 Conference and they completely dominated the Cy-Hawk Series with Iowa Hawkeyes this year.

Overall, Iowa State University is a well-respected and prestigious institution of higher education, offering a wide range of programs and opportunities for students to excel both academically and professionally.

Wait. Wait. Sorry. I’ve just been told that there are more SCHOOL(s) in the world than just Iowa State. I’m not entirely sure why. But I guess you can take a picture of some other stupid school nobody cares about.

SCHOOL! So what in the Terrence Allen is a SCHOOL picture? Simply put it is any image that involves SCHOOL. From a building to a playground to schoolbooks (before they all get banned) to report cards to teachers to really anything related to a SCHOOL. There are all types of different SCHOOL(s). Pre, secondary, high, middle, junior, dance, Sunday, vocational, technical, and even sometimes I take people to SCHOOL on the basketball court. It does NOT have to be Iowa State, but I mean, why would you take a picture of some lesser school? But you do you bro.

While considering how you are going to incorporate Iowa State into your SCHOOL picture, mediate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a great picture:

Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.
– Malala Yousafzai

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 SCHOOL in this place that I like to think has a bit of educational value next Monday.

Art, Black & White, Calendar, Christianity, Drone, Flowers, Jesse, Lensbaby, Macro, Nature, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins, Still Life, Travel, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Tried So Hard to Be Everything that You Liked

January 6, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Today seems like a good day to share the rest of the pictures that I considered for the 2023 Photography 139 Calendar, but did not use.

Just because I rejected these images this year, doesn’t mean that one of them couldn’t show up in a future calendar.

+++++++

This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES:

WEEK 382 - TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES

PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES

But what is a TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOBOMILES picture? Simply put it is a picture that involves a TRAIN or a PLANE or an AUTOMOBILE. All 3 don’t have to be in the picture. One will suffice. The picture can also be of anything that is tangential to TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMBILES. Roads, bridges, train tracks, terminals, stations, are all fair game.

I made this a theme this year because it will be one of the categories in this years Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. If you submit a photo for this theme, you have a picture you can enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Happy photo harvesting!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Lensbaby, Logan, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, WPC - Alternate

I Wore Makeup When We Dated

November 23, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Today I’m going to share a collection of images that I took for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme BLACK & WHITE, but they didn’t make the cut. As you know, BLACK & WHITE is my first love in photography and therefore will always be a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. And with that statement, now you know 1 of the 52 themes for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The other 51 will remain a mystery for the time being.

In this collection are pictures of Logan that are similar to the image I ultimately chose as my interpretation of the theme. There are also pictures of Naima sitting on our couch and pictures taken in McHose Park. These pictures were taken back in January as BLACK & WHITE was the first theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. There were 29 other submissions for it.

Here are the rejected:

You might look at the last picture of Logan and be thinking, “Hey, wait a second! That picture isn’t black and white! What is with these shenanigans!”

That picture was originally taken in black and white and then I colorized it with a neural filter in Photoshop. Someday I might cover the neural filters in Photoshop. I’d like to get back to some of the “how-to” posts again in the future. Hopefully I’ll get back to that, someday. But even a fool will tell you…

The swirl effect in the last two pictures of Logan are 100% in-camera effect though. No how to post on that coming though.