Category Archives: Nature

Naima Underwater Test

November 14, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Naima likes to walk in water. Naima doesn’t swim, unless forced. She doesn’t enjoy it. But she loves tromping around in water.

I decided to try to grab a picture of her tromping around in water, from underwater.

It didn’t work out that well because the place we go so she can run around off her leash, has a muddy bottom. But here are some pictures from the test. This was back in May at Dickcissel Park.

You can actually see Naima in this picture.

The water around here has gotten pretty cold, so underwater photography is probably done for 2018. However, I have plans for purchasing a camera for next year that is going to be for underwater photography and slow motion photography. It is low on the priority list:

~~1. Pay off car.~~
2. Bank fraud refund.
3. New rear brakes.
4. Big 12 Championship Game Trip ????
5. Remaining Self-Directed Training Budget – $355.20
6. 2019 Calendars ????
7. Iowa State Bowl Trip ????
8. Subscribe to Des Moines Register
9. Hope to not get screwed over by the GOP Tax Scam.
10. DJI Mavic Pro 2
11. Sony RX0
12. Sony Alpah a7II

Although 11 and 12 can be switched around, depending on whether or not I come across a deal. And obviously, there are lots of question marks on the big board. But this is how I plan on blowing tons of money in the near to nearish future.

Angie, Animals, Cathie, Jesse, Michelle, Micky, Naima, Nature, Panorama, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 165 – LANDSCAPE

November 12, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Before we get too involved in the week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, I want to take a little bit of time to toot my own horn. Today at 9:36 AM, I made the final payment on the Camry. Today, that baby is mine! I don’t have the pink slip in my hand yet, but that is only a matter of time! Below is the moment I clicked “Pay”:

(Photo Cred to Michelle)

Now, right after I determine how much money I might potentially spend on going to the Big 12 Championship Game, then right after I figure out if I’m going to make calendars again this year, then right after I get the rear brakes replaced, then right after I figure out how much I might potentially spend on an Iowa State Bowl Game, then after I figure out how the GOP Tax Scam effected my tax return, I can begin drone shopping in earnest. I hope to have one purchased by February. You know. When it is too cold to use it!

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LANDSCAPE, at least in my humble opinion, can be a tough nut for some people to crack, during the time of year when everything is dying and the land is barren. Despite that fact, a few people out there were able to come up with a LANDSCAPE photo.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions!

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

Micky Augustin

Tamara Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

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:

PETS

PETS! What a great theme! But what is a PETS photo? A PETS photo is any photo that involves PETS or byproducts of PETS! If you don’t have a PET(S) or feel you don’t have access to a PET(S), then Naima can be booked. Her sitting fee is 2 milk bones and 5 minutes of head scratching.

The submissions for PETS will be published next Tuesday and not next Monday. Don’t panic. I still look forward to your interpretations.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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

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

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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

Commercial, Jay, Nature, Shannon, Willy

Little White Lye Soap and Boone County Sea Dogs

November 10, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

At this point on our stroll down memory lane, rather than go through full folders, I’m taking a a bit out of a folder at a time, because some of these folders have hundreds and hundreds of images.

These images are from a “tubing” trip down the Des Moines River and pictures I took for Shannon for an article on her for The Des Moines Register.

The pictures that were taken on the river were taken with a disposable camera.

By adding these images to The Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

That Picture

Slow on the Take…

Boone County Sea Dogs

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a trip to the Field of Dreams.

Animals, Black & White, Flowers, Macro, Movies, Music, Nature, Photo Journal, Road Trip, WPC - Reminder

A PHOTO JOURNAL – HENRY CARROLL – PAGE 40

November 9, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Back at the end of August I had a free Saturday afternoon, so I decided to head out to Big Creek and tackle Page 40 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Create a playlist. Now listen to it while out taking pictures.

It was hard for me to determine the exact appropriate length for a playlist, so I sorta cheated on that aspect. I decided to just use the soundtrack from BABY DRIVER. It is, perhaps, the best soundtrack in movie history. Especially with the way it is intertwined into the movie.

If you don’t know the soundtrack, here is a listing:

Disc one

No. Title Artist(s) Length
1. “Bellbottoms” Jon Spencer Blues Explosion 5:17
2. “Harlem Shuffle” Bob & Earl 2:52
3. “Egyptian Reggae” Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers 2:37
4. “Smokey Joe’s La La” Googie Rene 3:02
5. “Let’s Go Away for Awhile” The Beach Boys 2:21
6. “B-A-B-Y” Carla Thomas 2:57
7. “Kashmere” Kashmere Stage Band 4:57
8. “Unsquare Dance” Dave Brubeck 2:00
9. “Neat Neat Neat” The Damned 2:42
10. “Easy” (single version) The Commodores 4:16
11. “Debora” T. Rex 3:19
12. “Debra” Beck 5:43
13. “Bongolia” Incredible Bongo Band 2:15
14. “Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms)” The Detroit Emeralds 3:53
15. “Early in the Morning” Alexis Korner 3:01

Disc two

No. Title Artist(s) Length
16. “The Edge” David McCallum 2:54
17. “Nowhere to Run” Martha and the Vandellas 3:02
18. “Tequila” The Button Down Brass 3:32
19. “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby” Sam & Dave 3:16
20. “Every Little Bit Hurts” Brenda Holloway 2:57
21. “Intermission” Blur 2:27
22. “Hocus Pocus” (original single version) Focus 3:18
23. “Radar Love” (1973 single edit) Golden Earring 3:44
24. “Never, Never Gonna Give Ya Up” Barry White 4:51
25. “Know How” Young MC 4:02
26. “Brighton Rock” Queen 5:10
27. “Easy” Sky Ferreira 4:28
28. “Baby Driver” Simon & Garfunkel 3:16
29. “Was He Slow?” (credit roll version) Kid Koala featuring Kevin Spacey and Jon Bernthal 1:47
30. “Chase Me” Danger Mouse featuring Run the Jewels and Big Boi 3:27

Only one picture can be physically adhered into the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL, but obviously I took many more when I was out and about tooling around Big Creek. Here are some of the others:

I’m not sure which page we will check-in with next time we check-in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. I need to get out there and take some more pages!

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is LANDSCAPE:

LANDSCAPE

A LANDSCAPE photo is a photo of a landscape. It could be a cityscape. It could be a waterscape. But the main subject of the photo is land or water or a city.

Happy photo harvesting.

Animals, Carla, Kim, Nature, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 164 – WILD ANIMAL

November 6, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

WILD ANIMAL is a tough theme for this time of year. Not really, but it could be. At least it ended up being a tough theme as there were less than a handful of submissions.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation. You came to see the WILD ANIMAL submissions:

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Christopher D. Bennett

LANDSCAPE

LANDSCAPE! What a great theme! But what is a LANDSCAPE photo? Here is one definition:

the depiction of landscapes in art – natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view – with its elements arranged into a coherent composition.

As always, I look forward to your interpretations.

Next week, we’ll back to a Monday release for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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

Andy, Angie, Animals, Carla, Jodie Cue, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Photoshop, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 163 – COLORFUL

October 29, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is a big day for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! COLORFUL inspired Jodie Cue to submit for the first time ever! Welcome aboard Jodie, we know you will do great things!

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation. You came to see the COLORFUL submissions:

Angie DeWaard

Jodie Cue

Christopher D. Bennett

Jodie Cue

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Michelle Haupt

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Micky Augustin

Sarah Karber

WILD ANIMAL

I should point out that I was pretty surprised to walk out my back door yesterday and see a bald eagle swooping around overhead. I’ve never seen one in my neighborhood.

WILD ANIMAL! What a great theme! But what is a WILD ANIMAL picture? It is a picture of an animal that is not domesticated. Not a pet. Not a farm animal. There is more than one definition for WILD ANIMAL. Therefore…

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

Most likely, I will be out of state next Monday. So, look for next week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE post to be posted on Tuesday.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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

Candid Portrait, Jesse, Nature, Photoshop, Road Trip, Sarah Toot

The Great Eclipse Failure of ’17 – Tres

September 19, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the final collection of eclipse photos from my trip to Missouri to watch the eclipse with Jesse, Sarah, Tim, Mike, and Adam.

That is the end of the eclipse pictures until the next eclipse. About time to start making plans for it now!

Carla, Cathie, Fisheye, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 157 – PERSPECTIVE

September 17, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Here we are. Starting a new 52 weeks of themes. I like to think back at all we’ve accomplished. Really puts things in PERSPECTIVE.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about anything really. You came to see the submissions:

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Micky Augustin

Mike Vest

BOREDOM!

BOREDOM! What a great theme! But what is a BOREDOM photo? I snaked this theme from THE 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT. A BOREDOM photo is any photo of somebody that is in the throes of BOREDOM or any activity you do when you are fighting BOREDOM.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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

Black & White, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Nature, Road Trip, Sarah Toot

The Great Eclipse Failure of ’17 – Dos

September 12, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

Here are more pictures from our mostly failed trip to Saint Joseph, Missouri to see the Solar Eclipse back in 2017.

These pictures aren’t exactly in chronological order because I used 2 camera on this day and I didn’t have the foresight to synchronize their clocks.

There is one more set of solar eclipse photos in the hopper.

Animals, Black & White, Contests, Event, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Macro, Nature, Photoshop, Pufferbilly Days, Railroad, Ruins, Scottie D., Travel

Them Degeneffe Boys – Volume 2

September 9, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

As Pufferbilly Days wound to a close, I would like to share the photos that were selected by popular vote and how they did in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest:

No Love.

3rd Place – Hidden Treasures of Boone County.

1st Place – Photojournalism.

1st Place – Photoshop.

As far as I know, there wasn’t anybody else in the contest that I know. Once again, they didn’t put any names on any of the photos. In years past they had at least put a sheet of paper at the bottom of the display with a list of who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It is what it is.

I started entering the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest again 2 years ago because I was worried that the amount of entries had gotten really small. the last couple of years the numbers had ballooned. This year, the amount of entries atrophied again.

Hopefully it bounces back again next year.

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We are so close to the end of the 2016 backlog that you can probably feel it. After this post, there is only one photo shoot left to publish.

But before we get to that, we need to finish up with the pictures of Austin and Porter at a McHose Park playground.