A few more American gun violence fun facts: Homicides by firearm per 1 million people: Australia 1.4 New Zealand 1.6 Germany 1.9 Austria 2.2 Sweden 4.1 Ireland 4.8 Canada 5.1 Switzerland 7.7 And the United States…. 29.7 Fun Fact #2 There have been more than 1,600 mass shootings since Sandy… Read More »Other Countries Are Laughing at Us
Time to check in on more pictures from my trip to Mount Rushmore with my Mom. One of the debate topics that occasionally rises is who is the next President to go on Mount Rushmore. Say that Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln were the 4 greatest Presidents… Read More »The Mount Rushmore of Presidents Vol. 2
Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. -Gerard De Nerval Last time we took a look at the flowerbeds of Donna Jones, I said that I felt that I had taken a step away from flower photography back in 2017. Russell, who hates flower pictures the way some people… Read More »A Blossoming Soul
WORK, just like in real life, was an extremely unpopular theme. Perhaps it is like Thomas Edison said: Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. A quick reminder that next week I will be in Houston on a mission trip. That… Read More »WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 143 – WORK
Time to check back in with my favorite 2018 high school graduate Saydie. Thought I would start with more of my favorite bits of wisdom given at commencement speech: Success is like a mountain that keeps growing ahead of you as you hike it… Err in the direction of kindness.… Read More »Congratulations Saydie – Gamma
There are 3 sets of images to be found in the collection of pictures in the folder 05-12-08. The first set are pictures from a Mother’s Day celebration at my Mom’s house. The second set are a collection of pictures of flowers at my Mom’s house. A Mother’s Day Peony… Read More »05-12-08
I need to start this post with yet another apology. On Monday, when I posted the submissions for RELIGION and THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE I did not post a second picture submitted by Andy. This was not an error of carelessness like in some past weeks. I legitimately didn’t know… Read More »You Still Wonder Why I Existed, I Exist in a World That’s Real Different!
A brief history of school shootings in the United States. Maybe you’ll detect a trend: July 26, 1764 – Greencastle, Pennsylvania Enoch Brown school massacre: Perhaps the earliest shooting to happen on school or college property, in what would become the United States, was the notorious Enoch Brown school massacre… Read More »Books Not Bullets
It is time to crack into the final spot I hit in South Dakota with my Mom last year. Mount Rushmore. People (particularly bored sports talk show hosts) are always trying to make comparisons in the sports world to Mount Rushmore. Who would be on the Mount Rushmore of Iowa… Read More »The Mount Rushmore of Presidents Vol. 1
The earth laughs in flowers. -Ralph Waldo Emerson The great thing about flowers is that we can all agree that earth truly does laugh in flowers even if we can’t agree on whether or not the earth is flat or a globe or even pear shaped. Last year, I think… Read More »Earth’s Laughter
Before I get into the participation and the tommyrot and the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE quoting, I want to point out the historical significance of today. Today is the 2 year anniversary of The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016! If you don’t know about The Great Turtle Race… Read More »WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION
It is time for lap 2 in the Congratulations Saydie marathon. But before we get into the photo bonanza, I want to take a small quick time to take umbrage with one of the responses I received to the last batch of Saydie images. They pulled out the part of… Read More »Congratulations Saydie – Beta
The pictures in today’s collection come from the folder 05-10-08. These pictures came from a road trip to Fort Dodge I went on with Jason Baier. A road trip that ended with us coming face to face with a gypsum penis. What is more, that was the ultimate goal of… Read More »05-10-08 – A Tale of Gypsum Junk
Way back on my birthday I decided to make a solo tenderloining trip to Winterset. Scottie D. had been ducking the Winterset trip for several months now and everybody else seemed to have to work on my birthday, so I figured, why not fly solo and take a few pictures… Read More »The Town Sign Project Vol. 7
It is reminder time! Don’t forget that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is RELIGION! You should also remember photos should be submitted by 11 AM CST to bennett@photography139.com. What is a RELIGION photo? Here is an example below: RELIGION A RELIGION photo will show either a religious activity, a… Read More »WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE REMINDER – RELIGION
It is Thursday. That can mean only one thing. Time to check back in with more pictures from the March for Our Lives Rally from back in March. But before we get to the pictures, here is a little fun fact: 90% of gun owners (including me, technically) don’t belong… Read More »Grandmas for Gun Reform
This is the final collection of pictures from Custer State Park in South Dakota. In fact, I’ve almost come to the end of the pictures from my trip to South Dakota with my Mom. The only ones left to curate and edit are the pictures from Mount Rushmore. Even though… Read More »Custer State Park Vol. 3
While it is true that Photography 139 doesn’t take holidays, it is also true that Photography 139, okay me, can try to rush stuff together and throw it all together because while they will still post on say Memorial Day, they don’t have all that much time. This lead me… Read More »I’m Feeling It; You Don’t Like It Then Deal with It; And if God Ain’t Real; Real Isn’t
Before I get into the business of the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, I need to point out that today is Memorial Day. Happy Memorial Day. Don’t forget what this day celebrates. Iowa Veterans Cemetery – Van Meter, Iowa The WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE took its customary holiday hit for participation rates. I… Read More »WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 141 – STORE
Today is as good as any to check into the back log and post some more pictures from my trip to Custer State Park with my Mom. I wouldn’t say that Custer State Park was a disappointment, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype. I do feel however… Read More »Custer State Park Vol. 2
The photos from today’s blog come from the folder 05-09-08. These pictures were taken during what historians have called THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP. It is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP, but they have. Jesse and I embarked on THE BIG… Read More »05-09-08: The Big Jesus Road Trip