Category Archives: Formal Portrait

Animals, Black & White, Formal Portrait, Nader, Naima, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Page 37

June 7, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Last Saturday in between seeing GODZILLA: KING OF MONSTERS and heading up to Kamrar, for a birthday dinner, I talked Nader into posing for Page 37 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT.

Page 37 – Use aperture to capture melancholy.

I took a few other pictures of Nader before picking out my the picture that will be adhered into the physical THE PHOTO JOURNAL. Have a look:

Closing in on getting the project done. Okay. I still have a ton of pages to finish. But I’m working on it!

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

PARK

A PARK photo is a photo that takes place at a PARK. Of course, there is more than one definition for the word PARK.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Angie, Animals, Carla, Drone, Formal Portrait, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Nader, Naima, Self-Portrait, Steph, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 194 – GROUP PORTRAIT

June 3, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

GROUP PORTRAIT turned out to be surprisingly popular. When I woke from my slumbers this morning, about 15 minutes after arriving at the computer mine, I had only received 2 submissions. I thought there was no way we would get to double digits for submissions. But as the morning unfolded, a ton of submissions came flying my way. As it turns out, GROUP PORTRAIT is a very popular theme!

The Photography 139 Empire was all over the place this week. From the Dominican Republic to Grand Central Station to Canada to Colo to Kamrar!

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

Tamara Peterson

Stephanie Kim

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

Michelle Haupt

Angie DeWaard

Mike Vest

Carla Stensland

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

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:

PARK

PARK! What a great theme! But what is a PARK image? Simply enough, it is any picture taken at a PARK. There are all sorts of PARK(s). There are nature preserve PARKS(s). There are playground PARK(s). There are amusement PARK(s). There are even PARK and rides. The word PARK also has more than one meaning. I look forward to your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

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

Congratulations to Jennifer Schoff! She is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ve actually known Jennifer’s kids longer than I’ve known her and she is the person that does most of the heavy lifting for me on the mission trip preparation work. If you see Jennifer out and about, give her a knowing glance and feel free to teach her the super, secret Photography 139 handshake.

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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 parked Monday.

Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Nature, Ruins, Travel, Vacation

2009-02-18 – Arizona Day 4

June 1, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The pictures in the folder called 2009-02-18/Arizona Day 4 are from my work/vacation to Arizona.

Jesse and I spent the night at his brother’s house. We got up in the morning and ate at a local eatery. Then we visited a National Park called the Casa Grande Ruins. I think later that day we actually had to show up for work and the vacation became work.

Here are some pictures from that day:

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

Arizona Day 4

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve even more from my trip to Arizona.

Black & White, Candid Portrait, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Lowell, Nature, Politics, Self-Portrait, Vacation

2009-02-18 – Arizona Day 3B

May 25, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder called 2009-02-18/Arizona_Day_3B are from the work/vacation to Arizona. The pictures are all from after Jesse and I met up with Lowell and Strabala and went back to the mini-mountain thing in Phoenix.

As it would just so happen, while we were there, Air Force One flew overhead. Looking at those pictures really made me nostalgic for when our country wasn’t the laughingstock of the entire world. Good times. Good times.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

Arizona Day 3 – Part B

Next week’s walk down memory lane will once again involve this Arizona work/vacation.

Christianity, Drone, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Photo Journal, Road Trip, Self-Portrait

A Photo Journal – Page 104

May 23, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Last Friday I took a birthday road trip with Jesse. It wasn’t my birthday, but it was the day before my birthday and I knew my actual birthday was going to be filled with working on my Mom’s bedroom ceiling and graduation open houses. So I took Friday off from work and Jesse and I hit the open road.

The ultimate goal of the road trip was to visit and photograph two waterfalls in the Decorah area. I had visited one of them a couple years back and I was never really satisfied with the photographs I took. The other waterfall I had never seen and it sounded very intriguing as it was described as a 1 mile hike to even get to it.

I have tons of photos of these two waterfalls coming in upcoming blog posts. Also pictures of a Civil War re-enactment with some of the “friendliest” folks you ever met in your life, plus a few new entries into THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, pictures of The Little Brown Church, and The Smallest Church.

Plus there is a bunch of video I’m going to edit into a vlog at some point. On this trip I fully intended to take a picture for Page 104 of The Photo Journal. I knew exactly how I wanted to take this picture. I wanted to take it with Rodan139. Unfortunately it rained pretty much all of the day and I wasn’t risking Rodan139 in rain. It isn’t supposed to fly in rain and at this time, I’m not going to push the boundaries.

Luckily, when we were at The Smallest Church, the sky was precipitation free and it fit my definition of the theme for Page 104:

Page 104 – Keep walking until you are lost. Take a photograph the moment you realize you are lost.

Now we weren’t lost, not in the traditional sense. I knew where we were, but I didn’t know the fastest way to get back on the path home without pulling up the GPS. That is as lost as I get. We didn’t walk to The Smallest Church, but seriously, there is zero chance I’m ever going to get lost walking. My sense of direction is just too good.

The Littlest Church is sometimes billed as The World’s Smallest Church, but it isn’t. It isn’t even close. However it is very small. The church seats 8 people and measures 14′ x 20′.

Formal Portrait, Johnathan, Logan, Photo Journal

A Photo Journal – Pages 84-85

May 22, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

A few Saturdays back I went out to Long Park with Johnathan and Logan to test Rodan139 out as there were some quirky things that happened with it on the previous day when I took it to Don Williams. Turned out it was more of a phone update issue than anything and was nothing to worry about. Rodan139 is fine and dandy. At least for right now.

The videos I took of Logan and Johnathan will show up on the YouTube channel at some point, but that point isn’t exactly soon.

While we were out there, it was the perfect time to knock off Pages 84 & 85 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. This idea is stolen, I mean “influenced” by an illustration I once saw.

Page 84 – Photograph a lie.

Page 85 – Photograph a truth.

I don’t want you to think the truth is that Logan and Johnathan don’t get along. They certainly do. In fact, Johnathan, Logan, and Brandon worked like a seamless machine just the other day while hanging ceiling drywall at my Mom’s house.

For those wondering about the knives. Logan is holding my basement knife that is mostly used for opening popcorn bags. It was gifted to me by Vest. Johnathan is holding by upstairs knife. It is mostly used to open up UPS packages. That knife belonged to my Dad.

I did consider using my car knife, which was gifted to me by Kim, but it was left in my car and Johnathan drove.

More Photo Journal Project coming.

Andy, Angie, Art, Carla, Formal Portrait, Logan, Micky, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Youth Group

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 190 – GREEN

May 6, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

For what I think is the 4th week in a row double digit submissions were received for this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE them of GREEN. We are on quite a roll!

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

Angie DeWaard

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Carla Stensland

Mike Vest

Carla Stensland

Logan Kahler

Micky Augustin

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY! What a great theme! But what is a STREET PHOTOGRAPHY image? Here is a good definition I lifted from the Wiki:

Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents[1] within public places. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. Though people usually feature directly, street photography might be absent of people and can be of an object or environment where the image projects a decidedly human character in facsimile or aesthetic

As always, 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

I am pleased to announce that Lori Backous is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by securing a Photography 139 email subscription. If you see Lori out and about, feel free to give her a knowing glance and show her the super-secret Photography 139 handshake!

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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 streetwise Monday.

Formal Portrait, Logan, Nature, Photo Journal, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 32

April 26, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Last Saturday Logan stopped by to show me his super sweet gimbal and to borrow my Rode microphone to see if it is something that he wanted to add one to his arsenal in the future.

I hadn’t actually touched the Rode in probably 4 or 5 years. I guess that isn’t 100% true. I picked it up and put it in the Photography Closet. But I haven’t actually attached it to the microphone in several years.

When I pulled it out of the closet I was shocked to find out that the battery was still alive. Which was a good thing because I was also shocked to discover it used a 9 volt battery.

After playing with the gimbal for a bit, Logan and I went out to McHose Park to take a picture for Page 32 for THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 32 – Contrast movement and stillness in a single frame.

We took a few other images while we were out there:

Next week when we check in with the PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, we might check in with one of these pages:

Page 36 – Use shutter speed to capture anger!
Page 37 – Use aperture to capture melancholy.
Page 43 – Take a picture that only works in black & white.
Page 84 – Photograph a lie.
Page 109 – Photograph a word to change its meaning.

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is DESSERT.

DESSERT

A DESSERT photo is any photo involving a delicious, tasty DESSERT.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Angie, Carla, Formal Portrait, Jaxon, Jodie Cue, Kim, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Tamara, Youth Group

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 188 – RELIGION

April 22, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A very solid week of submissions for RELIGION. We hit double digits and maybe if the weather stays nice, we can stay in that rarefied air!

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

Carla Stensland

Jodie Cue

Jaxon Schoff

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Christopher D. Bennett

Angie DeWaard

DESSERT

DESSERT! What an incredibly tasty theme! It should also put to rest any of the chatter on conspiracy nutbag YouTube channels that I rig the themes in some way, shape or form. Because if I did, and since today is Earth Day, if I rigged themes, this week’s theme would be GREEN.

But what is a DESSERT photo? It is any photo of a DESSERT or somebody enjoying a DESSERT. Personally, I think I’ll be heading down to The Filling Station in Madrid this weekend for a little hardcore DESSERT action.

This theme was suggested by Andy Sharp. See, suggesting themes does bear fruit!

I look forward to 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 sweet Monday.

Black & White, Boone FUMC, Formal Portrait, Movies, Nader, Night, Self-Portrait, Teresa

2009-01-05 & 2009-01-25

April 20, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

There aren’t many pictures in the folders 2009-01-05 and 2009-01-25 so I decided to combine them into one post.

The pictures are mostly from a trip around Boone during a snowstorm and Nader and I’s last trip to the Varsity Theater.

Many people may not remember the Varsity. It was on Lincoln Way across the street from Lake Laverne. It showed foreign, independent, and arthouse movies. It still hasn’t been properly replaced. Now Ames have two multiplexes that devote almost all their screens to whatever mindless Marvel or Star Wars movie is being released that week.

Then if you want to see something original or thought provoking you have to take a ride down to Des Moines. Even Des Moines recently lost one its independent cinemas. Also, call The Varsity.

Here are some pictures to look at:

The sweet Iowa State scarf was a Christmas present from Teresa. She also took the pictures of Nader and I.

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

Denouement

Snowy Pictures

Sweet Christmas Present

By restoring these journal entries, I was able to finish completely restoring all the journal entries from January 2009.

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a Boone fire.