Category Archives: Portrait

Andy, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kim, Logan, Micky, Monica, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 215 – LINES

October 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Once again, LINES was a very popular theme. We hit double digit submissions for WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE for the 5th week in a row! WooHoo!

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

Monica Henning

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

Logan Kahler

Micky Augustin

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:

FORMAL PORTRAIT

FORMAL PORTRAIT! What a great theme! But what is a FORMAL PORTRAIT? It is a PORTRAIT, where the subject knows that they are getting their picture taken. They don’t have to be dressed nice. They don’t have to be in a studio, they just have to know that they have to know they are getting their picture taken and therefore, they are posing for the picture.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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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.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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 formal Monday!

Alexis, Baseball/Softball, Becky, Candid Portrait, Carla, Flowers, House, Jason, Jaycees, Jesse, Kelly, Lowell, Mom, Music, Saydie, Shannon

2009-06-29

October 26, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures from the folder 2009-06-29 are mostly from a softball game between Alexis’ team and a team coached by Jesse and Lowell. I assume Alexis’ team won the game because of… Bennett genetics.

There are some pictures of Larry Howard in this post. Larry passed away earlier this year. He isn’t the first person to have passed on, that has surfaced on these walks down memory lane, but one of the closest.

Here are some pictures:

None of these pictures have ever been published before. They were lost to the ages until now.

The pictures at the end are from the Ames on the Half Shell performance by a band called Otter. I was in charge of booking the bands that year and I won’t deny that I booked Otter because their drummer was a pretty loyal Ames Jaycee.

This could be a false memory, but I believe I got some pushback on that. Definitely a lack of enthusiasm about it from some other Jaycees. I found this weird because every single year the Jaycees booked this absolutely terrible band called Saucy Jack based on the fact that a member of the band was a brother or ex-boyfriend of an ex-Jaycee. They booked a terrible band based on somebody that wasn’t in the band and wasn’t even a Jaycee any longer. And they were terrible.

Almost all the Half Shell bands fell into the category of generic classic rock cover band. Saucy Jack was in that same category. But they played every song about 10% slower than it is supposed to be played.

I remember once they played “Everlong” by Foo Fighters, which is a Top 100 song for me, and it took me about 45 seconds to even figure out what the hell they were playing.

But booking the slightly stoner band with a Jaycee drummer, that isn’t cool man.

But I digress…

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the Boone City Band.

Candid Portrait, Politics, Self-Portrait, Street Photography

President Quest 2020 – Joe Biden

October 17, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Back in early August I took the morning off from the Computer Mine to see my 9th presidential candidate at the Boone County Fairgrounds.

I went to see Joe Biden. I doubt that I need to give much of a background on Joe Biden. He has been leading the polls ever since he joined the race, mostly on name recognition I would reckon. He has lost some steam lately and now is neck and neck with Joe Biden. I’d still put him as the odds on favorite for being our next president, but I would say that he isn’t the presumptive favorite that he was a couple months ago when these pictures were taken.

Here is the bio of Joe Biden from the Wikipedia:

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (/ˌrɒbɪˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/;[1] born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 47th vice president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Biden also represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Biden is a candidate for president in the 2020 election.

Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and lived there for ten years before moving with his family to Delaware. He became a lawyer in 1969 and was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, when he became the sixth-youngest senator in American history. Biden was re-elected six times and was the fourth most senior senator when he resigned to assume the vice presidency in 2009. Biden was a long-time member and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991, but advocated U.S. and NATO intervention in the Bosnian War in 1994 and 1995. He voted in favor of the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002 but opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties. Biden led the efforts to pass the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, and the Violence Against Women Act. He also chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas. Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and in 2008.

In 2008, Biden was the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, and became the first Roman Catholic vice president in history.[2] As vice president, Biden oversaw infrastructure spending aimed at counteracting the Great Recession and helped formulate U.S. policy toward Iraq through the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2011. His ability to negotiate with congressional Republicans helped the Obama administration pass legislation such as the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which resolved a taxation deadlock; the Budget Control Act of 2011, which resolved that year’s debt ceiling crisis; and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which addressed the impending fiscal cliff. Obama and Biden were re-elected in 2012.

In October 2015, after months of speculation, Biden announced he would not seek the presidency in the 2016 election. In January 2017, Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction.[3] After completing his second term as vice president, Biden joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was named the Benjamin Franklin Professor of Presidential Practice.[4] He announced his 2020 run for president on April 25, 2019.[5]

Here is a little information on Joe from his campaign website:

America is an idea.

An idea that goes back to our founding principle that all men are created equal. It’s an idea that’s stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator. It gives hope to the most desperate people on Earth. It instills in every single person in this country the belief that no matter where they start in life, there’s nothing they can’t achieve if they work at it.

We’re in a battle for the soul of America. It’s time to remember who we are. We’re Americans: tough, resilient, but always full of hope. It’s time to treat each other with dignity. Build a middle class that works for everybody. Fight back against the incredible abuses of power we’re seeing. It’s time to dig deep and remember that our best days still lie ahead.

It’s time for respected leadership on the world stage—and dignified leadership at home. It’s time for equal opportunity, equal rights, and equal justice. It’s time for an economy that rewards those who actually do the work. It’s time for a president who will stand up for all of us.

Some pictures from the event:

I have pictures from a couple of Mayor Pete events I’ve attended in the hopper still. I also hope to see Elizabeth Warren in Ames on Monday night.

Baseball/Softball, Candid Portrait, Dawn, House, Jesse, Lowell

2009-06-23

October 12, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder are mostly from a Little League game I attended that was coached by Jesse and Lowell. It doesn’t appear that I ever published those pictures before.

There are a couple of pictures of the Garden of Eden that is my backyard. Grapes, raspberries, garlic, and currants are all proudly on display!

I eventually tore out the currant bush because I couldn’t find anybody that wanted them. Dawn took some and made me a currant cheesecake, but that was about it. I kind of wish I still had the bush now, but I also wish that I took better care of my raspberry bush.

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:

What the Hades?

Next week’s walk down memory land will involve flowers!

Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Event, Holidays, Jaxon, Jodie Cue, Self-Portrait

Eastern Star Christmas Service – 2018

October 10, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

More from the 2018 backlog. After knocking out pictures from the Eastern Star Trick-or-Treat night, put me in the mood to also knock out the pictures from the Christmas service that my church did at the Eastern Star Home last year.

These pictures include at least one person that has since passed away and people that have passed on from our church to a next phase of their life.

I’m starting to get to the end of the 2018 backlog, but some of the collections I have left to tackle are BIG!

Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Event, Jaxon, Kio, Mom, Tamara, Youth Group

Eastern Star Home Trick-Or-Treat – 2018

October 8, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Once again, knocking out the 2018 backlog. On Monday night I sat through my favorite monthly meeting, the Outreach Committee Meeting. It was while I was sitting at that meeting, trying not to tinker with my phone, that it occurred to me that the Eastern Star Home’s annual trick-or-treat night was coming up soon.

It also occurred to me that I never published pictures from last year’s event. I usually go to the event to photograph people from the church that are there to volunteer and help out.

While I was perusing the pictures, it really hit home how drastically our church has changed in a few short months. But even when things change, things don’t change. If that makes sense.

Here are pictures from last year’s event:

Eastern Star Home Trick-or-Treat Night - 2018

This year’s trick-or-treat night will be October 22. It lasts from 6-7 PM. If you have a kid that likes candy, they will get lots of candy. If you would just like to volunteer to help out, I can hook you up with that opportunity as well.

Animals, Becca, Becky, Candid Portrait, Dawn, Derrick, Event, Flowers, Jaycees, Jill, Mom, Music, Nature, Night, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Willy

2009-06-22

October 5, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Better strap it on. This post is going to be a LONG one, covering a ton of diverse ground! There are a ton of pictures in the folder known as 2009-06-22. I considered breaking this into multiple posts, but then I decided, “Nah, bro. We got this.”

Thee are night flower pictures, pictures from Ames on the Half Shell, pictures from Ottumwa, family pictures, and pictures of cherries.

The pictures from Ames on the Half Shell were from when The Josh Davis Band played there. It must have been rained out because the pictures are from DG’s Taphouse. The Josh Davis Band is my second favorite band to play Ames on the Half Shell. Not including Against the Grain or whatever Derrick’s band was called when they crashed Half Shell. It appears that I never published those photos.

The pictures from Ottumwa are from when I went there to help Jen & Derrick help with the house that Jen inherited from her uncle.

The cherry pictures are from when Shannon came over and baked me a cherry pie from the cherries from my cherry trees. It feels good to be self-sustaining.

There are pictures in here of people that are gone now. Gone, but definitely not forgotten:

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

Night Flowers: Session 1

I Can Not Tell a Lie

Night Flowers: Session 2

Skin to Win

Abstemious

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Little League baseball.

9 Emotions Project, Anders, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Black & White, Blogging, Candid Portrait, Carla, Dad, Dawn, Derrick, Drone, Evie, Flowers, Football, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, Jaxon, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jorge, Kalista, Kelly, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Mission Trip, Mom, Music, Naima, Railroad, Sara, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Taylan, Teresa, Travel, Vest, Willy, Work, WPC - Reminder, Youth Group

An Artist’s Notebook Post #3,500

October 4, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Welcome to the 3,500th entry in “An Artist’s Notebook”. The blog portion of my Photography 139 website. It has been along time since I first took keyboard hand sitting in the old Computer Mine setup or possibly in my Mom’s basement, because that is where my life was at that time.

In fact, the first time I posted anything on “An Artist’s Notebook” was August 9, 2006. The very first word I wrote, “So”. Maybe not the best word. Maybe not the most forceful word. It is a word that almost feels like an apology.

I clearly didn’t know where this was going to take me and I’m not sure I even know where I’m at now. So.

I would go on in the first post to state that I had a few goals for this blog.

#1. To write in it.

I think I can say safely that 3,499 posts later, I have written in it. I often wonder if I were to print out every page of “An Artist’s Notebook”, how many pages it would be. While I know that most of those pages would just be pictures at not necessarily words, I’m still pretty sure that the entire thing would run several thousands of pages. While the things I write and the nature of what I write and post has changed over time and I’m sure it will continue to change, I will say for now, I’m still on track for Goal #1.

#2. To be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings.

On this goal I’m going to give myself an incomplete. I feel that I am truthful to my loyal readers, but I don’t know that I necessarily share my feelings a lot. For example, I don’t know how many of you know how much I despise the open-faced sandwich. It is a pox upon mankind. Kind of like anti-vaxxers. When I think about it, I suppose I don’t hold back much. However, I’ll have to double down on my efforts to let you know about my true feelings. A 5,000 word piece on the worthlessness of the open-faced sandwich is coming your way on Sunday!

#3. Producing something that makes me worthy of having a pretentious sounding journal title like: “An Artist’s Notebook”.

The question here, is this: Is the blog any darn good? It would be arrogant of me to claim that it is. I have garnered a small amount of loyal subscribers. But I’m sure a better blog would garner more. My entries do occasionally gather comments. But I’m sure a better blog would gather more comments. I guess I’ll have to keep plugging away and let the sands of time figure out if this thing is any good.

On these mile marker posts, I like to look at what things and what people have most influenced this post.

On my 750th post, these were the Top 16 post categories and I’ll assume, the only categories I had for posts back then:

1. Photography – 295
2. Friends – 269
3. Life – 238
4. Family – 98
5. Religion – 63
6. ISU Football – 41
7. Jaycees – 40
8. Movies – 39
9. Blogging 33
10. Sports – 25
11. Work – 25
12. House – 24
13. Writing – 23
14. Comedy – 20
15. Politics – 17
16. History – 12

On post 1,000, these were the 10 people that I had tagged the most in posts:

1. Jay (144)
2. Jesse (143)
3. Shannon (140)
4. Derrick (117)
5. Jen (101)
6. Teresa (96)
7. Willy (93)
8. Sara (88)
9. Baier (65)
10. Dawn (64)

By post 1,447 these were the 10 most tagged people:

10. Dad – 117
9. Carla – 118
8. Sara – 122
7. Willy – 124
6. Jen – 143
5. Teresa – 144
4. Derrick – 157
3. Shannon – 160
2. Jay – 180
1. Jesse – 195

This picture of Evie was the most popular picture on my website:

By post 2500, these were the 5 most tagged people:

1. Jesse – 283 Posts
2. Teresa – 244 Posts
3. Shannon – 231 Posts
3. Jay – 231 Posts
5. Derrick – 220 Posts

By post 3,000 these were the most popular categories:

#10 – Jay – 262 Posts
#9 – Life – 274 Posts
#8 – Teresa – 282 Posts
#7 – Shannon – 289 Posts
#6 – Animals – 301 Posts
#5 – Portrait – 313 Posts
#4 – Jesse – 328 Posts
#3 – WPC (Formerly RWPE) – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – 432 Posts
#2 – Flowers – 436 Posts
#1 – Photography – 440 Posts

And these were the most tagged people:

#10 – Vest 204 Posts
#9 – Jen – 205 Posts
#8 – Willy – 209 Posts
#7 – Derrick – 241 Posts
#6 – Mom – 247 Posts
#5 – Carla – 261 Posts
#4 – Jay – 262 Posts
#3 – Teresa – 282 Posts
#2 – Shannon – 289 Posts
#1 – Jesse – 328 Posts

Here we are, post 3,5000. I should point out before I reveal the current most popular categories on “An Artist’s Notebook”, I should point out that while I’ve been going back and fixing old broken entries via our Saturday night trips down memory lane, I have also been re-categorizing and breaking some categories into multiple categories. That is why some categories have actually lost posts. Hopefully some of those generic categories like “Photography” and “Life” will be down to zero some day.

Here are the most popular categories:

10. Photography – 311 Posts
9. Teresa – 312 Posts
8. Carla – 314 Posts
7. Shannon -351 Posts
6. Black & White – 390 Posts
5. Weekly Photo Challenge – 394 Posts
4. Jesse – 404 Posts
3. Animals – 477 Posts
2. Portrait – 516 Posts
1. Flowers – 537 Posts

10 Most Popular Not People Categories:

10. Art – 243 Posts
9. Nature – 260 Posts
8. Personal Photo Project – 261 Posts
7. Road Trip – 288 Posts
6. Photography – 311 Posts
5. Black & White – 390 Posts
4. Weekly Photo Challenge – 390 Posts
3. Animals – 477 Posts
2. Portrait – 516 Posts
1. Flowers – 537 Posts

10 Most Tagged Humans

10. Jen – 222 Posts
9. Vest – 234 Posts
8. Willy – 238 Posts
7. Derrick – 267 Posts
6. Jay – 294 Posts
5. Mom – 300 Posts
4. Teresa – 312 Posts
3. Carla – 314 Posts
2. Shannon – 351 Posts
1. Jesse – 403 Posts

You may be wondering, what does it take to improve my Photography 139 Score? How do I get on the big board by the time Post 3750 comes around next August-ish?

1. Submit pictures for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.
2. Assist or pose for photo projects.
3. Be related to me.

If you are wondering who is just outside of the top ten? The 3 people just outside of the Top Ten are Kim, Sara, and Logan.

Here are the current most popular pictures in the Photography 139 Gallery, by views in the last 365 days:

10. Iowa State Cyclones Football Varsity Marching Band – 514 Views

9. Howards 2017 – 571 Views

8. Michelle – Computer Mine Holiday Card – 2018 – 690 Views

7. Cy beating down Herky – 746 Views

6. Rapid City Mission Trip – 776 Views

5. Autumn Sharp – 935 Views

4. Selfie Project – January 1, 2019 – 1251 Views

3. Selfie Project – July 15, 2017 – 1511 Views

2. Metropolis, Illinois – 2724 Views

1. Selfie Project – January 14, 2019 – 3215 Views

And these are the Ten Most Popular Albums in the Photography 139 Gallery by views in the last 365 Days (You can go to the album by clicking on the picture):

10. Autumn Sharp – 2020 -11,036 Views

9. Misc. Portraits – 11,198 Views

8. 2018 Computer Mine Holiday Card Portrait – 11,409 Views

7. Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008 – 12,024 Views

6. Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2018 – 12,715 Views

5. Naima – 14,770 Views

4. Photo Journal Rejects – 14,872 Views

3. Selfie Project – 2019 – 37,416 Views

2. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6 – 43,174 Views

1. 9 Emotions Project – 58,863 Views

Whew! Well, I’m spent. Thanks to everybody that subscribes to this here blog. You are a big part of whatever success that is does have!

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This is your reminder that this week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is FRAMED:

FRAMED!

Reminder that a FRAMED photo is a photo where your subjected is FRAMED by objects that aren’t the subject of the photo. Like a window. Or a door. Or literally anything that creates negative space.

Happy photo harvesting!

Carla, Derrick, Elainie, Iowa State, Jesse, Mom, Politics, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Suzie, Tenderloining, Youth Group

Selfie Project – September

October 3, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Seems like as good of a time as any to check in with the Selfie Project. My September was incredibly busy. I had several photo shoots, youth group was back in session, Pufferbilly Days, Iowa State football season is ramping up, and Elainie was back in town.

But I confess that my selfies might not reflect that, it feels like.

Here are my favorite September Selfies:

September 2

September 3

September 4

September 6

September 7

September 8

September 9

September 13

September 14

September 17

September 19

September 20

September 21

September 22

September 24

September 25

September 27

September 29

3 months to go in the Selfie Project. I’m slated to actually leave the state in October. So that is something at least.

Art, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Football, Iowa State, Self-Portrait, Street Photography, WPC - Reminder

College Ames Day – Part III

September 27, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

This is final collection of pictures of College GameDay in Ames. It includes pictures of douche country “celebrity” Eric Church.

There are also a couple pictures from the Iowa State-Iowa game. I didn’t take many pictures because I have pretty much given up on taking pictures at Iowa State games. Plus, if you don’t remember, it poured down rain for about 5 hours of the 6+ hour game. It was a LONG day.

But it wasn’t an all bad day. Yes douche country “celebrity” pick Eric Church picked against the home team, but at the end of the day, all anything will remember is that Lee Corso put on Cy’s head.

Hopefully, the next time that College GameDay comes to Ames, they don’t poop the bed and bring us somebody that Iowa State fans aren’t booing every time he is even mentioned.

Hopefully, the next time College GameDay comes to Ames, Lee Corso is still around to put on Cy’s head.

Here are some pictures:

I don’t have much to say about the game. Obviously it hurts when you dominate a game and lose. Regardless of what you think about the phantom holding call that hurt Iowa State at the end of the day Iowa State didn’t make the plays they needed to win the game. There were about 5 plays in the game that were decided by an inch. Everyone of those plays went Iowa’s way. However, every goal Iowa State has for the season is still on the table.

As for the other stories swirling around still.

I don’t really have anything to say about Bandgate. Looks like there was lots of blame to go around and hopefully things are fixed in the future. I do fear for the Iowa State University Cyclone Varsity Marching Band when they go to Iowa City next year.

I don’t have anything to say about the Des Moines Register digging up tweets a person made 8 years ago when they were 16. In the end, Carson King is still going to raise a ton of money and Busch Beer still sucks!

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

RUINS

Remember a RUINS picture is a picture of something that has been abandoned or is in decay or has been destroyed.

Happy photo harvesting!