Category Archives: Portrait

WPC – WEEK 198 – CANDID PORTRAIT

While BREAKFAST was a universally hated theme, CANDID PORTRAIT made a bit of a rebound.

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


WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

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:


WEEK 199 - ROAD TRIP
ROAD TRIP!

ROAD TRIP! What a great theme! But what is a ROAD TRIP photo? A ROAD TRIP photo is any photo that involves the act or preparation of going on a ROAD TRIP. It doesn’t have to be a huge ROAD TRIP. Some time just driving to work in the morning can feel like a ROAD TRIP to me.

I look forward to 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.

OR

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 open road Monday!

04-11-09

In the folder called 04-11-09 is a photographic record of one of the least favorite things my church has done. They used to do this every Good Friday for several years. They would have 3 youths dress up and smear them with fake blood and mud and have them pretend to be crucified.

As you walked out of the church, in silence, after Good Friday Service, you would walk past a bizarre, macabre scene. Frequently music from THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST played softly in the background.

Don’t get me wrong, it was very powerful experience for many people in the congregation. But I always hated it. It always smacked of cheap theatrics to me. A Living Nativity is one thing. A Living Crucifixion, not digging it.

However, that isn’t to say I don’t know a great photo opportunity when I see it. In 2009, Logan was cast as Jesus. Here are some pictures:


Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

Good Friday - 2009

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:

JESUS CHRIST POSE

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will probably involve the house, but it could also involve an electric car ride!

A Photo Journal – Page 109

Ever since the first time I flipped through THE PHOTO JOURNAL and landed on Page 109, I knew exactly where I wanted to take that picture. I flipped flopped on what I wanted the subject to be, but I never waiver on the setting.

It wasn’t until a week or so before I took the photo that I decided on what I wanted the subject to be. I decided the subject should be me.

Occasionally on Wednesdays I shoot over the ISU Surplus Sale. I don’t usually buy anything, (although I occasionally I come home with a gem) but I like to peruse. A week before I finally pulled the trigger on Page 109, I planned on taking this picture. However, after I left the ISU Surplus Sale and headed west on Airport Road to take the image, I found something terrible. The setting had been fenced off. It now required a security code to get there. A security code I didn’t have. It became obvious that Page 109 was going to need a new setting.

Then out of nowhere I got an email that Micky, I, and others were going to take a Computer Mine Field Trip out there. Boom! Plan back on!


Photo Journal - Page 109
Page 109 – Photograph a word to change its meaning.

While I can only physically adhere one image into the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL, I did take one more photo that I feel like sharing:


Photo Journal - Page 109

I think I have about 10-15 of these pages left.

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Here is you weekly reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is CANDID PORTRAIT:


WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT
CANDID PORTRAIT

Happy photo harvesting!

WEEK 198 REVEAL

If things went right for me yesterday, I’m currently in Rapid City, South Dakota on a mission trip with the Boone First United Methodist Church with 20 youths and 4 other chaperones. In fact, at 12:01 PM, I am most likely sitting down and taking a lunch break at the worksite. Eating, perhaps, and ham and cheese sandwich on a bagel. Delicious!

Since I’m nowhere near a computer (Thank God!) I won’t be posting the numerous delicious BREAKFAST photos that are no doubt waiting for me in my inbox. I will post those sometime after I return Friday night. Most likely sometime on Saturday or maybe even Sunday.

In case, you are interested in hearing about the Mission Trip, those that went on it will be talking about it during both church services on Sunday, June 30th. I’d love to see you there!

Even though I am unplugged, that doesn’t mean you can’t get started on this week’s theme:


WEEK 198 - CANDID PORTRAIT
CANDID PORTRAIT

CANDID PORTRAIT! What a great theme! But what is a CANDID PORTRAIT? A CANDID PORTRAIT is a portrait where the subject matter isn’t posing for the picture. That is it. Simple enough!

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

RAGBRAI – VOLUME 1

In 2018, RAGBRAI went through Boone on its way to its overnight destination of Ames.

If I remember correctly, I worked 7-9 in the morning, then hung up my pick axe and came to Boone to photograph the riders as they came through Boone or stopped in Boone to enjoy the festivities that we offered.

At the time, I remember being worried that I would miss most of the riders as I saw many of them already pouring into Ames on my way from the mine back to the Photography 139 Studio. As you’ll see, that was a fool’s worry.

I took 400 pictures, so as I pick out a few of my favorites, they will be broken into a few volumes.


RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

RAGBRAI - 2018

There are plenty more RAGBRAI pictures in the chute!

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


WEEK 197 - BREAKFAST
BREAKFAST

BREAKFAST. Easy enough.

Happy photo harvesting!

The Chicken Man

While I was hitting that 2018 backlog I realized that I have made a dreadful mistake. Last year Scott Krause dominated the chicken world at the Boone County Fair. He asked me to take a picture of him and his Champion Chicken. I gladly did so and then went home and crashed. Then I forgot about it. I never got him any copies of the images. Sorry Scott. But good luck in college and becoming a music therapist. I have no doubt that it is a field you will excel in!


Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

This concludes all my 2018 Boone County Fair pictures.

Rajon Rando

WARNING: THERE ARE BOTH LEGITIMATELY DISTURBING IMAGES AND DEPICTIONS OF THE FEMALE BODY IN THE NUDE. IF THAT ISN’T YOUR CUP OF TEA, FEEL FREE TO SKIP STRAIGHT PAST TODAY’S BLOG

NO SERIOUSLY. NORMALLY WHEN I PUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS UP, THE DISTURBING IMAGE IS A PICTURE OF AN IOWA HAWKEYE FAN OR NEBRASKA BUGEATER FAN OR A KANSAS JAYHAWK FAN. THAT ISN’T THE CASE THIS TIME. USUALLY WHEN I WARN THAT THERE IS A DEPICTION OF NUDITY, IT A PICTURE OF A FLOWER CALL “THE NAKED LADY” OR A TASTEFUL DEPICTION OF THE FEMALE FORM IN ART. THIS ISN’T EITHER OF THOSE THINGS.

SO WHY AM I POSTED SUCH THINGS? WELL, I SAW THEM, SO I’M SHARING THE PAIN.

On Saturday I turned in my pictures for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. Which means that the Boone County Fair is right around the corner. When I get back from the mission trip you can bet dollars to donuts that I will be putting out a poll where you guts get to select the pictures I enter into the Boone County Fair photography “contest”.

Since I got the Boone County Fair is on my mind, it is as good a time as any to publish some random Boone County Fair images from 2018. I think I took most of these pictures for different pages in THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT and then decided not to use them.


Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

NOW IS YOUR TIME TO STOP IF DISTURBING IMAGES DISTURB YOU…


Boone County Fair - 2018

Boone County Fair - 2018

Although I don’t watch many any longer, many a high school night was spent with a bunch of friends in a now condemned house watching horror movies. To this day I can quote you chapter and verse from the books of Jason Voorhees to Michael Meyers. But I don’t think I would have ever desired a vehicle decorated in such a manner.

That being said, the artist is very skilled.

Bake the World a Better Place

Today’s post is actually a mixture of the backlog and new pictures.

I never got around to posting pictures from the 2018 Methodist Men Pie Auction. Last Sunday we had the 2019 Methodist Men Pie Auction. The proceeds for both go to support the Youth Group Mission Trip. Between the two pie auctions raised over $3000.

The Methodist Men Pie Auction has been a smashing success every year it has happened and every year I’m nervous it is going to be a big time failure. Hopefully I’m never right.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:


Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

Methodist Men Pie Auction

The 2018 helpers from the Youth Group were MacKenzie Mosher and Anna Olson. The 2019 helpers were Megan Osborn and Hailey Bryant.

I think Teresa took the 2018 pictures. Chris Cromwell took the 2019 pictures.

President Quest 2020 – John Hickenlooper

Last Friday I saw my 6th of 23 Democrat Presidential hopefuls when John Hickenlooper came to the Livery Deli.

To be brutally honest, I don’t think I’ve seen the person that will be the Democrat nominee yet. Of the six I’ve seen, I’d give Bernie Sanders the best shot and Beto, Kloubchar, and Booker a puncher’s chance. I don’t think Hickenlooper has any chance. But everything can change after the debates start.

Here is a little bit of information Hickenlooper:

John Wright Hickenlooper Jr(/ˈhɪkənluːpər/; born February 7, 1952) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 42nd Governor of Colorado from 2011 to 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Party. In 2019, he announced that he is running for President of the United States in 2020.

Born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, Hickenlooper is a graduate of Wesleyan University. After his career as a geologist, Hickenlooper entered a career in business and cofounded the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. Hickenlooper was elected the 43rd mayor of Denver in 2003, serving two terms, until 2011.

Hickenlooper worked as a geologist in Colorado for Buckhorn Petroleum in the early 1980s. When Buckhorn was sold, Hickenlooper was laid off in 1986. He and five business partners opened the Wynkoop Brewing Company brewpub in October 1988 after raising startup funds from dozens of friends and family along with a Denver economic development office loan. The Wynkoop was one of the first brewpubs in the United States. Denver currently boasts more brewpubs per capita than any other city.

Here are some more information from his website:

In 2010, Hickenlooper became the first Denver Mayor elected Governor in 120 years. He was re-elected in 2014, after running an entirely positive campaign — a trademark of his time in public service.

In the past eight years, Colorado jumped from 40th in job creation to the number one economy in the nation. As Governor, Hickenlooper established and built an expansive set of workforce development programs that promoted skills-based hiring, career coaching, apprenticeships, and more.

Hickenlooper brought industry and environmentalists together to reduce methane emissions — a major contributor to climate change. The regulations they developed became the model for California and Canada and are considered the gold standard across the United States.

Hickenlooper also led Colorado’s recovery effort through major fires and floods, re-opening roads, bridges, and communities in record time. He stood up to the NRA to pass landmark gun safety legislation, including limits on high capacity magazines and universal background checks

He expanded Medicaid and opened a high quality state health insurance exchange program called Connect for Health Colorado, establishing an insurer in every county in the state. Today, nearly 95 percent of Coloradans have healthcare coverage.

I will reiterate that the Livery Deli is a terrible place for these events if you are a photographer. However, there was way less people there than were there for Amy Klobuchar, but the pictures are what they are…


John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper

John Hickenlooper


I don’t have any current plans to see anybody else right now. My weekend schedule gets busy, plus I leave for the mission trip. Hopefully somebody will fall into my lap, so to speak otherwise it could be a few weeks before President Quest marches on.

WPC – WEEK 195 – PARK

Insert comment on reaching double digits in submissions again.

Insert vague reference to GONE WITH THE WIND.

Submissions:


WEEK 195 - PARK - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 195 - PARK - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 195 - PARK - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 195 - PARK - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 195 - PARK - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 195 - PARK - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 195 - PARK - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 195 - PARK - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 195 - PARK - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

WEEK 195 - PARK - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 195 - PARK - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley

WEEK 195 - PARK - AUBREY and KATELYN AUGUSTIN
Aubrey and Katelyn Augustin

Insert reference to PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE:


WEEK 198 - TREE
TREE

TREE! Insert an explanation of what a TREE is, as if there is anybody in the world that doesn’t know what a TREE is.

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

Nobody this week showed taste, grace, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription.

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Insert reference to Hank Willimas Sr.