Category Archives: WPC – Alternate

Art, Flowers, Naima, Photoshop, Road Trip, Still Life, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

Such a Classic Waste of Cool

June 19, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Another week of working from home almost in the books. I don’t even know how long it has been now. I don’t that much has changed. I still listen to 96.1 in the morning. In the afternoons, there isn’t really anything designated any more. I’ve been listening to podcasts I suppose. But not exclusively.

One positive or one thing I’ll miss when I get called back to working in the office is this: I’ll missing sitting under my cherry trees with Naima and eating my lunch. Listening to the birds. Feeling a warm breeze. It is very peaceful, but also makes it hard to go back to work when my lunch is over.

I have been working on the basement, but the project has become more ambitious than expected. There will be pictures when it is done, but it is several weeks out, at least. I’d guess I’m about 35-40% done.

Logan helped me big time last Saturday with the interior of the project. The Citywide Cleanup was also a big help. Lots of stuff hit the curb and are now on the ash heap of history. Although I’m still finding plenty of stuff that needs to hit the dusty trail. Andy helped me get rid of some of that too.

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I took several YELLOW pictures for this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I’d like to share the one’s that didn’t make the cut for Monday’s reveal at this point:

I always have fun playing with the “creative” settings on my camera.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ROAD TRIP:

ROAD TRIP

A ROAD TRIP is any photo that involves a ROAD TRIP. Doesn’t have to be a large ROAD TRIP. The reveal photo was taken when I went on a ROAD TRIP to get gas. A ROAD TRIP photo doesn’t even have to be taken on a ROAD TRIP. It can be taken showing planning for a ROAD TRIP or preparing for a ROAD TRIP.

Happy photo harvesting!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Logan, State Fair, WPC - Alternate

Ghost in a Dream

June 11, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

In a sad, but necessary decision, the Iowa State Fair officially cancelled for this year yesterday. They sent out the following email:

The Iowa State Fair Board, the governing body who oversees the Iowa State Fair, today voted to postpone the 2020 Iowa State Fair until August 12-22, 2021, amid ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. The decision was made to protect the health and safety of all Fairgoers.

After a thorough review of possible options, while carefully reviewing current health guidelines and examining operating limitations, it became clear that holding the 2020 Iowa State Fair, which attracts approximately one million people over 11 days, would not be responsible.

“The top priority of the Iowa State Fair has and always will be to protect the health and safety of Fairgoers. While the decision of the Iowa State Fair Board today will certainly come as a disappointment to many, the Board determined that holding a Fair in accordance with current health guidelines related to COVID-19 wasn’t feasible,” said Iowa State Fair Manager and CEO Gary Slater. “We appreciate the support of Fairgoers over the past few months as we’ve reviewed various options for the 2020 Iowa State Fair. We certainly look forward to welcoming over one million people back to the Fair in 2021.”

The Iowa State Fair had been scheduled for August 13-23, 2020. The Iowa State Fair Board delayed a decision as long as possible and believed it was important to make a decision on the Fair now in order to give concessionaires, vendors and Fairgoers planning a trip to the Fair ample notice.

Iowa State Fair staff and management have already begun the process of booking entertainment and planning for the 2021 Iowa State Fair scheduled for August 12-22.

I’m particularly sad because this was supposed to be the year that Jennie’s Grinders returned to the Fair. I am glad that I didn’t spend money or too much time on planning my Photography Salon entries.

I don’t think that the Boone County Fair has decided to cancel yet, but I would have to imagine that it is only a matter of time. Along with Pufferbilly Days.

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Back in March I took a series of pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE with Logan for the theme FASHION at a roadside park near Grand Junction. I never got around to sharing the alternates until now:

Logan took this picture so he could get a taste of the Lensbaby.

Going out for lunch after church. Taking pictures of people. Seem like weird foreign concepts right now.

Andy, Black & White, Flowers, Iowa State, Macro, Music, Nature, Work, WPC - Alternate

You Know, I Hurt Myself As Well

May 8, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

35 days working from home in the book. I did discover a new positive about working from home this week. I had to go into the physical computer mine twice this week because Apple products suck. They really do. I have nothing positive to say about them.

But that isn’t the positive. The positive I figured out two positives for working from home on my trip to the mine.

One, I can control the lights in my office. I usually just daylight that streams in from my south facing office windows is enough. But on cloudy days I will sometimes run a lamp. If I need more light for some reason I can turn on the overhead lamp.

The mine has the soul crushing fluorescent lighting that is always on. I miss many things about the mine, but the lighting isn’t one of them.

The other positive, my own toilet paper. Seems like a minor thing, but the toilet paper at the mine leaves a lot to be desired. A lot!

My home listening habits were the same. Life 107.1 from 7-9. Then The Master Playlist until 2 PM roughly. This week I made it all the way to track number 1456, “Don’t Speak” by No Doubt.

A decent pandemic song:

“You and me, we used to be together
Every day together, always
I really feel that I’m losin’ my best friend
I can’t believe this could be the end”

I did delete a couple songs from the Master Playlist for sound quality reasons:

#1337 – “You” by Candlebox
#1299 – “Slow Ride” by Foghat

Pretty sure I will finish off the Master Playlist next week. At that time, it will be time, to start adding to it. That should be fun!

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Here is a reminder that the Sharp family is collecting empty laundry detergent jugs to fill with homemade laundry detergent to donate to local pantries. They have setup a collection can at the end of their driveway for you to leave your empty jugs.

They live at the very end of Division Street. Keep going south on Division until you can’t go any farther. It is easy and contact free. I dropped off a couple of jugs last night:

If you can’t find it, drop your jugs off to me and I’ll get them there.

Here are a few pictures of their soap operation that Andy has sent me:

It is a great ministry and I hope some of you can help them out!

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Last Saturday I went over to Iowa State to walk the campus with Teresa. While I was there I took a few TREE pictures that didn’t quite make the cut for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE on Monday. Here are a few of them:

Iowa State University, still world’s reigning champ for most beautiful campus!

The cherry blossom pictures are from my backyard though.

Naima, WPC - Alternate

A Spectacle Monopolized

April 22, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

Since Monday’s reveal of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE submissions I have been flooded (virtually) with questions about what Naima listens to when she has her headphones on.

To be honest, she doesn’t listen to music on headphones. She finds them to be incredibly uncomfortable, as the pictures below will surely indicate.

but when she does listen to music it is usually angry political driven music like Public Enemy or Rage Against the Machine or early N.W.A. or the Dead Kennedys. She thinks it is disgraceful that Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos have as much wealth as the bottom 50% of Americans. She thinks it is horrible that the richest 5% of Americans own 67% of the wealth. That is is atrocious that the richest 1% own more than half of stock and less than 5% of debt.

If dogs ran things, this type of wealth inequality (which is completely unsustainable) would never happen.

She also enjoys Thelonious Monk, Led Zeppelin, and Lecrae.

But what was she listening to on the headphones. Her favorite podcast: “Pod Save America”.

As you can see, she is not a fan of headphones.

Black & White, Naima, Running, Willy, WPC - Alternate

Chewed Up and Spit Out and Booed Off Stage

April 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

This collection of images from the 2019 backlog are from December. The pictures of Naima I took out at her favorite stomping grounds, Dickcissel Park. The pictures of Willy are from track at Goeppinger Field. The Willy pictures are alternates for the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme of SPORTS/GAMES.

Chewed Up and Spit Out and Booed Off Stage

Really making good time on this backlog thing now!

Black & White, Macro, Music, Naima, Photoshop, Still Life, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

The Numbing Sensation of Everything

April 3, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I took several pictures of my sad, pathetic, battered, old trombone. These are the ones that didn’t make the big cut for the big show on Monday.

That poor trombone should probably go in the trash, but I worry that the trash man wouldn’t even accept it.

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

GOVERNMENT

A GOVERNMENT photo is any photo that has anything to do with the GOVERNMENT. Any level of GOVERNMENT. From a county hospital to a city park to federal highway.

Happy photo harvesting!

Black & White, History, Naima, Ruins, WPC - Alternate, WPC - Reminder

Hurting My Head from Things that I Said

March 13, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Happy Friday the 13th everybody! Considered to be a very unlucky day, but considering how bad of a shape our country is in right now, I don’t want to invite any more bad luck. So I am going to celebrate by watching a Friday the 13th movie tonight. Not sure which one yet, but maybe the 3-D one or maybe the one with Corey Feldman or maybe my favorite one, which involves a soundtrack littered with one “great” Alice Cooper song after another.

I’ve always believed that Friday the 13th was an unlucky day because those camp counselors decided to sneak off and “get it on” instead of watching that little special needs boy. I hope it was good for them, because he drowned and now we all have to suffer on this day… forever.

Turns out, that isn’t why Friday the 13th is considered unlucky. Turns out, maybe we don’t even know why it is considered unlucky. There are just theories on it, but nobody really knows.

One theory is that there were 13 guests at the Last Supper. Jesus and his 12 apostles. Judas betrayed him and on the next day, a Friday, Jesus was crucified.

This created a longstanding superstition that I’ve never heard of that having 13 guests at a table is a bad omen. This is why the Methodist Men always seat tables for 8 people. Not really, but it would be cool if we did.

But do bad things happen on Friday the 13th, besides the bad things that happen to camp counselors?

In 1964, the infamous Kitty Geovese murder.
In 1970, 300,000 people were killed in Bagladesh by a cyclone.
In 1996, Tupac was murdered.

Seems like a pretty terrible track record to me. So let me just celebrate this Friday the 13th with some of my favorite Tupac lyrics:

With all this extra stressing
The question I wonder is after death, after my last breath
When will I finally get to rest through this suppression?
They punish the people that’s asking questions
And those that possess, steal from the ones without possessions
The message I stress: to make it stop study your lessons
Don’t settle for less – even the genius asks his questions
Be grateful for blessings
Don’t ever change, keep your essence
The power is in the people and politics we address
Always do your best, don’t let the pressure make you panic
And when you get stranded, and things don’t go the way you planned it
Dreaming of riches, in a position of making a difference
Politicians and hypocrites, they don’t wanna listen
If I’m insane, it’s the fame made a brother change
It wasn’t nothing like the game
It’s just me against the world

Happy Friday the 13th. I hope you enjoy your favorite Friday the 13th movie tonight!

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Last Saturday morning I spent some time at McHose Park photographing the junk pile that is on the backside of the park for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme JUNK. Why there is a small junkyard on the backside of probably the most beautiful city park in the Cyclone State is a bit of a mystery. This is what I believe happened:

A long, long time ago, I can still remember how, the city dump used to be on South Division Street. Eventually Boone decided that maybe the dump shouldn’t be in town and built a landfill outside of town a few miles. They needed to do something with the junk that was in the city dump and rather than move it or recycle it, they just shoved it all down the ravine on the backside of McHose Park. Problem solved. Given a choice between doing something smart and something lazy, people will usually take the lazy option. Over the years, rain and snow and wind and mud has slowly moved all that junk deeper and deeper into McHose Park. The beautiful part of it is that there is a lot of water run off that goes through those rusted out fridges, washing machines, barrels, tires, and cars through an abandoned old train bridge and right into the water of Honey Creek.

Here are some pictures of some beautiful old JUNK that didn’t make the cut for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE on Monday:

What looks like was an old milk crate is something that I could see my sister Carla using in decorating somehow. I thought about grabbing it for her, but I’m not sure what the legality is of just taking junk from a city park is. But I did put it in a place where I can find it if I decide to push the limits.

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

WATER

A WATER image is any image where WATER is an important part of the composition of the picture.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Black & White, Nature, WPC - Alternate

There is No Blame, Only Shame

February 2, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

By the time this email flies through the tubes of the internet and gets flushed down into your computer, phone, web tv, or whatever device you use to upload Photography 139 content into your brain, the Super Bowl will probably be somewhere in the third quarter. You will probably be ready for a distraction.

However, I’m going to give you more than a distraction. I’m just going to go ahead and tell you that the final score of the Super Bowl is going to be 28-24. The San Francisco 49ers will win. Defense wins championships. Period.

I wish it wasn’t the case. I don’t have much rooting interest in the Super Bowl (or any NFL game) these days. I guess I’m slightly rooting for the Chiefs because I have family that are Chiefs fans. Frequent contributor to the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, Michelle is also a Chiefs fan.

However, I have on friend that really stands out as a Chiefs fan. He is a former season ticket holder and he lives in Ballardville, Iowa. That is like a 3 hour drive to the Chiefs stadium. Whatever it’s called. When I asked him where he was going to watch the game, he replied:

“In a locked room, by myself.”

He would go on to talk about how he had been waiting 30 years for this moment.

I told him that I appreciated his passion. I pretty much always appreciate passion that isn’t derived from mental illness. Even though, you could certainly make the case that being an avid sports fan is a form of mental illness, I’m not going to make that argument. It strikes a little too close to home.

I told him that locked in a room by myself was exactly the same way that I watched the series finale of DOWNTON ABBEY.

Another friend on the same group text chimed in that it wasn’t fair to compare the Super Bowl to DOWNTON ABBEY. I reassured him that while American football is only popular in the United States and DOWNTON ABBEY was an international phenomenon, it is still fair. American football is still a pretty big deal. Not as a big of a deal as the Crawleys, but people still like it.

So, I’m rooting for the Chiefs right now. Despite the fact that their fans spit on America by blaspheming the national anthem. Despite the fact that many of the traditions that go on in that stadium crossed the “is that racist” border several miles back.

I hope I forgot to carry a one and the Chiefs don’t disappoint my friend that is locked in a room (hopefully not one with padded walls) right now. I don’t want him to go through the same disappointment I did when Tom Branson and Laura Edmunds didn’t hook up.

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Here are some pictures that didn’t make the cut for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme COUNTRY:

Hope you have gotten your WORK photo by now. Even if you haven’t, you probably have plenty of time to get a picture from where you WORK on Monday morning.

Animals, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, WPC - Alternate

The Constant Shame of My Existence

January 12, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Last Saturday I took Naima for a walk around Ledges to take a picture for the HDR theme of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Obviously I took more photos than the one I shared. Here are the ones that didn’t make the cut:

Since HDR (true HDR) is the taking of multiple pictures at different exposures and combining them into one image, if you try to do it with a moving object, you can get a ghosting effect.

Here is an example:

I hope many of you have already got your FOOD picture for this week’s challenge and are already firing it off to me through the internets!

Animals, Black & White, Naima, Ruins, WPC - Alternate

A Jazz Standard

December 17, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Today’s post features some pictures I took back in February. Some are pictures I took for the RUINS theme of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE in Colo. The majority of the pictures are of Naima playing around in the backyard of the Photography 139 Studio.

Some of these pictures clearly don’t follow the rules of composition and that is why I love them so.