Category Archives: WPC – Reminder

Viva Las Vegas: Day 1B

I might normally start today with a picture celebrating Saint Patrick’s Day. But I don’t really celebrate. I’ll be working for the man with my nose to the grindstone, swinging my computer mine pick away. If I’m lucky, I might be able to get a Reuben. The West Street Deli has the best Reuben. At least the best that I’ve had.

Anyways, happy Saint Patrick’s Day to all those the celebrate. May your beer be green and your shakes be Shamrock and may you not be stalked and murdered by a leprechaun. If I would have had time I could have done a LEPRECHAUN movie power rankings. I do own a boxed set, on physical media. Cause I’m old.

I did read that Catholics can ask for a special dispensation this year to allow them to eat meat on Saint Patrick’s Day.

From KCCI:

This week, Friday is also St. Patrick’s Day. For some, St. Patrick’s Day is commonly associated with corned beef and other Irish dishes. Therefore, several locations across the country, including the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and the Diocese of Fargo, North Dakota, are allowing parishioners to eat meat Friday.

St. Francis of Assisi in West Des Moines says there is no blanket guidance, but parishioners are encouraged to talk to clergy if they would like a dispensation. The priest is evaluating situations on a case-by-case basis.

St. Joseph on the east side of Des Moines says the same.

The Diocese of Des Moines is leaving it up to its local parishes to decide what is best.

“While there will be no general dispensation granted, people are free to approach their pastor or petition Bishop William Joensen for a particular dispensation.”

The Diocese of Sioux City, which covers parts of Central Iowa, says this Friday will be a “typical Friday in Lent.” The diocese says “the faithful are to abstain from eating meat per Bishop Walker Nickless.”

The Archdiocese of Dubuque says Catholics in their Archdiocese are “dispensed from the obligation to abstain from meat on that day.”

Sioux City don’t mess around. I assume the churches that are handling it on a case by case basis are doing the old dispensation for a cash contribution dance. Either way, I find this amusing and would like to sit in on one of these dispensation requests. While eating a Reuben of course.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to those who celebrate.

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Time to share the second collection of images from Day 1 of my trip to Las Vegas for the Computer Mine Convention. There isn’t much more to tell about this day that I didn’t already share last Friday. After walking around a bit, we went back to the hotel and I fell asleep by like 8:30. Which made be feel pretty cool.


Las Vegas, Nevada
Are these the names of bands or of mathlete teams?

Las Vegas, Nevada
I regret not going up in the High Roller, but those pods hold 40 people. That seems excessive.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
I had no clue that you could go up inside the Eiffel Tower. Not doing this is maybe my biggest Vegas regret.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

This was the only day/night in Vegas where the weather was good. It was cold the rest of the trip. Well Saturday was almost warm and then it rained the entire day too, so that was fun.

Even though the weather was warm, it was still incredibly windy. When I looked to the sky, I thought it was foggy, but turned out the wind had whipped up quite a bit of sand. I found this out when I looked the wrong direction and got an eye full of sand. Fun.

According to my extremely inaccurate Fit app on my phone I took 11,634 steps and walked 5.35 miles on the day.

Still plenty more pictures to share from the Las Vegas work trip.

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


WEEK 392 - PURPLE
PURPLE

PURPLE! What a great them for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a PURPLE image? Simply put, it is an image where the subject OR a major compositional element of the image is PURPLE. That is it! Couldn’t be simpler than falling off a log. Getting a bruise from falling of the log. Then taking a picture of that bruise.

This isn’t the first time that PURPLE has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Take a look at some past submissions to help inspire your creative juices:


WEEK 90 - PURPLE - ANGIE DEWAARD 2
Angie DeWaard – Week 90

WEEK 90 - PURPLE - CATHIE RALEY 1
Cathie Raley (Morton) – Week 90

WEEK 90 - PURPLE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 90

WEEK 369 - VIOLET - MARY GREEN
Mary Green – Week 369

WEEK 369 - VIOLET - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler – Week 369

Happy photo harvesting!

Viva Las Vegas: Day 1A

I need to start today by wishing Nora a happy birthday, so happy birthday Nora!


Canvas No. 50

I hope your birthday is filled with lots of candy and cake and ice cream! If not, I will buy you so much ice cream next time I see you.

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Time to start sharing the real camera pictures from my work trip to Las Vegas. I took the backup camera to Vegas just cause I’m always leery of traveling on planes with the 1st string camera. Even though the bag never leaves my side. It is probably a mental block that I will never get over. We’ll see what happens next time I walk on a plane. In April.

I took enough pictures on Day 1 in Vegas to split them into to two posts. This is post 1.

Vegas Day 1 started in Boone. I got up and headed for the Des Moines International Airport a little after 9 AM for my 12:15 flight. I’m one of those people that gets to the airport early. Probably cause I don’t fly that much and probably because I get paid to be there early, sorta. That is how I interpret the travel rules.

I knew there was bad weather west of us and the potential that one of our flights could get cancelled. The good news is that they didn’t. The bad news is that a little after getting to the airport, I got the notification that the flight from Des Moines to Denver had been delayed. Which worked in my favor because the Des Moines International Airport is currently under construction right. They have taken away a bunch of the parking in the parking ramp to make room for employees to park. This meant I had to drive by the parking ramp and the Blue Lot and the Green Lot and the Red Lot and the Yellow Lot and the Indigo Lot and the Cyan Lot and the Polka Dot Lot and ended up all the way in the Gray Lot. A lot so far away from the airport terminal I think it might be in Norwalk. Possibly Cumming.

I took a 15 minute shuttle ride to the airport. It took me a minute but I finally located the Southwest check-in counter in the room with all the weird car rental places and checked my luggage. Two things here. First, I wasn’t crazy about flying Southwest. I haven’t flown Southwest since the last time I went to Vegas, which was almost 20 years ago. I haven’t heard good things about Southwest. They say the people on there are animals. But not in the millions of good ways that animals (in this scenario humans are not animals) are easily superior to humans. But in the bad ways where humans compare other humans to animals to make them seem lesser than. Second, I did buy new luggage for this trip. I don’t travel much in the manner that requires luggage, but the two trips I took in 2022 showed me that the luggage I have been using isn’t practical. Merely sentimental. I bought the new luggage off of Amazon because I had a Amazon gift from my computer mine anniversary. I can say, that while the walls of the luggage seem a little thin, so far I am digging the new luggage. I bought red luggage so they would be easy to spot in the baggage claim line and because they were $30 cheaper than more mundane colors. I don’t know why.

After getting through the security line without incident, I found my gate, grabbed a seat and discovered I was the first person there from the Computer Mine. I wasn’t there long before I got another notification that the flight had been delayed again. Now it was going to be over an hour late taking off. I took solace in the fact I had been reassured by the Southwest ticket lady that there were over 30 people transferring from our flight to the connecting flight in Denver to Las Vegas and there was no way that they would leave that many people behind.

While I was comforted by that information, one of the things that concerned me is that Southwest has no assigned seats. You have an assigned position to get into the plane and then once in there, it is every person for themself. I was worried that I would get there late for the connecting flight and lose any chance at getting a good seat. I’d end up in a middle seat. Nobody wants that. Not me. Not the person in the window seat. Not the person in the aisle seat. However, they hadn’t started boarding when we got to the connecting flight and I was able to grab a sweet spot in the emergency exit row!

If you don’t know, that means extra legroom! It is like 1st Class for those of us in steerage! Bingpot!

The flight into Vegas was a little rough because it was so windy. I didn’t get a snack or beverage service. That is how I determine if a flight was rough. By the time we got to the hotel, I was famished. The only sustenance I had knocked down was a bag of snack mix and 6 ounces of 7-Up on the flight from Des Moines to Denver.

We took a shuttle form the airport to Planet Hollywood, our home away from home for the next 5 days. Here is my review of Planet Hollywood:

It is kinda dirty. It is a little rundown. The big selling point is that it has what I would call a glorified mall. There is virtually no Hollywood artifacts or paraphernalia there. But for what we were there for, it worked great. The conference facilities and staff were great! And it is near places that are cool like the Bellagio, Paris, Caesar’s Palace, and The Flamingo.

After getting to my room, which had a breathtaking view of a parking garage, and organizing some stuff and claiming the bed nearest the breathtaking view (my roomie Tony didn’t come in until the next day so I got choice of beds) I connected with Lowell and we went to supper.

We walked down to Caesar’s Palace to look for a buffet, but we actually ended up in the Caesar’s Palace food court where we ate at Bobby’s Burgers. A restaurant that is connected to Bobby Flay. Who is some kind of chef of note, but he isn’t a raging douchebag like Gordon Ramsay, so you might not have heard of him. I’ve only heard of him because Faust used to be big into him back in the day.

I ordered a Bacon Crunchburger (Bacon, American Cheese, Potato Chips, Bobby’s Sauce – yeah not crazy about that name either), French Fries, and a Soft Drink. The price tag came to a little over $30.

THIRTY BUCKS!

I consider the Computer Mine to be generous with their per diems. I know it is set by the government, but I usually come back with a little extra coin jingling and jangling around in my pockets. This is mostly cause I don’t drink alcohol. In fact I was actually mostly off pop before this trip, but I fell of that wagon pretty dang hard in Vegas. I don’t think it is inaccurate to say I went on a regular Pepsi Cola Bender. We are almost 2 weeks out and I’m still weening myself back off the hard stuff.

The per diem I got for this trip was $288. The fact that I had just spent $30 for a food court burger caused me to take a step back. I expected this to be one of the cheapest meals I shoved in my face on this trip to Sin City. I wasn’t sure $288 was going to make it.

Dang!

After Day 1, I had an estimated $258 remaining in the per diem fund.

Maybe eating is overrated…

After the meal we walked around something I would describe as an open air mall that was between The Linq and The Flamingo. This is where I took the majority of the pictures I took on Day 1.

Here is the first collection:


Las Vegas, Nevada
Caesar’s Palace Sportsbook

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
There are few musicians I like lesson than Jimmy Buffett, but the man can market.

Las Vegas, Nevada
In-N-Out Burger was on Lowell and I’s list. It was the only thing that we crossed off our lists.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
I wasn’t expecting there to be so many candy stores in Vegas.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
Seeing the actual Vegas sign was on my list. This is the closest I came.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
I do regret not going in here a little bit.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
Not the Bellagio fountains.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada
This was so close to being my MUSIC photo for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas, Nevada

I have several more pictures to share from Day 1 that I’ll share at a future date. My best guess is March 17th, while I’m eating a Reuben from West Street Deli.

And nobody better give me any nonsense about letting the Reuben rest for a day and it somehow being better. Got it?

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


WEEK 391 - SUNRISE, SUNSE
SUNRISE, SUNSET

What is a SUNRISE, SUNSET picture? It is a simply a picture of a SUNRISE or of a SUNSET. I’ve heard some grumbling this is a hard theme. The weather is bad. I go to bed at 6 shortly after eating my early bird special at the nursing home. I don’t like going outside. Whatever. Of course THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is hard sometimes. That is what makes it great. If it was easy everybody would do it.

“Maybe you will just have to get creative.” He muttered while sipping on a cocktail made out of tequila, orange juice and grenadine. Unmixed. In a tall glass. Served on the rocks. Sometimes garnished with a cherry and orange slice.

If getting a little lit doesn’t inspire you, maybe these example submission from when SUNRISE, SUNSET was a theme in days past will:


WEEK 43 - SUNRISE/SUNSET - CARLA STENSLAND 1
Carla Stensland – Week 43

WEEK 43 - SUNRISE/SUNSET - KIM BARKER 2
Kim Barker – Week 43

WEEK 43 - SUNRISE/SUNSET - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim – Week 43

WEEK 43 - SUNRISE/SUNSET - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt – Week 43

WEEK 43 - SUNRISE/SUNSET - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 43

Happy photo harvesting!

Viva Las Vegas: Cell Phone Pictures

I need to start the day by wishing Andy a happy birthday. Happy birthday Andy!


Day 129 - May 9, 2022

I hope your birthday is filled with all the joy you can handle!

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I spent almost all of last week in Las Vegas working at the Computer Mine Convention. I didn’t get to see anywhere near the amount of stuff I wanted to see because I spent most of my days staring at conference room walls. However, I did get a chance to see a few things and took a few pictures. Today I’m going to share some cruddy cell phone pictures from the trip.


Computer Mine Convention - 2023
While some people got “rock star” parking, I got stuck in the Gray Lot, which is more like “zydeco star” parking.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
And the flight got delayed.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
4 flights. Only got snacks on one of them.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
On flight #2 I got rock star leg room.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Southwest. Wasn’t as bad as I feared.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
New luggage made it to Vegas.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
The view from my room.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Meal #1. $30 for this.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Closest I got to the actual Vegas sign.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I’m sure I have an exhibit in there.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Fran said I absolutely had to eat here. It was also high on Lowell’s list.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Elvis and Marilyn made out of jelly beans.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
If he goes ring pop engagement ring and she says no, she is a terrible person.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
So many candy stores in Vegas.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
View from the room at night.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Speechless.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
A bar where a robot mixes your drink. Lowell said it was a Top 5 Drink he has had made by a robot.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
They are planting marigolds already!

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Planet Hollywood is kind of a dud, but it is near cool casinos like Paris.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I can almost see Emily and Mindy walking down the street.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
The real Arc de Triomphe was built by a megalomaniac, so it makes sense that they put a poster of one on their recreation.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
This sign is how I knew how to get my elevator.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
It was 130 degrees in this room.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Planet Hollywood

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I didn’t disappoint Fran, but I did make her jealous.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Michelle.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
The show is about to begin.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
A lot of eyes on me when this speaker asked the audience, “What is one thing that every man knows about every woman.”

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
View from my Friday dinner table.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Friday supper.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Friday dessert.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Fountain of the Gods.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Neptune’s Fountain.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Bellagio Fountain.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
The other elevator bank had Miranda Lambert on it. They won.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Nacho Daddy, for people who like puns and nachos. That includes me.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Neither Kim or Lowell stepped up to the challenge.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I sent a picture of these to my Pastor who is a Chiefs fan, he wished bad things to me. Very bad.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I didn’t get the Raiders Nachos. But these were delicious.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Scott recommended I check out the Bellagio Gardens.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Saturday night supper.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
I am sad to report I never ate here.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
Goodbye Las Vegas.

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
It was from here that I waved at Susanna.


She waved back!

Computer Mine Convention - 2023
And on the final flight I got rock star legroom again!

All in all it was a pretty good trip, even though I put in some massive hours. It was certainly better than my previous trip to Las Vegas for the Evil Clown Empire. But that is a story for a different day.

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


WEEK 390 - STORE
STORE

STORE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE?

But what is a STORE image? It is simply an image of a STORE or taken inside of a STORE. There are all kinds of STORE(s) out there. From department to convenience to junk to antique to book to music to grocery to dollar to a little kids lemonade stand. Of course, there is more than one definition of the word STORE.

This is not the first time that STORE has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are some examples of previous submissions to inspire you:


WEEK 141 - STORE - LINDA BENNETT
Week 141 – Linda Bennett

WEEK 141 - STORE - KIM BARKER
Week 141 – Kim Barker

WEEK 141 - STORE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Week 141 – Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 18 - STORE - CARLA STENSLAND 2
Week 18 – Carla Stensland

WEEK 18 - STORE - SARAH KARBER
Week 18 – Sarah Karber

Happy photo harvesting!

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

I recently purchase a new lens. The SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS. It filled the most glaring gap in my Sony E Mount lens arsenal. I was badly missing a long telephoto lens. My longest lens before purchasing this was my Tamron 70-180.

Here are the specifications for the latest addition to the family:

LENS CONSTRUCTION: 25 elements in 15 groups
ANGLE OF VIEW: 16.4°-4.1°
NUMBER OF DIAPHRAGM BLADES: 9 (Rounded diaphragm)
MINIMUM APERTURE: F22-29
MINIMUM FOCUSING DISTANCE: 58-280cm / 22.8–110.2in.
MAXIMUM MAGNIFICATION RATIO: 1:2.9 (At a focusing distance of 180mm)
FILTER SIZE: φ95mm

Here are some pictures of the guy:


SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

Here is a look at the focal length of the lens:


SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports
50mm – Equivalent of the human eye

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports
150mm – Shortest focal length of the lens

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports
600mm – Longest focal length of the lens

Here are the first images I took with the new lens:


SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

SIGMA 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG DN OS | Sports

I look forward to taking this lens out and getting some wildlife images and maybe some sports images at some point in the future!

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


WEEK 389 - MUSIC
MUSIC

MUSIC! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a MUSIC photo? A MUSIC photo is simply a photo where a major compositional element involves MUSIC. It could be something that is used in the production of MUSIC. Like sheet MUSIC or a MUSICal instrument or a MUSICian or an 8 Track. Anything the aids in the producing of MUSIC is fair game. Might be a great weekend to make it to a concert.

This is not the first time the theme MUSIC has been used for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are a few past submissions to spark your creative ideas:


WEEK 305 - MUSIC - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest – Week 305

WEEK 305 - MUSIC - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley – Week 305

WEEK 237 - MUSIC - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard – Week 237

WEEK 237 - MUSIC - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning – Week 237

WEEK 237 - MUSIC - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 237

WEEK 20 - MUSIC - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber – Week 20

Happy photo harvesting!

Clayton County Aux. – Vol. 2

Time to share another collection of images from my road trip to harvest the town signs of Clayton County that I took back in July. These images were once again, all taken in Dubuque County. That area of the state, Clayton County, Allamakee County, and Dubuque County is the prettiest part of Iowa. Almost feels like a different state.


Dubuque County - Epworth
Epworth

Dubuque County - Epworth

Dubuque County - Epworth

Dubuque County - Epworth

Dubuque County - Epworth

Dubuque County - Bankston
Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Bankston

Dubuque County - Holy Cross
Holy Cross

Dubuque County - Holy Cross

Dubuque County - Holy Cross

Dubuque County - Luxemburg
Luxemburg

Dubuque County - Luxemburg

Dubuque County - Luxemburg

Dubuque County - Luxemburg

Dubuque County - Luxemburg

Still so many pictures from this trip to share. Eventually we might even make it to Clayton County!

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


WEEK 388 - FRAME
FRAME

FRAME! What a great theme for year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! This is a theme that was suggested by Sarah Toot.

But what is a FRAME picture. It is simply an image where the main subject of your photo is FRAME(d) by something else. In the theme reveal, it is literally a FRAME, but in practice it would more likely be something else. Something else blocking in your main subject to draw attention to it. And your subject doesn’t have to be FRAME(d) on all 4 sides. 3 sides or 2 sides also works. Of course, there is more than one definition of FRAME.

This isn’t the first time that FRAME or FRAMED was a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are some of the submission for that theme from the past:


WEEK 342 - FRAMED - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest – Week 342

WEEK 342 - FRAMED - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen – Week 342

WEEK 268 - FRAMED - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt – Week 268

WEEK 212 - FRAMED - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland – Week 212

WEEK 112 - FRAMED - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 112

Hopefully that provides some inspiration!

Happy photo harvesting!

Pella After Dark

I need to start this post by wishing Bill a happy birthday… Happy birthday Bill!


Bill - Joy

I hope your birthday is as full of all the joy that you can handle!

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Time to share another collection of images I took when Teresa, Carla, and I went to Pella, Oskaloosa, and then Pella again in early December. These pictures are of some of the Christmas decorations Pella had in their town square.


Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

Pella After Dark

I still need to share the pictures from Oskaloosa on this trip. Hopefully soon.

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


WEEK 387 - PLAY
PLAY

PLAY! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a PLAY image? It is simply a picture of something that is PLAYed with or somebody at PLAY. There are all sort of different things that can be PLAYed. A sport. A game. A musical instrument. A human being. Or even a PLAY is PLAYed. Remember, what some might consider WORK others consider PLAY.

Happy photo harvesting!

Junk Jaunt

Back in October I went on a Junk Jaunt with Carla and Teresa. I didn’t buy much, a few stickers here and there, but I did have a great time and saw many interesting things.

Here are some pictures from the day:


Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Junking Jaunt - 2022

Hopefully we will be able to go on one of these again next year!

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


WEEK 385 - SILENCE
SILENCE

SILENCE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what exactly is a SILENCE image? I mean you can make the case that all pictures are in SILENCE, but for this theme I urge you to really search out a place of SILENCE and capture your image there, while not breaking the SILENCE.

Happy photo harvesting!

Rodan139: Richland

Back in May, while I was cruising around Keokuk County harvesting their town signs, I stopped in Richland to pub Rodan139 in the air. My main goal was take a picture for that week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme. That theme was SQUARE. But I also took a few other pictures.

Have a look:


Rodan 139: Richland
This is actually my block.

Rodan 139: Richland
This is Richland.

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

Rodan 139: Richland

One of my 2023 goals is to get Rodan139 out and about more this year. We’ll see how I do.

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


WEEK 384 - RED
RED

RED! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a RED image?

A RED image is simply an image where the subject or a major compositional element of the image is the color RED. That is simple enough!

Happy photo harvesting!

On a Boat Like Leo

Happy Friday the 13th to those who celebrate! I celebrate by going to Jimmy’s for their free sandwich Friday the 13th special. I’ll see you there.

This is a good time to share more pictures from my camping trip with Carla and Jason. I actually had to cut the camping trip shorter than I wanted because I had to drive from Spirit Lake to Johnston for a little kid’s birthday party. So I didn’t get to stay through until Sunday. Hopefully I get a chance to go camping with Carla and Jason again this year and won’t have to leave early.

We still had a pretty cool day with the time I was there. We visited the site of the Spirit Lake “Massacre” and then we tooled around I think 3 of the Great Lakes of Iowa. On a boat!


Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Okoboji Camping Trip

Still more pictures from this trip to share!

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


WEEK 383 - REFLECTION
REFLECTION

REFLECTION! What a great theme to kick of Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what in tarnation is a REFLECTION picture. It is simply enough a picture where a major compositional element of the picture is a REFLECTION. Mirrors obviously make great REFLECTIONs. But there are other things that REFLECT(ION) as well. For example water. I nicely waxed floor. Eyes. The list just goes on and on. Also, don’t forget that there is more than one definition of REFLECTION.

Happy photo harvesting!

Tried So Hard to Be Everything that You Liked

Today seems like a good day to share the rest of the pictures that I considered for the 2023 Photography 139 Calendar, but did not use.


2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

Last Penny - 2022

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject

2023 Photography 139 Calendar Reject


Just because I rejected these images this year, doesn’t mean that one of them couldn’t show up in a future calendar.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES:


WEEK  382 - TRAINS, PLANES, & AUTOMOBILES
PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES

But what is a TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOBOMILES picture? Simply put it is a picture that involves a TRAIN or a PLANE or an AUTOMOBILE. All 3 don’t have to be in the picture. One will suffice. The picture can also be of anything that is tangential to TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMBILES. Roads, bridges, train tracks, terminals, stations, are all fair game.

I made this a theme this year because it will be one of the categories in this years Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. If you submit a photo for this theme, you have a picture you can enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Happy photo harvesting!