Category Archives: Still Life

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kalista, Saydie, Still Life, Taylan, WPC - Reminder

The 2019 Howards – Subset Cuatro

May 15, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time for yet another collection of images from the 2019 Howard Family Photo Shoot. With this collection I am now over half-done curating the photos from this collection. The final collection will actually be a small one. Very small depending on what I do with the port-a-potty pictures that Jesse made us take.

Still more Howards to come!

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is RULE OF THIRDS:

RULE OF THIRDS

Think of RULE OF THIRDS like this:

The image is broken into 9 equal boxes. Place the subject of your image on one of the corners of the center box. NOT inside the middle box.

The subject could also go along one of the the 4 lines that go through the inside of the image. BUT not in the center of any of the middle boxes.

The reveal picture should be very helpful.

Happy photo harvesting!

9 Emotions Project, Aaron, Andy, Becky, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Elainie, Elizabeth, Jodie Cue, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Naima, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 243 – EMOTIONS

May 11, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

32 straight weeks of double digit submissions! The fourth straight week that I didn’t send any reminder text messages this morning and still made double digit submissions, easy.

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

Jodie Cue

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Becky Parmelee

Aaron Barnett

Christopher D. Bennett

Monica Henning

Elizabeth Nordeen

Andy Sharp

Michelle Haupt

Carla Stensland

Elainie Stensland

Carla Stensland

Cathie Raley

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:

RULE OF THIRDS

RULE OF THIRDS! What a great theme! But what is a RULE OF THIRDS picture. First you need to understand the RULE OF THIRDS:

“The guideline proposes that an image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally spaced horizontal lines and two equally spaced vertical lines, and that important compositional elements should be placed along these lines or their intersections.[2] Proponents of the technique claim that aligning a subject with these points creates more tension, energy and interest in the composition than simply centering the subject.”

Most cameras by default have a default grid of the RULE OF THIRDS on the viewfinder. So RULE OF THIRDS should be one of the easiest themes yet!

If you are still struggling with the concept, look at the theme reveal picture. The goal here is to get the subject out of the center of the frame.

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 off-center Monday!

Alisa, Christianity, Equipment, Flowers, Macro, Still Life

Singleness

May 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Photography 139 subscriber and all around swell person Alisa Baker was recently featured on the podcast “The Upside Down Kingdom”. I encourage you to give it a listen, because she has some real interesting things to say:

If you got this blog in an email, you will have to go to the website to listen to the podcast.

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I recently purchased a photo rail to help me do some super-macro photography. What is a 4 way macro focusing rail slider. Can’t picture that in your head. Well it looks something like this:

The rail system really aids in doing some precision focusing with a super macro lens I purchased a couple years ago, but has very limited functionality and is very user unfriendly.

But with the rail, I was able to make these images on my first round of experimentation:

Since it might be hard to figure out what the subjects of these pictures are they are sidewalk chalk, cherry blossoms, and a dandelion.

These pictures are not cropped. This is the full resolution of the original images. This new toy should be lots of fun!

Andy, Black & White, Football, Jesse, Music, Still Life, Taylan, Work

ADM vs. Boone

May 1, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

30 days working from home in the book. Although for the first time, I had to go into the mine to do something that couldn’t be done from home. I can’t put into words how much I hate Apple products. The fire of a thousands suns. That is the heat of my hatred for Apple products.

There were only 5 people working in the physical mine when I went there. So I actually got to physically see Kim for the first time since March. I also got to physically see Vest because… let me reiterate how much I hate Apple products.

If you are running a business, buy an adult computer.

I’m not sure if I garnered any more positives from working from home this week. But good things did happen. Baier dropped off an order of 60 chicken wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Took me some time to get through all of those, but I’m not even mad about it. Although it did set back the timeline for a project I’ve been working on, but that is okay. The fishies of the sea are thankful.

I still haven’t started on the basement. For those asking. Instead, I’ve done a bit of yardwork. Maybe I’ll start on the basement this weekend.

I’ve reached track # 1210 “Freak on a Leash” by Korn. Korn is a band I don’t listen to much any more. Not really at all. Was never a big Korn fan, but they were a part of my listening milieu at one point of my life.

“Freak on a Leash” probably isn’t the best song to ingest during physical distancing. Better than drinking bleach or injecting Lysol, but a sample of the lyrics:

“Sometimes I cannot take this place
Sometimes it’s my life I can’t taste
Sometimes I cannot feel my face
You’ll never see me fall from grace”

I did eliminate several songs from the Master Playlist this week though. All of them because the sound quality on them were really low:

#800 “Ironic” by James Corden and Alanis Morissette
#1052 “Tennessee” by Arrested Development
#1053 “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys
#1054 “So What’Cha Want” by Beastie Boys
#1055 “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys
#1062 “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J
#1101 “If I Were A Boy” by BC Jean

Hope to get to the end of the Master Playlist soon so I can start adding music to it.

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As I have been a cleaning fool, I’ve looked for more and more ways to get Naima’s fur under control. Not the fur on her body, but the fur she leaves everywhere. I have purchased 2 air purifiers. I’m thinking of breaking down and buying a full-sized vacuum cleaner. I haven’t yet, but one thing I did recently breakdown and purchase is the Furzapper.

Furzapper is a product that you throw in your washer and dryer and it zaps the fur on your clothing. It was relatively cheap, so I pulled the trigger and thought I would give it a try.

Wow! Looks great! But do they work? Boy do they!

I started with some gym pants that are by far in the worst shape.

I followed the directions:

In fact, I washed and dried the pants twice. Once alone, and this was the result:

Does that look worse? Cause it look worse to me. So I figured that maybe there were some missing instructions. So here is the complete list of “secret instruction” I discovered.

Step #1: Wash and dry alone.
Step #2: Wash and dry with other clothes.
Step #3: Drive real fast and hold them out the window.

Step #4: Pick off the really big pieces of fur.
Step #5: Run a lint roller over it for 15 minutes.
Step #6: Hang outside on a windy day.
Step #7: Run a lint roller over it again.
Step #8: Drive real fast and hold them out the car window.
Step #9: Wash and dry alone.

After those 9 easy steps, this is the result:

Not perfect, but I can wear them again. In fact, probably wearing them as you read these word!

So if anybody tells you that Furzapper is the worst 15 bucks they ever spent, just tell them about the secret directions that I have uncovered. That is all it takes to make Furzapper appear to work like a champ!

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Last fall Andy requested that I come to photograph Kyle playing in a Boone High football game. It was the first time I have attended a Boone High Football game since Brandon graduated.

Boone has a super young team and I don’t remember the score, but their opponent, ADM dominated the entire game. I think Boone was lucky to get off the field because I think something like 8 Boone players left the game with injuries. Including a kid that had to be taken off the field in an ambulance in the last minutes of the game.

Here are some picture from the night. Kyle is #30. You will also recognize some photos of Autumn and Taylan:

It was quite the experience, but a tough environment to photograph. At least from the stands. It was so packed in there, could barely move in any direction.

I’m sure, if there is high school football this year, I’ll be at a game again this year.

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!

Aaron, Andy, Becky, Cathie, Kim, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Music, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 236 – ENTERTAINMENT

March 23, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

This is Day 1 of me working from home for the next couple of weeks. So far, so good. I haven’t been crushed with the loneliness of isolation, yet. However, I also have been chatting quite a bit with people. So maybe it will set in this afternoon.

One bonus of working from home is that I can listen to music. I mean really listen to music. None of this headphone trash. Today is going to be Miles Davis all day.

Another bonus of working from home is that I was home when my annual battle with ants in my bathroom started. I was able to get the ant traps out nice and early. On the negative side, while I was cleaning my sink, I knocked my mouthwash onto the floor, spilling, half of it and as a bonus, the lid flew into the toilet.

A positive is that the coronavirus did not stop the streak of double digit submissions! We are now up to 25 straight weeks!

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

Andy Sharp

Monica Henning

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

Monica Henning

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

Aaron Barnett

Becky Parmelee

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Cathie Raley

Logan Kahler

MUSIC

MUSIC! What a great theme! But what is a MUSIC photo? It is a picture of somebody making MUSIC. An instrument that makes MUSIC. A device that makes MUSIC. I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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 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 musical Monday!

Animals, Birthdays, Black & White, Equipment, Logan, Macro, Mom, Naima, Nature, Pufferbilly Days, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Still Life, Underwater, Work, WPC - Reminder

I Don’t Know Why You’re Mean to Me

March 20, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

I took Thursday and Friday off this week to watch basketball. Obviously there is no basketball right now. There is no basketball for at least a month and there is no NCAA Tournament this year at all. I wasn’t sure if I was going to still take these two days off. I waffled for a few days and then I ultimately decided that I needed a few days off.

I understand that can sound tone deaf. To need a few days off, when there are many people that aren’t able to work right now. People who suddenly are finding themselves unemployed. I am blessed that for at least now, the Computer Mine is still open for business. I am also blessed that starting a couple days ago, the Computer Mine opened up the option to work from home for some employees. They started by opening it up to workers that are in high risk groups and workers that are around people that are in high risk groups. I fit into that second category.

I wasn’t sure I was going to work from home or continue to work from the office, but after listening to a few co-workers regurgitated Fox propaganda talking points, I knew that I no longer trusted my co-workers to make smart decisions for their health, for the health of the people the come into contact with, and the health of the people that they come into contact with.

Starting on Monday, I’m going to start working from home. Because of this, I spent Thursday building a computer to use as my work from home computer from some computer parts I have laying around. I didn’t want to complicate my main home computer. So that is what passes for ENTERTAINMENT for me yesterday.

I also added a web camera to my work-from-home-computer so I could have video calls with my co-workers:

It isn’t the best web camera in the world. In fact, it is the web camera I bought a few years back so I could set up a modest photo booth at my birthday party:

But it will get the job done as far as video chatting goes. Because the one thing that I’m definitely going to miss as I work from home for at least a couple of weeks is some of my fellow miners. Most of them have opted to work from home, but I think Joe, Micky, Elizabeth, and Ron and a few others still seem to be committed to showing up to the mine. I’m going to miss you guys

Working from home does mean that I’ll have more time on my hands. I won’t have the 20 minute or so one way commute every day. My one hour lunch break will also be spent at home. Plus with not going pretty much anywhere at night, I will definitely have added time to work on my photography backlog. You guys might have to endure some days of TWO “An Artist’s Notebook” entries! Oh the humanity!

Hopefully the webcam will help with the social isolation. Hopefully my dog adjusts to having me around all the time!

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Since I mentioned birthday parties, I might as well mention that while I have been planning to have a birthday party this year, it is definitely off. Which is sad because Scottie D. and I had a tremendous menu planned. Baby Got Rack was going to cater the heck out of that party! You’ll just have to imagine what it would have been like.

What you don’t have to imagine what it is like, was what the invitations were going to look like. My nephew Logan took some of the photos that were going to be used for the invitations, that were going to look like they came from a political candidate. Here are a couple of the pictures that won’t get used:

That last picture wasn’t getting used for sure, I just like it. Maybe 2021 will be a better year to bring the party back!

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Last week I took more than one picture for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, so here is a good chance to share the once that didn’t have what it takes to make the big show on Monday:

The pictures of Naima were taken with a new Lensbaby lens I bought for my new camera. I will probably going into some boring detail about it at some point in the future.

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

ENTERTAINMENT

I have no clue what participation will look like this week. However, I can assure you that even if you are taking social distancing to self-quarantine, this theme and every theme in the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is a theme that can be accomplished within the confines of your house or your yard.

Happy photo harvesting!

Birthdays, Holidays, Jay, Jonah, Laura, Nate, Nora, Still Life, Willy

The 4th

March 5, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start today’s post by wishing a big happy birthday to Laura! I’m sure today she will have her hands full trying to corral Baby Tri-Force and she will be loving every second of it!

Here are some Laura pictures:

I hope it is a great birthday!

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On the 4th of July I got together with Willy and Jay and grilled out and set off some smoke bombs and then photographed them going off. Here are some pictures.

The 4th of July is a Saturday this year. I love holidays that are also on weekends!

Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Formal Portrait, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 233 – FASHION

March 2, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

FASHION barely drew enough interest to march our double digit submission streak all the way to 22. I mean, if you’ve seen the way my friends dress, it is obvious that FASHION wasn’t going to appeal to many of them. Not everybody is a dandy like me.

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

Kim Barker

Carla Stensland

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Cathie Raley

JUNK

JUNK! What a great theme! But what is a JUNK photo? Well for starters, I should start by pointing that there is a difference between JUNK and GARBAGE. JUNK is often something that has been discarded or set aside because it has little value. GARBAGE is something to be thrown away because is has ZERO value. For example Congressman Steve King is a piece of garbage. He has zero value. It should be pointed out that JUNK has more than one meaning. It can be something of poor quality. JUNK is also slang for drugs. People can have JUNK in their trunk. For examples, I direct you to my friend Tim’s Snapchat stories. A JUNK is also a type of ship. JUNK is also slang for male genitalia, but please don’t send those to me. Send them to that girl you met at the bar last night that gave you a fake phone number. (Okay, don’t do that either.)

As always, I look forward to your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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 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 junky Monday!

Art, Black & White, Event, Jesse, Still Life

Fly Iowa

February 23, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Back in August, Fly Iowa came to Boone. It was the first time Fly Iowa had been in Boone since the 1990s, I believe.

I had never been to an airshow before, so I didn’t really know what to expect, other than wall to wall blasting of Kenny Loggins classic “Danger Zone” on a constant loop.

And that was my biggest disappointment, not only wasn’t “Danger Zone” played on a constant loop. They didn’t play it one time! Complete garbage.

Despite that fact, I did find it entertaining and a good use of an afternoon. In fact, I took over 1,0000 pictures. That would be over 40 rolls of film in the old days. So I hope you like airplane photos, because there are going to be at least 10 of these posts scattered across the next several weeks!

I have so many questions…

Fun fact: Red Baron is the worst frozen pizza. Next to Tombstone.

Thankfully, I have “Danger Zone” on my flash drive that plays music in my car and Jesse and I listened to it on a loop on the way to Fly Iowa and on the way home.

HOUSEKEEPING

HOUSEKEEPING

HOUSEKEEPING

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