Today is Teresa’s birthday, so I need to wish her a happy birthday.
I hope it is a birthday filled with all sorts of arts and crafts!
Last year I went out and did a little street photography in Nevada and Winterset. Well very little in Nevada, but here are those pictures:
Plenty of pictures from the Winterset area to come!
Way back in July of last year, I took a little road trip with Teresa. First we went to the Stanhope Watermelon Festival. Then we went to get a tenderloin. Then on the way back we drove through Iowa Falls and Alden. I took a few pictures:
Alden, Iowa
Iowa Falls is a pretty town and Alden isn’t bad either!
Can you believe that this is the 5,250th entry in the blog known as “An Artist’s Notebook”? Every 250 posts or so I like to take a moment to reflect on where this post has been and post a lot of meaningless stats.
As always on these posts, I like to start by quoting the very first “An Artist’s Notebook” entry that published on August 9, 2006. That first post that published 6,296 days.
That post that started with these words:
So here is the first journal entry. I felt like having as pretentious sounding name as possible for my journal. I have a few goals about this journal. My main goal is just to actually write in it. My second goal is to be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings. I have another journal on another website, but it is really just a collection of sarcastic statements and cheap jabs at open faced sandwiches. This journal is meant to be about what my achievements and failures are in the world of art. What projects I am working on and what I have accomplished and what I have failed to accomplish. What I am photographing and what I am thinking about entering in photo contests. What I am thinking about. It might not always make sense. It might just be things I need to write down because they strike me as poignant or inspirational. This is in a small way an online “idea box”.
Since those words, I have posted 5,250 journal entries. This website is still something of an “idea box”. Sometimes I’m just working stuff out here. I don’t know why, sometimes I need to work stuff out in public. But this website is definitely more than just an “idea box”. It is a place where I post a few thoughts and a ton of pictures. I’ve gone through a few photo projects on these pages. From THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT to the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT to THE SELFIE PROJECT to the POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT to name just a few. This website has also created a community with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Which is one of my proudest achievements. Even if it sputtered and spit and barely survived in its first few years.
On these reflective posts, I like to publish a bunch of statistics that me and Joe Duff find interesting. So I might as well get to it.
Every post in “An Artist’s Notebook” is tagged with at least one Category. It is one of the easiest ways to navigate around the website. They are listed at the top of each post. Here are some statistics about Categories:
THE TOP 10 MOST USED CATEGORIES (RANK IN POST #5005 & INCREASE SINCE BEGINING OF 2024)
10. Carla – 632 (#10 – 39)
9. Formal Portrait – 655 (#6 – 6)
8. Teresa – 657 – (#9 – 49)
7. Road Trip – 657 (#8 – 32)
6. Macro – 662 (#7 – 26)
5. Jesse – 754 (#5 – 54)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)
No categories dropped from the Top 10. The categories with the best shot at cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Shannon, Nature, WPC-Submissions, Candid Portrait, & Still Life.
THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Candid Portrait – 504 (#9 – 16)
9. WPC-Submissions – 563 (NR – 27)
8. Nature – 568 (#8 – 26)
7. Formal Portrait – 655 (#5 – 6)
6. Road Trip – 657 (#7 – 32)
5. Macro – 662 (#9 – 26)
4. Animals – 833 (#3 – 34)
3. Art – 842 – (#4 – 75)
2. Flowers – 1,010 (#2 – 40)
1. Black & White – 1,221 (#1 – 27)
Photoshop dropped out of the Top 10.
The categories with the best shot of cracking the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Still Life, Photoshop, Naima, History, and Self-portrait.
THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES
10. Willy – 379 (NR – 27)
9. Vest – 388 (#10 – 29)
8. Micky – 399 (#8 – 29)
7. Logan – 428 (#7 – 37)
6. Kim – 441 (#6 – 35)
5. Mom – 473 (#5)
4. Shannon – 615 (#4 – 30)
3. Carla – 632 (#3 – 39)
2. Teresa – 657 (#2 – 49)
1. Jesse – 754 (#1 – 54)
Jay dropped out of he Top 10. The categories that have the best chance of breaking into the Top 10 in the next 250 posts are Andy, Jay, Jen, Sara, and Derrick.
If you have spent any time on the Photography 139 website, you know that on the left sidebar, the “Top 100 Categories” are listed. I thought I would give a little bit of coverage to the Bottom 10 of the Top 100. There are currently 208 categories used on the website. I could cover the Bottom 10, but no real reason. Some of those categories probably need to be purged. I do like to cover the Top 10 of the Bottom 100 though.
THE BOTTOME 10 OF THE TOP 100
10. Nathanial – 82 (+29)
9. Layla – 84 (+8)
8. Commercial – 84 (0)
7. House – 91 (+1)
6. Writing – 92 (0)
5. Becca – 92 (+2)
4. Pastor Sarah – 93 (+2)
3. Pufferbilly Days – 95 (+4)
2. Tenderloining – 96 (+25)
1. Faust – 96 (+4)
The following categories have either fallen out of the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 or climbed out of it:
Andree, Flat Earth Joe, Self-Portrait Project, and Sabas
The following categories have the best shot at dropping back into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Russell, Nate, Jill, Blogging, Sabas, and Lowell.
The following categories have the best shot at climbing up into the Bottom 10 of the Top 10:
Andree, Photo Journal, Self-Portrait Project, Flat Earth Joe, and Mary.
I’m now starting to track what categories have had the greatest gain. These are the ones that have the greatest gain since the beginning of 2024.
THE TOP 10 CATEGORIES BY GAIN
10. Kim – 35
10. Andy – 35
10. Michelle – 35
8. Logan – 37
8. Elizabeth – 37
7. Carla – 39
6. Flowers – 40
5. Teresa – 49
4. Jesse – 54
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75
THE TOP 10 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN
9. Nature -26
9. Nature – 26
7. Black & White – 27
7. WPC – Submissions – 27
6. Road Trip – 32
5. Animals – 34
4. Flowers – 40
2. Still Life – 72
2. Street Photography – 72
1. Art – 75
THE TOP 10 HUMAN CATEGORIES BY GAIN
9. Scottie. D. – 33
9. Linda – 33
9. Sabas – 33
6. Kim – 35
6. Andy – 35
6. Michelle – 35
4. Logan – 37
4. Elizabeth – 37
3. Carla – 39
2. Teresa – 49
1. Jesse – 54
If you are wondering what is your best way to improve your Photography 139 Score and crack the Top 10, it is simply to be active in THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE or go on trips with me or participate in various other photo projects or be related to me. Now these aren’t necessarily the 10 people that have influenced my photography the most, but these are the 10 people that have made the largest imprint on this website.
I can tell you the people that have influenced my photography the most, but that is a tale for another time. But I’m pretty sure you can guess who.
10. Naima – 72,941 views
9. Drone – 73,421 views
8. 9 Emotions Project – 98,062 views
7. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 124,533 views
6. Town Sign Project – 127,555 views
5. Tenderloining – 134,777 views
4. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 172,671 views
3. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 192,976 views
2. Instagram – 212,131 views
1. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 11 – 289,984 views
Galleries that fell out of the Top 10 are:
Las Vegas 2023, Weekly Photo Challenge Year 9, Selfie Project – 2022,
Galleries that fell just outside of the Top 10 are:
Life, 365 Day Photo Project -2013, Memphis – 2023, New Orleans – 2024, Phot Journal Rejects.
But what are the most popular single images of the last 365 days? Don’t worry, I’m gonna feed you baby birds.
9. 2,508 views
8. 2,812 views
7. 3,774 views
6. 3,875 views
5. 3,999 views
4. 4,020 views
3. 4,305 views
2. 4,816 views
1. 20,050 views
If you are interested in checking out some of the milestone posts of the past, I got you. Click on any of the links below to check them out:
I think that is enough. We will check back in, in another 250 posts.
Time to clear out more of the proverbial backlog. These are a collection of pictures that I took back in August of 2023 but never fit any other “An Artist’s Notebook” posts. But are good enough that I think the world should see them. Some were taken on a trip to Dickcissel with Naima. Some from the drive home from watching Logan and Nathanial compete in a competitive barbecue contest. Some from my yard. And more from Dickcissel.
Panther, Iowa – Ghost Town
PANTHER
Perry, Iowa
PERRY IA
CULTURE & COMMUNITY THRIVE HERE.
Always feels good when the backlog gets just a little bit more cleaned up.
It is time to share the November image from the 2024 Photography 139 Calendar image. It is a picture of the redbud trees in Red Haw State Park.
I chose this picture for November because it had purple in it.
TECHINICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M4
DATE: April 29, 2023 – 12:23 PM
LENS: 17-28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 17mm
APERTURE: f/6.3
EXPOSURE: 1/160
ISO: 100
Tomorrow I will show the last image from the 2024 calendar.
Now is the time to clean up the May backlog. These images were taken in May, but never really fit into a previous “An Artist’s Notebook” post. Some of are Naima. Some were alternate images for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Hopefully all are of interest.
It definitely feels good to get some of the backlog cleared out!
Back on May 6 I had a pretty long day. I spent the morning into the early afternoon doing photography for Sleeping Angels. Logan assisted me on this project. After we photographed the Sleeping Angels Fun Run crossing the Mile Long Bridge, we headed down to Grimes and had lunch.
After taking Logan home I watched the Kentucky Derby. Then I headed to Marshalltown to have supper at Zeno’s with Jorge, Randi, and their brood, Clevenger, Hope, Cathie, Micky, Robyn, Katelyn, Aubrey, Michelle, Craig, Elizabeth, Alexander, and Nicholas.
The dinner is the annual end of the Witch Hunt. This year’s Witch Hunt went to Cathie. At the end of the dinner she was presented with The Broom. The travelling trophy for the Witch Hunt.
There was an incident that happened after dinner and while there is photographic evidence of what transpired, I’m apparently not allowed to share them…
After leaving Marshalltown I stopped at Iowa State to do a little night photography, before retiring to my house for some much needed rest.
Here are some pictures of the day.
It was a pretty great day! Although any day that involves photography AND Zeno’s pizza is a great day!
This is the final collection of images from the road trip to Dysart to see their illusions I took with Nader. This collection starts in Traer, but also goes through the Matchstick Marvels Museum in Gladbrook.
Gladbrook
Toledo
A different town sign.
It was a good road trip, even if I confess, the Dysart illusions were a little bit of a disappointment. But the Matchstick Marvels Museum was definitely not a disappointment!
Time to share the final collection of pictures from the road trip I took with Nader after I dropped off my entries at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.
This collection starts where the last collection last off. In a park in Manning.
They changed their sign…
It was a great trip. Filled with great food, cool discoveries, and great memories.
Here is the final collection of images from the birthday road trip I took with Jesse and Nader. On the way back we stopped at The Grotto of the Redemption. Nader had never been to it before, which was no shocker. But this was also Jesse’s first trip there.
But before we made it to The Grotto of the Redemption, we stumbled across an unincorporated town with a town sign that had a town sign I hadn’t harvested:
Maybe not a great town sign, but a solid town sign.
When we pulled up to The Grotto, I wasn’t sure if Nader was going to get out of the car. He was being a grumpypants and was pretty addicted to his phone. But he did finally get out of the car and then after he saw the Grotto he described it as the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life. It is definitely beautiful.
Here are the pictures:
I wonder where I will go for my birthday road trip in 2024?
Today is Jason’s birthday. Happy birthday Jason!
I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!
Time to clean up the backlog. These images are from September that never quite fit into any previous posts. Some are alternates for THE WEEKLYPHOTO CHALLENGE. Another is a photo I took of Ron for last year’s Computer Mine Holiday Card.
Maybe you are wondering about the George A. Wyman sign. Don’t worry, I’ll feed you baby birds. From the Wiki:
Wyman used his 1902 California machine for his crossing of the United States. The California had a 200 cc (12 cu in), 1.5 hp (1.1 kW) four-stroke engine attached to an ordinary diamond-frame bicycle. Wyman’s machine was equipped with 28 x 1.5 in. tires, wooden rims, a leading-link front suspension fork, a Garford spring saddle, a Duck Brake Company front roller brake, and a 1902-patent Atherton rear coaster brake. A leather belt-drive with a spring-loaded idler pulley directly connected the engine output shaft to the rear wheel.Using a standard steel bicycle frame, the California weighed approximately 70–80 pounds (32–36 kg) without rider, and was capable of approximately 25 mph (40 km/h) using the 30-octane gasoline of the day, with a range of 75 to 100 miles (121 to 161 km). Throttle control was not yet perfected, and engine revolutions were mainly controlled by means of a spark timing mechanism. The wick-type carburetor was crude, consisting of a metal box with internal baffles stuffed with cotton batting. With no float chamber, the rider had to open the gasoline tap periodically to admit fuel into the carburetor.
For such a long trip, Wyman carried a remarkably small amount of gear. A set of warm clothing, money, water bottle, cans for spare oil and gasoline, a Kodak Vest Pocket camera, a cyclometer, various bicycle tools and spare parts, and a long-barreled .38 Smith & Wesson revolver constituted his total luggage.
Wyman departed from Lotta’s Fountain at the corner of Market and Kearny streets in San Francisco at 2:30 P.M on May 16, 1903.[4] He had previously agreed to keep a diary of his journey for later publication in The Motorcycle magazine, a periodical of the time. The first part of his trip took him across the Sierra Nevada, through the Nevada desert into Wyoming, then on through Nebraska to Illinois.
As the dirt trails and wagon tracks of the day were often impassable, Wyman rode the railroad tracks for over half of his journey. During the first part of his trip, he frequently slept in railroad company housing or at rooming houses located in division settlements (small municipalities founded by the railroad). His motorbike suffered several breakdowns along the way, requiring him to make improvised repairs until he could get to a larger town to obtain new parts. As he neared Aurora, Illinois, his engine’s crankshaft snapped, and after pedaling his way to Chicago, Wyman was forced to wait there five days for a new crank to arrive by railway express.
After leaving Illinois, Wyman traversed the states of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania before entering New York state. Outside of Albany his engine lost all power, and he was required to pedal his heavy motorbike the remaining 150 miles (240 km) to New York City using a cycle path reserved for licensed cyclists.
On July 6, 1903, Wyman arrived in New York City, completing his transcontinental crossing and becoming the first person to cross the North American continent aboard a motor vehicle. His journey took a total of 51 days to cover some 3,800 miles (6,100 km). Afterwards, Wyman’s motorbike was placed on display at the New York Motorcycle Club while Wyman recovered from his grueling journey. While in New York, Wyman was present for the inauguration of the very first nationwide motorcycle organization, the Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM)[14] at the Kings County Wheelmens’ Club in Brooklyn; it was reported at the time that his hands were still in bandages from the trip. Wyman later returned to San Francisco by train. His California motorbike was put on display in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park for a special exhibition commemorating the trip.
This is actually something Jesse and I have talked about doing as well. Not on a motorcycle, but driving across the country. We’ve never done anything about it, but maybe will someday.
Here is more information on the route he took:
It is hard to read, but the towns we care about in the Cyclone State are:
Council Bluffs
Woodbine
Denison
Ogden
Boone
Ames
Marhalltown
Tama Reservation
Cedar Rapids
Clinton
He stayed the night in Ogden. I hope he ate at Zeno’s when he was in Marshalltown!*
*That is a joke, don’t email me telling me that Zeno’s didn’t exist back then, because I will only reply back that Zeno’s has always will always exist.
