Category Archives: Religion

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WPC – WEEK 488 – COLORFUL

January 20, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I need to start this entry by acknowledging him and all that he contributed to our nation.

The true history of Martin Luther King Jr. has been sanitized recently to make him more palatable to white suburbanites. You will even see some of the most vile, racist politicians our country has to offer (and our country has a ton of them) will put out his quotes on social media today. Maybe even by that racist uncle (our country has a ton of those too) of yours on Facebook too. But never forget, that he was a radical in all of the right ways. We could really use the true Martin Luther King Jr. today.

I thought I would share a little from his Mountain Top Speech today:

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base….

Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn’t stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his brother.

Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn’t stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn’t be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that “One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.” And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem — or down to Jericho, rather to organize a “Jericho Road Improvement Association.” That’s a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect.

But I’m going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It’s possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, “I can see why Jesus used this as the setting for his parable.” It’s a winding, meandering road. It’s really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles — or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you’re about 2200 feet below sea level. That’s a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.” And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

That’s the question before you tonight. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to my job. Not, “If I stop to help the sanitation workers what will happen to all of the hours that I usually spend in my office every day and every week as a pastor?” The question is not, “If I stop to help this man in need, what will happen to me?” The question is, “If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?” That’s the question.

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. And I want to thank God, once more, for allowing me to be here with you.

Dangerous unselfishness. Man we could use some of that!

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COLORFUL! What a great theme! But how many people got their photography juices saturated? Keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, January 13, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

*1-Mary Green – 1 week
2-Sara Lockner – 1 week
3-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
*4-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks
5-Monica Jennings – 2 weeks
6-Deanna McClain – 2 weeks
7-Alexis Stensland – 2 weeks
*8-Deb Powers – 20 weeks
9-Willy McAlpine – 26 weeks
10-Mike Vest – 34 weeks
11-Lowell Davis – 54 weeks
12-Brandon Kahler – 55 weeks
13-Scott Degeneffe – 73 weeks
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 83 weeks
15-Logan Kahler – 84 weeks
*16-Nathanial Brown – 84 weeks
17-Tamara Peterson – 96 weeks
*18-Mindi Terrell – 100 weeks
*19-Linda Bennett – 129 weeks
20-Sarah Toot – 130 weeks
21-Angie DeWaard – 133 weeks
22-Dawn Krause – 138 weeks
23-Kim Barker – 144 weeks
24-Joe Duff – 145 weeks
*25-Teresa Kahler – 156 weeks
26-Carla Stensland – 156 weeks
27-Micky Augustin – 158 weeks
*28-Andy Sharp – 159 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 160 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 164 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 165 weeks
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 167 weeks
33-Kio Dettman – 169 weeks

Here is the list of rules for Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit. If you submit 2 pictures, make sure they are of different subjects.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM Central Time the following Monday. But that is a deadline. Pictures can be submitted as soon as you take them.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.
6. Please include the location of where the picture was taken with your submission.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

It is the third week of the month and on the third week of the month I like to share a map of all the states where people have submitted from heading into today. Here is that map:

7 States

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

WPC - WEEK 488 - COLORFUL - MICKY AUGUSTIN

Micky Augustin (Rochester, Iowa) – 159 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Wesley Woods Camp – South of Indianola, Iowa) – 168 weeks

Kim Barker (Ankeny, Iowa) – 145 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Hilton Coliseum – Ames, Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 130 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Nathanial Brown (Chevy Chase, Maryland) – 85 weeks

Nathanial Brown (National Museum of America History – Washington D.C.)

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 55 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Fat Putter – Des Moines, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Fat Putter – Des Moines, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 170 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 134 weeks

Joe Duff (Bad Astronaut – Houston, Texas) – 146 weeks

Joe Duff (Houston, Texas)

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 84 weeks

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Manchester, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Green Bay, Wisconsin) – 3 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Monica Jennings (Grimes, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Omaha, Nebraska) – 56 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 85 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 157 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 139 weeks

Maven Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Santiago, Chile) – 27 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 165 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 166 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Rogers, Arkansas) – 2 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 97 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 21 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 160 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Ankeny, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Madrid, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 157 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 101 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 131 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 35 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 161 weeks

34 participants this week. A solid week! Including the 1st ever submission from Maven!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Chile (1)
+ Iowa (34)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Minnesota (1)
+ Nebraska (2)
+ Pennsylvania (1)
+ Texas (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ Wisconsin (2)

Thanks to Micky’s trip, we added Minnesota! Thanks to Nathanial’s trip, we added Maryland and Washington D.C.! Thanks to Sabas’ trip, we added Wisconsin! Thanks to Willy’s trip we added Chile! The first foreign country of the year. I believe the first ever submission from South America. Also the first ever submission from the Southern Hemisphere! I believe all 4 hemispheres have been covered at some point during the life of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Here is the Year 12 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (2)
+ Iowa (66)
+ Kansas (4)
+ Maryland (1)
+ Minnesota (1)
+ Nebraska (5)
+ Ohio (1)
+ Pennsylvania (3)
+ Texas (3)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ Wisconsin (2)
+ Chile (1)

The big milestone reached this week was Linda joining the 2.5 Year Streak Club. WooHoo! WooHoo! Woo! But it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. Sara couldn’t build on last week’s submission and her streak ends before it begins.

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:

COMPETITION

COMPETITION! What a great theme for Year 12 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP OF THE WEEK

The brightness (AKA) exposure of an image is dictated by 3 things, known as the exposure triangle. Those 3 things? Aperture. Shutter speed. ISO. Think about how to balance these 3 things to properly expose your image. Don’t know what they are? Don’t worry. Might be in a future tip.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of COMPETITION in this place that isn’t one next Monday.

Animals, Bokeh, Calendar, Christianity, Elainie, Greyson, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Jesse, Layla, Logan, Sign, Still Life, WPC - Alternate

I Don’t Care if it Hurts

January 8, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the July image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

JULY

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Sigma 150-600 f/5-6.3 DG DN
FOCAL LENGTH: 276mm
APERTURE: f/14
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/6400
ISO: 160
DATE TAKEN: August 2, 2024

I took this picture on my trip to the Indianola National Balloon Classic with Jesse. It is always a roll of the dice when you go to the Balloon Classic because a myriad of weather conditions will keep the balloons from going up. But on the night we went the balloons went up in the air and I got a ton of great shots. This is one of my favorites and I’m considering this picture and another one I took on this evening for entry into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon this year. Which is about as forward thinking as I have ever been for that contest. Don’t worry, I’ll lie down and the feeling will pass.

There isn’t much to say about the technical aspects of the picture. High shutter speed to freeze the image and under exposure balance to a silhouette and make the colors pop.

I selected this picture to represent July because the Balloon Classic starts in July.

It was a fairly popular image and here are the people that selected it as their favorite image:

Elainie

Jason (Carpenter)

Layla

Will

I’m excited to share the August image tomorrow!

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This is one of those miscellaneous posts that cleans up some images that I took but didn’t fit into any previous posts. These images are from late May and early June. Some are of a baby deer that hung around Lori and Roger’s house for a few days. Some are of a garage sale Logan had. Some are from just around town. But most are of Bokeh. From the first failed attempts* to get the image that would become the March image and an entry to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.

I’m not sure if Logan made any money on the garage sale, but Greyson cleaned up. His grandparents bought something from his table for $60 and then turned around gave the thing back to him. That is a solid business plan if you can implement it!

*The window ended up being too dirty in these shots.

Andy, Baier, Becca, Bill, Bokeh, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Christmas, Equipment, Gretchen, Harrison, Jay, Jorge, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Micky, Nader, Nature, Sara, Scottie D., Still Life, Vest

Sweet 22: The Beginning

January 4, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to reveal the March image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

MARCH

TECHNICAL DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: 14-24 Sigma f/2.8 DG DN Art
FOCAL LENGTH: 24mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSUER: 1/800
ISO: 400
DATE: June 12, 2024

I took this picture because I wanted a Bokeh picture to enter into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It took 3 different photo sessions before I got the image that I wanted. Or as close as an artist ever gets to their real vision. Art is never finished after all, only abandoned. On one of these sessions, Becca was the photo assistant. Shoutout Becca! What you might not realize is that the hardest part of this image was getting it without a reflection. For the most part Bokeh would hang out on top of the window long enough for me to get a few images. But battling reflections in the glass took some tinkering with the setup. Hint: The solution ended up involving blankets.

I chose a fairly small aperture to keep as much of the image in focus as possible. I used a relatively fast shutter speed to freeze any motions Bokeh made. I overexposed the image by nearly a full stop to try capture Bokeh as bright as possible, but without fully blowing out the sky.

I picked this image to represent March because Bokeh’s birthday is in March. Check your calendar if you doubt me. (Sorry to people that the USPS lost their calendar.)

This was by far the most popular image from the 2025 Photography Calendar. Here are the people that picked it as their favorite:

Andy

Harrison

Brandon

Jay

Jorge

Kim

Kio

Micky

Nader

Olivia

Sara and Gretchen

Scott

Vest

Bill

Tomorrow I will reveal the April image. I’m so excited. I can barely hide it. Fair chance I will lose control. I think I’m moderately enjoying it.

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I’m efforting to get better at sharing when I add new equipment to the arsenal. I’m not a big equipment nerd. I’m about the craft and not about the equipment. But like (and I can’t stress this enough) all art, the equipment you have does have a say in what you make. But what I really like are nerdy manual focus lenses with limited purposes.

I’m sure at least one other photographer thought, “Why doesn’t he just say Lensbaby lenses?”

And you got me hypothetical photographer friend. The most recent piece of glass I’ve added is indeed a Lensbaby lens. For the last few years it has been traditional for me to give my self a Lensbaby lens for Christmas. However, unless they release some new lenses, I’m probably just about out of Lensbaby lenses I can buy. Maybe this Christmas it will be a 7Artisans lens.

If we are being honest, I do totally have the 7Artisans website up on a different monitor right now thinking about their new 60mm f/2.8 2x macro lens. So that might be my birthday present to myself. Or maybe that will be Bokeh’s birthday present to me. I can tell she really wants me to have that lens.

But we’ve gathered here today, to get through this thing called “life”. And the most recent lens I’ve purchased from Lensbaby to get me through life is the Sweet 22.

This is what the bad boy looks like:

If you were to go to the Lensbaby website for a description of this lens you would read something like this:

The Sweet 22 pancake lens from Lensbaby features the smallest sweet spot with the most blur outside the sweet spot of any Lensbaby lens. With a compact, robust metal body and built-in focus down to 5 inches from the front element, this new mirrorless-only creative effects lens brings dramatic optical effects to stills and video imagery that have never before been possible.

The tiny, tack-sharp, centered sweet spot created by the Sweet 22 gives a sense of motion to still images while creating dramatic focus transitions of moving subject matter coming into or out of the Sweet 22’s sweet spot when shooting video. A sea of impressionistic blur gradually transitioning to a precise, tack sharp sweet spot gives photographers the chance to create imagery more dramatic than previous selective focus lenses.

And if you were a big equipment nerd, you might click on the specs and read something like this:

Focal Length: 22mm
Primary Effect: Spot of Focus
Optic Swap Compatible: No
Aperture: f/3.5 fixed
Circular Aperture: Yes
Minimum Focusing Distance: 127mm (5.0in)
Maximum Reproduction Ratio: 1:5
Filter threads: 46 mm
Format Compatibility: 35mm Full Frame; APS-C
Camera Compatibility: MIL cameras
Focus Type: Manual Barrel Focus
Diagonal Angle of View: Full Frame: 90°; APS-C (1.5x): 64°
Angle of Tilt: N/A
Diaphragm Blades: None
Elements/Groups: Zone Plate: 4 elements / 2 groups
Coating: Broadband multi-coated anti-reflective

But since all of you are nerds, but nerds of a different flavor, you just want to see a picture taken with it. So here is a collection of the first few pictures I took with the new sweetness… The Sweet 22:

You might be wondering why I bought a lens with such a peculiar purpose that produces images that are destined to be unpopular. And if that is the case:

1. You must be new here.
2. I have no doubt I’m going to take some bomb images with the new sweetness. Even if it is only in my mind.

You will just have to stay tuned.

Architecture, Art, Bridge, Calendar, Christianity, History, Jim, Lowell, Monica, Music, Nature, Railroad, Sign, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa, Travel, Willy

New Orleans Day 2: French Quarter Walkabout

January 3, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Time to reveal the February image for the 2025 Photography 139 Calendar:

FEBRUARY

TECHICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony 7M4
LENS: Tamron 28-75 f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 68mm
APERTURE: f/4.5
EXPOSURE: 1/200
ISO: 100

The February image was taken in New Orleans. It was taken on my second day in New Orleans and I had a few hours of free time to walk around and I found this small bit of fence along the river walk that was covered with love locks. It isn’t on a bridge and it isn’t exactly a dock. It is a fence that prevents people from going out onto what is an industrial thing. I don’t even know how to describe it. Maybe a small pier. Best guess. Final answer. I framed the picture so all of that is cropped out and the incredible cluster of love locks frames the “Love Wins” sign is all this is visible. I think that lends an air of mystery to the image. Almost everybody has assume this picture was taken on a bridge. I’ve never seen such a dense collection of love locks. I chose this picture to represent February since this picture represents “love” and the only appropriate day to show somebody you love them is Valentine’s Day.

Here is the group of people that chose February as their favorite calendar image:

Jim

Monica

Teresa

Willy

Lowell

I look forward to revealing the March image tomorrow!

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Coincidentally, today’s collection of images is taken from the beginning of the day when I took the February image. The second day on this work trip is basically waiting around to be told to go to the Convention Center to start working. Before I got that call I decided to take a little walk up by the Saint Louis Cathedral.

Here is the first collection of those images:

Still 2 more collections of images to share from Day 2 of my trip to New Orleans!

9 Emotions Project, Alisa, Animals, Art, Becca, Bethany, Black & White, Blogging, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Dad, Dae Hee, Dawn, Derrick, Drone, Elizabeth, Evie, Flowers, Football, Formal Portrait, Fran, History, Iowa State, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Joe Duff, Kalista, Layla, Logan, Lowell, Mission Trip, Mom, Movies, Music, Nader, Naima, Nate, Nathanial, Nature, Railroad, Road Trip, Sara, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Shorty, Sign, State Fair, Street Photography, Taylan, Tenderloining, Teresa, Tim, Travel, Willy, Yin

Five Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand, Six Hundred Minutes

January 1, 2025 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

All of the 2025 Photography 139 Calendars have been distributed or mailed except for one. It is fair game now to start sharing the calendar images. This is the front cover image:

2025 Photography 139 Calendar Front Cover

FRONT COVER – 2025

Technical Details:

CAMERA: SONY 7M4
LENS: SIGMA 14-24 f/2.8 DG DN ART
FOCAL LENGTH: 20mm
APERTURE: f/8
SHUTTER SPEED: 1/500
DATE TAKEN: April 27, 2024

The subject of this picture is the statue of John Wayne in front of the John Wayne Birthplace Museum in Winterset, Iowa. I visited this museum with Nader on a road trip that is as close to a birthday road trip as I took in 2024. This trip was a bit of what I would call “unfinished business”. My Mom was a big fan of John Wayne movies. As are/were many members of her family. One of the last places we went to on the final road trip I took with my Mom was to Winterset and walking around the John Wayne Birthplace Museum. However, it was during the pandemic, so we never went inside. It was important to me to finally go inside and see the museum.

A few notes about the calendar.

1. I switched to a different printer. For the last several years I have had the calendar printed at VistaPrint. This year I switched to Snapfish. The movie saved me over $200. I’m very pleased with the quality. In fact, I think the quality is actually slightly higher as far as image quality and paper quality. However, the proof is usually in the pudding and what that means for the calendar is we will have to see how it holds up for 365 days. The other part of that equation is that I’m not a master of the Snapfish editing software, so there were a few mistakes made. Next year, those mistakes we hopefully be corrected, if Snapfish manages to maintain the Photography 139 account next year I look forward to correcting those. I can’t predict the future. After all, as the source of much of my Christian wisdom (Christian Mingle: The Movie) tells us. “The Heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”*

2. The calendars that are mailed were mailed on December 18th. Not a single one has arrived (as far as I know) a full 2 weeks later. And most of them weren’t going all that far. 2 to Minnesota. 2 to Kansas. 1 to Nebraska. 1 to Arizona. 1 package of 2 to Texas. Very frustrating. Unfortunately I don’t have any tracking info, so either they are just completely lost, will show up sometime in mid April, will show back up on my front porch in a month, are completely lost and will never show up, or maybe they were stolen. It is a mystery that hopefully is solved soon. Very soon!

3. When I reveal each calendar image I will reveal the people that picked it as it their favorite image from the calendar. Not a single person picked the front cover. So nothing to reveal here for this image.

Hopefully you enjoy the reveal of the calendar images for this year.

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It is a new year, but I like to look back at 2024 and reveal statistics that mostly me and Joe Duff find interesting.

Every post has categories. While I’m in the process of redoing how I do the categories, here are where the categories currently rank.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – ALL-TIME

1.Black & White – 1,298
2.Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Jesse – 795
6.Teresa – 712
7. Road Trip – 696
8. Macro – 688
9. Formal Portrait – 669
10. Carla – 665
11. Shannon – 644
12. Nature – 595
13. WPC – Submissions – 589
14. Still Life – 560
15. Candid Portrait – 533
16. Mom – 479
17. Logan – 474
18. Kim – 469
19. Photoshop – 437
20. Micky – 425

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – ALL TIME

1. Jesse – 795
2. Teresa – 712
3. Carla – 665
4. Shannon – 644
5. Mom – 479
6. Logan – 474
7. Kim – 469
8. Micky – 425
9. Vest – 417
10. Willy – 414
11. Andy – 404
12. Sara – 378
13. Jay – 376
14. Jen – 373
15. Dawn – 367
16. Derrick – 355
17. Cathie – 352
18. Tamara – 343
19. Angie – 337
20. Michelle – 330

TOP 20 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES

1. Black & White – 1,298
2. Flowers – 1,044
3. Art – 913
4. Animals-850
5. Road Trip – 696
6. Macro – 688
7. Formal Portrait – 669
8. Nature – 595
9. WPC – Submissions – 589
10. Still Life – 560
11. Candid Portrait – 533
12. Photoshop – 437
13. Street Photography – 410
14. History – 407
15. Self-Portrait – 405
16. Naima – 404
17. Christianity – 390
18. Iowa State – 346
19. WPC – Reminder – 322
20. Night – 281

Now to look at what were the most used categories of just 2024.

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Teresa – 104
5. Jesse – 95
6. Logan – 83
7. Black & White – 77
8. Flowers – 74
9. Carla – 72
10. Road Trip – 71
11. Elizabeth – 68
12. Andy – 66
12. Sabas – 66
14. Brandon – 65
15. Kim – 63
15. Scottie D. – 63
17. Willy – 62
18. Nathanial – 61
19. Dawn – 60
19. Aunt Linda – 60

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Teresa – 104
2. Jesse – 95
3. Logan – 83
4. Carla – 72
5. Elizabeth – 68
6. Andy – 66
6. Sabas – 66
8. Brandon – 65
9. Kim – 63
9. Scottie D. – 63
11. Willy – 62
12. Nathanial – 61
13. Dawn – 60
13. Aunt Linda – 60
14. Shannon – 59
15. Vest – 58
15. Angie – 58
15. Lowell – 58
18. Cathie – 57
19. Bill – 56
20. Micky – 55
20. Mindi – 55

TOP 20 NONHUMAN CATEGORIES – 2024

1. Art – 146
2. Still Life – 144
3. Street Photography – 143
4. Black & White – 77
5. Flowers – 74
6. Road Trip – 71
7. Tenderloining – 54
8. Nature – 53
8. WPC – Submissions – 53
10. Macro – 52
11. Animals – 51
12. Christianity – 47
13. Candid Portrait – 45
14. Birthdays – 43
15. Self-Portrait – 42
16. Travel – 35
17. History – 33
17. WPC – Alternate – 33
19. Music – 32
20. Railroad – 29

If you have spent any time on this website you realize the 100 most used categories are listed on the left side. When I’m looking at these stats, I also like to look at the bottom 10 of the top 100.

Bottom 10 of the Top 100

91. Nathanial – 117 (+61)
92. Russell – 114 (+3)
93. Pufferbilly Days – 105 (+14)
94. Mindi – 98 (+55)
95. Faust – 97 (+5)
96. Becca – 96 (+6)
97. Pastor Sarah – 94 (+3)
98. Writing – 93 (+1)
99. Sheri – 91 (+54)
99. House – 91 (0)
99. Layla – 91 (+2)

The categories that are most likely to fall into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Bethany
+ Blogging
+ Tenderloining
+ Jill
+ Nate

I’m sure Tenderloining is pretty safe. I need to get out of my house and visit Nate and Bethany this year. I hermitted pretty hard this year. As we will see later.

The categories that are most likely to climb into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 in 2025 are:

+ Mary
+ Commercial
+ Andree
+ Photo Journal
+ Flat Earth Joe

Although there are probably some categories that aren’t as close to the Top 100 currently that have a better chance to break in. Like Bokeh, for example.

On to the most popular Photography 139 Galleries in 2024:

20. Drone – 54,022 Views

19. Daisies – 55,109 Views

18. South Dakota Trip – 2017 – 55,869 Views

17. Iowa State Fair – 2023 – 57,439 Views

16. Naima – 57,919 Views

15. Photo Journal Rejects – 59,548 Views

14. Phonetos – 61,145 Views

13. New Orleans – 2024 – 69,224 Views

12. Home Improvement – 72,195 Views

11. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 10 – 83,769 Views

10. 365 Day Photo Project – 2012 – 94,307 Views

9. 9 Emotions Project – 116,852 Views

8. Town Sign Project Auxiliary Images – 125,685 Views

7. Town Sign Project – 137,773 Views

6. Life – 147,856 Views

5. 365 Day Photo Project – 2013 – 148,808 Views

4. Tenderloining – 151,436 Views

3. Weekly Photo Challenge Year 3 – 193,931 Views

2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 11 – 398,026 Views

1. Instagram – 496,850

To look at any of the galleries, you can just click on the picture and voila, you will be there. And yes, I purposely picked pictures that had people that are no long with us to represent some of the galleries.

In 2024, the gallery had 6,616,054 views.

There were the most popular days for the gallery in 2024:

1. 2024/09/21 – 72551
2. 2024/07/19 – 72168
3. 2024/04/05 – 70007
4. 2024/07/20 – 64376
5. 2024/07/21 – 56076
6. 2024/07/29 – 54710
7. 2024/08/01 – 53564
8. 2024/07/18 – 51727
9. 2024/07/22 – 51004
10. 2024/07/26 – 50839

But what about my 2024 that isn’t related to this website? I know, it is hard to believe that I exist outside of this website. But I do, I really exist in the physical world. But first, the social media world:

I had a goal to post on Instagram once a day in 2024 and failed miserably. I posted 99 times. But of those 99, these were my Top 9:

As for Snapchat?

I have no real Snapchat goals, except to not be the one who breaks the streaks. I ended the year with the following streaks:

+ Logan – 1,091
+ Brandon – 848
+ Nathanial – 681
+ Lowell – 235
+ Elizabeth – 232
+ Fran – 119
+ Dawn – 4

I don’t listen to much music on Spotify. It is almost exclusively a podcast vessel for me, but here are the highlights from my wrapped:

If you are wondering, 127,186 minutes is 2,119.8 hours. 88 days. I mostly put up that monster number because I listen to podcasts when I go to bed at night and they play all night.

But we talked about the physical world. I have to freely confess, my travels this year were pathetic!

7 States… That’s it?!!?

I never even made it to Minnesota or Kansas this year! I never saw Bethany or Nate once! The only reason I saw Becca is because she came to Iowa! I’ll have to address this in my 2025 goals.

In 2024 I attended 29 sporting events. Every single one of them was related to Iowa State. This was my favorite:

Iowa State 29 Kansas State 21

This game put Iowa State (as long as BYU beat Houston later that night) into the Big 12 Championship Game. And next to Iowa, Kansas State is the team I enjoy beating the most in football. To be honest, maybe more than beating Iowa. Farmageddon needs a trophy so freaking bad!

Honorable Mention goes to:
+ Iowa State 66 #4 Baylor 63 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 96 #7 Kansas State 93 (Women’s Basketball)
+ Iowa State 69 #1 Houston 41 (Men’s Basketball – Big 12 Championship Game)
+ Iowa State 67 #25 Washington State 56 (Men’s Basketball – NCAA Tournament 2nd Round)
+ Iowa State 38 Central Florida 35 (Football)

I only saw 5 movies in the theater. A long cry from when I used to go about every week. But by far, the best movie I saw in the theater in 2024 was:

I didn’t track the concerts I went to, but it was also a pathetic number. I didn’t go to a single concert where I had to buy a ticket. A few Boone City Band concerts and some musical acts at some town festivals. The Step Show before Iowa State football games. So picking out my favorite concert was pretty easy.

Shannon Curfman

I also didn’t track how many television shows I watched this year, because the number would probably be terrifying. But the best television show I watched this year was pretty obvious:

Shrinking – Season 2

Honorable Mentions:
+ Hacks (Season 3)
+ Somebody Somewhere (Season 3)
+ Only Murders in the Building (Season 4)
+ Nobody Wants This (Season 1)
+ We Are Lady Parts (Season 2)

And finally a couple of random stats.
+ Christmas cards received – 10
+ Trick-or-Treaters – 48

+++++++

But enough about 2024. What are my goals in 2025.

In general, I want to freshen up this website. It has had the same look for years now. Nothing wrong with it. Nothing great about it either. I want to continue to add and delete and modify the way posts are categories. A fairly drastic reorganization of the Photography 139 Gallery is also underway. I hope to have a new logo in 2025, but my graphic designer has been working on it for like 3 years now. So we will see.

I hope to visit more than 7 states (including Iowa). So 8 states! I already have work trips on the calendar for Texas and Pennsylvania. I hope to go to Ireland this year, but I need to get on the ball with getting the details on that worked out. So I’m part of the way their in theory.

I always make a list of places in Iowa I want to visit. It has been fairly fruitless, but I am going to make that list again this year and this time, when I think about going to on a road trip, but am lacking inspo, I’m going to go look at the list. Duh!

But rather than making a list of places, I’m going to make a list of people I want to see in 2025. There are so many people that I haven’t seen. Some I didn’t see in 2024. But some that I haven’t seen since before pandemic or maybe even before that. Heck, you might even make that list. I know some people have chosen to remove themselves from my life. I get that, but to the others, fair warning. We are breaking bread or going to an art show or a movie or a concert.

I want to see more live music in 2025. It has been missing from my life for a few years and I need to get it back.

I plan on bringing back THE SELFIE PROJECT in 2025. Fair warning for that as well.

Finally. I’m thinking of having a birthday party in 2025. In May I will officially be older than Methuselah. I should celebrate that on some level. I have a few ideas and have my eye on a couple of you as caterers. Fair warning to you.

I wish all of you the best in the impending disaster that will be 2025! Happy New Year!

*Proverbs 16:9 in case you were wondering. (ESV)

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Aunt Linda, Becky, Bill, Bokeh, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deb, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Lowell, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Street Photography, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, World Religion, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 485 – HOLIDAYS

December 30, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. But as we are heading into a new year, I’m going to update and tackle the FAQ in a slightly different direction. Here is the FAQ:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

Who are your favorite submitters?

Obviously all of you are my favorites. But the real ones do 4 things.
1. Submit by Sunday night. (Yes, the deadline is 11 AM, but we’re talking about the real ones.)
2. Submit in the correct format. (That is .jpg or .png. Notice, not listed is .heic. I get it. You are a big time Apple fanboy. But .heic images have to be converted. Please save me from having to convert your images!)
3. Their submission communication includes that the picture if for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE and isn’t just some random image that they are sending me to share about their life, hopes, and dreams.
4. Their submission communication includes where the picture was taken.

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission text message:

Here is an example of a PERFECT submission email:

Here is an example of why size matters:

This isn’t to single Mary out. It is just an example I have from this week. Those are great pictures, but they can barely be seen. Remember that the “suggested” minimum resolution is 1280 pixels x 853 pixels for a 4 x 6 image. Don’t overcrop.* Check your email and text message settings. Are they resizing your images?

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If I start to average 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.

+++++++

HOLIDAYS! What a great theme! But did enough people holiday it up to make it a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, December 23, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

*1-Mary Green – 1 week (MI, IA, IN, IL, PR)
2-Elainie Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA)
3-Sara Lockner – 3 weeks (IA, BHS, MN, FL)
4-Monica Jennings – 5 weeks (IA)
5-Sabas Hernandez – 6 weeks (IA, OH, WI)
*6-Suzie Brannen – 13 weeks (IA, MD)
7-Deb Powers – 17 weeks (MT, IA)
8-Willy McAlpine – 24 weeks (IA)
9-Deanna McClain – 28 weeks (IA, MN)
10-Mike Vest – 31 weeks (IA, MO, OK, AR, KS)
11-Lowell Davis – 51 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
12-Brandon Kahler – 52 weeks (IA, MN)
13-Scott Degeneffe – 70 weeks (IA, FL, UT, CO, KY, IN, IL, MN, WI)
14-Sheri Fakhouri – 80 weeks (IA, NE, GA)
15-Logan Kahler – 81 weeks (IA, MN, MO)
16-Nathanial Brown – 82 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN, IRL, UK, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA,, WI, NY)
17-Tamara Peterson – 93 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Mindi Terrell – 97 weeks (IA)
*19-Linda Bennett – 126 weeks (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO)
20-Sarah Toot – 127 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS)
21-Angie DeWaard – 130 weeks (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL)
22-Dawn Krause – 135 weeks (IA, IL)
*23-Kim Barker – 141 weeks (IA, CO, LA)
*24-Joe Duff – 142 weeks (TX, NY)
25-Teresa Kahler – 153 weeks (IA, NE)
*26-Carla Stensland – 153 weeks (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO)
27-Micky Augustin – 155 weeks (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ)
28-Andy Sharp – 156 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS)
29-Bill Wentworth – 157 weeks (NE, MO, FL)
30-Cathie Morton – 161 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT)
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 162 weeks (IA, OH)
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 164 weeks (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX, MO)
33-Kio Dettman – 166 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Kio Dettman (Hy-Vee – Boone, Iowa)- 167 weeks

Kio Dettman (1st Baptist Church – Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Dakota City, Iowa) – 165 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 163 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 162 weeks

Bill Wentworth (St. Louis, Missouri) – 158 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah) – 157 weeks

Andy Sharp (4 Corners – Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah)

Micky Augustin (Des Moines, Iowa) – 156 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Boone First United Methodist Church – Boone, Iowa) – 154 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 143 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 142 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 136 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 131 weeks

Sarah Toot (Kansas City, Missouri) – 128 weeks

Sarah Toot (Charlotte Douglas International Airport – Charlotte, North Carolina)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 127 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 98 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 94 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa)

Nathanial Brown (St. Louis, Missouri) – 83 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Nob Hill – Boone County, Iowa) – 71 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 53 weeks

Lowell Davis (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 32 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) – 25 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Deb Powers (Ankeny, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Kyle Sharp (Colorado) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Reiman Gardens – Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Becky Parmelee (Napier, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Maccabees Kosher Deli – Des Moines, Iowa)

34 participants this week! That is a fair week!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona (.5)
+ Colorado (2.5)
+ Iowa (41)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Missouri (3)
+ New Mexico (.5)
+ North Carolina (1)
+ Texas (2)
+ Utah (.5)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Alaska (1)
+ Arizona (2.5)
+ Arkansas (20.5)
+ California (3)
+ Colorado (11.5)
+ Florida (16)
+ Georgia (3)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (14)
+ Indiana (6)
+ Iowa (1934)
+ Kansas (71)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (8)
+ Maryland (2)
+ Michigan (13)
+ Minnesota (15)
+ Mississippi (2.5)
+ Missouri (27.5)
+ Montana (4)
+ Nebraska (60)
+ Nevada (5)
+ New Jersey (5)
+ New Mexico (2.5)
+ New York (23)
+ North Carolina (3)
+ Ohio (5)
+ Oklahoma (2)
+ Pennsylvania (41)
+ Puerto Rico (4)
+ South Dakota (5)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (77)
+ Utah (2.5)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)
+ Washington (2)
+ Washington D.C. (1)
+ West Virginia (1)
+ Wisconsin (6)
+ Wyoming (1)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (4)
+ Canada (2)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Ireland (3)
+ England (2)
+ Mexico (2)
+ North Ireland (1)
+ Scotland (1)

39 states so far! 1 U.S. Territory! 1 District! 7 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA, IRL, NIR, FL, IL, KS, NE, MN, PA, WI, NY, MO) – 15
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, IL, MN, WI, KS, AZ, CO, NM, UT) – 15
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL, IN, WV, PA, DC, WA) – 13
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV, NJ, NC, FL, MD, KS, MO) – 10
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY, IL, MN, WI) – 9
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO, LA, AZ, NM, CO, UT) – 9
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW, MN) – 7
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV, AR, MO, MEX, TX) – 7
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN, LA) – 6
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO, KS, MI, CAN) – 6
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL, SCT, ENG, MN, FL) – 6
+ Linda Bennett (KS, IA, MI, NY, MO) – 5
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO, SD, WY, CO) -5
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN, IL, RP) – 5
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS, LA, MI) – 5
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO, AR, OK, KS) – 5
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL, FL, AK, AZ) – 5
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK, NY) – 4
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS, MN, FL) – 4
+ Lowell Davis (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN, MO) – 3
+ Bill Wentworth (NE, MO, FL) – 3
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH, WI) – 3
+ Kim Barker (IA, CO, LA) – 3
+ Kyle Sharp (IA, MO, CO) – 3
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Suzie Brannen (IA, MD) – 2
+ Elizabeth Nordeen (IA, OH) – 2
+ Deanna McClain (IA, MN) – 2
+ Dawn Krause – (IA, IL) – 2
+ Joe Duff (TX, NY) – 2
+ Evie Gorshe (IA, IN) – 2
+ Layla Gorshe (IA, OH) -2
+ Deb Powers (MT, IA) – 2

Heading into the last week of Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, Nathanial and Andy are tied to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer of Year 11!”

The milestone this week is that Lowell joined the 1 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! Micky joined the 3 Year Streak Club! WooHoo! WooHoo! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all candy canes and sugar plums! There was a literal bloodbath of people who couldn’t make merry with their camera this week. Elainie’s streak is gone at 2. Sara’s is over at 3. Monica’s streak goes kaput at 4. Sabas’ streak is no more at 6. And worst of all scarecrow, Deanna’s streak is now only something you’ll read about it in history books at 28! Bah humbug!

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:

WHEELS (Suggested by Sarah Toot)

WHEELS! What a great FINAL theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of WHEELS in this place that isn’t stationary next Monday.

*Don’t overcrop is a rule you should live by. Or as I would say, in almost all situations crop (or zoom) with your feet.

Art, Black & White, Christianity, Movies, Politics, Railroad, Ruins, Street Photography

New Orleans Day 1: End of Images

December 27, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

This is the final collection of images from Day 1 in New Orleans for my work trip. Last time we left off when I got to Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1. One of the shocking things to me was that if it wasn’t a bar or restaurant, everything in New Orleans closed so freaking early! Including cemeteries. I never actually made it inside of one of New Orleans cemeteries. A combination of their hours and my work hours meant it was never meant to be. But maybe someday I’ll make it back to New Orleans. I hopes so. It was one of my favorite cities I’ve ever visited.

On to Day 2 of my New Orleans Trip!

Art, Art Festival, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Christianity, Christmas, Elizabeth, Lists, Michelle, Movies, Music, Scottie D., Still Life, Street Photography

Joy to the World!

December 25, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

1. Joy to the world; the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King;
Let ev’ry heart prepare him room,
And heav’n and nature sing.

2. Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns;
Our mortal songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,
Repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make his blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love.

One of my favorite Christmas carols! And it has an interesting backstory.

From the Wiki:

“Joy to the World” is an English hymn and Christmas carol. It was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. It is usually sung to the American composer Lowell Mason’s 1848 arrangement of a tune attributed to George Frideric Handel. The hymn’s lyrics are a Christian reinterpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3.

Since the 20th century, “Joy to the World” has been the most-published Christmas carol in North America, even though it was not originally associated with Christmas. As of December 2009, it was published in 1,387 hymnals in North America, according to the Dictionary of North American Hymnology.

“Joy to the World” was written by English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts, based on a Christian interpretation of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection The Psalms of David: Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian State and Worship. The paraphrase is Watts’ Christological interpretation. Consequently, he does not emphasize with equal weight the various themes of Psalm 98. In first and second stanzas, Watts writes of heaven and earth rejoicing at the coming of the King. Watts did not write this hymn as a Christmas carol, as the lyrics do not reflect the Virgin birth of Jesus, but rather Christ’s Second Coming. Stanza three, an interlude that alludes to Genesis 3:17–19 rather than to the psalm text, speaks of Christ’s blessings extending victoriously over the realm of sin. The cheerful repetition of the phrase “far as the curse is found” has caused this stanza to be omitted from some hymnals. But the line makes joyful sense when understood from the New Testament eyes through which Watts interprets the psalm. Stanza four celebrates Christ’s rule over the nations.” The nations are called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.

So not actually meant to be about Christ’s birth, but about Christ’s return. That being said, once you put art into the world, it is up to interpretation. Sorry not sorry Ike, we turned “Joy to the World” into a Christmas Banger!

But speaking of Christmas. I need to wish all of you a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the world! The Lord is come!

I hope all of you have the merriest Christmas that you possibly can!

+++++++

This is going to be a long one, so get comfortable.

I’m not a big fan of Christmas movies. I do love and will staunchly argue that the best Christmas movie ever made was IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. I always watch it on Christmas Eve before I nestle down for my sleep. This year I decided to get more into the Christmas spirit by watching a different Christmas movie, that I’ve never seen, every day of December leading up and including Christmas day.

Here are the movies I watched and some information from Rotten Tomatoes:

Our Little Secret – 2024 (Netflix) – December 1

+ Tomatometer (Critics) – 36%
+ Popcornmeter (Audience Score) – 54%
+ Bennettmeter – 45%
+ Stars: Lindsay Lohan (Mean Girls), Ian Harding (Who?), Kristen Chenoweth (Hairspray), Tim Meadows (Mean Girls)
+ IMDB Synopsis: Avery and Logan haven’t spoken in the 10 years since they broke up. As Christmas approaches, they discover that their new partners are siblings, and both of them have been invited to stay with the family for the holidays. Avery proposes that they keep their past a secret to avoid any awkward confrontations, but hiding the truth turns out to be more difficult than it seems–and spending time together reignites old sparks.
+ Bennett Synopsis: Linsday Lohan’s boyfriend’s sister is dating her old boyfriend. For no apparent reason they decide to pretend that they have never met. Oh, I know why. Cause otherwise there is no movie. Maybe the most interesting thing in the movie is when the pastor at the church calls them “Fairweather Christians” cause they only show up to church at Easter and Christmas. Maybe the term Chreaster was too offensive?

The Merry Gentlemen – 2024 (Netflix) – December 2

Tomatometer: 44%
Popcornmeter: 23%
Bennettmeter: 10%
+ Stars: Britt Robertson (Dan in Real Life), Chad MIchael Murray (Freaky Friday)
+ IMDB Synopsis: To save her parents’ small-town performing venue, a former big-city dancer decides to stage an all-male, Christmas-themed revue.
+ Bennett Synopsis: Lady that is too old to be a Broadway dancer goes home and saves the Dad from Family Ties music club that holds about 10 people by teaching a janitor how to be a stripper. No full monty. ‘

Hot Frosty – 2024 (Netflix) – December 3

Tomatometer: 76%
Popcornmeter: 54%
Bennettmeter: 60%
Stars: Lacey Chabert (Christianmingle: The Movie), Dustin Milligan (A Simple Favor)
IMDB Synopsis: Widow Kathy magically brings a snowman to life. His innocence helps her heal and find love again. They bond before the holidays, but he’s doomed to melt.
Bennett Synopsis: Widow (cause there is always one in a these movies) accidentally makes a snowman come to life by putting a magic scarf on him. But he probably isn’t hot. I’d say mid at best. Unless you seem him with a beard. Then I can see it. But I’m not expert on the beauty of men. If my girl Lacey was the snowwwoman brought to life. Hot Frosty makes sense. Craig Robinson plays one note over and over again as the Sheriff that pursues Mid Frosty for running down the street giving off the full monty.

Haul Out the Holly – 2022 (Netflix) – December 4

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 45%
Bennettmeter: 55%
Stars:Lacey Chabert (Christianmingle: The Movie, Hot Frosty), Wes Brown (Glory Road)
IMDB Synopsis: Emily arrives home hoping to visit her parents, only to find that they are going on a trip of their own. While she stays at her house for the holidays, her HOA is determined to get Emily involved in the neighborhood Christmas festivities.
Bennett Synopsis: A horror story about the evils of living with an overbearing HOA.

Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up! – 2023 (Netflix) – December 5

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 39%
Bennettmeter: 45%
Stars: Lacey Chabert (Christianmingle: The Movie, Hot Frosty, Haul Out the Holly), Wes Brown (Haul Out the Holly)
IMDB Synopsis: As the holidays approach, Emily and Jared are looking forward to celebrating the holidays together again, this time as a couple. Emily, now embracing Evergreen Lane’s uniquely festive spirit, is ready to work with Jared, Ned, Mary Louise and Pamela to make this year’s Christmas celebrations the best yet – even if being the HOA president’s girlfriend doesn’t stop those dreaded decorating citations. When a house on the block goes up for sale, it causes quite a stir with residents. When the soon-to-be neighbors turn out to be holiday royalty, it looks like this year’s competition is about to heat up. As the welcoming committee prepares for the new arrivals, only one thing is certain – this Christmas, Evergreen Lane is going to sleigh.
Bennett Synopsis: Reality television stars move in and our tormented by the overbearing HOA.

A Merry Scottish Christmas – 2023 (Netflix) – December 6

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 56%
Bennettmeter: 8%
Stars: Lacey Chabert (Christianmingle: The Movie, Hot Frosty, Haul Out the Holly, Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up), Scott Wolf (Go)
IMDB Synopsis: Follows estranged siblings Lindsay and Brad as they travel to Scotland at Christmas to reunite with their mother Jo.
Bennett Synopsis: Lacey Chabert and her boring brother go to Scotland and find out they are the product of inbreeding, I mean if they are nobility. Then they have to decide on whether or not to be the products of inherited wealth. Tough decision. Not my girl Lacey’s best film.

Miracle in Bethlehem, PA – 2023 (Netflix) – December 7

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 68%
Bennettmeter: 15%
Stars: Laura Vandervoort (Smallville), Benjamin Ayres (Who?)
IMDB Synopsis: Just before Christmas, Mary Ann adopts a baby girl to raise alone. She and the infant spend the Christmas stuck in Bethlehem, PA, due to bad weather. Her only choice when the inn is full is to stay with Joe, the brother of the innkeeper.
Bennett Synopsis: Single mom Mary and her newly adopted baby have to stay in Bethlehem with Joe, who’s house in like a barn. Get it. Look! They are so clever! Mary also seems to treat her mom like garbage for no particular reason.

The Christmas Quest – 2024 (Hallmark) – December 8

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: No score
Bennettmeter: 18%
Stars: Lacey Chabert (Christianmingle: The Movie, Hot Frosty, Haul Out the Holly, Haul Out the Holly: Lit Up, A Merry Scottish Christmas), Kristoffer Polaha (Who?)
IMDB Synopsis: An archaeologist, her ex-husband who is a Norse language expert, search for legendary treasure in Iceland during Christmas. Others join the hunt, leading to a thrilling race to secure the treasure before the wrong people obtain it.
Bennett Synopsis: Lacey Chabert as Indiana Jones? Yes please! But not in this movie where the only fun part is saying Yule Lads.

Holiday Touchdown A Chiefs Love Story – 2024 (Hallmark) – December 9

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: No Score
Bennettmeter: 65%
Stars: Joey King’s sister, Tyler Hynes (Who?)
IMDB Synopsis: Alana Higman, a die-hard Kansas City Chiefs fan and her family are competing to win the team’s Fan of the Year contest, in a process judged by the director of fan engagement Derrick.
Bennett Synopsis: I wanted to hate this movie, cause the Chief fanbase in pretty insufferable and their stadium is a dump, but dang it I actually liked it. Joey King’s sister is pretty charming and anybody that is a sport fan will definitely be able to relate to the story and the pay off at the end is earned. Although the green screen in the midfield scene is reminiscent of the green screen in THE ROOM. That means it is atrociously bad.

Meet Me Next Christmas – 2024 (Netflix) – December 10

Tomatometer: 69%
Popcornmeter: 53%
Bennettmeter: 55%
Stars: Christina Milian but the real star is Kalen Allen.
IMDB Synopsis: In pursuit of a fairytale romance with the man of her dreams, Layla must race through New York City to get her hands on the hottest ticket in town: the sold out Pentatonix Christmas Eve Concert.
Bennett Synopsis: Christina Milian meets a rando at the airport, but they are both attached but they agree that if they are both unattached next Christmas they will meet at a Pentatonix concert the following Christmas, but this is all just a pretense to see some absolutely terrible acting by Pentatonix. Just really bad. But the cousin character redeems the movie. But if I met some hottie at the airport that told me she would meet me at a Pentatonix concert next year at Christmas if her current boyfriend cheated on her, I’d pass. I know she is just going to hook up with the guy that tries to get her a ticket to that concert. I’ve seen that movie before. Well, I’ve seen it now.

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 56%
Bennettmeter: 38%
Stars: Rachel Skarsten
IMDB Synopsis: When a snowstorm diverts Kate’s first private flight en route to Switzerland to Christmas Island, she must team up with an air traffic controller to secure her dream job as the family’s pilot.
Bennett Synopsis: Movie that tries to push the lie that rich people aren’t terrible at their core. They just need to make a Christmas tree out of lobster cages to not suck. Not here for your right wing propaganda movie! Okay, it had its moments.

I Believe in Santa – 2022 (Netflix) – December 12

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: 28%
Bennettmeter: 9%
Stars: Christina Moore, Tom Ducey
IMDB Synopsis: Love is a gift. But when you find out the man you’ve fallen for still believes in Santa, do you accept it – or send it back?
Bennett Synopsis: Send it back.

That Christmas – 2024 (Netflix) – December 13

Tomatometer: 66%
Popcornmeter: 73%
Bennettmeter: 75%
Stars: Bill Nighy, Brian Cox
IMDB Synopsis: It’s an unforgettable Christmas for the townsfolk of Wellington-on-Sea when the worst snowstorm in history alters everyone’s plans, including Santa’s.
Bennett Synopsis: Who is more irresponsible? Adults? Kids? Both? But the storyline with the nice twin and the naughty twin is very endearing.

Last Christmas – 2019 (Max) – December 14
Tomatometer: 46%
Popcornmeter: 81%
Bennettmeter: 61%
Stars: Emilia Clarke, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding
IMDB Synopsis: Kate is a young woman subscribed to bad decisions. Working as an elf in a year-round Christmas store is not good for the wannabe singer. However, she meets Tom there. Her life takes a new turn–that seems too good to be true.
Bennett Synopsis: So much great Wham! music that takes the lyrics of the literal song a little too literal. But Emilia Clarke is watchable in anything. Even as a depressed, alcoholic, heart transplant survivor that finally finds her direction while volunteering at a homeless shelter. Plus a cameo by Andrew Ridgeley!

A Sudden Case of Christmas – 2024 (Hulu) – December 15

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: No score
Bennettmeter: 5%
Stars: Danny DeVito, Andie McDowell, Wilmer Valderrama
IMDB Synopsis: An American couple bring their 10-year-old daughter to her grandfather’s hotel in Italy to tell her that they are separating. Hoping to bring them back together, she asks to celebrate one last Christmas together, even though it’s August.
Bennett Synopsis: Am I bad person for rooting for divorce? Cause I was rooting for divorce.

The Holiday List – 2024 (Peacock) – December 16

Tomatometer: No score
Popcornmeter: No score
Bennettmeter: 2%
Stars: Brittany Snow, Lucas Bravo
IMDB Synopsis: A woman sets out a well-intentioned plan of bringing her dysfunctional family together in the wake of the family’s matriarch, her mother-in-law.
Bennett Synopsis: So bleak and dreary that even Sexy Chef from “Emily in Paris” can’t even save it.

Best Christmas. Ever! – 2023 (Netflix) – December 17

Tomatometer: 40%
Popcornmeter: 19%
Bennettmeter: 40%
Stars: Heather Graham, Brandy, Jason Biggs
IMDB Synopsis: Friendships are put to the ultimate test over a boastful holiday newsletter.
Bennett Synopsis: I miss Christmas letters. I miss Christmas cards. I don’t get any, but I miss them and that may have pulled me a long ways in this movie until they get to the solar powered hot air balloon. What? Movie kinda circles the drain after that.

The Grinch – 2018 (Peacock) – December 18

Tomatometer: 49%
Popcornmeter: 59%
Bennettmeter: 57%
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Pharrell Williams, Rashida Jones
IMDB Synopsis: A grumpy Grinch plots to ruin Christmas for the village of Whoville.
Bennett Synopsis: It is definitely not in the league as the Boris Karloff Grinch, but a far sight better than the wretched Jim Carrey version. The pop culture references definitely dated it pretty fast!

Krampus – 2015 (Peacock) – December 19

Tomatometer: 66%
Popcornmeter: 52%
Bennettmeter: 60%
Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette
IMDB Synopsis: A boy who has a bad Christmas accidentally summons a festive demon to his family home.
Bennett Synopsis: The creativity of the monsters is incredible. A pretty phenomenal cast, especially for a horror movie. But the story is… mid.

Red One – 2024 (Prime) – December 20

Tomatometer: 30%
Popcornmeter: 90%
Bennettmeter: 70%
Stars: J.K. Simmons, Chris Evens, Dwayne Johnson
IMDB Synopsis: After Santa Claus is kidnapped, the North Pole’s Head of Security must team up with a notorious hacker in a globe-trotting, action-packed mission to save Christmas.
Bennett Synopsis: The best part of this movie is the extreme attention to detail it gives to how Santa would be able to deliver presents to billions of children in a single night. The rest is kind of boiler plate action. Of course J.K. Simmons was magnificent!

Spirited – 2022 (AppleTV) – December 21

Tomatometer: 70%
Popcornmeter: 80%
Bennettmeter: 75%
Stars: Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds
IMDB Synopsis: A musical version of Charles Dickens’s story of a miserly misanthrope who is taken on a magical journey.
Bennett Synopsis: I’m a sucker for a good take on “A Christmas Carol”. This is particularly clever and it took me a minute to accept the ending, but I did. And now I’m at peace with it. Also, great music. And if you don’t like it, Good afternoon to you sir!

Fred Claus – 2007 (Disney+> – December 22
Tomatometer: 20%
Popcornmeter: 45%
Bennettmeter: 90%
Stars: Vince Vaugn, Paul Giamatti
IMDB Synopsis: Fred Claus, Santa’s bitter older brother, is forced to move to the North Pole to help Santa and the elves prepare for Christmas in exchange for cash.
Bennett Synopsis: This should put to rest once and for all the very inaccurate notion that I am an elitist. My favorite Christmas movie of the 25 has an astonishingly low score on Rotten Tomatoes! Me? An elitist. Hogwash! Horse pucky! As Sabrina Carpenter might say, Nonsense! And maybe it is because this movie corrects, if I may be so bold, the flaw in the Santa Clause “character”. Fred utters this line and I think it embodies what should be the true Christmas spirit:

“Nick, there’s been one thing that’s been eating at me since I’ve been here. That Naughty-Nice List that you got? There’s no naughty kids, Nick. They’re all good kids. But some of them are scared. And some of them don’t feel listened to. Some of them had some pretty tough breaks too. But every kid deserves a present on Christmas.”

The Christmas Break – 2023 (Hulu) – December 23

Tomatometer: No Score
Popcornmeter: 22%
Bennettmeter: 26%
Stars: Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers), India Mullen
IMDB Synopsis: A married couple travels from Chicago to spend Christmas with the wife’s family in a small town in Ireland, for a holiday that will test their patience–and their marriage.
Bennett Synopsis: I was really just here cause I want to go to Ireland next year and the scenes of Gaelic football, but other than that, not much to see here.

Fatman – 2020 (Peacock) – December 24
Tomatometer: 44%
Popcornmeter: 84%
Bennettmeter: 0%
Stars: Mel Gibson, Walton Goggins
IMDB Synopsis: A rowdy, unorthodox Santa Claus is fighting to save his declining business. Meanwhile, Billy, a neglected and precocious 12 year old, hires a hit man to kill Santa after receiving a lump of coal in his stocking.
Bennett Synopsis: While that sounds like it could be a fun movie. It isn’t. And what it neglects to mention is that Santa and his elves are building weapons for the United State military. Everything about this movie makes me want to puke from the lame action scene near the end where Santa gets stabbed and the shot in the eye and Mrs. Claus shoots the assassin in the back to the ending where Santa goes to the kids house that hired the assassin to threaten him. All of it is puke.

Mary – 2024 (Netflix) – December 25

Tomatometer: 31%
Popcornmeter: 37%
Bennettmeter: 35%
Stars: Noa Cohen, Anthony Hopkins
IMDB Synopsosis: In this timeless coming-of-age story, Mary is shunned following an otherworldly conception and forced to flee when Herod’s insatiable thirst for power ignites a murderous pursuit for the newborn.
Bennett Synopsis: This movie was created to answer the age old questions: Was Mary a hot 24 year old Israeli supermodel. Yes, yes she was. Could Mary jump off a burning building shortly after giving birth to Jesus? Yes she can. Was Joseph good with a sword? Yes. But not good enough to save Mary’s dad from being killed. Could Joseph murder somebody? He sure could! What would it be like if Hannibal Lecter and King Herod were the same person? Pretty weird.

Thank you for joining me on this journey. Thanks to Elizabeth, Michelle, and Scottie D. for some of the suggestions for Christmas movies. I don’t know I will do this again next year. We will see where I’m at on the Ebeneezer Scrooge character arc next year.

+++++++

I said this would be a long one. Go ahead and pour yourself another cup of nog. Time to share the rest of the pictures I took on my brief solo trip to the Des Moines Arts Festival:

Still my favorite!

I don’t necessarily hate winter, but I’m ready for it to warm back up so festivals and farmer’s markets come back! I miss you so much! Soon, though, soon enough.

Adam, Boone FUMC, Christmas, Music

The Story of Christmas

December 21, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Last Sunday was the kid’s Christmas Pageant at Boone First United Methodist Church. As always, they did a wonderful job and I snapped a few pictures.

Here are some of my favorites:

Everybody involved did a fantastic job! It brightened what ended up being a pretty terrific day!

Art, Black & White, Christianity, Street Photography, Travel

New Orleans Day 1: More Bourbon Street at Day

December 20, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time for another collection of images I took while wandering around New Orleans. Most of these are on Bourbon Street, but some are taken when I wandered over by Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1.

View from the hotel room.

Still one more collection of pictures from Day One in New Orleans left to share.