Category Archives: Christianity

PHOTO DROP-OFF ROAD TRIP II

Today is Suzie’s birthday. So I need to wish her a happy birthday!


Day 128 - May 8, 2021
Happy birthday Suzie!

Suzie is the short one in the picture, in case you didn’t know! I hope you have an amazing birthday!

+++++++

Time to share more pictures from the road trip I took with Nader after I dropped off my pictures for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. This collection starts where the first collection ended, hanging out with Albert the Bull in Audubon.


Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Audubon, Iowa

Gray, Iowa
Gray

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Gray, Iowa

Manning, Iowa
Manning

Manning, Iowa

Manning, Iowa

Manning, Iowa

Still one more collection of images to share from this road trip.

Davis County Aux. – Vol. 4

Here it is. The final collection of auxiliary images I took during THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. Finally being shared almost 14 months after I took them. Closing the book on pictures I took in 2022. To be honest there is one last collection of pictures I took in 2022, but I’m not going to share those. Those I will keep for me.

The final county of town signs I harvested was Davis County. A county I left for last because I wanted to save the Paris, Iowa (there are two unincorporated towns named Paris in Iowa) for the end because I have some family history on my Mom’s side of the family there. Paris is almost a ghost town now. There is a cemetery a couple miles down the road. There are a few houses and there are the remains of a general store. But it was still interesting to visit and I don’t regret leaving it for last, even though it really didn’t have a town sign.

Here is the final collection of images, starting at a general store in Cantril.


Van Buren County - Cantril

Van Buren County - Cantril
I swear Randall’s had this exact same signs when I was a kid.

Van Buren County - Cantril

Van Buren County - Cantril

Van Buren County - Cantril

Van Buren County - Cantril

Van Buren County - Cantril
The artist definitely spend most of their time and effort on the boobs.

Van Buren County - Cantril

Davis County

Davis County - Troy
Troy

Davis County - Troy

Davis County - Troy

Davis County - Troy

Davis County - Troy
This building housed the Troy Academy. Which was one of the first institutions of higher education west of the Mississippi.

Davis County - Troy
It is also the subject of a painting by Buckley Moss.

Davis County - Troy

Davis County

Davis County
Back to Bloomfield

Davis County

Davis County

Davis County

Davis County - Paris
Paris Cemetery

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Davis County - Paris

Marshall County - Marshalltown
Marshalltown

It is a little sad to close the last page on this photo project. My original plan for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT was to turn it into a book. I have made next to no progress on that. None. I haven’t really made much or no progress on what was going to be my next photo project. I have let you down…

But maybe I will make progress on the book this winter. Stranger things have happened.

I’m not sure what will be posted on Wednesdays going forward. But there isn’t a shortage of RAW images waiting to be edited and shared!

Birthday Road Trip Denouement

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:


Langdon, Iowa - Unincorporated
Langdon, Iowa – Unincorporated
LANGDON
IOWA
EST. 1899 POP. 53

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:


The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

The Grotto of the Redemption - 2023

I wonder where I will go for my birthday road trip in 2024?

Davis County Aux. – Vol. 2

We begin this collection of auxiliary images I took on my trip to Davis County with Teresa to harvest the town signs of Davis County where the last collection left off. In the beautiful town square of Bloomfield. This collection will also include pictures from the Dutch Country General Store. Which if you are ever remotely in the area, I highly recommend visiting.


Davis County - Bloomfield
Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

There are still quite a few more pictures from this trip left to share.

Davis County Aux. – Vol. 1

Time to start sharing the final collection of auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. The final county I harvested town signs from was Davis County. Teresa went on the final THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trip. There are only 4 incorporated towns in Davis County, so there were stops in other counties. Including the first stop in Pella for the Jaarsma Bakery:


Marion County - Pella
Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Marion County - Pella

Wapello County
Near Chillicothe

Wapello County

Wapello County

Wapello County - Ottumwa
Ottumwa

Wapello County - Ottumwa

Wapello County - Ottumwa

Wapello County - Ottumwa

Wapello County - Ottumwa

Davis County - Floris
Floris

Davis County - Floris

Davis County - Floris

Davis County - Floris

Davis County - Floris

Davis County - Floris

Davis County - Drakesville
Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Drakesville

Davis County - Bloomfield
Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

Davis County - Bloomfield

There are plenty more pictures left to share from this road trip. Including two sweet general stores!

150-600

Today is the birthday of the Miller Triplets. So I must wish them happy birthday!


Baby Tri-Force 1st Birthday Party
Happy birthday Doris, Jimmy, and Billy!

This picture was taken at their 1st birthday party in 2019 so that makes them… 5! They are 5 years old?!? How did this happen!

+++++++

Back in February I purchased a new lens. It was a Sigma 150-600mm DG DN OS Sports Lens. At one point, I was going to write a long post on it with a collection of the first images I took with it. But here it is. Halfway through October and the lens is old news now, so real need to go into too much details about the specifications of the lens. But I still want to share some of the first images I took with it. I went down to the Kate Shelley High Bridge and went to Lake LaVerne and took a few pictures of Logan.

Here are those pictures:


150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

150-600

On the day I went to Lake LaVerne I also hit up the Ames Library. I took pictures there for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme BOOKS. I didn’t use any of those images. Here is a collection of those:


Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

Ames Public Library

I do love that lens. It is kind of a limited purpose lens, but I should find more of those limited purpose opportunities.

Orange City Tulip Festival II

I’m currently out of drone pictures, so thought I would move up the next post on the Orange City Tulip Festival a couple of days early.

We start this collection off where the collection ended. We had just got our poffertjes and had sat down to eat the deliciousness!


Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023
These buckets of water are throughout the parade route. Little kids clean the road before the Orange Festival Royalty walk through. I hope to get pictures of that next year.

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023
Fried Almond Patties are a game changer!

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023
The world needs more conveyor belts.

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Orange City Tulip Festival - 2023

Still a couple more collections of images from this trip left to share!

Scott County Aux. – Vol. 3

Time to share another collection of images from my trip to Scott County to harvest their town signs. Most of these pictures are also taken in Le Claire and this collection ends in Davenport. It includes a brief stop I made at Antique Archaeology. The store made famous by the show American Pickers. It is a cool store and definitely worth the trip, but I think the downtown area of Le Claire is also worth the trip as well.

The collection starts where Volume 2 ended. With a great blue heron on the banks of the Mississippi River.


Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Le Claire

Scott County - Pleasant Valley
Pleasant Valley

Scott County - Pleasant Valley

Scott County - Davenport
Davenport

Scott County - Davenport

Scott County - Davenport

Scott County - Davenport

Scott County - Davenport

Scott County - Davenport
This is actually in Illinois.

Scott County - Davenport
Back in Davenport.

Scott County - Davenport

Still plenty of pictures from this road trip left to share.

WPC – WEEK 421 – ARCHITECTURE

NOTES: 1 – SOME OF THE SUBMISSIONS ARE STARTING TO COME IN VERY SMALL. WATCH THE SIZE OF THE IMAGES YOU SEND IN. IDEALLY THEY SHOULD BE AT LEAST 1,000 PIXELS. SMALLER IMAGES MIGHT LOOK GOOD ON YOUR PHONE SCREEN, BUT DON’T LOOK GOOD ON A COMPUTER MONITOR. 2 – AT THE END OF THE MONTH I WILL BE OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR’S THEMES. THE LAST MONDAY IN OCTOBER AND THE 1ST MONDAY IN NOVEMBER ARE WHEN SUGGESTIONS CAN BE MADE. THOSE SUGGESTIONS HAVE TO BE MADE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THOSE POSTS. NOT VIA EMAIL, TEXT MESSAGE, TEAMS, PHONE CONVERSATION, SNAPCHAT. ONLY IN THE COMMENTS SECTIONS OF THOSE 2 POSTS. START THINKING OF THEMES YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR NEXT YEAR.

+++++++

This morning the Iowa Pork Producers Association released the finalists for this year’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin. There are 5 finalists and 3 of them are close to Boone!

Here are the Finalists:

+ Cliff’s Place – Manning (80 minutes)
+ Spillway Supper Club – Harpers Ferry (3 hours 35 minutes)
+ Stumpy’s Bar & Grill – Duncombe (45 minutes)
+ ToJo’s Bar & Grill – Jamaica (42 minutes)
+ The Roadhouse – Orange City (3 hours 11 miuntes)

A total of 774 restaurants were nominated this year.

Looks like it is time for me to get out on the open road again.

+++++++

ARCHITECTURE! Everybody lives or works in or near a building or structure that is a form of ARCHITECTURE. But were there structures around enough people to inspire them to take and submit a picture? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 25, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Corey Faust – 1 week
2-Sara Lockner – 1 week
3-Amy Peterson – 2 weeks (2)
4-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 3 weeks
5-Susanna Funk – 4 weeks
6-Scott Degeneffe – 5 weeks (2)
7-Sabas Hernandez – 6 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 6 weeks
9-Mary Green – 8 weeks
10-Mike Vest – 12 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 15 weeks (2)
12-Monica Jennings – 16 weeks (2)
13-Logan Kahler – 16 weeks (2)
14-Nathanial Brown – 17 weeks (2)
15-Jesse Howard – 17 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 20 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 25 weeks (3)
18-Mindi Terrell – 32 weeks (3)
19-Brandon Kahler – 56 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 61 weeks
21-Sarah Toot – 62 weeks (3)
22-Angie DeWaard – 66 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 70 weeks (3)
24-Kim Barker – 76 weeks (2)
25-Joe Duff – 77 weeks
26-Teresa Kahler – 88 weeks (3)
27-Carla Stensland – 88 weeks (3)
28-Micky Augustin – 90 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 91 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 92 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 96 weeks (2)
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 97 weeks (2)
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 99 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 101 weeks (2)

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


WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - ELAINIE HERNANDEZ
Elainie Hernandez (West Side Market – Cleveland, Ohio) – 1 week

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - ELAINIE HERNANDEZ
Elainie Hernandez (West Side Market – Cleveland, Ohio)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MYRIAH SHARP
Myriah Sharp (Maui, Hawaii) – 1 week

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MYRIAH SHARP
Myriah Sharp (Maui, Hawaii)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MYRIAH SHARP
Myriah Sharp (Maui, Hawaii)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SARA LOCKNER
Sara Lockner (Windsor Heights, Iowa) – 2 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -AMY PETERSON
Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.) – 3 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -AMY PETERSON
Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SCOTT DEGENEFFE
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 6 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SCOTT DEGENEFFE
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SABAS HERNANDEZ
Sabas Hernandez (Cleveland, Ohio) – 7 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - WILLY MCALPINE
Willy McAlpine (Spain) – 7 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MARY GREEN
Mary Green (Edgewood, Iowa) – 9 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MARY GREEN
Mary Green (Edgewood, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MARY GREEN
Mary Green (Edgewood, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 13 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SHERI FAKHOURI
Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye – Ankeny, Iowa) – 16 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MONICA JENNINGS
Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa) – 17 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 17 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -NATHANIAL BROWN
Nathanial Brown (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - JESSE HOWARD
Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 18 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 21 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - ALEXIS STENSLAND
Alexis Stensland (Des Moines, Iowa) – 26 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Des Moines, Iowa) – 33 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Des Moines, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MINDI TERRELL
Mindi Terrell (Des Moines, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - BRANDON KAHLER
Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 57 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 62 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -LINDA BENNETT
Linda Bennett (Kansas)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SARAH TOOT
Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 63 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 67 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause (Barcelona, Spain) – 71 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -
Dawn Krause (Barcelona, Spain)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause (Barcelona, Spain)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker (Austin, Texas) – 77 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker (Ms. Congeniality Stage – San Antonio, Texas)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 78 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff (League City, Texas)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler (Linwood Cemetery – Boone, Iowa) – 89 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler (Iowa State Fairgrounds – Des Moines, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Eldora, Iowa) – 89 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Pine Lake – Eldora, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland (Ames, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - MICKY AUGUSTII
Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 91 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -  ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp (UNI Dome – Cedar Falls, Iowa) – 92 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 93 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - CATHIE MORTON
Cathie Morton (Iowa) – 97 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa) – 98 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Mackinac Island, Michigan) – 100 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 102 weeks

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE -KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

WEEK 420 - ARCHITECTURE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett (Des Moines, Iowa) – 524 weeks

34 submissions! That is a pretty great week. Could have been 35 if TJ Maxx has more inspiring buildings or 36 if Funk could have found a building in the mountains. But I digress.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Hawaii
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Michigan
+ Nebraska
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas

Thanks to Myriah’s trip to Hawaii, we get to add Hawaii to the list!

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Kentucky
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Carolina
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Vermont
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

38 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 75% of the way there!

he Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ Alto del Perdon – Spain
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Ontario, Canada
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
+ Puenta de la Reina, Spain
+ St. John pied de port, France
+ Vienna, Austria
+ Munich, Germany
+ Rome, Italy
+ Cannes, France
+ Koper, Slovenia

There were some pretty big milestones reached this week! Shannon became the 2nd member ever of the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo! Joe reached the Year and a Half Club! WooHoo! Finally Alexis reached the Half Year Club! WooHoo!

But it wasn’t all good news. Faust couldn’t build on his submission from last week. Jen’s streak went up in flames at 3. Funk’s streak tumbled back down the mountain after 4 weeks. The humanity!

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:


WEEK 421 - RELIGION
RELIGION

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

RELIGION! I bet a few people groaned when they saw this was the theme. That is okay. You didn’t think a website that is grounded in Christianity would go a year without the RELIGION theme did you? Where do you think the name Photography 139 comes from? I’m not forcing you to go to church to take this picture. A RELIGION picture could be as easy as taking a picture of a house of worship. Doesn’t have to be a church. There are a ton of RELIGIONs in the world and a ton of them are probably practiced near you. Within 20 minutes of where I live in central Iowa there are synagogues, mosques, and even a mandir. But it doesn’t have to be of a building. Or even a worship service. It can be a picture of a book or a song or a symbol. There are religious symbols all over, if you take a second to look. There are so many possibilities!

While considering possible subjects for your submission, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with a great image:

Science gives man knowledge which is power, religion gives man wisdom which is control.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

The picture has to 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 (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of RELIGION in this place that is was built on a foundation of Christianity next Monday.

But God, You Couldn’t Have Cared Less

I told you that BLACK & WHITE was my favorite theme and I wasn’t joking. I took a ton of BLACK & WHITE pictures for last week’s theme and every day (well almost every day) this week I’m going to share another collection of alternates. This first collection consists of the pictures that I took on Monday and Tuesday.

There is a rule in digital photography that you should never take pictures in black & white. You should take them in color and convert the images to black & white with editing software. The reason for this is because you can always take color away from a digital image, but you can’t add color back to it, if it was never there. (I mean, that is close enough to the truth. If you really wanted to you could make an attempt to add color to a black & white image, but it would probably come out looking like an outtake from THE INFENRAL CAULDRON.

Any Georges Méliès fans in the house? No? I’ll move on.

But I decided to ignore the rules and took all my pictures in “High Contrast Monochrome”. Cause you know how I feel about rules.

Rules are for fools.
Rules are for tools.
Rules are for ghouls.
Rules are for pools.

But rules for photography? Well, mostly they are guidelines that can and should be broken. From time to time.

I had big plans to get out there everyday and take plenty of beautiful, dare I say, tasty High Contrast Monochrome images. But right out of the bat, my Monday went south on me. There was a virtual mine collapse at the Computer Mine and I ended up working from 7 AM to nearly 11 PM. I only got a few pictures taken here and there while I was able to take a few breaks.

So most of the Monday images are just testing camera settings, playing with my old friend the fisheye and testing a point and shoot that I would need to use later in the week.

Here are the Monday images:


But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less
I swear that when I saw this image on the small screen I thought there was a reflection of Naima staring back at me from the lid of my grill. I mean it is an uncanny likeness.

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less
This is actually “Rich Monochrome”. Basically a HDR black & white image. A setting, that has its uses, but I don’t love it.

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less
My desk. Been thinking about building my own desk lately.

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less
Test shot with the point & shoot

Tuesday I also wasn’t as active as I originally thought I might be. I actually got out of work on time, but I think Monday sucked my will to live out of me. I had a pretty lazy Tuesday. But I did get out of the house for a little bit to take Naima on a car ride and to take my neighbor’s cans to the can redemption center. I took a bit of street photography while I was out and about.

Here are Tuesday’s images:


But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

But God, You Couldn't Have Cared Less

Still so very, very, very, many black & white pictures to share with you guys!