Category Archives: Religion

Some of this Brain is Off Limits; I’m Off in a World that You Don’t Get; ‘Cause You Ain’t Ever Been In It!

Reminder, you have until next Tuesday at midnight to vote on what pictures I enter at the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. Click on the link below to vote:

BOONE COUNTY FAIR PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY SELECTION

You must have a Facebook account or a Google+ account to vote. You vote by leaving a comment on a photo.

As of this writing, only 7 pictures have received votes. Thank you Sarah Karber and Michelle Haupt!

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A reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is BLACK:


Week 146 - Black

A BLACK photo is a photo of anything that is BLACK. Remember that there is multiple definitions for the word BLACK.

Happy photo harvesting!

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The world wasn’t ready for these FACELESS PORTRAIT pictures on Monday. I’m not sure that the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


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All of these pictures were taken with my trusty Pixel 2 on my recent mission trip to Houston (actually Vidor). There will be much more on the mission trip starting tomorrow. So buckle up!

You’re welcome world!

My Life Is A Mess, Better Watch Your Step When You Step In It!

The world wasn’t ready for these SELF-PORTRAIT pictures last Monday, mostly because I was in Vidor, Texas. The world also wasn’t ready for them this Monday.

I’m not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


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You’re welcome world!

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Reminder, you have until next Tuesday at midnight to vote on what pictures I enter at the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. Click on the link below to vote:

BOONE COUNTY FAIR PHOTO CONTEST ENTRY SELECTION

You must have a Facebook account or a Google+ account to vote.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 144 & WEEK 145

It was a great and trans-formative trip, but it is good to be back in the Cyclone State!

Here are the submission for SELF-PORTRAIT:


WEEK 144 - SELF-PORTRAIT - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD

WEEK 144 - SELF-PORTRAIT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 144 - SELF-PORTRAIT - CATHIE RALEY
CATHIE RALEY

WEEK 144 - SELF-PORTRAIT - TAMARA PETERSON
TAMARA PETERSON

WEEK 144 - SELF-PORTRAIT - LINDA BENNETT
LINDA BENNETT

Here are the submissions for FACELESS PORTRAIT:


WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - SHANNON BARDOLE--FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 145 - FACELESS PORTRAIT - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

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 146 - BLACK
BLACK!

BLACK! What a great theme! What is a BLACK picture? A BLACK picture is a picture of anything that is BLACK. Of course, there is more than one definition of BLACK. I look forward to your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very black Monday.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE THEME REVEAL

I’m still down in Houston on a Mission Trip with the Boone First United Methodist Youth Group. Hopefully I’m currently on a lunch break. Knocking down a sandwich that I prepared this morning shortly after breakfast.

Due to my geographical location, I can’t publish all the great submissions for SELF-PORTRAIT.

I will do that upon my return from Houston on Saturday. Or Sunday, when my body, mind, spirit, and soul are ready to tackle the blogging world again.

However, that doesn’t mean you can’t start working away on this week’s theme:



FACELESS PORTRAIT!

FACELESS PORTRAIT! What a great theme! But what does it mean? A FACELESS PORTRAIT is any portrait of somebody where you can’t see the face. It could show the back of their head, their hands, their torso, their tail, or their horns. These are just an example. It is even possible that the subject of your portrait might not be in the picture at all.

As always, I look forward to seeing your submissions when I return.

And, keep the youth group in your thoughts and prayers!

And What You Gon’ Be When You Grow up Chris? I Doubt They Will Get It!

Those of you that know me well or are paying attention to this here blog know that tomorrow at 7 AM I hit the road for a Mission Trip to Houston. We will leave Saturday morning. Stay a night at a church near Fort Worth on Saturday night and then carry on to a town near Houston on Sunday.

We will work it to the bone for 4 days and then start the return trip home on Friday morning. We will spend Friday night in a Tulsa hotel and then be home at some point on Saturday.


Mission Trip  - Day 0
Last Year’s Mission Trip Group

If you wish to follow along and see sporadic updates of our adventures in Houston, the best path is to follow us on Instagram:

@boonefumcyg

If you are too old for Instagram, then you will have to wait for my inevitable blogs.

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Here is your reminder that this week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is SELF-PORTRAIT.

A SELF-PORTRAIT is a picture where the photographer is also the subject.

But don’t be afraid to be creative. Take a picture of yourself in a reflection that morphs your appearance. Take a picture of something that defines you. Take a picture of something that reflects your influence in the world.

Or take a picture of yourself in the gym mirror. It is all good.


Week 144 -  Self-Portrait
SELF-PORTRAIT

Happy photo harvesting!

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The world wasn’t ready for these WORK pictures on Monday. The world might not be ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


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You’re welcome world!!

You Still Wonder Why I Existed, I Exist in a World That’s Real Different!

I need to start this post with yet another apology. On Monday, when I posted the submissions for RELIGION and THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE I did not post a second picture submitted by Andy.

This was not an error of carelessness like in some past weeks. I legitimately didn’t know that it was a submission.

You see, he sent me a picture of Hawkeye propaganda. I didn’t realize that it was a submission for RELIGION. I thought he was committing a hate crime and I nearly called the police.

However, I remember that in some societies, being a Hawkeye fan is considered a mental illness. With the way this society stigmatizes mental illness, I thought I better just pretend like nothing happened. Back away from the propaganda and nobody gets hurt.

But the ordeal wasn’t over. You see before Andy sent me the picture of his boat, he implied that I might not publish his submission. I let him know that I will publish ANY submission that doesn’t get me in trouble with the law.

He then sent me a picture of his boat with the following explanation:

I feel closest to God in my boat on water at sunrise or sunset…

I can relate to this sentiment. I don’t fish (much), although I did catch a fish worthy of a Master Angler Big Fish award once, but didn’t turn it in due to my modesty. I also often feel closest to God when I am in nature.

I texted back:

I was worried it was going to be some Hawkeye garbage.

He then sent me the picture of Hawkeye propaganda with the commentary that they go together. I didn’t put together that the pictures went together. I thought that the propaganda was on the boat, because it is.

I have since rectified the situation. If you click on the link below, you can see Andy’s submitted Hawkeye propaganda:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION

Now that bit of unpleasantness is behind us, I need to remind you that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is:


WEEK 143 - WORK
WORK!

A WORK picture is anything that involves WORK. A person WORKing. The tools somebody uses when they are WORKing. The results of WORKing. If you don’t know what WORK is, ask an immigrant. They get the job done. We all know that Peter Piper claimed he picked them, he just underpaid Pablo.

The world wasn’t ready for the following RELIGION pictures on Monday. Not sure the world is ready now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


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You’re welcome world!

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 142 – RELIGION

Before I get into the participation and the tommyrot and the PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE quoting, I want to point out the historical significance of today. Today is the 2 year anniversary of The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016!

If you don’t know about The Great Turtle Race Robbery of 2016, let me give you the short, short, short version.

During the football season, me and few fellow computer miners engage in a spirited bit of gambling. The winner each week gets to claim a red solo cup filled with change. Well, maybe not exactly filled, but there is some change in it.

At the end of the season, the person with the most red cups is proclaimed The Witch and they get the travelling trophy. A Franklin Broomworks Children’s Broom.(Incidentally, I agree with Franklin Broomworks and their hardcore child labor policies.) In the event of a tie, the title of Witch gets conferred in a tie-breaking competition that is determined by the people that are not involved in the tie.

In 2016, the tie-breaker was a turtle race.

The 4 people tied for first place were Joe (AKA Flat Earth Joe), Michelle, Cathie, and Humble Narrator. Before our traditional year end banquet at Zeno’s in Marshalltown we congregated at the Colo Outpost of AMOutdoors. What happened next is something conspiracy theorists have been discussing for 2 years now.

But don’t take my word for it, roll this conspiracy’s Zapruder film.

NOTE: If you are an email subscriber to “An Artist’s Notebook and are in the Outlook list, you will have to go to the website to view this atrocity. If you are in the regular distribution list, you already had to come to the website, so this message isn’t for you:


As you can see, the Red Turtle (MY TURTLE), clearly wins this race! Yet inexplicably, the Orange loser turtle is somehow declared the winner. Rigged! I can only speculate at what level the Russians were involved.

That being said, if you are into hunting and fishing, you could do worse than checking out Micky’s hunting and fishing website by clicking on the link below:

AMOUTDOORS

Just don’t trust the guy to run a turtle race. He is as crooked as dog’s hind leg. Depending on the dog, crookeder.

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Participation rates!

Tommyrot!

Here are the submissions for RELIGION:


WEEK 142 - RELIGION - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 142 - RELIGION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

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 143 - WORK
WORK!

WORK! What a great theme! But what is WORK photography? WORK photography would be a photo of somebody doing their job, at their job, the tools for their job. But WORK doesn’t just happen at a job. WORK can also be done for fun. Like gardening. Or landscaping. Or mowing. Wait, mowing isn’t fun, but it still counts as WORK. Along with doing dishes and dusting.

As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTARY DIVISION

In recent weeks, 3 people have earned their very own Photography 139 avatars by leaving comments on “An Artist’s Notebook” entries.

Welcome to the Photography 139 commentary world:

Joe Duff
Linda Bennett
Tamara Peterson

Do you want your very own Photography 139 like giants in the blog post commentary industry like:

Angie DeWaard
Andy Sharp
Jesse Howard

All you have to do is leave a comment on an “An Artist’s Notebook” entry and I will gladly create you your very own Photography 139 avatar!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 POST NOTIFICATION

I’m currently using a post notification plugin called MailPoet. I’m not 100% satisfied with it, but it will stay status quo until I get back from my mission trip to Houston at the end of June. At that time, I will (hopefully) have the free time to play with a couple of different plug-ins.

If you use Outlook to view the post notification emails, let me know and I’ll switch you over to the Outlook subscription group.

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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very labored Monday!

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Oh wait, that isn’t all I have for today. If you are out and about from 4-7 today, I will be hanging out with the Boone Area Humane Society taking pictures for their booth and mascot at Ericson Public Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff.

If you don’t want to come see me, come to see Hope:


Summer Reading Kickoff

Just to make it clear, I will not be in the dog costume. I am about a foot too tall for the costume.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE REMINDER – RELIGION

It is reminder time!

Don’t forget that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is RELIGION!

You should also remember photos should be submitted by 11 AM CST to bennett@photography139.com.

What is a RELIGION photo? Here is an example below:


Week 142 - Religion
RELIGION

A RELIGION photo will show either a religious activity, a religious building, a religious book, a religious piece of art… The possibilities go on and on and on.

Happy photo harvesting!

05-09-08: The Big Jesus Road Trip

The photos from today’s blog come from the folder 05-09-08.

These pictures were taken during what historians have called THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP. It is hard to believe that 10 years have passed since THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP, but they have.

Jesse and I embarked on THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP with a destination in mind (Big Jesus) and a few stops in mind to make along the way. We wanted to see the place where “The Music Died”. We wanted to see the World’s Largest Cheeto. We wanted to stop at Bob’s Drive-Inn and try a Bob’s Dog. Anything else we experienced on the trip was gravy. Delicious gravy. The type you put in a gravy pitcher during Thanksgiving.

Mmmmmm…. gravy!


The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

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The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

The Big Jesus Road Trip

The World’s Largest Cheeto did not disappoint. Neither did Big Jesus or the Bob’s Dog. The Pocahontas statue… yeah. That is one ugly statue.

Sometime this year I hope to make a trip to see the world’s largest popcorn ball. Who is game?

By adding THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP photos to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery, I was able to restore the following historical “An Artist’s Notebook” post to its original glory:

THE BIG JESUS

There are more pictures from THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP that I didn’t share in this blog post. If you want to take a gander at those, click on the link below:

THE BIG JESUS ROAD TRIP PHOTO GALLERY

Next Saturday’s trip down memory lane will involve a trip to visit the Cardiff Giant and his giant phallus. Jason Baier will be joining us!

And I Wonder How the World Gon’ Take This; They Might Hate It, But You Don’t Know Anything About Me!

The world wasn’t ready for these MUSIC photos on Monday. Not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:


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The majority of the pictures were taken at Rieman Music in Ames. If you have any music needs, this is definitely the place to shop. Many of the guitars pictured are Derrick’s creation. He is creating a Jennifer guitar, an Evalyn guitar, and a Layla guitar to the honor the women in his life.

The rest of the pictures were taken at Boone First United Methodist Church.

You’re welcome world.