Category Archives: Religion

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 124 – COLORFUL

A pretty decent amount of people had their creative bell rung by COLORFUL. At least that is what I will tell myself to get to sleep tonight.

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


WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - ANDY SHARP
ANDY SHARP

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CARLA STENSLAND
CARLA STENSLAND

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - STEPHANIE KIM
STEPHANIE KIM

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - STEPHANIE KIM
STEPHANIE KIM

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - ANGIE DEWAARD
ANGIE DEWAARD

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - TAMARA PETERSON
TAMARA PETERSON

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - CATHIE RALEY
CATHIE RALEY

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - LINDA BENNETT
LINDA BENNETT

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER

WEEK 124 - COLORFUL - KIM BARKER
KIM BARKER

What a great week of submissions!

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 125 - JEALOUSY
JEALOUSY!

JEALOUSY! What a great theme! What a tough theme! I consider this to be maybe the toughest theme is this set of 52 themes. What is a JEALOUSY picture? A JEALOUSY picture would be of somebody being JEALOUS(Y) of somebody else. For example of an Iowa Hawkeye fan being JEALOUS(Y) of an Iowa State Cyclone fan for having a college education. Or another example would be showing something that makes you JEALOUS(Y). I don’t have a very good example for this, I experience JEALOUSY so rare.

As always, 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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

**************************************

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 jealous Monday!

Forgive Me for My Human Frailty

While I was working on “Friday’s” blog post, it occurred to me that perhaps it was time to share my biggest photographic screw-up of 2017.

I have many weaknesses as a photographer. My greatest weakness is that I have a tendency to dink with camera settings. That isn’t the bad part. The bad part is that I forget to change them back to a more standard setup for whatever my next photo shoot ends up being.

Back in May, I invited former Iowa State basketball player and current Christian missionary Jake Sullivan to speak to the Youth Group. I took a few pictures of the event, but wasn’t paying attention to the fact that I had left the camera in on a “creative effect” from the last time I was dinking with the camera. This created, pretty much unusable images coming from the event.

Have a look:


Jake Sullivan Speaking at Boone FUMC

Jake Sullivan Speaking at Boone FUMC

Jake Sullivan Speaking at Boone FUMC

Jake Sullivan Speaking at Boone FUMC

But you have to own your failures and move on from them as well.

03-01-08

The following pictures were in the folder 03-01-08 even though most of them seem to be from July of 2007.


03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

03-01-08

The last picture is of my Grandpa Paris’ 1979 Iowa State football season ticket.

Some of these pictures were taken at the Boone County Fair, some at McHose Park, some behind the Computer Mine.

By adding these photos to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery, I was able to restore the following posts to their original glory:

ISU FOOTBALL
COMPUTER MINE WOODS

I’m not exactly sure where next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will end up yet.

Algona is an Anagram for Analog

Still hammering away at that back log. Here are a few pictures from my trip to Algona with Joe.


Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

Algona, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

West Bend, Iowa

We went to Algona so Joe could pick up a van to server as a distribution center for his cannabis oil business. The trip didn’t work out. We didn’t come home with the van. However, I got to meet Joe’s dad, which was a fascinating experience. Plus we swung through West Bend to see the Grotto of the Redemption. Then to cap it off, we supped at Tom Thumb’s in Fort Dodge.

All in all, it was a great day at sea!

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Pages 50-51

Pages 50-51 in the PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT are “A record of missed photo opportunities”. I think that the actual intention is to write down missed opportunities, but I translated it to mean times when the only camera I had on me was my phone. Sometimes that resulted in serviceable pictures and sometimes in not so serviceable pictures. Here are the 4 pictures that will be physically adhered into the physical photo journal:


Page 50-51

Page 50-51

Page 50-51

Page 50-51

The first 2 pictures were taken at the Computer Mine. One of my favorite aspects of the day job is that our building sits next to a little forest. There is quite the collection of wildlife that comes to our backdoor.

The third picture is from the annual Youth Group Hay Rack Ride.

The final picture was taken at an Iowa State women’s basketball game where we lucked into second row seats.

Amber’s Family

Every once in a while, a photographer gets to take important pictures. It is rare, but it does happen. I was given such an honor recently when Amber contacted me to take family pictures of her family before Christmas because her Grandpa was being put in hospice care.

Here are a few pictures from that day:


Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

Amber's Family

As of this writing Amber’s Grandpa is still at home under hospice care. The family hopes to keep him at home as long as possible. It was great getting to meet Amber’s grandparents. I can see why she turned out to be such an incredible human being.

Final Day to Order – 2018 Photography 139 Calendar

A friendly reminder that today is the last day to order a 2018 Photography 139 Calendar!

The price of the calendar is still $10. A veritable bargain in this climate of rising prices!

I’m sure you are ready to plunk down $10 or $20 or $30 based on the high quality product that has existed in the past. I would gladly take your money, sight unseen, but I would at least like to reveal what pictures are in the 2018 Calendar.

Have a look:


2018 Calendar - Cover
Front Cover

2018 Calendar - January
January

2018 Calendar - February
February

2018 Calendar - March
March

2018 Calendar - April
April

2018 Calendar - May
May

2018 Calendar - June
June

2018 Calendar - July
July

2018 Calendar - August
August

2018 Calendar - September
September

2018 Calendar - October
October

2018 Calendar - November
November

2018 Calendar - December
December

Each picture was aligned with the month it was taken in. Okay maybe a hair of finagling was done at that front… I’ll never tell… Even if the .exif data will.

The calendars are 17 x 11 inches in size when they are open.

Calendar comes with a free Christopher D. Bennett business card. Good for getting you out of any life or death situation involving Boone toughs.

If you wish to order a calendar or calendar(s), you may email me at:

bennett@photography139.com

If you live within reasonable driving distance (about 45 minutes from Boone’s Golden Circle) I can hand deliver the calendar free of charge.

If the calendar needs to be mailed, there will be a shipping and handling charge of some kind.

Order fast! Supplies are limited!

Thanks!

Christopher D. Bennett
Photography 139
CDO
Chairman of the Board
President
Vice-President
Director
Superintendent of Invention

Manger Things

I don’t usually explain the titles of the entries in The Artist’s Notebook, but I’m going to explain this one.

Last night as I was restlessly watching a DVRed copy of THE HUNT FOR THE ZODIAC KILLER and thinking about general events of the day, I played a snap from Alisa from her church’s youth group. The theme from their current sermon series is “Manger Things”.

A reference to the Netflix hit (and second best show on television) STRANGER THINGS.

I thought that was a clever idea and I’m curious how it is. Often times when Christians try to appropriate pop culture it comes off like this:




I’m hoping it is actually pretty cool, but I guess I’ll just never know.

On Sunday, following the soup supper my church (Boone First United Methodist Church represent!) did its own version of MANGER THINGS. Here are a few images:


2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

2017 Boone FUMC Christmas Play

Solid work from everybody involved! I think it was one of my favorite Christmas plays we’ve done to date!