It is the last collection of submissions for the month of September, so it is a good time to revisit the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE FAQ. I’ve noticed an uptick in small-sized submissions lately. It wouldn’t hurt to review the resolution FAQ if you haven’t looked at it lately.

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO.

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

Yes. That limit is 3. If you send me more than 3, I will post the first 3 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. This limit is tentatively scheduled to go down to 2 at the beginning of 2024. Unless there is a sudden big falloff in participants.

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 participation rates climb, that limit of 3 is subject to lower.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

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. 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.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point.

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that.

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.

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BLACK & WHITE! Everybody knows that it is my favorite theme, but did a bunch of people love it as much as I do to make it a popular theme? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 18, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Becky Parmelee – 1 week
2-Amy Peterson – 1 week
3-Ernie Redd – 1 week
4-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 2 weeks
5-Susanna Funk – 3 weeks (2)
6-Scott Degeneffe – 4 weeks (2)
7-Sabas Hernandez – 5 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 5 weeks
9-Mary Green – 7 weeks (3)
10-Mike Vest – 11 weeks
11-Sheri Fakhouri – 14 weeks
12-Monica Jennings – 15 weeks
13-Logan Kahler – 15 weeks
14-Nathanial Brown – 16 weeks
15-Jesse Howard – 16 weeks
16-Tamara Peterson – 19 weeks
17-Alexis Stensland – 24 weeks (3)
18-Mindi Terrell – 31 weeks (3)
19-Brandon Kahler – 55 weeks
20-Linda Bennett – 60 weeks (3)
21-Sarah Toot – 61 weeks (2)
22-Angie DeWaard – 65 weeks
23-Dawn Krause – 69 weeks (2)
24-Kim Barker – 75 weeks (2)
25-Joe Duff – 76 weeks (3)
26-Teresa Kahler – 87 weeks (2)
27-Carla Stensland – 87 weeks (3)
28-Micky Augustin – 89 weeks
29-Andy Sharp – 90 weeks
30-Bill Wentworth – 91 weeks
31-Cathie Morton – 95 weeks
32-Elizabeth Nordeen – 96 weeks
33-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 98 weeks
34-Kio Dettman – 100 weeks (3)

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:

Kio Dettman (Rural Ogden, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 99 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 97 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Des Moines, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Cathie Morton (Ames, Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 92 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 91 weeks

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 90 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 88 weeks

Carla Stensland (Sioux City, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Boxholm, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 88 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Teresa Kahler (Iowa State University – Ames, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Houston, Texas) – 77 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Dawn Krause (Cannes, France) – 70 weeks

Dawn Krause (Rome, Italy)

Dawn Krause (Koper, Slovenia)

Angie DeWaard (Scottsdale, Arizona) – 66 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland) 62 weeks

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland)

Sarah Toot (Baltimore, Maryland)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 61 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 56 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 32 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 25 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Alexis Stensland (Iowa)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 20 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Galesburg, Illinois) – 17 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Princeton, Illinois)

Jesse Howard (Grimes, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Logan Kahler (Near Luther, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Logan Kahler (High Trestle Trail Bridge – Boone County, Iowa)

Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Monica Jennings (Ogden, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye Care – Ankeny, Iowa) – 15 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Elite Eye Care – Ankeny, Iowa)

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 12 weeks

Mary Green (Holt, Michigan) – 8 weeks

Willy McAlpine (Albuergue in Foncebadón – Spain) – 6 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Niagara Falls, New York) – 6 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Carroll, Iowa)

Susanna Funk (Dallas County, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Houston, Texas) – 3 weeks

Amy Peterson (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Amy Peterson (Iowa)

Corey Faust (Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

35 participants!! That is a great week! I know I’m prejudiced, but I think this is one of the best collection of submissions. Every week there are at least a couple of pictures where i think, “I wish I had taken that picture.” This week there were more than usual!

No new states added this week, but at this point that is to be expected. One new country though. Dawn submitted the first picture from Italy this calendar year!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arizona
+ France
+ Kansas
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Italy
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ New York
+ Slovenia
+ Spain
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ 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

37 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% 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

The big milestone this week was Faust’s first ever submission!! I don’t know if it will lead to more submissions in the future, but I certainly hope it does.

On a personal note, watching the Iowa State-Ohio “football” game last week was an absolutely soul crushing experience. The only reason I didn’t give up on the season is because the Big 12 is hot garbage this year and I thought there was still the chance to win a few games.

Then this week… an entirely different football team showed up. I know part of that was that they were over the virus that plagued the team last week. However, you may have noticed that both Elizabeth and Faust were at the game (not together, they don’t know each other) for the first time this season. Suddenly Iowa State doesn’t suck. One of them is clearly good luck and they both better go to every game the rest of the season.

One thing I’ve learned in my long tenure as an Iowa State fan, I am not good luck. But I digress…

There weren’t any other big milestones reached this week. But we are closing in on some big ones next week. However, there was some heartache. Becky and Ernie could not build on their submissions from last week. Their streaks are over before they even began.

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:

ARCHITECTURE

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

But what exactly is an ARCHITECTURE image? It is an image where the focus is on buildings or structures. It is image of the interior or exterior of buildings, bridges, structures, or cityscapes.

While considering the building and/or structure you want to photograph, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will create a great image:

Buildings are deeply emotive structures which form our psyche.
-David Adjaye

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 ARCHITECTURE in this place that is built on an Apache infrastructure I should next Monday.