Desolation View

On my recent trip to Kansas I stopped and took a few photos here and there.

Kansans were burning their prairie, which made for interesting views. I missed a golden opportunity to get a pretty sweet fire picture. So I did stop to get a picture of the aftermath of a prairie fire.




This scene was right across the highway from a Scenic View. I found it to be scenic.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 22mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/250
DATE: 04/03/2016 – 10:10
LATITUDE: 38.32089°
LONGITUDE: -96.54260°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Nate Miller

Jesus Eggs!

On the Saturday before Easter I was sitting in a darkened in theater in Ankeny experiencing the “tortures of the damned” that is watching BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN, my phone buzzed. Since the movie picture had lost my interest moments into it, I felt no guilt in checking my text message. After all, I was probably already checking the score of the Oklahoma-Oregon game any ways.

The text message was from my church’s (the church I attend) Youth Minister Alisa wanting me to simultaneously run a photo booth and take pictures of our Sunday School Easter Egg Hunt.

You all know how I feel about multi-tasking.

So here are a few of the pictures almost exclusively from the Easter Egg Hunt.


But on the positive, If Easter was today, I could actually multi-task and run a photo booth and take pictures at the same time.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 29 – SHAPES

SHAPES is definitely one of the harder compositions to think about conceptually. However, there were a few submissions this week.

Here is a look at the submissions for SHAPES:


WEEK 29 - SHAPES - SARAH KARBER
Sarah Karber

WEEK 29 - SHAPES - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 29 - SHAPES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 29 - SHAPES - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 29 - SHAPES - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

But enough living in the past. What is this week’s theme?


WEEK 30 - RUINS
RUINS!

It is a shame for me that RUINS wasn’t the theme for last week. I spent a pretty awesome weekend in Kansas and that entire state is basically one large ruin. For example, the Theme Release Photo was taken in the Kansas town of Hatfield Green. Pretty much the entire block that house is on was filled with abandoned houses. So mark Hatfield Green on your places to visit. At least if you love old and dilapidated as much as I do!

So what is a ruin?

The physical destruction or disintegration of something or the state of disintegrating or being destroyed.

Go out and take a picture of an old building or house that has been abandoned. Don’t know where one is? Try the entire town of Beaver, Iowa. An old abandoned car would be another prime example. The Iowa Hawkeyes basketball roster. Another good example.

So get off the couch. Grab your camera. Get out there and take a picture of something physically disintegrating. Before you become an example of a ruin.

HOUSEKEEPING

PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

The Photography 139 Shameless Self-Promotion Division is pleased to announce that Nicole Nickens is that latest person to show class, taste, and sophistication by becoming a Photography 139 email subscriber. A brief introduction of Nicole (since time is short this morning). She is an active member of my church (not so much my church, but the church I attend) and a mother of Tyler. If you see Nicole out and about on the mean streets of Boone, feel free to show her the Super-Secret Photography 139 Handshake and give her the knowing glance.

SOME GALLERIES OF NOTE

A reminder that you can check out all the submissions for all the themes of the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE by clicking on the link below:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

You can also follow the progress of the SELF-PORTRAIT PROJECT by clicking on the link below:

SELF-PORTRAIT PROJECT

Soak in that beard. It will only be around for 2 more days. Tops.

As always, I’m eager to see everybody’s submissions for this week’s themes!

I Further Celebrate Myself


This is mostly a rehash of the “Save the Date or Don’t” Post from last Saturday. A few updates. In italics.

Only a handful of you understand the photo I posted to start this post. But that is okay. You might understand in a few weeks, or you might just be even more confused.

Almost all the pieces are now in place and the Birthday Invitation Photo Shoot has been scheduled for this week. Now we’re playing with fire! I hope Torgo doesn’t lose his hand!

Here is the information that you need to know. My personal Edith Head, my personal staff man, my personal Torgo, my personal technology team, and my personal photographer are hard at work currently devising invitations for my birthday gala.

Edith Head is done. Experiments ran by the makeup team based on Edith Head’s suggestion have been deemed a success. The Staff Man has made tremendous progress. The staff (as far as I’ve seen it) is beautiful.

That is right! After a several year hiatus… it is back!

After consulting, friends, family, a gopher, a toreador, my personal astrologist, a numerologist, a phrenologist, Hoodie Club, Nature Squad, Friday Night Supper Club, and The Dawg Pound I have settled on a date for this event.

MAY 14

So this is sort of a “save the date” only, believe me, I would never be so presumptuous as to ask somebody to save a date. This would be more like a consider this date. Or don’t. I understand that you have to live your life and walk. I would expect nothing more and nothing less, from you my friend.

What can you expect at this event (besides my arrogance)?

My arrogance has only grown in the last week. Some woould say that it has grown unchecked.

Well, details are being hammered out.

However, there could be such fun activities as:

Food from an award winning barbecue team. I have signed one member of the award winning barbecue team Baby Got Rack to a contract. While that isn’t the whole team, the guy I signed is clearly the George Michael of the team. Trust me. I didn’t sign Andrew Ridgeley.
Food! From other sources. Like my Mom.
Keg beer! Of the root vintage.
Cornhole! No horseshoes.
A dog! (Naima has confirmed that she will make an appearance. Unless she gets a better offer.)
Music. Most of it clean! At least 63%. (That Master Playlist is currently over 1,000 songs. If you wish to suggest a song for the Master Playlist, I suggest that you suggest in the COMMENTS section.)
A Christopher D. Bennett trivia game. Winner to get a semi-fabulous prize. You better start trying to figure out my favorite band… now!
A tent! (I have confirmed it. I own a tent.)
Stimulating conversation! (My idea for guaranteeing this is to create a section of the yard where people can talk about vaping. If they leave that section of the yard, they cannot bore people with incessant talk about coils and formulas and amps and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!)
Other people! (Maybe. After people see the invitation, it just might be you and me. But if its the right you and the right me, that’s cool.) Well, one person has RSVPed sorta. So 2 of us will be there.
A photo booth! With props? (Work in progress. At best.)
A new firepit! (Probably a temporary new firepit.)
Sidewalk chalk! (I’ve priced it.)
A finely manicured lawn! (Spring-Green has applied the year’s first treatment. My lawn. It is the thing of daydreams.)
A bounce house. (I mean stranger things have happened.)
Convenient parking! (Unless more than 3 of you show up.)
Zero pressure to RSVP!

So keep your mailboxes peeled on your eyes for the invitation of what will surely be one of the biggest events at my house that month!

I wouldn’t start peeling them yet. The photo session hasn’t even commenced yet.

Store

This week’s collection was supposed to be from the folder SNOW. That folder is just too large to go through in a weekend that involved 15 or so hours in the car.

So I skipped ahead to STORE, because it is considerably less ambitious.

In this small collection is an image of a tool that was instrumental in the manufacture of the Photography Calendar for several years. Craft Night. A young Nate starting on the path to becoming a Master Baker. That was when I used to participate in the whole feed your co-workers on your work anniversary scam at the Computer Mine.












That peanut butter cake though…

Matthew 28:6

I took a couple of other images before picking my Easter image.

Here are the other 2. One I actually sent out with Happy Easter text messages.


In the end, I found the Jesus statue to be a bit confusing and the cross on top my church to be derivative of my earlier work. Yeah, I’m that self-aware.

On a personal note, I’d like to take the time to thank Jason Baier for coming out and supporting the Youth Group Mission Trip Fundraiser at Panera last night. He got to enjoy some edible food, hear some harrowing tales of nearly lost Maroon 5 CDs, and meet some of my favorite people. Some of my other favorite people. I have several groups of favorite people. You might be in one of them. Play your cards right.

The fundraiser appeared to be a rousing success. The last count I saw was over 80 people came out and supported #Methodists2Milwaukee!* Even people who think Panera food is a bit on the gross side came out to support the Youth Group. That is commitment folks!

So thanks to Jason Baier (and everybody) else that will help fund our Youth Group’s mission of taking Jesus’ message of God’s love, forgiveness, and grace to The German Athens of America.**

*I might be jumping the gun on that hashtag.
**Marginally worse sounding than A Great Place on a Great Lake or Mil-town.

Minnehaha Fallen

This is the last photo from my trip to Minnehaha Falls from February.




Because of recent events, I’ll probably be visiting Minneapolis again in the near future.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
APERTURE: f/20
EXPOSURE: 8 seconds
DATE: 02/26/2016 – 18:14
LATITUDE: 44.91549°
LONGITUDE: -93.21059°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: BETHANY YOON

Don’t forget that tonight is the Panera Youth Group Fundraiser. From 4-8 tonight! See you there.




You need bring this flyer with you!

Post Process

This image is the result of an experiment in post-processing. When I have a good solid wedge of free time, I will explain in further detail with a ton of examples. Or I might not. Magician and his tricks… you know.

For now, just enjoy this image of the fallen Wagon Wheel Bridge.




Of course, there will be many more pictures of the mangled remains of the Wagon Wheel Bridge in our future.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 18mm
APERTURE: f/8
EXPOSURE: 1/250
DATE: 03/11/16 – 14:06
LATITUDE: 42.06255°
LONGITUDE: -93.97008°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Carla Stensland

Panera Youth Group Mission Trip Fundraiser Night!

Today’s journal entry is from the SHAMELESS PHOTOGRAPHY 139 FUNDRAISING DIVISION.

THIS Thursday night my church’s Youth Group is having a fundraiser at Panera Bread in Ames. From 4 – 8 PM, bring in the flyer below and a percentage of the cost of your meal will go to help fund our mission trip to Milwaukee this summer!


I can’t emphasize this point enough. You HAVE to HAVE this flyer. It can be old school (printed out, folded up, in your pocket) or it can be new school (a digital copy on your phone), but you have to present a copy of this flyer when you order for the Youth Group to get a cut of your meal.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 28 – SILHOUETTE

This week being more of a challenging theme, it was expected that participation might take a dip. However, on the positive side, my nephew Logan became a first time contributor. I’m expecting big things from that guy in the future.

The submissions for SILHOUETTE:


WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - LOGAN KAHLER 1
Logan Kahler 1

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - LOGAN KAHLER 2
Logan Kahler 2

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - LOGAN KAHLER 3
Logan Kahler 3

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 28 - SILHOUETTE - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 29 - SILHOUETTE - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

But what is this week’s theme?!?!?

Look below this text…


WEEK 29 - SHAPES
SHAPES!

A quick shout out to the Baier clan for providing the blocks for the Theme Release Image.

So what does that SHAPES mean? You could almost take a picture of anything and submit it and say “that has a shape”, however what you really want to look for is a subject or scene where a shape or shapes are heavy in the composition. A tile floor. A pile of pipes. A brick wall. A bunch of street signs. You get the idea.

However, define the theme any way that you want.

We haven’t went over the rules lately, so here is a quick refresher.

RULES

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.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by noon on the Monday of the challenge. 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.

Once again, no HOUSEKEEPING this week. I’ll try to do better next Monday.