Tag Archives: featured

Alexis, Andy, Bill, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Elainie, Kim, Kio, Michelle, Micky, Mom, Sabas, Sara, Shannon, Slice of Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 289 – LOVE

April 5, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

For those of you that haven’t heard, my Mom passed away about 10 days ago. Because of that, I have not been in a state to reveal the submissions for LOVE on time or reveal the new theme for last week. Because of that, I don’t know how steady my posts are going to be in the next few weeks, but this site might just turn into a fan page for my Mom for a little while. However, I will do my best to get back on track with THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Because of that, there will be two themes for this week to get back on track with the Photography 139 Calendar.

Sara’s submission was not exactly an intended submission, but its message was a perfect encapsulation of what I needed to see when it came through. Thank you Sara!

Here are the submissions for LOVE:

Kim Barker

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Michelle Haupt

Andy Sharp

Steve White

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Bill Wentworth

Cathie Raley

Kio Dettman

Sara Lockner

Christopher D. Bennett

Here is the first of two themes to work on this week:

SLICE OF LIFE

It was apropos that the theme was LOVE the week that we had to say goodbye to Mom. I don’t know anybody that embodied the various definitions of LOVE than my Mom. It is strange that the very next theme is SLICE OF LIFE. SLICE OF LIFE is a theme that was designed to honor my Dad. For those of you that don’t know, my Dad passed away when I was 9 years old. His legacy is a large part of the reason as to why I got into photography. He had started a postcard company called Slice of Life.

Therefore, a SLICE OF LIFE image is an image that looks at your local town and capture an image that could be used as a postcard. His postcards were black and white, if you want to go the extra mile.

The second theme to work on this week:

DRINKS

This theme isn’t very complicated. It is merely a picture of a DRINK or DRINK(S).

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE RULES:

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.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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.

Good luck!

Animals, Becca, Bethany, Black & White, Olympic Sports, Road Trip, Sara

2010-07-26

April 3, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2010-07-26 are from a road trip I took to Minnesota with Sara. It was frankly one the best road trips of my life. I got to hang out with some of my favorite people in the world. I got to see my favorite band in concert AND we went to Flugtag! Plus we ate at a really mediocre German restaurant.

Here are some pictures:

That Miracle Whip cooler is one of my proudest possessions. If my house was on fire, it would be just outside the Top 5 things I would run in and grab. It was a gift from Sara. I believe she bought it in Wisconsin. The few chance I get to tailgate, it goes with me. It did sadly get too close to the grill recently. While it is still fully functional, one side is a little sad looking now. I think it makes me love it more!

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

This Old Purple Town

RWPE #29 – DEPTH OF FIELD

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve “nature’s fence”.

Black & White, Derrick, Formal Portrait, Photoshop

2010-07-21

March 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2010-07-21 are from a photo session I had with Jen and Derrick while she was pregnant with Evie. We had 6 of these photo sessions as I documented the pregnancy process. This was the third of those sessions:

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK NO. 27

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a trip to Minnesota and people trying to make flying machines.

Dawn, Kio, Michelle, Monica, Pastor Sarah, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 288 – STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

March 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I’m not going to get into a big thing today about submissions. If you haven’t heard, my family experienced a medical emergency over the weekend. Please keep us in your prayers.

I wasn’t sure I was going to post anything today, but I decided to and this way you can start working on this week’s theme. If you were going to submit, but forgot, feel free to send your submission and I will get it up at a later date:

Dawn Krause

Kio Dettman

Michelle Haupt

Sarah Karber

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Steve White

Tamara Peterson

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Monica Henning

This week’s theme is LOVE:

LOVE

A LOVE image is pretty simple. Just a picture of somebody or something you LOVE expressing LOVE.

Good luck!

Black & White, Flowers, Photoshop, Ruins

2010-07-19

March 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Most of the pictures in the folder 2010-07-19 are of the remains of a pair of downtown Boone buildings that caught fire. Then there are some flower pictures as well.

Have a look:

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

RWPE #28 – CALM

Dr. The Incidental Gardener

First Act

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Jen and Derrick.

Alexis, Art, Basketball, Birthdays, Black & White, Carla, Christianity, Elainie, History, Johnathan, Linda, Logan, Road Trip, Sarah Toot, Teresa, WPC - Reminder

Jasper County Auxiliary Images

March 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

This is a reminder that at this point you have 1 hour to get your picks in for my NCAA Tournament Pool. Click on the link below to get started:

Roundball Oracles – Year 16

Good luck!

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I need to wish my Aunt Linda a happy birthday today. Happy birthday Aunt Linda!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!

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A couple months back I traveled the roads of Jasper County to harvest their town signs. Here is a collection of the non-town sign pictures I took on that trip:

Newton, Iowa

Kellogg, Iowa

Oakland Acres, Iowa – A town that shoves it in the face of towns that don’t “heart” their children.

Lynnville, Iowa

Sully, Iowa

Monroe, Iowa

I absolutely love this church motto.

I want to visit Jasper County again this year and go to their drive-in movie theater. One of only like 3 left in the state.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is STREET PHOTOGRAPHY:

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

It is here. Judgement Day. The last theme that didn’t get double digit submissions. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY. 76 weeks ago. September 23, 2019.

There were only 7 submissions from 7 people:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe
+ Andy Sharp
+ Kim Barker
+ Humble Narrator
+ Stephanie Kim
+ Tamara Peterson
+ Jesse Howard

But what is STREET PHOTOGRAPHY? Why is it so scary and intimidating?

Sorry, Chris from 5 seconds ago. I reject your premise. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY isn’t scary or intimidating. It is awesome!

Some of the best and most famous photographers in history were STREET PHOTOGRAPHYers.

+ Dorothea Lange
+ Helen Levitt
+ Diane Arbus
+ Robert Frank
+ Fan Ho
+ Vivian Maier
+ Robert Doisneau
+ Henri Cartier-Bresson

Okay, great, you are thinking, but you still haven’t defined STREET PHOTOGRAPHY. Is it pictures of a street? No, but it is photography that often takes place on the streets.

Here is the best definition: “conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.”

The 2 most important things. RANDOM and PUBLIC. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is often mistaken for CANDID PORTRAITS. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY has to be done in a public place. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a portrait. It can be a piece of art. It can be a building. It can be a sign. It doesn’t have to be on a street. It can be at a sporting event. It can be at an art festival. A farmer’s market. The most common place would be a business district. It only has to meet those 2 criteria: public and random.

What is public? I mean that is pretty obvious. It can’t be in your house or in your friend’s house. It has to be somewhere in the public. Where other people can be.

What is random? That simply means that you didn’t go to wherever you went with the intent of taking that picture. Something about the place you went to compelled you to take that picture. You may have went there to take a picture, but not a pre-planned picture.

Some people think of STREET PHOTOGRAPHY as candid portraits. It isn’t, but it certainly can be. However, the picture can be of street art like the example. Egene Atget, was the first STREET PHOTOGRAPHYer. He took pictures of buildings.

I’ll make one last comparison. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is to photography what jazz is to music. It is all about improvisation. This is perhaps why I love it so much.

Okay, one last thing. Most of the great STREET PHOTOGRAPHYers worked in black & white. I’m not saying your submission should be in black & white, but it is something to think about.

Also, think about this quote before thinking about your STREET PHOTOGRAPHY creation:

“The marvels of daily life are exciting; no movie director can arrange the unexpected you find in the street.”
-Robert Doisneau

Happy photo harvesting!

Basketball, Black & White, Christianity, History, Panorama, Photoshop, Postcard

Postcard Recreation Project – More Churches

March 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

This is a reminder that at this point you have 24 hours to get your picks in for my NCAA Tournament Pool. Click on the link below to get started:

Roundball Oracles – Year 16

Good luck!

Note: As of this writing, Iowa State hasn’t made it official that T.J. Otzelberger is Iowa State’s head coach. I will write about that when they make it official.

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Today’s collection of old-timey postcard recreations are of churches in Boone. Featured in here is the Central Christian Church, the First Baptist Church, the Augustana Lutheran Church and the Open Bible Church. I’ve already covered some of the history of the Augustana Lutheran Church and the First Baptist Church, so I won’t rehash that, so here is some history of the Central Christian Church. A church that will always have a special place in my heart, because it was the church of my Grandma and Grandpa Paris. I’ve been to many a family function at that church, but now I don’t think I have a single family member that goes there. Here is a brief history:

For well over 100 years, Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) has served the community of Boone, Iowa and surrounding areas. Our first church building was dedicated in 1876, the same year the church was founded. A second church structure was erected and dedicated to replace the first building in 1893; that building was destroyed by fire was replaced in 1903. An education building with classrooms and office space was added to the north of the 1903 sanctuary, and was dedicated on Mary 23, 1954. The Fellowship Hall, Fireside Room and kitchen were dedicated in 1970. A modern Sanctuary, Library and Choir Room were dedicated in 1979.

Twenty-nine ministers have served the church as “settled” or permanent pastors since 1884, including one associate minister who served alongside a senior minister from 1993 to 1998. The Rev. G. H. Sutton served the longest pastorate of approximately twelve years from 1930 to 1942. The average pastorate length is four and a half years.

The Open Bible Church has a very weak history section on their website, but here it is:

Open Bible Church has a long history in Boone. The church has been affiliated with Open Bible Churches of Des Moines, Iowa, for over 70 years. It has been at its current location since 1986 and was expanded in 2008.

At least there is something I guess.

Now, I mentioned in the past that the Augustan Lutheran Church and Central Christian Churches swapped buildings in 1895. From the Augustana Lutheran website:

A new church was built in 1879 and a parsonage in 1885. Because passing trains often disturbed the services, in 1895 the property was traded, along with $3000 to the Christian Church for the property at 7th and Carroll Streets. In 1901, a new parsonage was built next to the church. In 1910, a basement was put under the church and extensive repairs were made.

This always confused me because the site of the Central Christian Church is a mere 1 block closer to the railroad tracks than the Augustana Lutheran Church. But there is two things I didn’t understand. That the building that Lutherans traded to the Central Christian Church wasn’t on the corner of 8th and Greene AND the railroad tracks weren’t in the same location as they currently are. Now it makes sense.

Look at this chunk of a map of Boone from 1896:

You can see in that map that in 1896, the year after the trade, the Central Christian Church was on Crawford Street, between 7th and 8th. Not on the corner of 7th and Carroll. And right against the railroad tracks. Also, you will notice that back then Augustana Lutheran was called Swedish Lutheran AND the Open Bible Church had not been built yet.

We’ll also consult this map again in a couple of weeks, but for now, here are some old-timey recreations:

Central Christian Church, Boone, Iowa – Original

Central Christian Church, Boone, Iowa – Redux

Seventh and Carroll Streets, Boone, Iowa – Original

Seventh and Carroll Streets, Boone, Iowa – Redux

First Baptist Church – Boone – Iowa – 2203 – Original

First Baptist Church – Boone – Iowa – 2203 – Redux

This might be the end of church related postcards. I haven’t really come across any others, but the search continues. The next time we check-in with THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT will involve schools.

Basketball, Flowers, Macro

Lost in a Roman Wilderness of Pain

March 17, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

This is a reminder that at this point you have 48 hours to get your picks in for my NCAA Tournament Pool. Click on the link below to get started:

Roundball Oracles – Year 16

Good luck!

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This is the final collection of flower pictures from 2020. It is a good thing that flowers in 2021 should be coming sometime soon. There are many beginnings of flowers starting to show up in my yard. The daffodils have start to push their way through the dirt. Hopefully they will be budding and blooming in just a few short weeks.

This collection includes daisies, zinnias, dahlias, mums, and even a hollyhock and a marigold.

This just about concludes the 2020 non-portrait images that I have to share.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Franklin County

March 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

A couple weekends ago I hit the open road to harvest the town signs of Franklin County that I was missing. There are 10 towns in Franklin County and 2 Census Designated Places.

Here are some facts about Franklin County:

+ The population is 10,680.
+ The county seat is Hampton.
+ The largest city is Hampton.
+ The county was formed on January 15, 1851 and named after Benjamin Franklin.
+ Major highways include I35, US65, IA3, and IA57.
+ Adjacent counties are Cerro Gordo, Butler, Hardin, Wright, and Grundy.
+ The population peaked in 1930 at 16,382.

Franklin County, thankfully has a beautiful courthouse.

Franklin County Courthouse

The Franklin County Freedom Rock is in Coulter. There is no nudity, but there is a dog:

The veteran’s memorial park that houses the Freedom Rock is pretty neat. There will be pictures of it at a later date.

Here is the Franklin County Photo Map:

Franklin County Photo Map – Boundaries are not close.

With Franklin County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

16 counties completed. 16.2% of the Cyclone State conquered!

Here are the Franklin County signs:

Hampton, Iowa
Welcome to Hampton – The Heart of Franklin County
Population: 4,461

Ackley, Iowa (Mostly in Hardin County)
Ackley
Population: 1,589

Sheffield, Iowa
Sheffield – Est. 1876 – “Just a good start!”
Population: 1,172

Dows, Iowa (Mostly in Wright County)
Welcome to Dows – A Friendly Community
Population: 538

Latimer, Iowa
Latimer – A Progressive Community
Population: 507

Coulter, Iowa
Welcome to Coulter – A Nice Place to Call Home – Population 282
Population: 281

Alexander, Iowa
First Reformed Church of Alexander – Welcome
Population: 175

Geneva, Iowa
Welcome to Geneva
Population: 165

Bradford, Iowa (CDP)
Gorder’s Cafe & Car Wash – Bradford
Population: 99

Hansell, Iowa
Hansell —–>
Population: 98

Chapin, Iowa (CDP)
Chapin – Established 1872
Population: 87

Popejoy, Iowa
Velkommen to Popejoy
Population: 79

I have decided to no longer pursue Census Designated Places. While it is true that both of the Census Designated Places in Franklin County had sigs, (sorta) it most don’t. So I’m throwing Census Designated Places into the same pile as unincorporated communities. If I stumble across one I will have a look, but I won’t pursue them.

I’ve also decided to no longer use Wikipedia as the arbiter of what towns are in a county. I am now going to us the Iowa Department of Transportation. Their website has a great list of the nearly 900 towns in Iowa and a map of every single one.

Now down to business. What town has the worst town sign in Franklin County. I’m going to let Bradford off the hook, since it isn’t a town, it is a CDP. I’m going to go with Alexander. It isn’t really a town sign. It is the local church welcoming you because the town itself is too lazy to do such things.

But here is the moment of controversy. Who wins Best in Show for Franklin County? Ackley and Dows are really mostly in other counties, so they aren’t even eligible. Coulter’s is cutesy, but the design leaves much to be desired. Hampton’s is okay, but it really is being propped up by the surroundings. It really comes down to two towns for me. Popejoy and Sheffield. They are both great in completely different ways. Sheffield’s sign as a cutesy slogan and is near a sign bragging about past high school sports accomplishments. However, I’m going to give it to Popejoy because Sheffield looks a bit to much like a hotel sign.

Popejoy – Best in Show – Franklin County

A couple of Franklin County signs had alternate signs:

Popejoy Alternate

Back of Popejoy Sign

Popejoy Alternate

Coulter Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

No change to the BENNETT TOWN SIGN POWER RANKINGS:

#10. Ricketts

#9. Dexter

#8. Menlo

#7. Templeton

#6. Farnhamville

#5. Haverhill

#4. Pilot Mound

#3. Moingona

#2. Coon Rapids

#1. Ackley

The next time we travel the muddy backroads of Iowa for THE TOWN SIGNS PROJECT, we will visit Madison County.

Aaron, Alexis, Anela, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Dawn, Derrick, Elainie, Elizabeth, Grandma, Jason, Jen, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kanoa, Kim, Kio, Kupono, Logan, Michelle, Mom, Monica, Photoshop, Sabas, Sara, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Tamara, Teresa

WPC – WEEK 287 – PICTURE IN PICTURE

March 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start today by wishing my sister Carla a happy birthday. Happy birthday Carla!

I hope your birthday is as wonderful as you want it to be!

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I also need to wish Monica a happy birthday. Happy birthday Monica!

I hope your birthday is as amazing as you want it to be!

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We did it! 76 straight weeks of double digit submissions! I was worried about PICTURE IN PICTURE for a bit, but we came through!

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

Joe Duff

Tamara Peterson

Aaron Barnett

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Kim Barker

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Kio Dettman

Monica Henning

Dawn Krause

Michelle Haupt

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: