Tag Archives: featured

Aaron, Andy, Angie, Bill, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Funk, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kio, Michelle, Monica, Railroad, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 284 – SYMMETRY & PATTERNS

February 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

We did it! Again! 73 straight weeks of double digit submissions. More than a few of the submissions this week were attached to emails with people pointing out that they also like art that is heavy in SYMMETRY & PATTERNS. I immediately crossed these people off my Christmas Card List.

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

Andy Sharp

Aaron Barnett

Angie DeWaard

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Joe Duff

Kio Dettman

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Dawn Krause

Bill Wentworth

Micky Augustin

Elizabeth Nordeen

Jesse Howard

Susanna Funk

Monica Henning

Cathie Raley

Mike Vest

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:

LINES

LINES! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

A LINES image is simply an image that heavily incorporates LINES into the composition of the image. Carla’s submission this week would also be an excellent submission for LINES. LINES that appear in a photograph CAN BE framed and positioned by the photographer to draw the viewer’s eye towards a specific point of interest. LINES draw the viewer’s eye to a specific direction of an image.

You can use all sorts of lines in your composition. You can use horizontal LINES. You can use vertical LINES. You can use diagonal LINES. You can use converging LINES. There are just so many options!

Of course, the term LINES has more than one meaning.

Think about the following quote from Martin Luther while considering your LINES image:

God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

Meditate on these words and you will create a fascinating LINES image.

Then send me your submission(s) by 11 AM CST next Monday. 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.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of LINES in this place that is little more than LINES of code next Monday.

Alexis, Anela, Christianity, Formal Portrait, Kanoa, Mom

Anela Chapter 1

February 21, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

It is the first Sunday of Lent. It is possible you couldn’t get to church today for a wide variety of reasons. To help you out I’m sharing a devotional by Reverend Melissa Drake.

“Knowing our Identity”
Mark 1: 9-13:
By: Rev. Melissa Drake, Southwest Region Superintendent

We are in the first week of Lent—and this Sunday begins our journey of the next 40 days, leading the church up to Easter. The Lenten season is designed to be a mirror for us: it’s a way for us to witness to Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness, as he prepares to begin his ministry.

For Christians, Lent has historically been the yearly season for us to examine ourselves in that same mirror: to spend time in deep personal reflection and preparation as we get ready to commit ourselves to living into the way of Jesus: the way of his baptism, life, death and Resurrection.

For the church it is our season together of reflecting and preparing for the ministries of sharing the Good News of the Resurrection with the world that so desperately needs to hear and see and touch and feel that they are beloved of God.
Lent, this season always known for its austerity—the season where the days are getting longer, but not necessarily getting better—always begins this same way: with Jesus’ baptism and then immediate temptation out in the wilderness. And this year we hear from Mark, chapter 1, verses 9-13:

About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. While he was coming up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a dove, coming down on him. And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”

At once the Spirit forced Jesus out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.

Lent always begins this very same way, and I think sometimes, we, in the church get obsessed over the temptation and the wilderness part, and not so much over the baptism and the naming and claiming part.

And this year of all years, it is a year for us to remember the naming and claiming part: The way the clouds split open and the sun must have been dazzling; the way the wind must have blown, maybe in that wild spring way that makes us adventurous and crazy and ready to go out in the world again, or maybe it blew in that soft spring way that wraps us in the warmth of better days coming; and then the voice. That voice coming from the heavens that says, “You are mine. You are beloved. In your very being I find happiness.”

As Bishop Laurie shared in her devotion last week, Lent has historically been a season to give something up: and that can be such a powerful discipline. We need this time to examine ourselves, to pay attention to what we need to give up and let go so that we can follow Jesus more nearly and dearly. This is a season of giving things up and letting things go as we practice our faith; but it’s also a season of holding on as well. Throughout his time in the wilderness,
Jesus held on to the identity and relationship with God that was so clearly expressed at his baptism.

Friends, as we recommit ourselves to living in the way of Jesus, we need this time of holding on as well. A holding on to what cannot be changed, but what can so easily be forgotten or overshadowed or lost: that deep KNOWING of identity: that deep knowing of belovedness. That deep knowing of relationship, of who we are and who we belong to. And that deep knowing of being absolutely enough, at our very core, for God to delight in us without having to produce anything or accomplish anything.

What would happen to our church communities if we spent the next 40 days holding on to this identity, within our own spirts, during our own times of temptations that tell us that we aren’t enough. That other people have it more and better. That if only we worked a little harder, we’d be more worthy.

And I wonder, what would it be like in our church communities, if we could do this for each other, even in these longer days that don’t always seem to be getting better? If all of our words and all of our work in the next 40 days were about reminding each other, showing each other that we are beloved of God—to remind each other that there is nothing, neither height, nor depth, nor zoom church, nor sub zero temperatures, there is neither pandemic, nor politics, nor temptations or just plain old fatigue that can separate us from the love of our God. And our care for each other.
Friends, this is the promise we made to each other at our baptisms: this is our work of the church: to be connected together. To watch over one another in love. To remind each other of who and whose we are. So that, out of our union with Christ, in his baptism of death and resurrection, we can take this good news out into the world and say and show: World: you, too, are God’s beloved.

May you be blessed; may you hold on.

And may “The God of all grace, who has called us to eternal glory in Christ, establish you and strengthen you by the power of the Holy Spirit that you may live in grace and peace. Amen.”

Next Sunday I will share a devotional from Rev. Dr. Moody Colorado.

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Around Thanksgiving I went over to meet my new grand niece Anela and photograph her. As I’m sometimes asked to do. Here is the first collection of those images:

These are the first pictures of Anela that I’ve shared. Meaning there is now an Anela category on this website!

There are at least two more collections of Anela pictures to share in the hopper still!

Animals, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Macro, Nature, Night, Sara

2010-06-29, 2010-06-30, & 2010-07-01

February 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The folders 2010-06-29, 2010-06-30, & 2010-07-01 Center Street Bridge are fairly small, so I combined them all into one fair sized post. Most of them are pictures of flowers, but a few are pictures I took with Sara at or near the Center Street Bridge in Des Moines.

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:

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #34

THE INCIDENTAL GARDENER FILES

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve skydiving again. This time, maybe Shannon gets to jump out of a plane.

Art, Flowers, Macro, Politics, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Still Life, WPC - Reminder

A Pandemic Menagerie

February 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

This is a clearinghouse post. Grouping together some small collections of photos that might not be large enough to stand on their own. Plus getting multiple folders “finished off” and filed away to their forever homes.

These pictures aren’t pandemic related, but they did occur in a pandemic. Like every picture I take these days. Some were taken at the Ames Farmers Market. Some in my yard. Some on the backroads of Boone County.

This sculpture is called Eggcited. Eggcited! Get it?

Despite the awful name, I love it so!

From my yard.

My socially distanced trick-or-treat setup for Halloween.

One of the small joys of the pandemic was stopping to photograph this sign and meeting the woman who put it up. She went to school with my Dad and we got to talk about him for a bit.

Self-portrait after voting on the first day of early voting.

My mouth is watering…

One of the reasons I like living in a town with a railroad (besides the obvious economic impact) is that it is…

Like having a new art museum in town every single day. While Boone has an Art Commission (despite the fact that there are a ton of local artists)…

there is a decided lack of public art in town. A mural of a train. A statue of Teddy Roosevelt. A local guy that paints his snow banks…

That is really it. Although I will point out that Boone does a decent job with the performing arts. It just isn’t the same. So thank you Union Pacific!

Good to get all that cleaned out. We’re getting close to my having my backlog cleaned out. It will be interesting what this space will look like when that happens.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SYMMETRY & PATTERNS:

SYMMERY & PATTERNS

I can’t help but think of Shannon when I think of the theme of SYMMETRY & PATTERNS. Back in the day, we would occasionally go to art shows and fairs together. It often ended up being a painful and frustrating experience because the art booths that she would like to stop and look at were the art that actually hurt my soul (at least a little bit) to look at. It was all symmetrical lines and shapes. I always thought, “if this is the kind of art she likes and she likes my photography, what does that say about my photography? Is it this awful and boring?”

On the other side of the coin, she also hated most of the art I liked. Considered it to be derivative of the illustrations one sees in children’s books. Whatever.

I’m not saying you should tap into your inner Shannon when making your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS picture, but it might not hurt. I’m not saying your picture should be boring and uninteresting. I borderline enjoy the theme reveal picture of the bathroom floor in front of my toilet*. I am saying that you should find a pattern and/or a subject that has symmetry. While this isn’t my favorite theme, I do look forward to seeing your interpretations. I bet Shannon will be counting down the days.

When thinking about creating your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image, think on the following quote from noted Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki:

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.

Meditate on these words and you will no doubt, make a completely almost interesting SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image.

Happy photo harvesting!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Photoshop, WPC - Alternate

The Underminer

February 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Today I’m going to share some pictures I took of Jesse in a culvert that goes under the Senholz Trail near Linwood Cemetery. These pictures were alternates for Week 268 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The theme was FRAMED:

This originally was going to start out a burning steel wool picture, but Jesse broke the lighter, but in the end, I am very pleased with the images we made on the fly.

Black & White, Christianity, History, Photoshop, Postcard

Postcard Recreation Project – Sacred Heart

February 17, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

If your church is like my church and hasn’t had a worship service in months, it is possible that the fact that today is Ash Wednesday may have snuck up on you. My church is actually having its first worship service tonight since October. However, if you can’t get to church tonight or are choosing not to go to church tonight, I have your back.

Below is a Lenten Devotion from Bishop Laurie Haller.

“Practicing Our Faith”
Matthew 6:1-4, 16-21 (CEB)
By: Bishop Laurie Haller

“Be careful that you don’t practice your religion in front of people to draw their attention. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2 Whenever you give to the poor, don’t blow your trumpet as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets so that they may get praise from people. I assure you, that’s the only reward they’ll get. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing 4 so that you may give to the poor in secret. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you.”

16 “And when you fast, don’t put on a sad face like the hypocrites. They distort their faces so people will know they are fasting. I assure you that they have their reward. 17 When you fast, brush your hair and wash your face. 18 Then you won’t look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 19 Stop collecting treasures for your own benefit on earth, where moth and rust eat them and where thieves break in and steal them. 20 Instead, collect treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moth and rust don’t eat them and where thieves don’t break in and steal them. 21 Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

I’ll never forget that morning. In 1993, my husband Gary and I were appointed to be co-pastors of First United Methodist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After twelve years of pastoring separately in different churches, Gary and I were going to be serving together. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about being in a big steeple city church after serving much smaller churches.

On our first Sunday in July, our three children, who were going to enter sixth, fourth, and first grade, sat alone in the front pew of this large Gothic style sanctuary. After all, we didn’t know anyone yet, and that way we could keep an eye out on the kids. That was our first mistake. When the time came for the children to be introduced, they marched up the stairs to the chancel area, whereupon our middle child, Garth, started waving his hands to the congregation just like a politician. I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment. But that was nothing compared to Garth making a paper airplane from the church bulletin and flying it from the front pew during the sermon.

What does it mean to practice your religion in front of others? In our human quest to be acknowledged and recognized, how do we act? What is fame, anyway? What is success? What does it mean to be honored? Does it mean our name is splattered all over the tabloids? Does it mean that every action we take is scrutinized by an adoring public? Where should the reward for living a good life come from? From an adoring public, from our colleagues, or from the church?

And what about Lent? The six weeks preceding Easter are often seen as a time of not only giving up something for Lent, but more often adding something. Some people give up candy for Lent, or chocolate, or coffee, or desserts. Others fast on a certain day during Lent. The idea is that when we give up something that meaningful to us, we learn about spiritual disciplines.

On the other hand, some people add things to their lives during Lent. Perhaps it’s joining a short-term study group, reading through the gospels, visiting someone in a nursing home once a week, or giving extra money to a mission cause.

In Jesus’ day there were three great works of the religious life: almsgiving (or giving to the poor), prayer, and fasting. To the Jews, almsgiving was the most sacred of all religious duties. Jesus certainly does not dispute here that giving to the poor is important. What troubled Jesus was the motive of many of the Jews, who made a big show of giving their money in the synagogues so that others could see how much God had blessed them.

In the same way, it was tempting for the Jews to flaunt their prayer life, which was the second work of the religious life. Some liked to parade their righteousness publicly by praying on the street corners. This is how it was known that they were carrying out exactly what God wanted them to do.

And then there was fasting. The Jews fasted as a sign of mourning; in order to atone for sin; as an outward expression of an inward sorrow; and as a symbol of national penitence. Or they would fast in preparation for a revelation from God.

Could it be that Jesus wants us to learn from this scripture that we shouldn’t practice our religion in front of others in order to be recognized? What do you do in secret? Are you doing anything in secret? Are you pleasing God at all?

Henri Nouwen, who was one of the most perceptive spiritual writers of his time and was one of my professors at Yale Divinity School, wrote a book entitled Letters to Marc about Jesus. It was addressed to his 19-year-old nephew in Holland.

Listen to what Nouwen wrote to Marc, “I don’t think you’ll ever be able to penetrate the mystery of God’s revelation in Jesus until it strikes you that the major part of Jesus’ life was hidden and that even the public years remained invisible as far as most people were concerned. Whereas the way of the world is to insist on publicity, celebrity, popularity, and getting maximum exposure, God prefers to work in secret. In God’s sight, the things that really matter seldom take place in public.”

As we enter the holy season of Lent on Ash Wednesday, how is God calling you to practice your faith? What spiritual disciplines might you embrace to help others claim the good news of Jesus Christ and seek treasures in heaven?

Let us pray. God, grant that we would discover the secret of living in your presence. Grant us wisdom and courage to yield to your intentions and purpose for our lives. Grant us insight to discern what is pleasing to you and give us strength to do it. Help us not to live glib and superficial lives but cleanse us by our confessions and make us worthy disciples, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

I will share another devotion from Reverend Melissa Drake on Sunday.

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This week’s POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT subject is the Sacred Heart Catholic Church. I actually couldn’t find much on the history of the church. There isn’t a “history” section on their website. However, I did find some information on the church on the website of the artist that decorated the church in 1937, John Mallin. Unfortunately, all his decorations have since been covered up, removed, or destroyed.

From his website:

The first Catholic mass was said in Boone, Iowa in 1860 for two Catholic families. A frame church in West Boone was dedicated in 1865 to St. Joseph, and later changed to St. Patrick after the acquisition of a parish cemetery to St. Patrick. A new frame church was built in the lartger community of Boone on the corner of 12th and Marshall Streets in 1880, and the church was renamed Church of the Sacred Heart. The parsonage burned in 1891, and was replaced with a brick structure that same year. In 1894, a cornerstone was laid for the current Sacred Heart church, which is a large Romanesque stone structure. It was dedicated in December of 1894.

Here are the postcards:

Catholic Church. Boone. Iowa – 2233 – Original

Catholic Church. Boone. Iowa – 2233 – Redux

Church of the Sacred Heart – Boone, IA – Original

Church of the Sacred Heart – Boone, IA – Redux

Church of Sacred Heart Boone, Iowa – Original

Church of Sacred Heart Boone, Iowa – Redux

Sacred Heart Catholic Church – Modern Interpretation

I confess that on this project, I didn’t do a great job recreating angles on a couple of the postcards. Although I’m pleased with the modern interpretation postcard, if Rodan139 wasn’t grounded for the winter, I would probably have used it to capture the modern interpretation base image.

The next time we check-in on this project, it will involve more downtown intersections.

Animals, Art, Christianity, Iowa State, Railroad, Road Trip, Tamara

Carroll County and Crawford County Auxiliary Images

February 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 24 Comments

When I went out to harvest the town signs of Carroll County and Crawford County, I did both counties in one swoop. I didn’t actually need many signs from either county, so I was about to pick up most of them going south through both counties along 141 and then get the last couple missing towns coming north back home.

Here are some of the non town-sign pictures I took on this road trip:

The person that lives here has to be fascinating.

I miss the days this didn’t apply to the Men’s Basketball Team.

If you can’t read the plaque in the background this is in memory of an Army Veteran that was killed in Afghanistan.

Sculpture Garden in Coon Rapids

If you’re sculpture garden doesn’t include a dinosaur made out of old farm elements, this guy is out!

I don’t wanna brag, but I’m pretty sure I could break out of here.

Carroll County Freedom Rock

Crawford County Freedom Rock

A terrifying baby Jesus.

Because St. Patrick’s is on the National Registry of Historic Places, so is this outhouse.

I can’t wait until this weather is better and I can hit the open road again. It looks like this weekend is a real possibility. As I type this, the current temperature -21 degrees. The wind chill is -38. There are rolling blackouts all across the country because southern power grids aren’t designed to handle running this many furnaces at once. But it might get into the +30s this weekend. You know it has been cold when you have to differentiate temperatures with a + sign.

Funk, Jen, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Micky, Monica, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 283 – WIND

February 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 24 Comments

Well, we did it! Andy said it couldn’t be done, but we hit double digits with WIND like it ain’t no thing, but a chicken wing on a string. A phrase, that while I enjoy typing, don’t understand in the slightest. 72 weeks in a row of double digit submissions!

An exciting development this week was that I received the first ever submission from Susanna Funk. For those of you that don’t know Susanna, she is one of the most badass people I know. In addition to be under the stress of being a health care professional in a state (Iowa) with a completely inept governor, she spends her spare time climbing mountains. Her WIND picture comes from Rocky Mountains National Park.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about submission rates to shove it in Andy’s face, you came to see the submissions:

Susanna Funk

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Kio Dettman

Joe Duff

Micky Augustin

Kim Barker

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Logan Kahler

Monica Henning

SYMMETRY & PATTERNS

SYMMETRY & PATTERNS! Another great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

On the other side of the coin, she also hated most of the art I liked. Considered it to be derivative of the illustrations one sees in children’s books. Whatever.

When thinking about creating your SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image, think on the following quote from noted Japanese author Junichiro Tanizaki:

Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.

Meditate on these words and you will no doubt, make a completely almost interesting SYMMETRY & PATTERNS image.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of SYMMETRY & PATTERNS in this place that admittedly has some symmetry and patterns of its own next Monday.

*Admit it. You are impressed with how clean it is.

Alexis, Black & White, Formal Portrait, Holidays, Kanoa, Kupono, Still Life

Alexis Prego Dos

February 14, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I need to start out by wishing a Happy Valentine’s Day to everybody that celebrates today.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Now, I know that there are a ton of people out there that are violently opposed to Saint Valentine’s Day. They call it a holiday invented by candy companies and the florist industry designed to make a large portion of the population feel lonely. I mean a holiday celebrated by eating candy and having flowers to photograph? Sounds like an amazing holiday to me! But, Valentine didn’t get beat to death with clubs and then have his head cut off, just for candy. He did that for love!

And loneliness? Almost a year into a pandemic, loneliness sounds underrated.

Since Photography 139 is if nothing else, a romantic website, on this day that celebrates love, I thought I would share the text from one of the most famous love letters in history. A love letter that was written by Beethoven and discovered by one of Beethoven’s friends shortly after his death. It was hidden in a secret drawer in his wardrobe. There is still debate to this day, about who the letter was written to. While there are actually 3 unsent letters, I’m going to share just the last one:

Even in bed my ideas yearn towards you, my Immortal Beloved, here and there joyfully, then again sadly, awaiting from Fate, whether it will listen to us. I can only live, either altogether with you or not at all. Yes, I have determined to wander about for so long far away, until I can fly into your arms and call myself quite at home with you, can send my soul enveloped by yours into the realm of spirits — yes, I regret, it must be. You will get over it all the more as you know my faithfulness to you; never another one can own my heart, never — never! O God, why must one go away from what one loves so, and yet my life in W. as it is now is a miserable life. Your love made me the happiest and unhappiest at the same time. At my actual age I should need some continuity, sameness of life — can that exist under our circumstances? Angel, I just hear that the post goes out every day — and must close therefore, so that you get the L. at once. Be calm — love me — today — yesterday.

What longing in tears for you — You — my Life — my All — farewell. Oh, go on loving me — never doubt the faithfullest heart

Of your beloved

L

Ever thine.
Ever mine.
Ever ours

I hope that puts a little love in your heart, thinking about good old Ludwig Van! I know it does mine!

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Back before Anela was born, I went to McFarland Park with Alexis, Kupono, and Kanoa to do some pregnancy pictures of Alexis. Here are some of my favorites from the second collection of the photo shoot:

There are still at least one more collection of photos from this photo shoot. Most likely two!

Bill, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Jay, Jesse, Macro, Night, Willy

2010-06-28

February 13, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

There is a very diverse collection of photos in the folder 2010-06-28. Most are from Shannon’s first attempt to skydive. That idea got shot down (not literally) because it was deemed to windy to do such a thing safely. There are also pictures of a reunion when Bill came to town to visit. Then of course, there are plenty of flower pictures in here. But, perhaps my favorite picture in the folder is picture of a couple barns lit by the light of a full moon. I’ve been saying this for a long time, but I need to get back to taking some full moon photographs. This is the reason why I put the dates of full moons and new moons on the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar.

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:

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #33

Unaffiliated Triad

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will definitely involve flowers.