It is time once again to share some of my favorite pictures from Jayton’s Senior Picture Photo Shoot. These were taken at Goeppinger Field.
Next Formal Portrait Sunday will feature Kyle again.
The pictures in the folder 2011-05-30 were of a photo shoot I had with Evie when she was just a few months old. I could do the math, but I’m just going to call it 9 months old.
Here are some of my favorites:
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:
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the Challenger program at the Boone Little League.
It has been a long time since I bought a new camera. Something like 3 years. I had circled early 2022 as the time to make the move as I am committed to Sony (as it is a family tradition by default)* and their mirrorless system (because it is the best camera system on the market) and the new Sony A7IV was due to come out then.
I ordered it and then waited. I got a tracking number from B&H Photo and saw that it was being shipped by FedEx, the worst of the worst when it comes to shipping companies. I now knew it was like a 50-50 chance I would ever see my camera. Yes, I’m still fuming over the fact that they delivered my bed to the people who live across the street and then east last year. It is not an easy task hauling a bed from all the way down there to my house.
I had the A7IV shipped to the computer mine because based on when it was due to arrive, that is where I would be and if FedEx was delivering to a business instead of a house, maybe there would be a greater chance they wouldn’t mess things up.
On Wednesday, I was mining away. Pick axe in one hand. A warning canary in the other. Then I felt a presence behind me. Kind of an overall aura of greatness. I turned around. Standing behind me was a beautiful woman presenting me with my beautiful new camera. It was the things dreams are made of. The new new had arrived! It was a great day!
Here are some pictures of the Sony A7IV:
Here are some of the specs for the Sony A7IV:
Imaging
Lens Mount Sony E
Sensor Resolution Actual: 34.1 Megapixel
Effective: 33 Megapixel
Sensor Type 35.9 x 23.9 mm (Full-Frame) CMOS
Image Stabilization Sensor-Shift, 5-Axis
Exposure Control
Shutter Type Mechanical Focal Plane Shutter, Electronic Shutter
Shutter Speed 1/8000 to 30 Seconds
Bulb/Time Mode Bulb Mode
ISO Sensitivity Photo
100 to 51,200 (Extended: 50 to 204,800)
Video
100 to 51,200 (Extended: 100 to 102,400)
Metering Method Center-Weighted Average, Highlight Weighted, Multiple, Spot
Exposure Modes Aperture Priority, Manual, Program, Shutter Priority
Exposure Compensation -5 to +5 EV (1/3 EV Steps)
Metering Range -3 to 20 EV
White Balance Presets: Auto, Cloudy, Color Temperature, Color Temperature Filter, Custom, Daylight, Flash, Fluorescent (Cool White), Fluorescent (Day White), Fluorescent (Daylight), Fluorescent (Warm White), Incandescent, Shade, Underwater
Continuous Shooting Up to 10 fps at 33 MP for up to 828 Frames (Raw) / Unlimited Frames (JPEG)
Interval Recording Yes
Self-Timer 2/5/10-Second Delay
Still Image Capture
Image Sizes 3:2 Raw
7008 x 4672
3:2 JPEG
7008 x 4672
4608 x 3072
3504 x 2336
1:1 JPEG
4672 x 4672
3072 x 3072
2336 x 2336
4:3 JPEG
6224 x 4672
4096 x 3072
3120 x 2336
16:9 JPEG
7008 x 3944
4608 x 2592
3504 x 1968
Aspect Ratio 1:1, 3:2, 4:3, 16:9
Image File Format JPEG, Raw, HEIF
Bit Depth 14-Bit
Interface
Media/Memory Card Slot Slot 1: CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II)
Slot 2: SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II)
Video I/O 1 x HDMI Output
Audio I/O 1 x 3.5 mm TRS Stereo Headphone Output
1 x 3.5 mm TRS Stereo Microphone Input
Other I/O 1 x Sony Multi/USB Micro-B Input/Output (Shared with Remote Input)
1 x USB Type-C (USB 3.2 / 3.1 Gen 2) Input/Output (Shared with Power Input)
Power I/O 1 x USB Type-C Input/Output
Wireless Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Monitor
Size 3.0″
Resolution 1,036,800 Dot
Display Type Free-Angle Tilting Touchscreen LCD
Viewfinder
Type Built-In Electronic (OLED)
Size 0.5″
Resolution 3,680,000 Dot
Eye Point 23 mm
Coverage 100%
Magnification Approx. 0.78x
Diopter Adjustment -4 to +3
Focus
Focus Type Auto and Manual Focus
Focus Mode Continuous-Servo AF, Direct Manual Focus, Manual Focus, Single-Servo AF
Autofocus Points Phase Detection: 759
Contrast Detection: 425
Autofocus Sensitivity -4 to +20 EV
Here are some of the first pictures I took with the new new:
I look forward to the many adventures I will have with the Sony A7IV. But first I need to master all of its settings!
This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is GOVERNMENT.
I’ve already had some great images sent to me from people on vacation in Arizona and Louisiana. And an image sent to me from an employee of Iowa State University.
If you haven’t taken your GOVERNMENT image, here is a refresher on what a GOVERNMENT image might look like…
But what exactly is a GOVERNMENT image? A GOVERNMENT image is anything that involves a GOVERNMENT. There are all types of GOVERNMENT. There is the federal GOVERNMENT. A state GOVERNMENT. A county GOVERNMENT. A local GOVERNMENT. Churches have GOVERNMENT bodies. Every business has some kind of GOVERNMENT. A GOVERNMENT image could be anything that deals with a GOVERNMENT. A public park. GOVERNMENT. The road you drove on to get to that public park. GOVERNMENT. Public school. GOVERNMENT. If you work for the GOVERNMENT, you are the GOVERNMENT. The military, the police, fire department. All GOVERNMENT. Public library. GOVERNMENT. There are so many possibilities!
Happy photo harvesting!
* Technically a Minolta family tradition, but when Sony bought out Minolta they got the Bennetts too!
A few weeks back I cruised around Shelby and Mills County (and Pottawattamie County) harvesting their town signs. This is the third collection of auxiliary images from this trip. Most of these pictures are taken in Malvern. I loved Malvern! It is a small town with a thriving art community! That kind of thing is my bag, baby!
Malvern is definitely firmly entrenched on the list of towns that I want to visit and photograph more intently after completion of this project. Also on that list are Creston, Walnut (also briefly featured today), Mount Vernon, Amana Colonies, and Rock Rapids off the top of my head. I really should write this list down.
Malvern accomplished everything I wished the Boone Art Council would have accomplished. Only the Boone Art Council ended in assault and it is a mystery if it will continue into the future at all.
The next time I share auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, it will involve Bremer County and a mystery copy of the New Testament that I picked up, even though I was advised that I shouldn’t.
A couple months back I cruised around Buena Vista County harvesting the balance of their town signs. It was a foggy, icy, and excellent trip.
Here are some facts about Buena Vista County:
+ Population is 20,283 making it the 29th most populous county in Iowa. Below Mahaska County and above Carroll County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Storm Lake.
+ Formed on January 15, 1851.
+ Named after the Battle of Buena Vista from the Mexican-American War. It is surprising how many things in Iowa are named after things from that war.
+ Home of Buena Vista University.
+ Major highways are: US-71, IA-3, IA-7, IA-10, and IA-110.
+ Adjacent counties are Clay, Pocahontas, Sac, and Cherokee.
+ Population peaked in 1960 at 21,189.
For a modern looking courthouse, I don’t hate the Buena Vista County Courthouse:
The Buena Vista County Freedom Rock is located in Albert City, Iowa.
With Buena Vista County conquered, here is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:
61 counties completed. 61.6% of the Cyclone State conquered.
Here are the town signs of Buena Vista County:
Alta, Iowa
WELCOME TO ALTA
Catch the Energy!
Population: 2,087 (+204)
Newell, Iowa
WELCOME TO NEWELL
Population: 906 (+30)
Sioux Rapids, Iowa
WELCOME TO Sioux Rapids
IN THE Valley of Beauty
Population: 748 (+27)
Lakeside, Iowa
CITY OF Lakeside
BEST LITTLE CITY BY A DAM SITE
Population: 700 (+104)
Albert City, Iowa
ALBERT CITY
“HOW SWEDE IT IS”
Population: 677 (-22)
Marathon, Iowa
MARATHON
Population: 230 (-7)
Rembrandt, Iowa
WELCOME TO Rembrandt
A Classic Since 1901
Population: 209 (+6)
Linn Grove, Iowa
Welcome to LINN GROVE
Population: 163 (+9)
Truesdale, Iowa
TRUESDALE
100 USA
Est. 1917
Population: 69 (-12)
I think this is a great collection of town signs. It might be the strongest county I’ve seen so far! The only one I think is a bad sign is Alta. I don’t even think that is terrible. It is just that they seem to have made a sign out of a file that was too small and that has made the sign pixelated and doesn’t look very good.
There are so many town signs I love here and when I put together the book I can see at least two of these being included in it. I don’t know what the exact plan for the book is going to be, but I’m leaning towards including 100 town signs in the book. The 100 best in Iowa. Which means many counties won’t be represented and a few counties like Buena Vista could have several.
I love the Albert City sign. I love the sign for Sioux Rapids, Marathon, and Rembrandt as well. But only one town sign includes a giant lighthouse. That means that Storm Lake gets a rare purple ribbon for a county seat!
There are a couple of alternate town signs in Buena Vista County:
Here is the current list of Best in Shows:
Best in Show – Buena Vista County
Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County
Best in Show – Crawford County
Best in Show – Franklin County
Best in Show – Hamilton County
Best in Show – Humboldt County
Best in Show – Marshall County
Best in Show – Montgomery County
Best in Show – Pocahontas County
Best in Show – Pottawattamie County
Best in Show – Poweshiek County
Best in Show – Ringgold County
The next time we hit the open road for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will cruise the roads or Palo Alto County.
As many of you know, I was having difficulties with the email subscription service last week. In particular, it wasn’t working with Gmail email accounts. That should be fixed, but another question I get, is how do I prevent the emails from going to “Promotions” instead of my primary Inbox in Gmail. Here are the instructions for preventing that from happening:
One of the simplest ways to move an email is to left-click and hold on the email and drag it from the promotions tab over to the Primary tab. Releasing the mouse will drop the email into the primary tab. After it is dropped, Gmail will ask if you wish to make the change permanent.
Hope that helps some of you!
HOBBIES has proven to be a very popular theme.
As of 10:59 AM on Monday, March 7, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:
+ Lori Backous – 1 week
+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
+ Evie Gorshe – 1 week
+ Layla Gorshe – 1 week
+ Jesse Howard – 1 week
+ Linda Bennett – 2 weeks
+ Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks
+ Logan Kahler – 2 weeks
+ Dawn Krause – 2 weeks
+ Mike Vest – 2 weeks
+ Joe Duff – 6 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 6 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 6 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 6 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 7 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 8 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 9 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 10 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 14 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 15 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 17 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 20 weeks
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:
Only 2 streaks were snapped. Lori and Jen both couldn’t extend their streaks to two. Maybe next week?
Congrats to Andy for extending his streak to double digits! WooHoo!
Here are the current top streaks:
1. Kio – 21 weeks
2. Shannon – 18 weeks
3. Elizabeth – 16 weeks
4. Cathie – 15 weeks
5. Bill – 11 weeks
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:
GOVERNMENT! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!
But what exactly is a GOVERNMENT image? A GOVERNMENT image is anything that involves a GOVERNMENT. There are all types of GOVERNMENT. There is the federal GOVERNMENT. A state GOVERNMENT. A county GOVERNMENT. A local GOVERNMENT. Churches have GOVERNMENT bodies. Every business has some kind of GOVERNMENT. A GOVERNMENT image could be anything that deals with a GOVERNMENT. A public park. GOVERNMENT. The road you drove on to get to that public park. GOVERNMENT. Public school. GOVERNMENT. If you work for the GOVERNMENT, you are the GOVERNMENT. The military, the police, fire department. All GOVERNMENT. Public library. GOVERNMENT. There are so many possibilities!
When considering subjects for your GOVERNMENT image, meditate on the following quote:
“Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”
-Winston Churchill
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 GOVERNMENT in this place that is ruled with an iron fist by me next Monday.
The pictures in the folders 2011-05-22, 2011-05-26, and 2011-05-27 are mostly of irises, a flower that is well-documented to be my least favorite flower. There are also pictures from Elainie’s high school graduation and one picture from the Left Behind Party Funk and I had, but was really hosted by Sara.
The Left Behind Party, took place a few days after a billboard in Boone claimed that the world was going to end. It did not, or at least we weren’t raptured. Which is pretty much okay with me, cause I don’t believe in the rapture. Think it was something some dude just pulled out of his bum in the 19th century.
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 Y2 #21 – ODD CAMERA ANGLE
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Evie.
Back on Monday I completed another month of the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. I once again should thank Elizabeth as she assisted on a few of the photos this month.
Here are the pictures from February:
This month I did manage to take pictures in 3 different states. Iowa, of course. Pennsylvania and North Carolina. I was also in Illinois for a bit, but didn’t take any pictures there. At least not for the Photo A Day Challenge.
These are the Photo A Day Challenge Prompts for March
March 1 – Weather
March 2 – Something in Your Kitchen
March 3 – Skyline
March 4 – Makes You Feel Nostalgic
March 5 – Books
March 6 – A Corner
March 7 – A Bus Stop
March 8 – Sunset
March 9 – From Inside the Car
March 10 – A Meal You Made
March 11 – Somewhere with a Good View
March 12 – An Insect
March 13 – A Close-up
March 14 – Something You’ve Never Photographed
March 15 – A Playground
March 16 – A Local Cafe
March 17 – Something You Think is Boring
March 18 – Flowers
March 19 – A Grocery Store
March 20 – Something Weird
March 21 – A Colorful Place
March 22 – A Garden
March 23 – A Leaf
March 24 – A Sunbeam
March 25 – Graffiti
March 26 – An Empty Road
March 27 – A Tree
March 28 – A Shop Window
March 29 – Old Building
March 30 – A Stranger
March 31 – Under a Tree
Of course, you can follow the daily posting on The Gram by following @fmsbennett.