Category Archives: Iowa State

Alexis, Animals, Art, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Dad, Dahlia, Flowers, Football, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Johnathan, Mom, Nader, Naima, Night, Photo of the Day, Pufferbilly Days, Railroad, Still Life, Street Photography, Willy

Fat Mum Slim – July 2022

August 6, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

A quick heads up. If you were thinking of going to or entering an animal into the Pufferbilly Days Dog and Exotic Animal Show, because of the extreme heat of today it was postponed. It is now tomorrow at noon at the park on 9th and Story.

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I have another month done in the Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day Challenge. This month wasn’t as difficult as last month because they were just standard themes. I think the images I took are a fair record of my experiences in July.

July 1 – Reflection

July 2 – Letters

July 3 – Human

July 4 – I’m Working On This…

July 5 – Wall

July 6 – Bright Colours

July 7 – A Fave Place

July 8 – Out of Focus

July 9 – A Boomerang

July 10 – Behind Someone

July 11 – Interior

July 12 – Exterior

July 13 – Life

July 14 – Create A Postcard

July 15 – Where I Stood

July 16 – Pattern

July 17 – Water

July 18 – Street Photography

July 19 – A Cylinder

July 20 – Hug

July 21 – A Church

July 22 – Current Interest

July 23 – Still Life

July 24 – A Metaphor

July 25 – Beauty

July 26 – Beauty

July 27 – Countryside

July 28 – An Old Car

July 29 – Black and White

July 30 – Happy Days

July 31 – Sunday Morning

I think there was some pretty good work in July. Hopefully some good work to be done in August.

Here are the August prompts:

August 1 – I Am…
August 2 – I Love This Colour…
August 3 – I Walked Here…
August 4 – I Like To…
August 5 – I Love This Time of Day…
August 6 – I Love…
August 7 – I Made This…
August 8 – I Work Here…
August 9 – I Held This…
August 10 – I Wrote This…
August 11 – I Saw…
August 12 – I Like To Drink…
August 13 – I Stood Here…
August 14 – I Do This On Sundays…
August 15 – I Once…
August 16 – I Never…
August 17 – I Went To…
August 18 – I Read This…
August 19 – I Did This Good Thing…
August 20 – I Love This View…
August 21 – I Don’t Life To…
August 22 – On Mondays I…
August 23 – I Sat Here…
August 24 – I Like To Eat…
August 25 – I Have To…
August 26 – I Wore This…
August 27 – On Weekends I…
August 28 – I Watched This…
August 29 – I Can…
August 30 – I Can’t…
August 31 – I Believe…

I guess people will get to know me better this month… unless I can help it.

If you want to follow this project on the daily, they are posted on my Fat Mum Slim Instagram account.

@fmsbennett

Otherwise, we’ll check in on this next month.

Amanda, Andy, Baby Got Rack, Brandon, Dahlia, Football, Iowa State, Jay, K.J., Logan, Nader, Naima, Pufferbilly Days, Russ, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Teresa, Willy, WPC - Reminder

Selfie Project – July 2022

August 5, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is a reminder that tomorrow there is a dog and exotic animal pet show for Pufferbilly Days. A person could also enter a cat, but people don’t, cause… cat. I mean, it explains itself.

However, I give this reminder with the caveat that it is possible that the Dog and Exotic Animal Pet Show could possibly be cancelled due to heat.

Here is the information you need if you are interested:

If it goes down, I will be there to photograph it. If it doesn’t go down, I’ll probably be eating ice cream, in the air conditioning.

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It is time once again to check in with THE SELFIE PROJECT. One of the things I like about THE SELFIE PROJECT I get to take a quick look back at everything I did last month and be like, “that was last month? I thought that was forever ago!”

I think I had a pretty busy July, but you can be the judge of that.

Here are some of my favorite images:

July 1

July 2

July 3

July 5

July 6

July 7

July 8

July 9

July 10

July 12

July 13

July 14

July 15

July 16

July 17

July 18

July 19

July 20

July 21

July 23

July 27

July 28

July 29

July 30

July 31

Obviously there were lots of selfies that couldn’t make the cut for this month’s THE SELFIE PROJECT. Here are some of my favorite alternates:

My August calendar is pretty loaded up with Pufferbilly Days, the Iowa State Fair, and numerous TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips all planned for the month. I’m even going to take some time off work. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not going to work for a few days. I’m looking forward to it. I hope when we reconvene to look at my August pictures that there are some great new memories in there as well.

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

PEOPLE

PEOPLE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a PEOPLE picture? Well, it is simply a picture that has a PEOPLE or multiple PEOPLE in it. (Somewhere an English teacher is hanging their head so low right now.) I know. PEOPLE are vile and disgusting subjects. They are a failed species that are responsible for 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the evil on this planet. Completely susceptible to propaganda. Responsible for the complete and utter raping of our planet. Avarice. Greed. War. Genocide. Racism. Homophobia. Transphobia. Misogyny. All unique products of PEOPLE. What I’m trying to say is that in the coming war between monkeys and humans, I am hard core #TeamMonkey*. I’d like to say we’ve had a good run, but all the evidence is to the contrary.

I have to admit that after some of the events of the past week, I’m still 100% #TeamMonkey in the coming Human vs. Monkey War (where do you think Monkey Pox comes from), but I think slightly better of our doomed and failed species than I did on Monday.

While thinking on possible subjects for your PEOPLE picture think on the words of the Law Giver:

“Beware the beast man, for he is the devil’s pawn.”
“Alone among God’s primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. ”
“Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother’s land. ”
“Let him not breed in great numbers for he will make a desert of his home and yours. ”
“Shun him. ”
“Drive him back into his jungle lair. ”
“For he is the harbinger of death. “

Happy photo harvesting!

Angie, Art, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Carla, Derrick, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Logan, Nader, Naima, Pastor Sarah, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Still Life, Teresa, Toby, WPC - Reminder

Selfie Project – March 2022

April 1, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Tomorrow is the Final Four. Thought it would be a good time to check-in on the Roundball Oracles.

With 3 games left to go in the NCAA tournament this is the Top 3:

1. Becky Parmelee – 231 Points
2. Carla Stensland – 229 Points
3. Angie DeWaard – 224 points

This is the Bottom 3:

34. Joey Randazzo – 143 points
35. Olivia Baier – 141 points
36. Toby Sebring – 140 points

At this point, there are 4 people left that have a chance of taking home the Championship Trophy. 2 people still have a shot at The Sara.

Here are the scenarios for The Sara:

If Villanova beats Kansas then Toby “wins” The Sara.
If Kansas beats Villanova then Joey “wins” The Sara.

Note as Olivia Baier is a child, she is not eligible for The Sara.

Here are the scenarios for the Championship:

If Duke wins the National Championship then Sarah Karber wins the trophy.
If Kansas wins the National Championship then Ben Baier wins the trophy.
If Villanova beats Duke for the National Championship then Becky wins the trophy.
If North Carolina beats Villanova for the National Championship then Becky wins the trophy.
If North Carolina beats Kansas for the National Championship then Ben wins the trophy.
If Villanova beats North Carolina for the National Championship then Derrick Gorshe wins the trophy.

It is possible, that there is an error in my math, but I’m fairly certain this is correct.

Root accordingly.

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I don’t want to toot my own horn, but I think I actually did some stuff in March. I didn’t go to Pennsylvania and Illinois (briefly) and North Carolina (briefly), but I did stand in Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota all at the same time. I ate the reigning Best Tenderloin in Iowa. I went to two Iowa State NCAA Tournament games. I stood on the highest point in Iowa and the second highest. I hosted Alligator Movie Night. I had some good times with friends and some poignant times with family. March wasn’t too bad. Raised the bar a bit for April.

Here are my favorite SELFIE PROJECT images from March:

March 1

March 3

March 4

March 5

March 7

March 8

March 9

March 11

March 12

March 13

March 15

March 16

March 17

March 18

March 19

March 20

March 21

March 23

March 25

March 26

March 29

March 30

March 31

Oh yeah! I also bought a new camera in March! I hope to continue to do good work in April!

Of course, there can only be one selfie for each day. Here are my favorite alternates I took for THE SELFIE PROJECT:

Jesse is a sleeper!

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

FRAMED

But what exactly is a FRAMED picture? It is simply a picture where the subject is FRAMED in by something else. In the theme reveal, the edge of the garbage can makes a frame for the subject of the refuse. A doorway makes a good frame. So does a hall way. A window Any thing that creates negative space makes a great frame for your subject. Or you could even do something as easy as taking a picture of something that is in a literal picture frame.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Basketball, Christianity, History, Iowa State, Railroad, Road Trip, WPC - Reminder

Kossuth and Winnebago County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

March 25, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is a big day for Iowa State athletics. Iowa State is one of only two schools that have both their Men’s and Women’s basketball team still alive in the NCAA tournament. For the Men, this is pretty shocking since they only won two games last year. This was the expectation for the Women.

However, for the third time in as many games, in their infinite wisdom, the NCAA has scheduled the Men’s and Women’s games to overlap. (Yes, I actually know that the television networks schedule the game times, but still!) This has lead several people to ask me how I’m going to watch both games. The astute people know that I refuse to DVR games, so that isn’t a possibility.

The answer is simple. I’m going to watch Season 2 of BRIDGERTON on Netflix and then read about the games in the morning paper on Saturday.

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Several months back I cruised around Kossuth ad Winnebago County harvesting their town signs. This is the second collection of auxiliary images from that road trip. All these images were taken in Kossuth County.

Algona

Wesley

Titonka

Lone Rock

There is still one more collection of images from this trip to share.

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

SHADOW

SHADOW! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SHADOW picture? A SHADOW picture is simply a picture where one of the major compositional elements of the image is a SHADOW. The SHADOW can be on the ground. It can be on a wall. It can be across somebody’s face. A silhouette picture is a SHADOW picture, for example. And of course, there are other types of less literal SHADOWs out there too.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Basketball, Christianity, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Music, Naima, Photo of the Day, Railroad, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Travel

Fat Mum Slim – February 2022

March 4, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

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:

February 1 – A is For…

February 2 – B is For…

February 3 – C is For…

February 4 – D is For…

February 5 – E is For…

February 6 – F is For…

February 7 – G is For…

February 8 – H is For…

February 9 – I is For…

February 10 – J is For…

February 11 – K is For…

February 12 – L is For…

February 13 – M is For…

February 14 – N is For…

February 15 – O is For…

February 16 – P is For…

February 17 – Q is For…

February 18 – R is For…

February 19 – S is For…

February 20 – T is For…

February 21 – U is For…

February 22 – V is For…

February 23 – W is For…

February 24 – X is For…

February 25 – Y is For…

February 26 – Z is For…

February 27 – Letters

February 28 – Your Fave Word

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.

Andy, Art, Basketball, Bill, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, Iowa State, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kio, Layla, Linda, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Shannon, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 337 – HARMONY

February 28, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

For a somewhat abstract concept, quite a few people have found HARMONY in their lives somewhere. In fact, it was a record breaking week!

As of 10:59 AM on Monday, February 28, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

+ Linda Bennett – 1 week
+ Suzie Brannen – 1 week
+ Logan Kahler – 1 week
+ Dawn Krause – 1 week
+ Mike Vest – 1 week
+ Joe Duff – 5 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 5 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 5 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 6 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 7 weeks
+ Monica Henning – 7 weeks
+ Becky Parmelee – 8 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 8 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 9 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 13 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 14 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 16 weeks
+ Kim Barker – 16 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 19 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:

Carla Stensland – 6 weeks

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman – 20 weeks

Kio Dettman

Christopher D. Bennett

Linda Bennett – 2 weeks

Linda Bennett

Michelle Haupt – 7 weeks

Lori Backous – 1 week

Tamara Peterson – 6 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley – 17 weeks

Bill Wentworth – 10 weeks

Bill Wentworth

Teresa Kahler – 6 weeks

Teresa Kahler

Evie Gorshe – 1 week

Layla Gorshe – 1 week

Micky Augustin – 8 weeks

Andy Sharp – 9 weeks

Logan Kahler – 2 weeks

Logan Kahler

Joe Duff – 6 weeks

Dawn Krause – 2 weeks

Jesse Howard – 1 week

Jesse Howard

Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks

Suzie Brannen

Cathie Raley – 14 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen – 15 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week

Mike Vest – 2 weeks

33 submissions from 22 participants. I do believe both of those are records! WooHoo!

Only 3 streaks were snapped. But they were significant steaks. Kim’s 16 week streak went kaput. So did Becky’s 8 week streak and Monica’s 7 week streaks.

But it wasn’t all bad new on the streak front. Bill extended his streak into double digits! Congratulations to him!

Here are the current top streaks:

1. Kio – 20 weeks
2. Shannon – 17 weeks
3. Elizabeth – 15 weeks
4. Cathie – 14 weeks
5. Bill – 10 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:

HOBBIES

HOBBIES! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a HOBBIES image? A HOBBY image is simply a picture of anything related to a HOBBY. There are all sorts of HOBBIES out there. People collect things. People make things. People sew. They make art. They make music. They play games. You picture doesn’t have to be of your HOBBIES. But can be of somebody else’s HOBBIES. It can be of something they have finished. Or it can be of the tools used in their HOBBIES. Or it can be a picture of somebody in mid-HOBBIES. There are just so many possibilities!

While considering your possible subjects for HOBBIES, meditate on the following quote:

I don’t have hobbies; hobbies cost money. Interests are quite free.
-George Carlin

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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.

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 HOBBIES in this place that is little more than where my various interests merge next Monday.

Football, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, Jill

2011-04-12 & 2011-04-16

January 15, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folders 2011-04-12 & 2011-04-16 are of two varieties. One set will no doubt be very confusing to you. 98% (probably higher) will think that those picture are rubbish. They are more pinhole camera pictures. It has been months since I published pinhole camera pictures. What sets these apart is that they are taken with filters.

The second set of pictures are more straight forward. Simply pictures of Iowa State’s 2011 Spring Game.

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 #68
IOWA STATE SPRING GAME

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve tulips.

Art, Bill, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Drone, Elizabeth, Holidays, Iowa State, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Sara, Shannon, Still Life, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 328 – HOLIDAYS

December 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The August image of the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is a drone shot of the High Trestle Trail Bridge:

Tomorrow I will share the September image from the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar.

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HOLIDAYS proved to be fairly popular theme.

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

Dawn Krause

Elizabeth Nordeen

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Christopher D. Bennett

Kim Barker

Joe Duff

Micky Augustin

Dawn Krause

Carla Stensland

Bill Wentworth

Sara Lockner

Kio Dettman

Jesse Howard

Logan Kahler

Cathie Raley

Elizabeth Nordeen

EDUCATION

EDUCATION! What a great theme to end Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE on!

But what is an EDUCATION image? An EDUCATION photo is a picture of anything that relates to EDUCATION. Kids in school. A picture of school. Degrees. Diplomas. Books. Libraries. But not all EDUCATION happens in a school. I would actually argue that next to no EDUCATION happens in schools, but that is another subject for another time. However, my point is don’t discount other forms of EDUCATION. For example, back in my prime, I used to take fools to school on the basketball court all the time.

As you consider your possible subjects for EDUCATION, mediate on this scene from one of my all-time favorite movies GOOD WILL HUNTING:

CHUCKIE
Yeah, cause I think I had a class
with you.

At this point, several interested parties materialize. Morgan
Billy and Will try, as inconspicuously as possible, to situate
themselves within listening distance. A rather large student
in a HARVARD LACROSSE sweatshirt, CLARK (22) notices Chuckie.
He [Clark] walks over to Skylar and Lydia, nobly hovering
over them as protector. This gets Will, Morgan, and Billy’s
attention.

SKYLAR
What class?

CHUCKIE
Ah, history I think.

SKYLAR
Oh…

CHUCKIE
Yah, it’s not a bad school…

At this point, Clark can’t resist and steps in.

CLARK
What class did you say that was?

CHUCKIE
History.

CLARK
How’d you like that course?

CHUCKIE
Good, it was all right.

CLARK
History? Just “history?” It must
have been a survey course then.

Chuckie nods. Clark notices Chuckie’s clothes. Will and Billy
exchange a look and move subtly closer.

CLARK
Pretty broad. “History of the World?”

CHUCKIE
Hey, come on pal we’re in classes
all day. That’s one thing about
Harvard never seizes to amaze me,
everybody’s talkin’ about school all
the time.

CLARK
Hey, I’m the last guy to want to
talk about school at the bar. But as
long as you’re here I want to “seize”
the opportunity to ask you a question.

Billy shifts his beer into his left hand. Will and Morgan
see this. Morgan rolls his eyes as if to say “not again…”

CLARK
Oh, I’m sure you covered it in your
history class.

Clark looks to see if the girls are impressed. They are not.

When Clark looks back to Chuckie, Skylar turns to Lydia and
rolls her [own] eyes. They laugh. Will sees this and smiles.

CHUCKIE
To tell you the truth, I wasn’t there
much. The class was rather elementary.

CLARK
Elementary? Oh, I don’t doubt that
it was. I remember the class, it was
just between recess and lunch.

Will and Billy come forward, stand behind Chuckie.

CHUCKIE
All right, are we gonna have a
problem?

CLARK
There’s no problem. I was just hoping
you could give me some insight into
the evolution of the market economy
in the early colonies. My contention
is that prior to the Revolutionary
War the economic modalities especially
of the southern colonies could most
aptly be characterized as agrarian
precapitalist and…

Will, who at this point has migrated to Chuckie’s side and
is completely fed-up, includes himself in the conversation.

WILL
Of course that’s your contention.
You’re a first year grad student.
You just finished some Marxian
historian, Pete Garrison prob’ly,
and so naturally that’s what you
believe until next month when you
get to James Lemon and get convinced
that Virginia and Pennsylvania were
strongly entrepreneurial and
capitalist back in 1740. That’ll
last until sometime in your second
year, then you’ll be in here
regurgitating Gordon Wood about the
Pre-revolutionary utopia and the
capital-forming effects of military
mobilization.

CLARK
(taken aback)
Well, as a matter of fact, I won’t,
because Wood drastically
underestimates the impact of–

WILL
“Wood drastically underestimates the
impact of social distinctions
predicated upon wealth, especially
inherited wealth…” You got that
from “Work in Essex County,” Page
421, right? Do you have any thoughts
of your own on the subject or were
you just gonna plagiarize the whole
book for me?

Clark is stunned.

WILL
Look, don’t try to pass yourself off
as some kind of an intellect at the
expense of my friend just to impress
these girls.

Clark is lost now, searching for a graceful exit, any exit.

WILL
The sad thing is, in about 50 years
you might start doin’ some thinkin’
on your own and by then you’ll realize
there are only two certainties in
life.

CLARK
Yeah? What’re those?

WILL
One, don’t do that. Two — you
dropped a hundred and fifty grand on
an education you coulda’ picked up
for a dollar fifty in late charges
at the Public Library.

Will catches Skylar’s eye.

CLARK
But I will have a degree, and you’ll
be serving my kids fries at a drive
through on our way to a skiing trip.

WILL
(smiles)
Maybe. But at least I won’t be unoriginal.
(beat)
And if you got a problem with that,
I guess we can step outside and deal
with it that way.

I look forward to seeing your interpretation next week.

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Next Monday will mark the beginning of Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are the 52 themes for next year:

1. Black + White
2. Rock
3. Triangle
4. #love
5. Junk
6. Believe
7. Still Life
8. Harmony
9. Hobbies
10. Government
11. Abstract
12. Shadow
13. Framed
14. Gratitude
15. Orange
16. Letters or Numbers
17. #Instagood
18. Square
19. Slice of Life
20. Hat
21. History
22. Flower
23. Children
24. Service
25. Self-Portrait
26. Entertainment
27. Road Trip
28. Work
29. Wild
30. Odd Camera Angle
31. People
32. Family
33. Animal
34. Weekends
35. Circle
36. Colorful
37. Green
38. Paths
39. Signs
40. Ruins
41. Violet
42. Macro
43. Lines
44. Art
45. Decoration
46. Strong
47. Communication
48. In the Air
49. Street Photography
50. Water
51. Explore
52. Body Part

Now you can start thinking on them, but you can’t start shooting them. Them’s the rules. Speaking of rules…

RULES

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 EDUCATION in this place that is little more than result of my misspent learning next Monday.

Andy, Christianity, Dahlia, Derrick, Greyson, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Naima, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Teresa, Vest, Willy

Selfie Project – October

November 2, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On Sunday I completed another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. One thing that always happens when I look back at a month’s worth of pictures I’m always surprised at some of the things that all happened in the same month. That? That happened this month? I thought that was like 2 months ago.

Here are my favorites from October:

October 1

October 2

October 3

October 4

October 5

October 7

October 8

October 9

October 12

October 14

October 16

October 17

October 18

October 20

October 22

October 23

October 24

October 25

October 28

October 30

October 31

There can be only one Selfie per day, but here are some of favorite alternate selfies from October:

Hopefully November is a good month too.

Candid Portrait, Iowa State, Layla

4-H Photo Scavenger Hunt

October 10, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

On Tuesday night Layla wanted to go to a 4-H Photo Scavenger Hunt on the Iowa State Campus, but both her parents were indisposed. They asked me to take her and since 4-H photography runs through the blood of this family (both my sisters were accomplished 4-H photographers) I agreed to the excursion.

Before the hunt, there was a presentation where a Story County 4-H Photography Judge gave pointers on taking pictures for the photo contest. She mostly hammered down on the “rule of thirds” and “giving space for objects in motion to move”. Good rudimentary rules for beginning photographers.

Here are the 10 items Layla was to photograph:

+ “Images” on the ground from the sun.
+ You can see me in the water, but I never get wet.
+ A type of insect with antennae on its head. It might be found in a hill and can be red.
+ Out in nature I can be seen, I fall, but not from an evergreen.
+ Any item you can see moved by wind or force.
+ I am pretty and smell sweet, you will find me if you look down near your feet.
+ Here, books are organized by numbers and from A-Z.
+ Orange, blue, yell, green, red, indigo. What is the color this is missing from the rainbow.
+ Full of water, but not a lake. On top sits a 40 foot tank.
+ I’ve told you what to find until now, here’s your chance to make me say “WOW!”. Find an object and show your own unique perspective.

Here are pictures I took of Layla taking her pictures.

After they completed the hunt, the group posted it up in the new Student Innovation Center (which is a sweet, sweet building) and everybody showed their favorite picture from the hunt. Then the judge and her son gave the pointers and lot more talks of Rules of Thirds. But don’t be surprised if at the Story County Fair next year (I honestly have no clue where or when that is) there are lots of pictures of the Marston Water Tower.

I do think that the Photo Scavenger Hunt is a good idea for getting the youth to take pictures they can enter in a photo contest. You may not know this, but the original idea for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE (born the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT) was to generate pictures that could be used for photo contests. The idea, Vest said was that at the end of the year you would have 52 pictures you could consider for photo contests. While I’m not sure how many (or if any) pictures I have taken have ever been entered in a photo contest, but the idea still stands.

I wonder if I could somehow steal the Photo Scavenger Hunt idea to try to generate youth entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. This would be an easier idea to pull off if Boone still had a Camera Club. Hmmmm…