Category Archives: Nature

Rodan139: Pilot Mound

June 6, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple Saturdays back, after flying Rodan139 around Boxholm I swapped out batteries and took a brief flight around Pilot Mound. Boxholm and Pilot Mound are only a few miles apart. For a period of time they shared a consolidated school district for years. My understanding is that back in the day Pilot Mound had the best 4th of July fireworks show in the area. I don’t know if that is true, but it is what I’ve been told.

Here are some pictures of Pilot Mount from Rodan139.

Unfortunately the panoramic image is a bit of a miss, but that is one of the things about taking panoramic images with Rodan139, you don’t know what you get until you get back to the editing bay and upload the images. Either way, I good first set of images of Pilot Mound.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Art, Becky, Bill, Black & White, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dad, Dawn, Elizabeth, Funk, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Layla, Linda, Macro, Micky, Mindi, Nathanial, Nature, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Slice of Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 403 – TEXTURE

June 5, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

NOTE: THERE ARE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S THEME, SO MAKE SURE TO PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THEM. JUST DON’T SKIM BY THEM. NOT THAT ANYBODY DOES THAT. EVERYBODY HANGS ON MY EVERY WORD.

TEXTURE. It is something you really have to feel. But as a theme, did a bunch of people feel it? You will have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 29, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Susanna Funk – 1 week (3)
2-Willy McAlpine – 1 week
3-Melissa Degeneffe – 2 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 2 weeks (2)
5-Mary Green – 2 weeks (3)
6-Sara Lockner – 2 weeks
7-Tamara Peterson – 3 weeks (2)
8-Sabas Hernandez – 5 weeks
9-Mike Vest – 5 weeks
10-Alexis Baugher – 8 weeks (3)
11-Mindi Terrell – 15 weeks (3)
12-Monica Jennings – 20 weeks (2)
13-Brandon Kahler – 40 weeks
14-Linda Bennett – 44 weeks
15-Sarah Toot – 45 weeks (2)
16-Angie DeWaard – 49 weeks
17-Dawn Krause – 53 weeks (3)
18-Kim Barker – 59 weeks
19-Joe Duff – 60 weeks (2)
20-Logan Kahler – 62 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 71 weeks (2)
22-Carla Stensland – 71 weeks
23-Micky Augustin – 73 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 74 weeks (2)
25-Bill Wentworth – 75 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 79 weeks
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 80 weeks
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 82 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 84 weeks (3)

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:

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Iowa)

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Layla Gorshe (Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 1 week

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa)

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Susanna Funk (Oregon) – 2 weeks

Susanna Funk (Oregon)

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 16 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 41 weeks

Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 46 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 50 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 54 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Kim Barker (Altoona, Iowa) – 60 weeks

Kim Barker (Altoona, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 61 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 74 weeks

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 75 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa)

Andy Sharp (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 76 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 80 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 85 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa) – 507 weeks

Before I get into participation rates and all that jazz, I want to reveal something on I saw on Instagram from one of our regular participants yesterday. I came across one of Mindi’s posts and the caption was:

Weekly Photo Challenge has made me excited about photography again.

This is up there with one of my favorite things anybody has ever said about THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It is up there with when Joe told me that THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE changed the way he sees the world.

To be excited about photography and change the way you see the world. These are two of the very unstated goals of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

Thanks Mindi! I’m very excited that you are a regular participant and I always look forward to seeing your submissions.
However, the answer is still “No” about starting a Facebook group. Maybe a THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE participants “party” could happen though. Probably not though.

31 participants! That is a GREAT week! That is 3 straight weeks with 30+ participants. WooHoo!

Thanks to Funk being a mountain climbing badass, Oregon was added to the map this week.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

27 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 24 steps from my front door, so I continue to not contribute to expanding the map.

There were no major milestones reached this week. But there are some people closing in on some in the coming weeks. Particularly exciting this week was the 1st submission of the year from Layla! WooHoo!

However, it wasn’t all good news. There was a bloodbath of streaks, including some major streaks biting the dust. Melissa and Mary’s 2 week streaks are no more. Sabas’ 5 week streak is also no more. Monica’s 20 streak is history. Devastating. Just devastating. But perhaps most heartbreaking is that Logan’s 62 week streak is over. The longest streak to ever come to an end.

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:

SLICE OF LIFE

SLICE OF LIFE! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SLICE OF LIFE image? This is where I normally give you kind of a broad definition of the theme, but not this week. For those that don’t know SLICE OF LIFE is the name of the postcard company that my Dad started and ran out of the basement darkroom in our house.

Here is the Trade Name documentation he filed in March of 1984:

He passed away in December of the same year.

He specialized in black & white postcards of local interest. Here is this week’s assignment. It is to take a picture that you could see being used on a postcard. Now back in the day, they used to take pictures of all sorts of things and put them on postcards. So don’t think that there is nothing in your area that would make it on a postcard. It could be a building that is interesting looking or has a historical significance. It could simply be a pretty scene. Back when I was doing THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT, sometimes they took pictures of downtown intersections and put those on postcards.

While I will require your submission to be a postcard like image, meaning don’t try to “interpret” Slice of Life to mean something different, I will only strongly encourage you to submit the picture in black & white and also only slightly encourage you to throw some text on the image, if you have the editing skills or software.

There is one more thing. The is the one and only theme where if you write a SHORT description of your image (like you would see on the backside of a postcard) that I will include it along with your submission.

Here are some examples of my Dad’s postcards that will hopefully inspire you (excuse the low quality of the scans):

I don’t manipulate the order of themes for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I put the 52 themes in a random generate it and then I have it generate the theme the number of times as there are letters in the name of my favorite person at that moment*. EXCEPT for this theme. This theme I put this week specifically. This week is my Dad’s birthday. So it seemed apropos to put the theme that is an homage to him during this week.

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. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

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

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of SLICE OF LIFE in this place that is a continuation in many ways next Monday.

Dawn, Drone, Logan, Nature, Panorama, Video

Rodan139: Sleeping Angels II

May 24, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

When I was originally contacted by the Sleeping Angels to photograph their event, it was because they wanted pictures of them crossing the Mile Long Bridge. It was kind of touch and go with whether the weather was going to cooperate. You can’t fly a drone in rain and the forecast called for it to rain off and on all day. Fortunately, the predictions of rain were inaccurate. There were a few sprinkles off an on, but there was no rain when we got to the bridge.

The other weather concern was wind. A drone shouldn’t be flown under very windy conditions, unless you want it to come crashing to the ground and then you will find yourself buying a new drone. But fortunately there was only a light wind.

Logan and I set up and waited. Hoping they would arrive before the batteries were expired. Fortunately, they did.

Rodan139: Sleeping Angels - Mile Long Bridge

If you look closely, you can possibly pick out Dawn and Kevin who were on the ride. I can’t. But maybe you can.

Here is the video that Logan made from the video he took at the event:

He does good work. If you are reading this entry from an email subscription, the video won’t show up. You have to click one of the links in the email to go to the website to watch the video. It is definitely worth your time.

This is the last drone collection from the Sleeping Angels Fun Run, but there is one more collection of earthbound images left to share.

Animals, Art, Football, History, Iowa State, Nature

Jack and the Zodiac

May 13, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A few months back I went around Iowa State and took a few pictures. I started at Jack Trice Stadium to see the new Jack Trice Sculpture. It was around this time that they unveiled the new sculpture “Breaking Barriers” to honor Jack Trice.

Here is the public art statement on a beautiful piece of art:

By all accounts, Jack Trice was an exceptional student and a skilled athlete. In the pocket of a jacket he wore before his first game, was a note he had written to himself: “My thoughts just before the first real college game of my life: The honor of my race, family & self is at stake. Everyone is expecting me to do big things. I will.” Jack Trice, the first Black student athlete at Iowa State, died two days later on October 8,1923 as a result of injuries sustained on the football field during that game.

At the time that Jack enrolled at Iowa State, only a handful of African Americans attended Iowa State, in a state in which less than one percent of the population was Black. Nationally, only a few African Americans played collegiate football at that time, with many schools having policies – formal or informal – against integrated teams. Jack was mindful of the risks, but also committed to rising to and above the challenges before him. “My whole body & and soul are to be thrown recklessly about on the field tomorrow,” he wrote. “Every time the ball is snapped I will be trying to do more than my part.” Jack Trice had overcome substantial odds to don the Iowa State uniform.

Jack Trice has been seen as both a hero and as a victim, and his story is one that remains relevant today. The legacy of Jack Trice is at once that of a yet-unrealized dream and an unfulfilled promise, as well as a call to the same bravery and conviction he showed. It is a legacy for our student athletes, for our students of color, for our institution, and for all members of the Iowa State community who make sacrifices to pursue their dreams against difficult circumstances.

At the same time they unveiled “Breaking Barriers” they also renamed the road that is south of Jack Trice Stadium after Jack Trice.

After taking a few pictures there I went to the campus and took a few pictures around the Memorial Union.

If you aren’t steeped in Iowa State University lore, first of all – how dare you! Secondly, you might be wandering about the Zodiac. Don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you.

From the Iowa State Memorial Union website:

Architect/designer William T. Proudfoot chose to incorporate the ancient symbols of the zodiac into the north entry floor — classic Greek/Roman mythology for a classic-Greek/Roman-style building. In the 20’s, the zodiac was not as well known as it is now. Proudfoot planned for intentional wearing away of the bronze forms by placing them above the surface of the floor – to be sculpted further by building users until, eventually, they would be the same level as the floor. We know that by 1929, students had decided that if you stepped on the zodiac, it was unlucky – that you’d flunk your next test. Rumor has it that the students created this “curse” because they liked the raised effect of the zodiac and they wanted to preserve the zodiac signs even though it went against what the architect originally intended. Now most students, hedging their bets, walk around. If you accidentally invoke the curse, you can throw a coin in the fountain to take it away!

Take that Proudfoot!

Currently The Fountain of the Four Seasons is being restored, so it is gone. Current Iowa State students can’t reverse the curse because there is no fountain to throw a coin in. If they walk across the zodiac, I guess they should just drop out of school or try transferring to a lesser academic institution. Good thing for them, there are a ton of those out there.

Animals, Drone, Flowers, Nature

Rodan139: Red Haw State Park

May 9, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

A couple weeks back I crossed one off one of my travel goals for 2023. I visited Red Haw State Park near Chariton. I wanted to visit it and at this time of year because of its bountiful supply of pink blossoms. I was going to try to hit it last year, but it was hit by a tornado on March 5. The damage was severe enough, that the park was closed most of the year.

You can definitely still see the the damage done by the tornado. However, the purple blossoming trees are still plentiful and it was beautiful to see.

Here are a few drone photos:

If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a visit.

Art, Black & White, History, Nature, Road Trip, Street Photography

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 3

April 26, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Time for yet another collection of images from Muscatine County. One of my favorite counties that I visited. At least that wasn’t in the Loess Hills or the Driftless Area. Definitely Top 5. No lower than Top 10. This is not the collection that will show the dragon I bought the best watermelons of my life. However, there is pictures of Wildcat Den State Park that has a mill that I think is one of the most photographed tableaus in the state of Iowa. Plus an Old Stone Church that is set in a breathtaking rural Iowa vista.

Wilton

Walcott – Based on Balmoral Castle

Buffalo – Scott County

Old Stone Church

Methodists!

The only thing I hate more than bigotry is power lines.

Wildcat Den State Park

There are plenty more pictures to share from this road trip. We haven’t even made it to Muscatine yet!!

Amanda, Animals, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Candid Portrait, Dahlia, Event, Greyson, Logan, Nature, Russ, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

The Next Second You Were Gone

April 22, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Seems like a good time to clean up the July backlog. This collection of images was taken in July of last year, but never really found a spot in a previous “An Artist’s Notebook” entry. Some pictures are of a storm. Some are from the Boone County Fair. Some are of a baby bird, or an immature bird. Some are from Dahlia’s birthday party.

Always feels good to get a little bit of that backlog cleared out.

Drone, Nature, Panorama, Self-Portrait

Rodan139: Don Williams

April 11, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

The final place I took Rodan139 to on my low battery test flights was Don Williams. I do love Don Williams, but I hardly ever go out there. I should effort to make a couple of trips out there this summer. I feel like I should take a lot of PTO this summer. Like a lot of PTO. And some of that should be spent at Don Williams.

Next time Rodan139 takes to the skies it will be in Dysart, Iowa.

Andree, Andy, Angie, Basketball, Becky, Birthdays, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Drone, Elizabeth, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Linda, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Nader, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shawn Lockner, Tim, Toby

Rodan139: Pilot Mound State Forest

April 4, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start the day off by wishing Andree a happy birthday. Happy birthday Andree!

I hope your birthday is filled with joy, or at least as much joy as one can feel when they are in Houston, Texas.

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Yesterday was the end of the college basketball season, which also means it is time to crown the winner for Year 18 of the Roundball Oracles.

The winner was Will Baier. Congratulations Will! Making it back to back championships for Baier brothers! It seems like almost everybody in the Baier family has won, except Jason. Hmmmm…

His name is now on the List of Immortals.

ROUNDBALL ORACLES CHAMPIONS
2023 – Will Baier
2022 – Ben Baier
2021 – Micky Augustin
2020 – Tournament Canceled
2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Also “congratulations” goes to “The Sara” winner… Ben Baier. It was a close one this year and came down to the tie-breaker. It was so close to going Shawn. Then he would have had a “The Sara” trophy and the actual The Sara living in his house. Maybe next year.

Ben Baier went from the penthouse to the outhouse in one year. Maybe next year he will be back in the penthouse and his brother will be in the outhouse. It will be interesting to watch.

THE SARA “WINNERS”

2023 – Ben Baier
2022 – Joey Randazzo
2021 – Rachel Gildersleeve
2020 – Tournament Canceled
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

Here are the final Roundball Oracles Standings:

1. Will Baier – 204
2. Toby Sebring – 200
3. Sarah Karber – 193
4. Tim Peterson – 189
5. Cathie Morton – 188
6. Elizabeth Nordeen- 185
7. Andy Sharp – 184
8. Russell Kennerly – 184
9. Linda Bennett – 183
10. Micky Augustin – 183
11. Carrie Baier – 180
12. Dawn Krause – 178
13. Corey Faust – 177
14. Jesse Howard – 176
15. Jason Baier – 173
16. Angie DeWaard – 171
17. Michelle Haupt – 170
18. Carla Stensland – 170
19. Jackson Faust – 168
20. Frank Meiners – 157
21. Lowell Davis – 155
22. Andree Jauhari – 154
23. Christopher D. Bennett – 154
24. Robert Henning – 154
25. Nader Parsaei – 147
26. Logan Kahler – 145
27. Rachel Gildersleeve – 145
28. Joey Randazzo – 144
29. Olivia Baier – 141
30. Jordan Toot – 141
31. JJ Baier – 141
32. Brandon Kahler – 136
33. Becky Parmelee – 131
34. Derek Dohrman – 122
35. Sara Lockner – 112
36. Shawn Lockner – 111
37. Ben Baier – 111

Congrats to everybody that did better than me this year. And there were a lot of them. Cherish the feeling, cause it won’t happen again. Okay, it probably will.

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A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out for a couple test flights. The second of those flights was a spin above the Pilot Mound State Forest. Here are a few pictures from that flight:

Next week I will share the pictures from the final flight I took on the battery test flight day.

Andy, Art, Cathie, Evie, Flowers, Kim, Logan, Lowell, Nature, Still Life, Street Photography, Travel, Work, WPC - Reminder

Viva Las Vegas: Day 2

March 24, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

Day 2 in Las Vegas for the CMC was a long one. I only had a chance to take pictures before I went to the Planet Hollywood conference rooms for what would end up being an almost 13 hour work day. I’m a little bit embarrassed to say that I was about halfway through Day 2 before I realized that there was a 2 hour time difference between Las Vegas and Iowa and not a one hour time difference.

I started the day by walking down to a nearby CVS to look for some Las Vegas stickers and postcards. Maybe some breakfast. I didn’t find any stickers but I bought some post cards and a package of Zingers for breakfast. That was about $3.00.

After walking around a little bit I went to Planet Hollywood. Once there I stared at the walls of the same conference room for pretty much forever. It didn’t help that the temperature in the room was approximately 120 degrees.

After we finally got done with the setup, Lowell and I ended up back at the Linq Promenade and had supper at In-n-Out. Supper cost about $15 and was much better than Bobby Flay’s burger from the night before. It was so packed inside we had to eat outside in the cold. It was cold pretty much every day in Las Vegas.

I think we might have went back and hung out with some other miners in the Heart Bar, which is the bar in the middle of the Planet Hollywood Casino floor. It was this bar that became my marker for figuring out how to get out of the casino and how to find the elevators to my room.

I started the day with an estimated $258 in the Per Diem Fund.

Breakfast: $3
Lunch: I’m not allowed to talk about it.
Supper: $15

Estimated Per Diem Fund Balance: $240

Here are some of the pictures I took that day:

Sunrise from my room.

Paris

Seriously so hot and such terrible carpet.

According to the highly inaccurate fitness app on my phone, I walked 14,843 steps for a total of 6.93 miles on Day 2.

More pictures from this trip still to come.

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

COMPETITION

COMPETITION! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a COMPETITION image? It is simply an image of beings engaged in some kind of contest. Or it can be a picture of something that is used in a COMPETITION. Like a bowling ball. Or it can be a picture of the result of a COMPETITION. Like a trophy. There are so many possibilities!

This isn’t the first time COMPETITION has been a theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Here are some examples of previous submissions:

Kim Barker

Cathie Raley (Morton)

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp

Christopher D. Bennett

Hope this provides some inspiration for some people.

Happy photo harvesting!