Way back in May of last year I surprised Nate for his birthday. Well, I wasn’t the surprise, I was the distraction. While I was in the Manhattan area, I snapped a few photos:
Some of the pictures were taken in Manhattan suburbs like Leonardville and Ogden and Shelbyville and Ogdenville and North Haverbrook.
Also, happy birthday to my sister Carla and Dawg Pound sister Monica. Since, you know, it is actually your birthdays today.
The world wasn’t ready for these ABSTRACT images on Monday. I’m not sure the world is ready for them, but I can’t hold them back any longer:
Most of these pictures are of Story Street in Boone. A few are of Nora’s birthday cake. A few are of a snowman ornament in my living room. They were all heavily processed in Photoshop.
You’re welcome world.
Here are the balance of the Needles Highway pictures:
I would highly endorse the Needles Highway. It is a 2 lane road that is about the width of the roads that go through State Parks in Iowa. Only on one side is a 1500 fall to your death. Usually without a guard rail. Plus the experience of going through the Eye of the Needle Tunnel is amazing!
There is more coming from this trip. I mean, I haven’t even touched Mount Rushmore or the Badlands yet!
It is once again time for the Roundball Oracles NCAA Tournament Pool.
I want to start by saying that Paul and Shannon, your trophies for last years accomplishment and “accomplishment” are on order. They will be in your possession by the end of next week.
Here is the proof that I ordered the trophies:
The pool is your pretty standard pool. Pick the games. Pick the final score of the championship game. Win a trophy. This year, I’ll deliver on the trophy much earlier.
The pool doesn’t cost anything, but pride, but the winner gets a trophy and the last place adult (that tried) gets The Sara Trophy.
Here is a list of past champions.
The List of Immortals:
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
Last year 38 people took their shot at mortality. Paul Golden came home the winner. Shannon Bardole came home with The Sara.
Last Year’s Standings:
RANK TEAM NAME SCORE
1 Paul Golden 260
2 Frank Meiners 252
3 Angie DeWaard 247
4 Michelle Haupt 242
5 shawn lockner 238
6 Jen Ensley-Gorshe 231
7 Jorge Rios 231
8 Andree Jauhari 226
9 tim peterson 226
10 Jordan Toot 225
11 Carrie Baier 225
12 Toby Sebring 224
13 Lowell Davis 222
14 JJ Baier 221
15 Logan Kahler 220
16 Jason Baier 218
17 Dae Hee Yoon 213
18 Jackson Faust 211
19 Dawn Krause 209
20 Jon DeWaard 208
21 Nader Parsaei 204
22 Derek Dohrman 203
23 William Baier 202
24 Robert Henning 194
25 Christopher Bennett
26 Bill Wentworth 193
27 Rachel Johnson 192 36
28 Russell Kennerly 190
29 Nate Miller 189
30 Michael Augustin
31 Derrick Gorshe 181
32 Elizabeth Nordeen 164
33 Laura Priest 162
34 Corey Faust 160
35 Jill Gorshe 152
36 Shannon Bardole 149
37 Olivia Baier 143
38 Benjamin Baier 121
If you are interested in participating this year, drop me an email and I’ll get you hooked up.
If this post seems kind of low energy, don’t worry, Iowa State and my passion for the tournament will be back again next year!
The participation rates for ABSTRACT tumbled to near record lows. Which is harsh because ABSTRACT is literally the easiest theme in the challenge. Hopefully there will be a giant wave of participation this week. For the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE’S sake. For Kim’s sake.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions.
Tamara Peterson
Christopher D. Bennett
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:
JOY! What a great theme! But what is JOY. Well let’s look to the dictionary:
a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.
A JOY picture will be a picture of somebody expressing JOY or perhaps even, something/body that gives great JOY.
As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
On Friday night I went to The Open Flame in horrible Gilbert, Iowa for Andy’s birthday party extravaganza. While there, Andy convinced Jaxon Schoff to become the latest person to show class, taste, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. Jaxon might be the youngest subscriber currently. He is in the 8th Grade. But to think, if he is showing this much taste, class, and sophistication now… well he has av very bright future. America has a very bright future. If you see him out walking the mean county roads of rural Boone County feel free to give him a knowing glance and show him the super secret Photography 139 Handshake.
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That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very joyous Monday!
Heading back into the backlog for pictures from my trip to South Dakota with my Mom. These are from the Needles Highway:
More from the Needles Highway to come.
A small collection of photos reside in the folder called 03-22-08:
By adding these images to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery, I was able to restore the following blogs to their original glory:
1 picture is of a Jaycees newsletter. The dogs are Shimmer and Destiny from the Stensland family. The final picture is from the bowling alley, from back when I was in a bowling league.
Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Easter.
A reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ABSTRACT:
An ABSTRACT photo is a photo that does not represent external reality.
Happy photo harvesting!
Hitting up the back log, these are pictures I took on my way up to Brushy Creek one July afternoon.
Most of these pictures were taken in Dayton. The last few were taken in Burnside.
Dipping back into the back log. These images are from the Caves Road Trip that Jay, Willy, and I went on back in July.
On our way to the main course, the Maquoketa Caves State Park, we passed through a virtual ghost town. Scotch Grove. The only things is that it appears that somebody forgot to tell the people that live there that there town is dead.
We learned a little bit of the history of Scotch Grove from a local that came out to accuse of casing the town for a future theft. But I think he was covering up. He just said that this Balster family just lost interest in the businesses and closed them down. I think there was a mass suicide, like at the Lemp Brewery in Saint Louis*. Prove me wrong.
