Animals, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Street Photography, Vest, WPC - Reminder

Sunday at the Fair

January 31, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Hitting up the 2019 backlog for a collection of pictures I took while wandering around the Boone County Fair on the last day of the Fair. I was mostly just still playing a bit with the RXO II as I looked to capture many of the animals that were being exhibited.

I recall buying the RXO II because we got a rando bonus at the Computer Mine. I should’ve done something smart with that money, but instead I bought a really, really small camera to photograph sleeping pigs with.

+++++++

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

WORK

A WORK photo is any image of a person engaged in WORK or tools that are used in WORK or anything that might remind you of WORK. Remember, WORK doesn’t just happen at your place of employment.

Happy photo harvesting!

Flowers, Macro, State Fair

Smiles are to Humanity

January 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

On the day that Baby Got Rack competed at the Iowa State Fair, I took some time to go over to my favorite part of the Iowa State Fair to take some flower pictures.

Unfortunately, the lighting was atrocious, but I took a couple flower pictures I don’t hate.

I went to the State Fair a second time last year and I believe the lighting for my flower pictures was much more favorable. I guess you’ll have to wait and see.

Boone FUMC, Bowling, Jaxon, Jodie Cue, Logan, Mom

Roman Bellic

January 29, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

This collection of images wraps up the April section of the 2019 backlog. These are pictures from the annual Methodist Bowling Outing at Tiger Bowl in Madrid.

There are also some pictures here of the Outreach Committee putting together May Baskets.

Have a looksie:

I wonder if that was the last bowling outing for the church. Tiger Lanes is really falling apart, but Perfect Games is crazy expensive. I guess we’ll see what happens when it happens.

Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Event, Flowers, Jodie Cue, Macro

Purpose and Potential

January 28, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Hitting up the old 2019 backlog. The pictures I share today are from the graduation church service for our church’s seniors. The other pictures are pictures I took on the same day.

I have seen some of those kids, ahem, young adults since they moved on to their next adventures. I’ve seen Casey and Anna and Mackenzie and Megan and Halle. They are all doing great things!

Andy, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Kim, Logan, Micky, Nature, Pastor Sarah, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, Willy, Work, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 228 – COUNTRY

January 27, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Another big week for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Double digits for the 17th week in a row. Double digits easy. Easier than walking a Thunderbird.

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

Micky Augustin

Elizabeth Nordeen

Andy Sharp

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Logan Kahler

Kim Barker

Sarah Karber

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

William McAlpine

Cathie Raley

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

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:

WORK

WORK! What a great theme! But what is a WORK photo? It doesn’t just have to a picture from around your WORKplace, but that would certainly WORK. A WORK picture is a picture of anything that is used in WORK. Anybody that is engaged in WORK. Can be at their place of employment, but certainly doesn’t have to be. Remember the physics definition of WORK, the measure of engery transfer that occurs when an object is moved over a distance by an external force at least part of which is applied in the direction of the displacement.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

+++++++

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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

Congrats to Aaron Barnett. He is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for an email subscription to Photography 139’s online journal “An Artist’s Notebook”. I worked with Aaron in another life at the Boone outpost of the Evil Clown Empire. So if you see Aaron out and about, give him a knowing glance and teach him the super secret Photography 139 handshake.

+++++++

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 worked Monday!

9 Emotions Project, Anders, Animals, Art, Bill, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, Faust, Formal Portrait, Jay, Jesse, Movies, Photo Journal, Road Trip, Willy

Birthday Road Trip – Little Brown Church

January 26, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

For starters, happy birthday Anders! We celebrated Anders’ birthday last night at January birthday night with yellow cake, a DOLEMITE double feature, and a root beer tasting.

After all, DOLEMITE is my name and (expletive deleted) up mother (expletive deleted) is my game!

Here are some pictures of a man I consider to be at least the equal of Dolemite!

One of my secret (I guess) goals of 2020 is to be more proactive about putting information for Movie Night up on the website. Because if you are reading these words, you are invited to Movie Night.

But be warned, you may never be the same after you attend Movie Night. Exposure to great art tends to change a person. In fact, I think Movie Night broke Willy.

+++++++

Enough about Anders’ birthday. Let’s talk about my birthday. Last year Jesse and I took a road trip around my birthday. One of the stops we made was at The Little Brown Church. There were a bunch of LARPers there. Maybe they were time travelers. Either way, they were dressed up like it was the Civil War.

Here are some pictures from that stop:

Jesse had never heard of The Little Brown Church, but it is the church from that song. You know the song. The song about the little brown church.

There’s a church in the valley by the wildwood
No lovelier spot in the dale
No place is so dear to my childhood
As the little brown church in the vale

Our church hosted a filmmaker who made a documentary about it once. It was interesting, but it didn’t feature one time traveler.

Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Cousin Amy, Ernie, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Geri, Jay, Jesse, Mom, Photoshop, Sara, Self-Portrait, State Fair, Teresa

2009-08-24

January 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

There are a ton of photos in the folder 2009-08-24. Most of them are from my trips to the Iowa State Fair in 2009. However, there is also a good chunk of them that are pictures of Teresa and Ernie.

This is already going to be a long post, so I don’t want to overwhelm you with a ton of words up front. I want to overwhelm you with pictures on the backside:

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:

The State Fair

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve some Stephanie and some of my mad gardening skills.

Black & White, Flowers, Iowa State, Macro, WPC - Reminder

Behind Curtiss

January 24, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

Last year I failed to make it to Pella to photograph tulips. In fact, I think it has been a couple of years since I’ve been to Pella. Which is sad, because I really enjoy photographing tulips. Even though, there are those that hate my flower photography, I persist.

While I didn’t make it to Pella last year, I did photograph a lovely patch of tulips behind Curtiss Hall on Iowa State’s campus while I was waiting for a Bernie Sanders event to start.

In many ways, that is better than Pella since it is known that Iowa State is superior to Central. While Central is filled with a bunch of wooden-shoe-humpers, Iowa State is filled with some of the best people on earth.

Here are my tulip photos:

Truth is that I will probably effort to make it to Pella this tulip season. If for no reason that I need to visit their bakeries. While dutch letters are straight trash, bokkepootjes are a little slice of heaven.

That is right, Photography 139, come for the high quality flower photography and stay for the straight fire pastry takes.

+++++++

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

COUNTRY

A COUNTRY photo is any photo that is taken outside of a city or town.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Holidays, Jason, Johnathan, Logan, Macro

The Ultimate Triumph

January 23, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I took a few pictures on Easter of last year that seems like a good time to share.

I think the pictures of the Easter Egg Hunt were taken by Jaxon. In fact I’m positive they were taken by Jaxon.

We are a little more than a month away from Lent now and I’ve been thinking on what I’m going to do for Lent. I would say that traditionally Methodists don’t really give up something for Lent. Instead they add something for Lent.

I’ve been playing with the idea of going pescatarian for Lent.

Why pescatarian?

#1. Eating less meat is the best thing you can do to help the planet:

Industrialized agriculture and the onset of the worst species extinction crisis since the demise of the dinosaurs means that livestock and humans now make up 96% of all mammals. But despite consuming the vast majority of farmland, meat and dairy accounts for just 18% of all food calories and around a third of protein.

The mighty hoofprint of farmed meat isn’t just inefficient. Deforestation to make way for livestock, along with methane emissions from cows and fertilizer use, creates as much greenhouse gas emissions as all the world’s cars, trucks and airplanes. Meat rearing practices risk mass extinctions of other animals, as well as spawn significant pollution of streams, rivers and, ultimately, the ocean.

#2. Goals should be realistic and attainable. While going pescatarian will vastly reduce the amount of meat I eat, it is a realistic goal, because I know there is no way I could pull off going full vegetarian and let’s not talk about going vegan.

#3. A pescatarian diet is healthier. It is healthy for the heart, reduces the risks of some cancer, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.

#4. The prophet Kurt Cobain taught us that “it’s okay to eat fish, ’cause they don’t have any feelings.”

This means that I need to get that road trip to Corning with Shannon to tenderloin it up on the books before February 26.