Art, Beckham, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Evie, Harrison, Jen, Layla, Nature, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Still Life

Eclipse Road Trip – Day 2

April 30, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

On Day 2 of the Eclipse Road Trip I woke up in the comfort of the bed. Did my business in a toilet with running water. Brushed my teeth. Still opted for a whore’s bath and then decided to do a little bit of exploring while the rest were sleeping I decided to sneak off and do a little exploring. I had done a little research on the Gosport area and found out that there was a beautiful waterfall nearby. There was also an interesting sculpture park, but that didn’t open until 9 AM and by the time I explored it, I wouldn’t have had time to get back to Linda’s to leave for the eclipse party.

Through my research I also learned about a cool bakery in Gosport that had an open kitchen that allowed you to watch them bake all of the tasty goodness.

Here are some pictures from the day:

This cool drive-in theater reminds me that one of my goals this year is to go watch a movie at a drive-in movie theater. Who is in?

It was a beautiful sunrise on a foggy morning. Almost magical.

It cost an outsider like me 9 smackers to visit Cataract Falls State Park. If I was from Indiana, it would have been $7. I thought about how lucky I am to be able to visit Ledges or Mines of Spain or Backbone anytime I want for free, but then I’m also reminded that we don’t even have park rangers any more and are parks are poorly maintained. So maybe it is a wash.

Going over the Eel River was this sweet covered bridge.

Even though I wasn’t there to see the eclipse I got a 5 minute lecture about it from 2 different park rangers. Even though I told both of them that I was just there to see the Niagara Falls of Indiana.

It is really the largest waterfall in Indiana. You might scoff, but it is way bigger than any waterfall in Iowa.

After leaving Cataract Falls I visited the town of Cataract to check out the famous Cataract General Store and the Cataract School. This sign should hang everywhere.

Is that good? That seems good.

I stopped at the cool bakery. I bought a piece of red velvet cake and a piece of carrot cake. I also bought this chocolate milk. I have a longstanding belief that it is impossible to get great chocolate milk outside of Iowa (or outside of the AE Dairy footprint). Kind of like how you can’t get a good tenderloin outside of Iowa. The clerk at the Bakery ranted and raved about this chocolate milk. It was an okay chocolate milk, but if I somehow ever get back to Gosport I’m taking a gallon of AE into the bakery and I’m blowing some minds. Anyways, this chocolate milk comes from a local dairy.

This truck is parked just outside of Paragon. Nobody I talked to seemed to know the story. Rest in peace Jack Brown.

Jen came back from Indiana with one more fur coat. A beaver fur coat this time.

I witnessed quite the wrestling match. I’m not sure who won. But it was quite the match.

I ate so much food at the Eclipse Party. Linda’s ribs were delicious. So was Pete’s chili. I tried something called “fluffy” that Evie was certain was going to change my life. I don’t know it did, but I ate plenty of it. Also a ton of peanut butter bars.

It’s starting!

Styling and profiling!

Totality!

During the eclipse there are these crazy crescent shadows.

My camera filter.

This is the road outside of Linda and Pete’s house. I swear every road that isn’t a highway looks like this road.

After the eclipse we packed up and headed back. We had a hotel booked in Normal, Illinois.

We ended up getting gas in Danville, Illinois. Apparently the no buying gas in Illinois thing was just an elaborate ruse.

I’ve been to shadier gas stations. One in San Antonio comes to mind, but this one was pretty shady.

The drive from Indiana to the hotel was crazy busy. There were a ton of people fleeing Indiana after the eclipse. The last 5 miles or so on the interstate took me over 30 minutes. It was great to get to the hotel. I watched part of UCONN’s dismantling of Purdue. Then watched the kids swim in the pool before calling it a night.

One more sleep before finishing the trip home the next day.

Oh… here is one more bonus image. Evie took this picture of Derrick. We were trying to teach him about Snapchat.

I think we failed and honestly I’m not that great at Snapchat. Evie knows way more than me. So maybe she can keep working on him.

Adam, Alexis, Amy, Andy, Angie, Art, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elizabeth, History, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Movies, Nader, Nathanial, Road Trip, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 450 – EMOTION

April 29, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

NOTE: Next Monday I will be in New Orleans and have limited access to the internet or the phone. Don’t expect any kind of reminders. You’ll have to be your own dawg.

It is the last Monday of the month and on the last Monday of the month I like to revisit our Frequently Asked Questions. Who asks these questions? I mostly ask them of myself. But that isn’t a Frequently Asked Question. These are:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

What skill level photographer can participate?

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is open to photographers of all skill levels. From award winning photographers to professionals to the highly ranked amateurs to those that are just beginning to those who don’t even know how to focus a camera. All skill levels are encouraged and welcome. You can’t be too bad and you can’t be too good! Everyone has room to learn and be challenged!

Award winning photographers? Really?

Yes. I can think of at least 10 photographers that participate regularly that have won a photography award of some kind.

Is this a competition?
NO. It is a challenge. There are no winners and losers. Well the people that don’t participate are losers.

Is there a limit to the number of submissions I can have each week?

Yes. That limit is 2. If you send me more than 2, I will post the first 2 that you send. I’m not trying to harsh your photography buzz, but any more than that starts to overwhelm the other submissions and it takes me about 5 minutes to take a picture from my inbox to code it on the website. So I have to manage my workload.

If you are going to submit more than one picture, I strongly urge you to choose completely different subjects for each submission. If you are submitting multiple pictures of the same subject, make sure that each picture is saying something unique.

If I start to average like 45 participants a week, I will lower the limit to 1.

Can I send you several pictures and have you pick the best one?

No! No! NO! If those words come out of your mouth or your keyboard, I consider that to be a non-submission.

Do you ever question whether somebody’s submission fits the theme?

Meh. Only if I think somebody is clearly confusing this week’s theme with last week or next week’s theme. Otherwise, if the submission makes sense in your head, that is good enough for me. However, I would urge you to not try to fit your favorite subject into the theme every week. This isn’t a challenge to share a picture every week of your kid or your business or your pet. It is a challenge to take pictures of different things every week. Which isn’t to say subjects can’t be repeated, but you shouldn’t become reliant on the same ones.

Why can’t I submit after 11 AM on Mondays if the post doesn’t publish until 12:01 PM?

I go to lunch at 11 AM. I leave my office. I’m not near a computer. At 11 AM I hit “Schedule” and then I go throw food down my throat. 167 hours is more than enough time to send a submission. Okay, 166 hours and 59 minutes. You got me.

Do I have to wait until Monday morning to submit?

Absolutely not! In fact (AND CAN’T EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH) I appreciate the submissions that make it to me by Sunday evening. Makes the job of putting this together on Monday morning much easier!

Are there resolution requirements for submissions?

I won’t turn down submissions that are too small. I will probably ask you for a picture of greater resolution if it is really small. The typical 4 x 6 image posted to my website has a resolution of 1280 pixels x 853 pixels. While a 400 x 300 image might look okay on your phone, it looks like trash on a computer monitor. I prefer images that are at least 1000 pixels at their widest point, but don’t ban smaller pictures at this point. But don’t tempt me!

What format should my submission be?

.JPG but .PNG also works.

If I write a description of my image will you include that in your post?

No. Photography is art that should stand on its own. Only exception is the SLICE OF LIFE theme. But if you let me know where the picture was taken, I will include that. In fact, I appreciate you letting me know where a picture was taken. If you don’t let me know, I will assume the picture was taken in the state you live in.

When will you start accepting suggestions for next year’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes?

I will take suggestions only and ONLY in the comments sections of the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE posts the last week of October and the 1st week of November.

+++++++

EMOTION! A great theme! But enough people get their emotions under control to make a submission to make EMOTION a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 15, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Monica Jennings – 1 week (IA)
2-Sabas Hernandez – 2 weeks (IA)
3-Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks (IA)
4-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 4 weeks (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL)
5-Willy McAlpine – 5 weeks (IA)
6-Deanna McClain – 6 weeks (IA)
7-Johnathan Stensland – 6 weeks (IA)
8-Adam Gordon – 8 weeks (IA, MS, MO)
9-Becky Parmelee – 9 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
10-Sara Lockner – 13 weeks (IA)
11-Lowell Davis – 16 weeks (IA) <2>
12-Michelle Haupt – 16 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Brandon Kahler – 17 weeks (IA, MN)
14-Scott Degeneffe – 35 weeks (2) (IA, FL, UT, CO)
15-Mike Vest – 40 weeks (IA, MO)
16-Sheri Fakhouri – 45 weeks (IA, NE)
17-Logan Kahler – 46 weeks (IA, MN)
18-Nathanial Brown – 47 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
19-Jesse Howard – 47 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW)
20-Tamara Peterson – 59 weeks (IA, MN)
21-Mindi Terrell – 62 weeks (IA) <2>
22-Linda Bennett – 91 weeks 129(KS)
23-Sarah Toot – 92 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
24-Angie DeWaard – 96 weeks (IA)
25-Dawn Krause – 100 weeks (IA) <2>
26-Kim Barker – 106 weeks (IA, CO)
27-Joe Duff – 107 weeks (TX) <2>
28-Teresa Kahler – 118 weeks (IA, NE) <2>
29-Carla Stensland – 118 weeks (IA, MO) <2>
30-Micky Augustin – 120 weeks (IA, IL)
31-Andy Sharp – 121 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA)
32-Bill Wentworth – 122 weeks (NE)
33-Cathie Morton – 125 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO)
34-Elizabeth Nordeen – 127 weeks (IA)
35-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 129 weeks (IA, CA, NV)
36-Kio Dettman – 131 weeks (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM next Monday. PLEASE INCLUDE THE LOCATION OF WHERE YOUR PICTURE WAS TAKEN WITH YOUR SUBMISSION.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks or the rules of the challenge or how to submit. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 132 weeks

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Honey Hollow – Summerset, Iowa) – 130 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 128 weeks

Cathie Morton (West Des Moines, Iowa) – 126 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 123 weeks

Andy Sharp (Adel, Iowa) – 122 weeks

Micky Augustin (Ames, Iowa) – 121 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 119 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Carla Stensland (Linwood Cemetery- Boone, Iowa) – 119 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 108 weeks

Kim Barker (Nevada, Iowa) – 107 weeks

Dawn Krause (Boxholm, Iowa) – 101 weeks

Dawn Krause (Les’s Auto – Boone, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Chicago, Illinois) – 97 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Chicago, Illinois)

Sarah Toot (Valley Cottage, New York) – 93 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 92 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 63 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 60 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, Iowa) – 48 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Wells Fargo Arena – Des Moines, Iowa)

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 48 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Simpson College – Indianola, Iowa) – 47 weeks

Logan Kahler (Simpson College – Indianola, Iowa)

Sheri Fakhouri (Civic Center – Des Moines, Iowa) – 46 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 41 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Bardstown, Kentucky) – 36 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Indiana)

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 18 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone High School – Boone, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Lowell Davis (HYSC – Ames, Iowa)

Michelle Haupt (Bricktown Bakery – Nevada, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Sara Lockner (Near Bahamas) – 14 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 10 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa) – 9 weeks

Adam Gordon (Iowa)

Deanna McClain (Iowa) – 7 weeks

Deanna McClain (Iowa)

Willy McAlpine (Boone, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Ames, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Progressive Field – Cleveland, Ohio) – 3 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 1 week

Alexis Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Nader Parsaei (Clark Tower – Winterset, Iowa) – 1 week

Amy Peterson (Dayton, Iowa) – 1 week

Christopher D. Bennett (John Wayne Birthplace Museum – Winterset, Iowa)

39 participants this week! A great week. The slow bleed of the last few weeks has been cauterized!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ Illinois (2)
+ Indiana (1)
+ Iowa (41)
+ Kansas (2)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ New York (1)
+ Ohio (1)
+ Texas (1)

Thanks to Scott’s trip we added Kentucky to the list for this year! WooHoo! Thanks to Sabas’ trip we added Ohio to this year’s list! WooHoo!

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (10.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (2)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (5)
+ Indiana (4)
+ Iowa (686)
+ Kansas (26)
+ Kentucky (1)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (10.5)
+ Nebraska (26)
+ Nevada (2)
+ New York (12)
+ Ohio (1)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (13)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (27)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)

28 states so far! 3 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO, IN, KY) – 6
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN) – 5
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO) – 4
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2
+ Angie DeWaard (IA, IL) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, BHS) – 2
+ Sabas Hernandez (IA, OH) – 2

Jen is in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy and Scott are in striking distance though!

Angie, Sara, and Sabas all joined the list of people that have submitted from multiple “PLACES” this year!

The major milestone this week was Becky joining the Double Digit Streak Club! WooHoo! The other major milestone this week is Shannon joining the 2 and a Half Year Streak Club. WooHoo! WooHoo! Woo!

But it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. Johnathan’s 6 week streak came tumbling down! Sacre bleu!

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:

LETTERS OR NUMBERS – Slightly modified from a suggestion by Andy Sharp

LETTERS OR NUMBERS! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of LETTERS OR NUMBERS in this place that is nothing more than characters at its base level next Monday.

Jesse, Road Trip, Still Life, Tenderloining

Burgertime: Kansas City Field Work

April 28, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

When Jesse and I went down to Kansas City to watch Iowa State in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Game we had time to get a decent meal in the Power & Light District. While it is sacrilegious to some to go to Kansas City and not get barbecue, I didn’t think we had time to visit one of Kansas City’s legendary barbecue places, so we hit a burger place that I went to once for Nate’s bachelor party. The burger place? BRGR.

Here are some pictures:

You know I love some brussels sprouts!

I went with the Pickle Monster burger based on an order philosophy I’ve recently adopted.

That philosophy is WWENO.

So GOOD!!!

Don’t you want to just slam your face into it?

I do love BRGR and it is quite a bit more affordable than the steak place I ate at in Miami Beach once called STK. I also like it a lot better. I’m a man of simple tastes. Not that BRGR is a low end restaurant by any stretch of the imagination. I am more at home in a greasy spoon than a high end restaurant. I’m a simple man and a well documented man of the people.

The Pickle Monster was a delicious burger but the real show stopper definitely was the brussels sprout appetizer. I have often laid awake at night think about it. Truth is, it almost didn’t happen. I put in the order for it. Then a few minutes later our server came back and told us that they were out of brussels sprouts. Oh the humanity! So I changed my order to the truffle fries. I remember those as being fantastic from Nate’s bachelor party.

Then the most amazing thing happened. A few minutes before our burgers showed up, the server showed back up at our table. They had more brussels sprouts! I don’t know what happened, but the brussels sprouts gods were shining down on me that day and saying, “Kid, (cause I’m still considered young in their eyes) we got your back!”

The verdict is obvious. I went back. I would go back again. Although the next time I go back to Kansas City I want to hit Stroud’s. It has been on my list for years now and I’ve done nothing about it. This year though. This year it will happen. Also on my list is to go to the Sparks Flea Market. The first flea market is May 1-4. I know I can’t hit that because I’ll be in New Orleans. But the fall show is August 28-31. I could theoretically hit that. But August 31 is also Iowa State’s first home game. I guess I would just have to do a 4 day weekend. The sacrifices I would have to make. Decisions. Decisions.

Next Sunday’s food adventure will take us to the final stop on the Catholic Fish Fry Circuit.

But…

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down -1.7 pounds. I am now down 34.0 pounds since starting Noom. I am 5.6 pounds away from reaching my May 30 goal. 20.6 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*. Might not seem super ambitious, but I’ll be gone in New Orleans for 7 days and I have no clue what will go down there. I might come back up 10 pounds. You never know. I’m hedging my bets though.

I’m actually surprised I lost any weight at all this week. My nutrition this week was off-the-chart bad. I ate 4 donuts. Well, 3 donuts and an apple fritter. Ate fast food. Had French fries thrice. Ate fried food 5 times. Had a root beer float. I blame Micky, Elizabeth, Michelle, and Nader for all of this. Just kidding. I’m a hardcore internal locus of control. Almost to a fault.

I also only made it to the gym once. Which means only one hydromassage this week. I’m not sure the hydromassage helps a whole lot with general physical health. It does help in muscle recovery after a workout. But it definitely helps with the mental health!

But I did keep moving, which is definitely important!

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. I did order something that will help with my health. Supposed to help reduce stress and should increase general activity levels. It should arrive sometime after I get back from New Orleans. You will think it is pretty cool when it arrives.

Since I started using Fitbit on February 20, 2024 (68 days) I’ve:

+ Taken 874,858 steps
+ Averaged 13,220 steps a day for the last 7 days
+ Walked 406.55 miles
+ Averaged walking 5.97 miles a day

That is all to report for now.

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.

Art, Boone Art Center, Christianity, Railroad, Street Photography

Boone Art Center Gallery Six

April 27, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to share the sixth collection of found art from Boone or near Boone that I’m calling THE BOONE ART CENTER PROJECT. Most of these pictures were taken east of Boone. A couple were taken in the skate park in McHose Park.

Pretty sure I have enough of these built up for a 7th gallery. I just need to get on editing them!

Art, History, Iowa State, Jesse, Music, Nader, Politics, State Fair, Street Photography

Iowa State Fair – Day 4 – Beta

April 26, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

Time to share another collection of images I took on my last trip to the Iowa State Fair on the last day of the Iowa State Fair with Jesse and Nader. This collection begins in the Agriculture Building and ends in the Varied Industry Building. I love the Agriculture Building. Not so much of a fan of the Varied Industry Building, but it is air conditioned and sometimes, you just need a touch of that sweet air conditioning. Like on a day such as this, when it was nearly triple digits on the thermometer.

You can say what you want about Bandalini, dude has swag!

These Jack Trice throwbacks were tight!

Still plenty more pictures from this trip left to share!

Animals, Flowers

Love Will Turn You Around

April 25, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

You can run you can hide never let it inside
Keep livin” your life in the dark
But sooner or later that gentle persuader
Is gonna catch up with your heart
Make you a dreamer, believer
Believin’ in love

Right when a man’s doin” all that he planned
And he thinks he’s got just what he needs
Life will deliver a shock that will shiver
And drivin’ him down to his knees
Make him start givin’, livin’
Livin’ again

Well, it’s your mind, that tricks you in believin’ every time
Love will turn you around, turn you around
Well, it’s your heart, that talks you into to stayin’ where you are
Love will turn you around, turn you around

Out of the blue she reaches for you
And you tell her you don’t have the time
So you move away fast but you know it won’t last
‘Cause you can’t get her off of your mind
Thoughts are burnin’, turnin’
They’re turnin’ around

How do you know when to stay or to go
And how do you know when it’s real
You don’t need a sign to make up your mind
You got your heart at the wheel
You want to start sharin’, carin’
Carin’ again

Well, it’s your mind, that tricks you in believin’ every time
Love will turn you around, turn you around
Well, it’s your heart, that talks you into to stayin’ where you are
Love will turn you around, turn you around

Love will turn you around, turn you around
Love will turn you around, turn you around
Turn you around
-Written by David Malloy, Even Stevens, Kenny Rogers, Thom Schuyler
-Performed Kenny Rogers

Just another great love song from Kenny Rogers. The last one I’m going to use as a journal entry title… for now at least. This great song was the theme song for the cinematic masterpiece SIX PACK. Which to this day is by far the greatest racing movie ever made. I’m not even sure why they have even made racing movies since then. The artform had been perfected. Move on Hollywood.

SIX PACK is also notable for starring a young Diane Lane and even younger Anthony Michael Hall. They attempted to spin-off the movie into a television show starring Don Johnson, Markie Post, and Joaquin Phoenix. Yes… Joaquin Phoenix. But without Kenny Rogers, what were they even trying to do?

But Thursdays are for flowers! This flowertography session took place in my yard. There are a couple of bonus deer picture included:

I have another collection of flowertography images to share. Now that flowertography season is starting to be in full swing, I might have to up the number of flower posts I post a week!

Art, Candid Portrait, Still Life, Street Photography, Teresa

Des Moines Farmer’s Market II

April 24, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Time to share another collection of images from my trip to the Des Moines Farmer’s Market with Teresa last year to do a little bit of street photography.

I’m getting hungry just looking at some of these picures.

Still one more collection of images from this trip left to share.

Art, Beckham, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Evie, Flowers, Harrison, Jen, Layla, Road Trip, Still Life

Eclipse Road Trip – Day 1

April 23, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett

The last total eclipse to be visible from the United States for the next 20 years was on April 8. Unfortunately to see the 100% totality, I had to leave my beloved Cyclone State. I originally perused a few options. A spot in Missouri. A spot in Illinois. A spot in Arkansas. A spot in Kentucky. I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do. Cause I knew that hotels in the areas were outrageous. I was considering driving to like the Quad Cities on the Sunday before the eclipse and then driving the rest of the way in the morning. Then driving back that night. Then the most magical thing happened. I had a trip just kinda fall into my lap.

The Gorshes are well-known eclipse fiends. They went to New Mexico for an eclipse last year. They were going this year. Travelling to Indiana to camp on Jen’s Aunt Linda’s land. They were going to drive all the way through on Sunday. Watch the eclipse on Monday. Then drive back to Illinois and stay in a hotel in Normal. Then drive back to Iowa on Tuesday. They graciously offered to let me 7th or 8th wheel it on their trip.

They were pulling a camper behind Derrick’s serial killer van* with 2 adults, 4 kids, and a dog. As roomy as the van was I elected to take the RAV4 to the Sycamore State cause for 1 person, I pack a lot of stuff. I think the offer was on the table for me to sleep in the camper as well, but I decided to pack a tent and an air mattress and sleep the way the pioneers did. In a tent. On a queen sized air mattress. With electricity for their CPAP, cause I still haven’t hit 3 months and I have to average over 4 hours a night for the old insurance company to kick in some ducats. Also electricity to charge their cell phone and listen to their sleepy time podcasts. Also electricity to charge their fitness watch. Those steps don’t count if they aren’t tracked! Some real old-timey pioneer stuff.

However, a couple days before we were set to leave, Jen texted me and let me know that I had been upgraded from the tent to Linda and Pete’s camper. With the only caveat being that it was still winterized, so there would be no running water. Me? An old-timey pioneer camper? I don’t need no stinking running water! I could brush my teeth in the rain. Or with the water in my Owala water bottle. Just like the pioneers did. And I had already planned on a whore’s bath for Monday anyways. You know. Pits and… well you know.

According to the Google maps, it is a nearly 8 hour drive from my domicile to Linda’s house in Gosport, Indiana.

I don’t want to brag, but we made it in a touch over 12 hours. That is without accounting for the time zone change.

I didn’t take many cell phone pictures on Day 1, but I took a few and here they are:

Stop 1. They also had a bathroom with running water, but in case you wanted the ambiance of a port-a-potty, “To The Right”. The capitalization of every word on this sign disturbs me and haunts my dreams.

Stop 2. This gas station was very serious about not letting backpacks in their store.

It was in Davenport.

And they brook no nonsense from kids.

I think they aren’t really sorry for the inconvenience. We stopped at virtually the last gas station in Iowa because it was very important to not buy gas in Illinois cause it is apparently very expensive there.

Stop 3 – Sweet insect exhibit at an Illinois rest area.

All rest areas should have giant rubber bugs. This is not open to debate.

Bug needs to work on his arms. Needing a condiment cup to hold himself up. Do you even lift bro?

I am such a sucker for taking pictures of where I am.

This rest are had a sweet lookout and somebody actually wrote a Joe Dirt quote on the railing.

Do sex drugs own the rock-n-roll? Is this person really into rock concerts sponsored by Viagra?

Stop 4 – Another Illinois rest area. I told you I’m a sucker for taking pictures like that.

This rest area was a dump. Just filthy. No urinals. The only positive was these cherry blossoms.

This thing was cool too. While there Harrison had a meltdown in the restroom because he refused to wash his hands. This standoff lasted like 10-15 minutes. I don’t blame him. It was a bathroom that was so dirty that your hands were probably dirtier after washing them. In retrospect, I should have just offered him some of my Bridgerton scented hand sanitizer. Perhaps Bridgerton Study. They have a light scent. Easy on the nose. I’ve never heard anybody claim they are way too strong and demand that I leave their immediate area, shortly after using one. That seemed like an oddly specific denial.

I’m not sure which stop this was. We stopped at a gas station in Crawfordsville. Then we stopped at a Steak ‘n Shake, also in Crawfordsville.

The Steak ‘n Shake had this weird thing. Weird to me, maybe some of you will look down your nose at me and call me a country bumpkin, but I had never seen it before. When you ordered (which by the way the only option to order was via kiosk – which super boo! Shouted this old man at the clouds.) Your receipt also printed out a QR Code. You had to scan this QR Code to use the pop machine. It only activated the pop machine for so long, so you better act fast AND it only worked like 3 times.

When we got out of the restaurant, Derrick’s van wouldn’t start. Neither us have jumper cables (I keep mine in the Camry) so I had to give him a ride to Home Depot to buy a set.

We got his van going and were on the road again. Willie Nelson would have been proud.

Turns out, Linda and Pete didn’t really live in Gosport. We drove through Gosport and then 10 miles more through 3 different towns before getting to their house.

They live closest to Paragon. But they have a Gosport mailing address because that is the only post office in 3 counties. Also, that is the toilet.

Layla teaching the boys the globalist lie.

When we pulled up to our home for the night Linda approached me and asked me if I played the lottery today. The answer is of course not. I don’t play the lottery. It is a self-imposed tax designed to move the tax burden from the wealthy to the poor, uneducated, and the just plain bad at math.

But what I said was, “No.”

She told me I should have because it was my lucky day. I had been upgraded to sleeping in the house, in the guest bedroom. Not only that, I would have my own bathroom. Suck on that whore’s bath! That might have been an unfortunate turn of phrase but no turning back now.

I got a bed, inside a house, with access to all the running water my heart could desire and all the electrical outlets a true pioneer man could use. I should have brought other things into charge, just cause I could. I should have just sat there flushing the toilet. Cause I could. Brushed my teeth 10-12 times. Cause I could.

But I didn’t. I eventually called it a night and drifted into a nice sleep listening to a Cyclone Fanatic podcast. Tomorrow was a big day after all.

*It isn’t really a serial killer van. It has too many windows. But I like to pretend.

Adam, Angie, Art, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Deanna, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Lowell, Michelle, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Nature, Night, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Shannon, Sheri, Still Life, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 449 – TIME

April 22, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

For no real apparent reason, I thought I would start adding a little photography lesson into these things every month or so. And I mean a very little photography lesson.

This month’s lesson is going to be on bokeh.

What is bokeh?

Bokeh (the Japanese word for blur) is the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image, caused by circles of confusion. Bokeh has also been defined as “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”. Differences in lens aberrations and the shape of aperture blades and the amount of aperture blades cause very different bokeh effects. There are strong opinions on what is good bokeh and bad bokeh. My use of Lensbaby lenses is frequently because of they produce bokeh effects that I personally enjoy. A photography technique is to use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions, accentuating their lens’s bokeh. It can add a sense of depth and dimensionality to an image and can make the subject stand out more effectively.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas. Bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all regions of an image which are outside the depth of field.

How is bokeh pronounced? You will hear people pronounce it in all sorts of different ways. The proper way is like “bow” in a bow and arrow and then the “ke” sound in the word kettle. Although a majority of people may pronounce it like boh – kay.

I hope we all learned something today.

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TIME! A great theme! But did enough people make TIME in their schedule to submit a photo to make TIME a popular theme? You will have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, April 15, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore everything in parentheses):

1-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week (IA)
2-Suzie Brannen – 3 weeks (IA)
3-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 3 weeks (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL)
4-Mary Green – 3 weeks (2) (MI, IA, IN)
5-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks (IA)
6-Deanna McClain – 5 weeks (IA)
7-Johnathan Stensland – 5 weeks (IA)
8-Adam Gordon – 7 weeks (IA, MS, MO)
9-Becky Parmelee – 8 weeks (AR, IA, OK)
10-Sara Lockner – 13 weeks (IA)
11-Lowell Davis – 15 weeks (IA)
12-Michelle Haupt – 15 weeks (IA, MO, KS)
13-Alexis Stensland – 15 weeks (IA)
14-Brandon Kahler – 16 weeks (IA, MN)
15-Scott Degeneffe – 34 weeks (2) (IA, FL, UT, CO)
16-Mike Vest – 39 weeks (IA, MO)
17-Sheri Fakhouri – 44 weeks (2) (IA, NE)
18-Logan Kahler – 45 weeks (IA, MN)
19-Nathanial Brown – 46 weeks (IA, SD, GA, TN)
20-Jesse Howard – 46 weeks (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW)
21-Tamara Peterson – 58 weeks (IA, MN)
22-Mindi Terrell – 61 weeks (IA)
23-Linda Bennett – 90 weeks (2) (KS)
24-Sarah Toot – 91 weeks (PA, NY, VT, NV)
25-Angie DeWaard – 95 weeks (IA)
26-Dawn Krause – 99 weeks (IA)
27-Kim Barker – 105 weeks (2) (IA, CO)
28-Joe Duff – 106 weeks (2) (TX)
29-Teresa Kahler – 117 weeks (IA, NE)
30-Carla Stensland – 117 weeks (2) (IA, MO)
31-Micky Augustin – 119 weeks (IA, IL)
32-Andy Sharp – 120 weeks (IA, NE, AR, MS, MO, TN, LA)
33-Bill Wentworth – 121 weeks (NE)
34-Cathie Morton – 124 weeks (IA, FL, BHS, MO)
35-Elizabeth Nordeen – 126 weeks (IA)
36-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 128 weeks (2) (IA, CA, NV)
37-Kio Dettman – 130 weeks (2) (IA)

Here is the list of rules for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

1. The picture must 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 and take pictures challenge!
2. There is a limit of 2 submissions per person per theme. If you send me more than 2, I will use the first 2 that you submit.
3. Deadline to submit your submission is 11 AM (CENTRAL) next Monday.
4. To be considered the photographer of an image, you have to be the one that clicks the shutter. If you hand your camera over to somebody else to take a picture of you, you are NOT the photographer of that image.
5. No screen captures. This is a photography challenge. Not a “look at what I found on the internet” challenge.

There are still 2 ways to submit:
1. Email your submission to bennett@photography139.com.
2. Text your submission to my Google Pixel 8 Pro.

Becky Parmelee (McGarrah Farms – Pea Ridge, Arkansas) – 9 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) – 45 weeks

Scott Degeneffe (Ankeny, Iowa) – 35 weeks

Michelle Haupt (Ankeny, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Kim Barker (Ames, Iowa) – 106 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 96 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Ames, Iowa) 127 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Goodwill Store – Ames, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 17 weeks

Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 47 weeks

Adam Gordon (Ames, Iowa) – 8 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Boone, Iowa) – 131 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Boone, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa) – 16 weeks

Lowell Davis (Boone, Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 46 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Boone, Iowa) – 100 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 121 weeks

Monica Jennings (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Willy McAlpine (Ledges State Park – Boone County, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Clive, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Sara Lockner (The skies over Des Moines, Iowa) – 14 weeks

Carla Stensland (Palisades Dows Observatory – Ely, Iowa) – 118 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 62 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Jasper County, Iowa) – 120 weeks

Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 40 weeks

Carla Stensland (Palisades-Kepler State Park – Overlook Trail – Cedar River Dam – Mount Vernon, Iowa)

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 125 weeks

Dawn Krause (Ogden, Iowa)

Sabas Hernandez (Pella, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Perry, Iowa) – 59 weeks

Deanna McClain (Perry, Iowa) – 6 weeks

Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Perry, Iowa) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (State Center, Iowa) – 47 weeks

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Summerset, Iowa) – 129 weeks

Linda Bennett (Easton, Kansas) – 91 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 122 weeks

Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 92 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas) – 107 weeks

Joe Duff (League City, Texas)

37 participants! That is a drop-off from the previous week! Is this the beginning of the end for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE?

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas (1)
+ Iowa (37)
+ Kansas (1)
+ Nebraska (1)
+ Pennsylvania (1)
+ Texas (2)

Here is the Year 11 list of places where submissions have been taken (submissions taken in each places):

+ Arkansas (9.5)
+ Aruba (1)
+ Bahamas (1)
+ California (3)
+ Curacao (1)
+ Colorado (5)
+ Florida (85)
+ Georgia (1)
+ Hawaii (2)
+ Illinois (3)
+ Indiana (3)
+ Iowa (587)
+ Kansas (24)
+ Louisiana (2)
+ Michigan (5)
+ Minnesota (6)
+ Mississippi (1.5)
+ Missouri (10.5)
+ Nebraska (25)
+ Nevada (2)
+ New York (11)
+ Oklahoma (1)
+ Pennsylvania (13)
+ South Dakota (3)
+ Tennessee (2.5)
+ Texas (26)
+ Utah (1)
+ Vermont (1)
+ Virginia (1)

26 states so far! 3 foreign countries! Not bad! So far, the following people have submitted from multiple places:

+ Jen Ensley-Gorshe (IA, CO, MO, TX, TN, VA, IL, FL) – 8
+ Andy Sharp (IA, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA) – 7
+ Jesse Howard (IA, MO, NE, FL, ABW, CUW) – 6
+ Christopher D. Bennett (IA, MO, NE, IL, IN) – 5
+ Scott Degeneffe (IA, FL, UT, CO) – 4
+ Nathanial Brown (IA, SD, TN, GA) – 4
+ Sarah Toot (PA, NY, VT, NV) – 4
+ Cathie Morton (IA, FL, BHS, MO) – 4
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley (IA, CA, NV) – 3
+ Adam Gordon (IA, MS, MO) – 3
+ Mary Green (MI, IA, IN) – 3
+ Michelle Haupt (IA, MO, KS) – 3
+ Becky Parmelee (AR, IA, OK) – 3
+ Micky Augustin (IA, IL) – 2
+ Susanna Funk (IA, CO) – 2
+ Brandon Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Logan Kahler (IA, MN) – 2
+ Sara Lockner (IA, MN) – 2
+ Tamara Peterson (IA, MN) – 2
+ Carla Stensland (IA, MO) -2
+ Mike Vest (IA, MO) – 2
+ Teresa Kahler (IA, NE) – 2
+ Sheri Fakhouri (IA, NE) – 2

Jen is now in the lead to be crowned “The Most Travelled THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE Photographer!” Jesse and Andy are in striking distance though!

The big, huge milestone this week was Dawn joining the TRIPLE DIGIT STREAK CLUB!! WOOHOO!!! But it wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows. Mary’s streak is no more at 3 weeks. Alexis’ streak is gone after 15 weeks! The humanity!

EMOTION – Suggested by Sarah Toot AND Andy Sharp

EMOTION! What a great theme for Year 11 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will see your idea of EMOTION in this place that gets me in the feels next Monday.

Art, Christianity, FNSC, Jay, Jesse, Self-Portrait, Still Life, Tenderloining

Fisher of Men: Granger Field Work

April 21, 2024 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

The stop on the Catholic Fish Fry Tour that I was most looking forward to was the Catholic Church in Granger. Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Catholic Church. I was looking forward to it, not because of its reputation. I literally know nothing about this fish fry or the Catholic Church in Granger. I expected it be similar or smaller than the one in Boone because Granger is a tiny town.

The reason I was looking forward to it is because they put up giant signs along Highway 141 and for years those signs have called to me. Like a fish fry siren song.

During the pandemic we even sent Jesse’s son-in-law Jeremy to grab us some food from there, but we actually didn’t know the signs were for a church in Granger. We thought they were for a church in Polk City. That is how little we know about the Catholic scene in central Iowa. Turns out, there isn’t even a Catholic Church in Polk City and the he brought us back fish from a local VFW or American Legion. It was good fish, but it wasn’t the fish from the signs. Not the fish from the siren song calling my name.

When I actually did some research, I figured out that the church was in Granger. But once again, there wasn’t really much information on it. Their Facebook page talked a big game, but there wasn’t really any useful information on it, other than where it was and what time it was held. Turns out, it is a pretty big deal.

Here are some pictures:

Jay brought his own drink.

Picture for a photo project I abandoned.

Assumption’s Fish Fry was outstanding! I would definitely go back again. I will say the baked fish was pretty awful, but everything else was fantastic. Probably the second best dessert I had while on the Fish Fry Circuit. The best dessert? Well that is yet to come.

I was definitely impressed with their operation. They really had everything down. Even offering a pizza option for children and Jay. The potato was good. The cole slaw was good. The fried fish was good. Bonus points for playing the Big 12 Tournament. It was like a Fish Fry Sports Bar, which is my kind of sports bar!

Next Sunday’s food adventure will involve a burger in Kansas City.

But…

How is my efforting to live a healthy lifestyle going?

This week my weight went down 2.8 pounds. I am now down 32.3 pounds since starting Noom. I have now reached my May 1 goal weight. WooHoo! 22.3 pounds away from my ultimate goal weight*. My new “short term” weight goal is to be down another 10 pounds by the time I have my CPAP follow-up doctor’s appointment. Which is May 30th. Might not seem super ambitious, but I’ll be gone in New Orleans for 7 days and I have no clue what will go down there. I might come back up 10 pounds. You never know. I’m hedging my bets though.

But weight isn’t the only measure (or even the most important measure) of positive results. This will sound vain, but this week I really got a ton of comments on how much weight I’ve lost from people who see me on the weekly. About how I’ve really dropped a bunch more weight in just the last couple of weeks. I really haven’t, but maybe it is just being redistributed differently. I don’t know. But better than the alternative.

Since I started using Fitbit on February 20, 2024 I’ve:

+ Taken 784,872 steps
+ Averaged 14,935 steps a day for the last 7 days
+ Walked 365.41 miles
+ Walked an average of 6.09 miles a day

That is all to report for now.

*Ultimate goal weight subject to change.

Photography 139

Monthly Archives: April 2024

Eclipse Road Trip – Day 2

WPC – WEEK 450 – EMOTION

NOTE: Next Monday I will be in New Orleans and have limited access to the internet or the phone. Don’t expect any kind of reminders. You’ll have to be your own dawg.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE

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Burgertime: Kansas City Field Work

Boone Art Center Gallery Six

Iowa State Fair – Day 4 – Beta

Love Will Turn You Around

Des Moines Farmer’s Market II

Eclipse Road Trip – Day 1

WPC – WEEK 449 – TIME

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Fisher of Men: Granger Field Work