Category Archives: Art

Calhoun County Auxiliary Images

September 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Several weeks back on went on a road trip where I harvested the balance of town signs I needed for Calhoun County and also crossed over to Sac County to grab a few of theirs. I like to always harvest a few extra signs on these trips. I still do, but I also now am taking a different tact for choosing what counties I am harvesting that I think will speed up the process a bit. The changes have made a difference I do believe. But that is a story for another day.

Here are the auxiliary images I took on my road trip to Calhoun and Sac County:

Manson

Pomeroy

Jolley

Rockwell City

Lytton

Sac City

I’m really far behind in sharing auxiliary images. I should get on that, maybe someday when my schedule opens up a little bit.

Art, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Worth County

September 14, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A few weeks back I cruised around Worth County with Jesse harvesting their town signs.

Here are some facts about Worth County:
+ Population is 7,445. Making it the 88th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Monroe County and ahead of Van Buren County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Northwood.
+ Founded in 1851.
+ Named for William Jenkins Worth. An American officer during the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican-American War.
+ Major highways are: I-35, IA-27, IA-65, IA-69, IA-9.
+ Adjacent counties are Mitchell, Cerro Gordo, and Winnebago.
+ The population peaked in 1920 at 11,630.

The Worth County Courthouse is a fair looking courthouse:

The Worth County Courthouse located in Northwood, Iowa.

The Worth County Freedom Rock is located in Kensett, Iowa:

With Worth County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

36 counties completed. 36.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Worth County:

Northwood, Iowa
Welcome to NORTHWOOD
EST. 1858
Population: 2,072 (+83)

Manly, Iowa
WELCOME TO MANLY
Population: 1,256 (-67)

Fertile, Iowa
Welcome to The City Of Fertile
est. 1856
Population: 305 (-65)

Kensett, Iowa
Kensett (Heart) of Worth Co.
Population: 257 (-9)

Grafton, Iowa
GRAFTON WELCOMES YOU
Population: 216 (-36)

Joice, Iowa
Welcome To… JOICE
Population 245
Population: 208 (-14)

Hanlontown, Iowa
HANLONTOWN
Population: 206 (-20)

Bolan, Iowa (Unincorporated)
BOLAN IOWA
WELCOME!

The worst town sign in Worth County is pretty obvious. It is Manly. How do you have a great town name like Manly and have such an awful town sign. Their town sign should clearly have a picture of me, when my beard is full on on their town sign. Maybe I’ll just make one for them, sneak into their town and put it up for them. I was also a little disappointed in Fertile’s sign as well.

I think there a couple contenders for Best in Show for Worth County. Grafton has a great sign. Hanlontown has an interesting sign as well. However, I have to give it to Joice.

Joice – Best in Show – Worth County

Here are the alternate town signs of Worth County:

Grafton – Alternate

Bolan – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Worth County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT we will visit Cass County.

Andy, Art, Elizabeth, Jesse, Joe, Kio, Micky, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 313 – JUNK

September 13, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

So far JUNK hasn’t been an extremely popular theme, which I think is a bunch of JUNK. But I love JUNK.

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

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Joe Duff

Andy Sharp

Micky Augustin

Kio Dettman

Elizabeth Nordeen

Mike Vest

Jesse Howard

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 for Week 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

What is a WORK photo? Well, let’s of people miss WORK because it looks like opportunity. Wait, that isn’t how that quote goes. My point is that a WORK photo is simply a photo of somebody working or a picture of the tools that somebody uses for WORK. It could be their WORK environment. It could be their co-WORKers. It doesn’t have to be WORK that people get paid to do. It can be the WORK that people love to do. A WORK picture is simply any picture that involves work.

While thinking on your possible WORK photo, meditate on this quote:

If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend six hours sharpening my ax.”
-Abraham Lincoln

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 WORK in this place that is little more than the place that is filled with the WORK that makes me happy next Monday.

Art, Brandon, Football, History, Iowa State, Music

College AmesDay

September 12, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

It was a disappointing effort by the Iowa State offense, but if they can right the ship, all their season goals are still on the table.

Art, Jesse, Road Trip, Town Sign Project, WPC - Reminder

Town Sign Project: Cerro Gordo County

September 10, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

This Saturday from 8-12 we are going to have the final sale at my Mom’s house. There is still lots of glassware and collectibles for sale. A few tools. Many decorations. Maybe some furniture. Some other stuff will be added this week as well I’m sure. The address is 111 South Benton Street. The sale is in the garage and in the garage only. The garage is on the alley. The alley is a dead end, so don’t come down the alley and try to park. I’ll let you know if any of the details change.

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The Thursday before Pufferbilly Days, Jesse and I cruised around north Iowa and harvested the town signs of Cerro Gordo County.

Here are some facts about Cerro Gordo County:
+ Population is 42,834, making it the 14th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Muscatine County and above Marshall County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Mason City.
+ Was formed in 1851.
+ Named after the Battle of Cerro Gordo from the Mexican-American War where General Winfield Scott defeated General Santa Anna.
+ Site of the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and their pilot Roger A. Peterson.
+ Location of Music Man Square.
+ Major highways are: I-35, US-18, US-65, IA-27, and IA-122.
+ Adjacent Counties are: Worth, Mitchell, Floyd, Franklin, and Hancock.
+ Peak population was 49,894 in 1960.

The Cerro Gordo Courthouse is hideous:

The Cerro Gordo Courthouse in Mason City, Iowa.

The Cerro Gordo County Courthouse is located in Clear Lake, Iowa:

With Cerro Gordo County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

35 counties completed. 35.4% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Cerro Gordo County:

Mason City, Iowa
Welcome to Mason City
Population: 27,338 (-747)

Clear Lake, Iowa
WELCOME TO Clear Lake
EST. 1871
Population: 7,687 (-90)

Rockwell, Iowa
WELCOME TO ROCKEWELL
Population: 1,071 (+32)

Ventura, Iowa
VENtURA
SPORTSMAN’S PARADIS
Population: 711 (-6)

Thornton, Iowa
WELCOME TO THORNTON
Population: 400 (-22)

Plymouth, Iowa
WELCOME TO PLYMOUTH
Population: 375 (-7)

Meservey, Iowa
Welcome To Meservey
Est. 1886
Population: 222 (-34)

Swaledale, Iowa
WELCOME TO SWALEDALE
Population: 144 (-19)

Rock Falls, Iowa
WELCOME TO ROCK FALLS
Population: 150 (-5)

Dougherty, Iowa
WELCOME TO DOUGHERTY
LIL’ IRELAND
Population: 62 (+4)

Cartersville, Iowa (Unincorporated)
CARTERSVILLE ELEVATOR

I don’t know that there is an absolutely terrible sign in this collection. However, I’m going to have to give the worst sign in Cerro Gordo County to Plymouth.

But what gets Best in Show? I’m normally not a big fan of rock signs. They look like tombstones. However, I actually like Ventura’s sign, although I can’t figure out why all the letters are capitalized except the “t”. I love how Rock Falls clearly turned an old DX sign into their town sign. However, it loses some of the luster because Grafton (future post) did the same thing. I have to give Best in Show to Dougherty.

Dougherty – Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Here are the alternate signs of Cerro Gordo County:

Ventura – Alternate

Rockwell – Alternate

Thornton – Alternate

Swaledale – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Cerro Gordo County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Worth County.

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

JUNK

JUNK! What a great theme for Week 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a JUNK photo. JUNK isn’t necessarily garbage, but it could be. JUNK is defined as things that are useless or of little value. But that doesn’t mean JUNK has no value. Just like the theme reveal image, I bet everybody reading these words has a JUNK drawer. Off the top of my head, I have at least 9 of them and several JUNK bins. So go out and find something that has been set aside because it has little value and give it some value by turning it into art.

And don’t forget that some food is considered JUNK as well. And of course, there are other definitions for the word JUNK. Some more safe for work than others.

Happy photo harvesting.

Art, Baier, Black & White, Formal Portrait, Iowa State

2010-11-22

September 4, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

Most of the pictures from the folder 2010-11-22 are from when I took some pictures of the Baiers around Iowa State’s beautiful campus.

WEEK 46 - SPIRITUAL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

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:

RWPE #46 – SPIRITUAL

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a youth group fundraiser.

Animals, Art, Basketball, Football, Iowa State, Jesse, Shannon, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Last Day of the Fair

September 3, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

On the last day of the Iowa State Fair, Jesse and I went down there and spent several hours down there before picking up my pictures from the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. I barely made it in to the Cultural Center to get my photos because they started closing the building down at 7, which is when you were supposed to be able to go in and get your photos. I was one of the few people that let in and got my photos. I was lucky.

Here are some pictures from the day:

I’m already looking forward to the 2022 Iowa State Fair. I hope we are completely through this pandemic by then so I can enjoy the Fair more freely.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ‘SCAPE.

‘SCAPE

REMINDER: NEXT MONDAY IS LABOR DAY. WHILE THE BANK MAY TAKE A DAY OFF AND THE SCHOOLS MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF AND MOST OF THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF AND THE COMPUTER MINE MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF… PHOTOGRAPHY 139 DOES NOT TAKE THE DAY OFF. EVERY DAY I’M HUSTLING. PLAN WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO ACCORDINGLY!

‘SCAPE! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? Do you mean landscape? Don’t worry, I’m about to feed you baby bird.

Yes, a landscape picture could be a ‘SCAPE picture, but a ‘SCAPE picture isn’t necessarily a landscape picture. The theme reveal picture is a picture of a landscape that I took high up in the Loess Hills on Saturday. However it is the apostrophe before the SCAPE that is key here. You don’t have to limit your possibilities to a landscape. There are other types of ‘SCAPEs. There are citySCAPEs. There are also waterSCAPES and skySCAPEs and even inSCAPEs.

And if you don’t know what a landSCAPE is, it is this:

“all the visible features of an area of countryside or land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.”

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, History, Road Trip, Teresa, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Pocahontas County

August 31, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A few weeks back I cruised around Pocahontas County harvesting their town signs. Some of these I harvested on a trip to northwest Iowa with Teresa. The rest I harvested on a solo trip.

Here are some facts about Pocahontas County:

+ Population is 7,078. It is the 93rd most populous county. Behind Ida County and ahead of Wayne County.
+ The largest town and county seat is Pocahontas.
+ Formed in 1851.
+ Named for the Powhatan “Princess” Matoax. Pocahontas was a childhood nickname and she kept her real name hidden from the colonists that held her hostage. The truth of her story is pretty widely misrepresented by Disney… to say the least.
+ Home of a giant (and terrible) statue of Matoax (Pocahontas).
+ Home to a sweet sculpture of the greatest mascot in all the lands, Cy.
+ Home of Palmer’s boys basketball team (now consolidated) that won 103 straight games in the 1980s.
+ Major highways are: IA-3, IA-4, IA-7, IA-10, and IA-15.
+ Adjacent counties are: Palo Alto, Humboldt, Webster, Calhoun, and Buena Vista.
+ Population peaked in 1940 at 16,266.

The Pocahontas County courthouse is similar to the one in Boone.

The Pocahontas County Courthouse located in Pocahontas, Iowa.

The Pocahontas County Freedom Rock is located in Rolfe, Iowa:

The Pocahontas County Freedom Rock is right across the street from a sweet sculpture of Cy, so it probably doesn’t get as much attention as the rest of the Freedom Rocks in Iowa.

With Pocahontas County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

34 counties completed. 34.3% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Pocahontas County (population from 2020 Census):

Pocahontas
WELCOME TO POCAHONTAS
“THE PRINCESS CITY”
Population: 1,867 (+78)

Laurens, Iowa
LAURENS
Population: 1,264 (+6)

Fonda, Iowa
FONDA
HOME TOWN WITH A HEART
Population: 636 (+5)

Rolfe, Iowa
ESTABLISHED 1863
WELCOME TO Rolfe
Population: 509 (-75)

Gilmore City, Iowa (Humboldt County)
IOWA’S LIMESTONE CAPITAL
GILMORE CITY WELCOMES YOU
Population: 487 (-17)

Palmer, Iowa
PALMER
Population: 138 (-27)

Havelock, Iowa
HAVELOCK
EST. 1881
Population: 130 (-8)

Varina, Iowa
A LITTLE TOWN WITH A BIG HEART
Population: 68 (-3)

Plover, Iowa
PLOVER
EST. 1882
Population: 50 (-27)

I think the town with the worst town sign in Pocahontas County is pretty obvious. It is Fonda. They allegedly used to have a pretty cool town sign, but it is either gone now or in the process of being replaced, cause I combed (with Teresa) pretty much every inch of that town and didn’t find it.

I think it is a two horse race for the best town sign in Pocahontas County. Pocahontas and Rolfe have nice signs, but it really comes down to Plover and Havelock. I’m going to give it to Plover because the backwards “1”s in Havelock’s sign makes me think it is a clue to some kind of New World Order/Masonic Temple conspiracy that might be going down in that town. I actually think Plover’s alternate town sign is even better than their main town sign.

Plover – Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Here are the alternate town signs of Pocahontas County:

Pocahontas – Alternate

Plover – Alternate

Laurens – Alternate

Havelock – Alternate

Varina – Alternate

Something I find interesting about Pocahontas County is that a couple of the towns are references to things in Matoax’s life. Rolfe (assumptions here) is named after John Rolfe the Englishman that Matoax would marry after she was baptized and changed her name to Rebecca. Varina is named after Varina (another assumption) the farm where Matoax and John Rolfe lived. If you are a fan of the musical HAMILTON (and we probably aren’t friends if you aren’t), Laurens is named after Hamilton’s close friend and critic of slavery John Laurens. And Plover is named for a bird. And Fonda is named because the post office in the day was too incompetent to tell the difference between Manson and Marvin.

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hancock County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Pocahontas County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty trail with THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Cerro Gordo County.

Animals, Art, Candid Portrait, Contests, Evie, Jen, Layla, Mom, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

First Day of the Fair

August 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

On the first day of the Iowa State Fair I attended it with Jen, Layla, and Evie. Evie was performing with her Irish Dance Team. We wandered around the Fair for several hours before and after watching Evie perform. Here on some of the pictures from the day:

I also went to the Fair on the last day with Jesse. I will share those pictures in the future.

If you want to take peruse the rest of my Day 1 Iowa State Fair pictures, click on the link below:

Iowa State Fair – 2021

Over 200 images in there right now.

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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! But what is a PEOPLE photo? Fortunately for you, people infest nearly every corner of this planet, so they are easy to find. All you have to do is find some PEOPLE or remnants or proof that PEOPLE were once there. This group of PEOPLE doesn’t have to have any connection. They don’t have to be friends or family. They just have to be homo sapiens. I suppose Neanderthals would work as well.

Happy photo harvesting!

Art, Black & White, Christianity, History, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Humboldt County Auxiliary Images

August 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett Leave a comment

A few weekends back I tooled around Humboldt County and harvested their town sign. Here is a collection of some of the auxiliary images I took on this road trip, including some I took as I went back south threw Calhoun County.