Time to start firing away on the 2023 backlog. This is a collection of pictures I took in January that really didn’t fit into any other posts. Some were pictures of my beard before I shaved. Some are from Madrid. Some are of elk in Jester Park. Some might be disturbing. Some might not be disturbing enough.
I hope you enjoy this collection:
Logan took these first 2 pictures.
It always feels good to clear up some of the backlog. There is still more backlog from January left to share.
Back in early May Teresa, Carla, and I loaded up in the car and trucked to What Cheer for one of their flea markets. It is one of (maybe the) the largest flea markets in Iowa. I’ve never been to a bigger one. They hold it 3 times a year and it takes up the entirety of the Keokuk County Fairgrounds.
We got there on Sunday, so some of the vendors were tearing down or had already left, so we didn’t get to see the flea market in all of its majesty, but that is okay. There still is one more this year from October 6 through October 7.
Here are some pictures from the day:
Do you call it Walking Taco or Taco in a Bag? Think carefully. There is only one right answer.
I want this in my yard so bad!
The only thing I came home with, besides a bunch of memories and photos is and Iowa State squirrel feeder. Unfortunately I’m currently out of corn because the ground squirrels (I assume) found my bag of corn and broke into it and ate all the corn. Leaving me nothing but a bag of cobs.
If you are interested in more information of the What Cheer Flea Market, you can visit their website here:
5 stars. Would recommend.
Next Friday I will share pictures from a trip to the Orange City Tulip Festival I made with Nader and Jesse.
Time to share another collection of images taken while harvesting the town signs of Scott County. Every single last one of these pictures was taken in Le Claire. Le Claire is probably the best town in Scott County. If you like artsy stuff and antiques, it is a definite must visit. Not just because it is the home of Antique Archaeology, the store made famous by the show American Pickers. But that part is pretty cool too.
If you are wondering, the bird I took like 100 pictures of is a Great Blue Heron.
Still a ton of pictures from Scott County left to share!
SKY! A great theme, but was it the limit for the amount of people that would participate this week? You will have to keep scrolling to find out:
As of 12:01 PM on Monday, September 4, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):
1-Suzie Brannen – 1 week
2-Jen Ensley-Gorshe – 1 week
3-Susanna Funk – 2 weeks
4-Scott Degeneffe – 3 weeks
5-Sabas Hernandez – 4 weeks
6-Willy McAlpine – 4 weeks
7-Mary Green – 6 weeks (2)
8-Sara Lockner – 6 weeks
9-Mike Vest – 10 weeks
10-Sheri Fakhouri – 13 weeks
11-Monica Jennings – 14 weeks (2)
12-Logan Kahler – 14 weeks
13-Nathanial Brown – 15 weeks
14-Jesse Howard – 15 weeks
15-Tamara Peterson – 18 weeks
16-Alexis Stensland – 23 weeks
17-Mindi Terrell – 30 weeks (3)
18-Brandon Kahler – 54 weeks
19-Linda Bennett – 59 weeks
20-Sarah Toot – 60 weeks
21-Angie DeWaard – 64 weeks
22-Dawn Krause – 68 weeks
23-Kim Barker – 74 weeks
24-Joe Duff – 75 weeks
25-Teresa Kahler – 86 weeks (2)
26-Carla Stensland – 86 weeks
27-Micky Augustin – 88 weeks
28-Andy Sharp – 89 weeks
29-Bill Wentworth – 90 weeks
30-Cathie Morton – 94 weeks
31-Elizabeth Nordeen – 95 weeks
32-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 97 weeks (2)
33-Kio Dettman – 99 weeks (2)
Heading into this week, this is the current map of states where submissions have come from:
Getting pretty full!
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:
Joe Duff (Texas)
Joe Duff (Texas)
Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 91 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa) – 100 weeks
Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa)
Kio Dettman (Boone County, Iowa)
Linda Bennett (Boone County, Iowa) – 60 weeks
Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)
Linda Bennett (Boone, Iowa)
Mary Green (Cleveland, Ohio) – 7 weeks
Mary Green (Cleveland, Ohio)
Mary Green (Cleveland, Ohio)
Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 19 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Iowa) – 24 weeks
Alexis Stensland (Iowa)
Alexis Stensland (Iowa)
Dawn Krause (Vienna, Austria) – 69 weeks
Dawn Krause (Munich, Germany)
Angie DeWaard (Iowa) – 65 weeks
Angie DeWaard (Iowa)
Sheri Fakhouri (Ankeny, Iowa) 14 weeks
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa) – 4 weeks
Scott Degeneffe (Boone County, Iowa)
Monica Jennings (Oskaloosa, Iowa) – 15 weeks
Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa) – 31 weeks
Mindi Terrell (West Des Moines, Iowa)
Mindi Terrell (Johnston, Iowa)
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 96 weeks
Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)
Nathanial Brown (Britt, Iowa) – 16 weeks
Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 89 weeks
Susanna Funk (Iowa) – 3 weeks
Susanna Funk (Iowa)
Ernie Redd (Kentucky) – 1 week
Kim Barker (Estes Park, Colorado) – 75 weeks
Kim Barker (Estes Park, Colorado)
Willy McAlpine (Sahagun, Spain) – 5 weeks
Amy Peterson (Washington D.C.) – 1 week
Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 87 weeks
Teresa Kahler (Iowa)
Christopher D. Bennett (Spencer, Iowa)
Jesse Howard (Ames, Iowa) – 16 weeks
Logan Kahler (Stratford, Iowa) – 15 weeks
Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 90 weeks
Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 95 weeks
Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 55 weeks
Carla Stensland (Lake Okoboji, Iowa) – 87 weeks
Carla Stensland (Clay County Fair – Spencer, Iowa)
Carla Stensland (Arnold’s Park, Iowa)
Shannon Bardole-Foley (Des Moines, Iowa) – 98 weeks
Jen Ensley-Gorshe (Iowa) – 2 weeks
Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania) – 61 weeks
Sarah Toot (E. Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania)
Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week
Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 5 weeks
Mike Vest (Madrid, Iowa) – 11 weeks
35 participants! That is a great week! Thanks to Ernie’s first ever submission, we get to add Kentucky to the submission map!!
There were submissions this week taken in the following places:
+ Arkansas
+ Austria
+ Colorado
+ Germany
+ Iowa
+ Nebraska
+ Ohio
+ Pennsylvania
+ Spain
+ Texas
+ Washington D.C.
Here is the current calendar year list for states:
+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Idaho
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Kentucky
+ Louisiana
+ Maryland
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Nebraska
+ New Hampshire
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ North Carolina
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Carolina
+ South Dakota
+ Tennessee
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Vermont
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming
37 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over 70% of the way there!
The current states missing are:
+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Hawaii
+ Indiana
+ Maine
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ New Mexico
+ Rhode Island
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia
The Outside of the United States map is currently:
+ Alto del Perdon – Spain
+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico (General)
+ Isla Mujeres, Mexico
+ Riviera Maya, Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Ontario, Canada
+ Vallunareju Norte – Peru
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
+ Puenta de la Reina, Spain
+ St. John pied de port, France
+ Vienna, Austria
+ Munich, Germany
I took my picture about 140 miles from my front door, but still in Iowa. I continue not to contribute.
The big… huge… gargantuan milestone reached this week is Kio is the first person to ever hit the Triple Digit Club! WooHoo!!
But it wasn’t all good news. Sara’s streak ends at 6 and Suzie couldn’t build her streak to 2.
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:
BLACK & WHITE! If you know me at all, you know that this is my absolutely favorite theme!
What is a BLACK & WHTIE image? Bro! It is a BLACK & WHITE picture. Period. End of story.
But just a reminder. BLACK & WHITE photography is all about tones and textures. Remember that and you will do great.
While thinking on possible subjects for your BLACK & WHITE submission, meditate on the following quote and I no doubt you will take a great picture:
To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.
-Andri Cauldwell
I look forward to seeing your interpretation!
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 BLACK & WHITE in this place that behind the scenes is all monochrome I should next Monday.
This is the final collection of images from the trip I took to Clear Lake to Teresa to see the Color the Wind Festival. I can only reiterate that is pretty sweet and definitely worth checking out if you ever get the chance. A good chance that I’ll go check it out again next year.
That is it for the Color the Sky Festival. Next Friday I will share some pictures from a trip to the What Cheer Flea Market.
Time to start sharing the auxiliary images from my trip to Scott County to harvest their town signs. Scott County was the second to last county I went to for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. It was a county I knew would be challenging cause of the Quad Cities, but it didn’t turn out to be so rough.
Here is the first collection, the first few pictures were taken on the way to Scott County:
New Liberty
Dixon
Donahue
Princeton
Buffalo Bill Cody Homestead
Still so many picture left to share from this trip!
I recently too Rodan139 out for a flight to capture a picture of this year’s parking space paintings in the Boone High School parking lot. I think there are some good ones there this year. It makes me wonder how I would have painted my parking space if they did this when I was a senior in high school. Just kidding. I didn’t have a car when I was in high school. We were poor.
Anyways, here are the pictures:
The next time Rodan139 takes the skies it will be a picture of another parking lot.
Time for another collection of pictures I took when I went to the Color the Wind Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa back in February. I’ve never been much of a kite guy, but seeing some of these kites make me wish I was a kite guy. But I don’t want to start spending thousands on a hobby. At least not this hobby.
There is one final collection of images from this sweet festival left to share!
A couple of months back Jesse and I went to the Des Moines Arts Festival. We consumed art, drink, food, and ice cream. If you’ve never been to the Des Moines Art Festival is is a hard recommend for me. UNLESS… you don’t like art or music or food. And if you don’t like art or food or music… what is WRONG with you! Seriously. Get help. Lots of help.
We made a lap around all the food trucks before ultimately deciding on Nina’s Tacos. I got the nachos. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent history.
But it moved quickly. The drink lines didn’t move so quickly.
I got the Nachos Birria.
So many layers of delicious.
A closer look at delicious.
1st bite.
Cheese in my beard, not even mad.
No regrets.
We went to Over the Top for a little dessert action.
I went with Black Raspberry. No surprise.
A lot of sexy for one picture. I’m talking about the ice cream.
Sometimes I lay awake at night. I think about all the dead ends I’ve tried to go down. All the broken roads I’ve travelled. All the mistakes that I have made. All the regrets that burden me. Then I think about those nachos and realize that the road I’m on must be alright. Then I fall asleep and dream of birria.
As for the ice cream? You know I have the Ted Lasso policy on ice cream:
Ice cream is the best. It’s kinda like seeing Billy Joel perform live. Never disappoints.
But I should share some pictures of some of the art that I liked at the art festival.
Here are some cruddy cell phone pictures of some amazing art:
If you don’t appreciate the possum sculpture, know that you are Cal from TITANIC. I am Rose from TITANIC in this situation.
The difference between Cal’s taste in art and mine is that I have some.
The possum is amazing and anybody that thinks differently is a fool!
I will have pictures with the real camera to share at some point in the future.
Next Sunday’s food adventure will be a bit different. I will share photos from Scott’s progeny competing in the Iowa State Fair barbecue contest.
Time to share a fourth 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 or in Boone. One is taken south of Boone.
Maybe my favorite collection yet! Not sure when I will have another set of found art pictures to share again, but I’m sure it won’t be long!
