Category Archives: Becca

Salad Shooting: Ames Field Work

Today is Colleen’s birthday, so happy birthday Colleen!


Baby Tri-Force 1st Birthday Party

I hope it is as magical as you want it to be!

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On the health spectrum, this post is about a food item that couldn’t be more on the opposite end of the “healthy eating” spectrum than a tenderloin if it tried. Not that a tenderloin is the most unhealthy thing you can eat. That is probably cheesy fries. But it is no secret that any fried food is unhealthy. Delicious, but unhealthy.

Now a salad? They are usually pretty healthy. Unless you add unhealthy elements to it, like fried chicken. And then coat it with ranch or Caesar dressing. Or any salad dressing with the word “creamy” in it. However, I think we can all agree that ranch dressing does not belong on salad. It only belongs as a dipping sauce for things like onion rings and fried mushrooms and fried cheese and buffalo wings. Caesar salad doesn’t belong anywhere.

Ames recently had a new salad restaurant open. It is extremely unique. It is drive-thru only. Why? Because they grow all the greens inside the building.

This is what their website (https://www.claytonfarms.com/salads) says:

Welcome to Clayton Farms Salads, a drive-thru restaurant that is all about fresh, healthy, and smart eating. Our greens are grown onsite, ensuring that our salads and smoothies are the freshest in the world. Whether you’re on the go or simply looking for a quick and nutritious meal, we’ve got you covered with our delicious menu options. From bright and colorful salads, to refreshing and energizing smoothies, we’ve got everything you need, to fuel your day the healthiest way. So why wait? Swing through our drive-thru to taste the difference yourself, or to order delivery!

I think it is a brilliant idea! If you can keep up with demand. Despite that, I have a couple friends who loaded up their haterade with extra hate just to make sure they had enough hate for this restaurant. They are actively rooting against Clayton Farms Salads being successful. One has gone so far as to proclaim:

October of 2024, gentlemen. Mark me. “Salad Dreams” or whatever its called will have shuttered by then.

I have marked it on the calendar Jay.

They started with 4 salads and recently added a 5th salad:
+ Garden Salad
+ Caesar Salad
+ Crunch Asian Salad
+ Southwest Salad
+ Mediterranean Salad

To cut to the chase, it is the best salad(s) I’ve ever had in my life. The freshness of the greens is incredible and it makes a huge difference in the taste. I put the experience like this… it must be what it would be like to not be from Iowa, visit Iowa and then stop at a Peaches and Cream corn stand. Pick up some corn and go home and cook it. For them, it would be like eating corn for the first time in their life.

I’m not trying too hard to rely on Plato’s ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE for this example.

So let me put it another way. It is like the difference between cooking with produce you purchased at a big chain grocery store vs with ingredients you bought at a farmer’s market. If you know anybody that works in a grocery store warehouse, ask them about the room they use to ripen bananas. It will blow your mind.

Or one last example…

It was like the first time I got a watermelon in Muscatine County in the height of watermelon season.

That is what my first salad at Clayton Farms Salads was like. It was like I had never had a salad before. (By looking at me, it is possible you think that I’ve never had a salad in my life, but I love vegetables. I also love a good order of cheesy fries too.)

Here are some pictures of my Clayton Farms Salads experiences:


Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
“Our greens are BETTER” is an understatement.

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
This guy is a member.

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Southwest Salad

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
All the salads come with Salad Girl Dressing which is an organic line of dressings.

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Even their forks are compostable.

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Caesar Salad

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Garden Salad

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Farmer’s Punch – also delicious.

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Crunchy Asian Salad

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads
Mediterranean Salad

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

Salad Shooting: Clayton Farms Salads

I’d rank the salads like this:

1. Garden Salad – romaine, sunflower microgreens, red onions, green onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, pistachios. and lemony herb dressing.
2. Crunch Asian Salad – romaine, pea microgreens, purple cabbage, edanmae, carrots, green onions, red bell peppers, mandarin oranges, sliced almonds, crunchy chow mein noodles, toasted sesame ginger vinaigrette.
3. Mediterranean Salad – butterhead/arugula, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, feta cheese, garbanzo beans, red bell peppers, red onions, sliced almonds, lemony herb dressing.
4. Caesar Salad – romaine, broccoli microgreens, cucumber, parmesan cheese, croutons, lemony Caesar dressing.
5. Southwest Salad – butterhead, radish microgreens, orange & yellow bell pepper, black beans, red onion, sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, butternut squash, avocado, pepitas, cilantro, chili limon dressing.

I’m not going to lie, when you add protein to the salad, it isn’t cheap. Each salad runs almost or over $15 after you add chicken. A dollar more if you add steak. At this point, I consider a meal that is under $15 as affordable. If I get a meal for less than $10, I alert the media.

The ultimate verdict is, would I pursue this meal? Yes I would. In fact, since I’m currently working in Ames 5 days a week, I pretty much eat here once a week.

You can find Clayton Farms Salads here:

2435 Grand Avenue
Ames, Iowa

They are open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 8 PM.

The next food adventure will be a road trip double dip.

Muscatine County Aux. – Vol. 5

Since my trip to Chicago I know I have missed celebrating a few birthdays on this website, but the bleeding stops today.

Happy birthday to my awesome sister-in-law and fellow Brandi Carlile fan Becca!


Minnesota State Fair - 2019

I hope you have a birthday that is as tremendous as you are! Lots of Brandi Carlile music and lots of adventures for you and Jonah!

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Also, happy birthday to my favorite Editor Michelle!


Day 318 - November 14, 2021

I hope you don’t slave away at the Computer Mine too hard today!

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Today I am sharing the final collection of auxiliary images I took on my trip to Muscatine County to harvest their town signs. Including. Finally. The picture of the dragon that sold me the best watermelon I’ve ever had in my life.


Muscatine County  - Muscatine
Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine

Muscatine County  - Muscatine
Tasted better than it looks.

Muscatine County
This dragon knows its watermelon!

Muscatine County

Muscatine County

Muscatine County

Muscatine County  - Conesville
Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville
I have questions, but every time I ask a Catholic about Catholic things they don’t know anything.

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

Muscatine County  - Conesville

I definitely enjoyed Muscatine County. I might have to make a watermelon run again this year, or commission Micky to bring back a melon. Hashtag watermelonlife!

Next time we hit the open road for auxiliary images from THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Henry County and Jefferson County.

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party – 2022

A few months back I picked up some cakes and Jim and went to the Wolf Lodge near Kansas City for the birthday party of the triplets and Jonah. I didn’t get to spend much time there cause Jim is kind of like Cinderella. He expires after being away from home too long.

I also didn’t get many pictures because we drove 4 hours to catch the last 25 minutes of the party. The rest of the day was spent in the Wolf Lodge water park area and I didn’t take any pictures there.

Here are some of the pictures I took:


Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party - 2022

Despite its brevity, it was a good trip. I wish I had some pictures of the kids playing in the water park, but I didn’t get any. I wonder what will happen with the birthday parties this year?

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


WEEK 386 - BOOKS
BOOKS

BOOKS! What a great theme for Year 10 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a BOOKS image? Simply put, it is any image where the subject or a major compositional element is a BOOK or BOOKS.

Happy photo harvesting!

Hello 2023.

It is the first day of 2023. I’m not really a “resolutions” person. Pastor Adam was on vacation today so we had a substitute seromizer in church this morning. He gave an impassioned, longwinded sermon on resolve. It took more than a bit of my resolve to stay awake during the longest sermon these ears have heard in quite sometime.

But if I were to take the words on resolve to heart, I would say that I’m not without goals. Last year my main goal was to complete THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. I did that.

My main goal in 2023 is to complete Phase 2 of THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT and put the book together. I should be freeing up sometime to work on that buy dropping a couple of photo projects that I did in 2022.

My second goal in 2023 is to begin work and complete my new photo project. Details are still foggy, but it is to create Boone postcard. Not a bunch of Boone postcards. Not even to print up a bunch of one Boone postcard. But to make one big image of one Boone postcard. While the end goal is one image, it will involve taking at least several hundred (probably thousand) images. It will make more sense when I get going on it.

My third goal in 2023 is to keep the positive momentum that was achieved in 2022 in participation rates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. I’m not likely to go out and beat the drums looking for participants, but doesn’t mean you guys can’t. Right?

My fourth goal in 2023 is to consider and maybe take action on visiting and photographing every State Park in Iowa.
That seems more straight forward than it actually is because in addition to State Parks there are State Forests and State Preserves and State Recreation Areas. Boone County contains 3 Minor State Forests alone! We will see where this one goes, but we all know I could use the exercise.

I don’t have any goals related to the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. That type of stuff is a considerable amount of luck. So best not to have goals that are out of one’s hands. Maybe my goal should just be to give my best effort.

Hopefully 2023 is a good year for all of us!

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Time to share the December images for the FatMumSlim Photo A Day Challenge. This is also the final collection of images as I will be dropping this pursuit in 2023. It doesn’t take a lot of time, but it still eats up a fair amount of time. Hopefully time freed up that I can use to pursue some of those 2023 goals.

Here are the December images:


December 1
December 1 – I Love This!

December 2
December 2 – I Bought This!

December 3
December 3 – Starts with T

December 4
December 4 – I Held This

December 5
December 5 – Something Red

December 6
December 6 – Peace

December 7
December 7 – Tree

December 8
December 8 – Looking Up

December 9
December 9 – Small

December 10
December 10 – Out + About

December 11
December 11 – Free Choice

December 12
December 12 – Lights

December 13
December 13 – Something Green

December 14
December 14 – Decoration

December 15
December 15 – A Star

December 16
December 16 – Candy Cane

December 17
December 17 – A Hat

December 18
December 18 – I Made This!

December 19
December 19 – Joy Is…

December 20
December 20 – Begins with S

December 21
December 21 – On the Floor

December 22
December 22 – A Gift

December 23
December 23 – A Tradition

December 24
December 24 – Someone I Love

December 25
December 25 – My Day

December 26
December 26 – This is Delish

December 27
December 27 – Colourful

December 28
December 28 – A Book

December 29
December 29 – Us

December 30
December 30 – How I Relax

December 31
December 31 – Best Part of 2022

Top 9
Top 9 Most Popular Images

I did enjoy this project and I’m not walking away from it because I didn’t enjoy it. I “met” numerous other people in this community that I will continue to follow, like @bea.photoaday, @sara.fms.photoaday, @outnbout, @gerkgirl, @pink_koffie, and @lostfate13.

But there were other things I didn’t like. Most people used the challenge to curate images, rather than take new images every day. The person that ran the challenge is Australian. That meant that a lot of the prompts were seasonal for Australia, meaning they weren’t seasonal for Iowa. Prompts repeated an awful lot. Not that they wouldn’t after 365 days, but I felt like they repeated more than necessary.

These minor complaints aside, I would consider doing it again in a future year. Just not this year. I’m sure many of you have minor complaints about how I run THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE as well.

Memory Lane Denouement

Today is a monumental day. It is the last of our Saturday walks down memory lane. With this last collection of images, I was able to fix all the blogs that had missing pictures due to my constant changing of image gallery hosts. The last entry to be fixed was in August of 2011. Unfortunately many entries weren’t able to be fixed completely because I have lost images over the decade and half this website has been in existence. Most of those were pictures that were “archives” images that were scans of old pictures from the film days. The other major missing hole will be pictures from the first two years of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, originally known as THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. It is sad that this collection will never be “complete” again, but we are never actually fully complete, are we? However, when it comes to the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT, there is probably less than 50 images missing. So that isn’t terrible. After all, it isn’t like anybody goes back and looks at my journal entries from 11 years ago.

Here is the last collection of images:


Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

Twins vs. Padres - 2011

WEEK 24 - PEOPLE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 25 - SOOTHING - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 26 - LIGHT PLACEMENT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 27 - BLACK AND WHITE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 28 - GAMES - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 29 - FRAMING - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 30 - NIGHT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

WEEK 32 - NOISE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

Minnesota

RWPE Y2 #24 – PEOPLE

RWPE Y2 #25 – SOOTHING

RWPE Y2 #26 – LIGHT PLACEMENT

RWPE Y2 #27 – BLACK & WHITE

RWPE Y2 #28 – GAMES

RWPE Y2 #29 – FRAMING

RWPE Y2 #30 – NIGHT

RWPE Y2 #32 – NOISE

There is no walk down memory lane next Saturday. I’m not sure what next Saturday will even hold. I might start taking Saturdays off. I might start moving the formal portraits to Saturdays and start taking Sundays off. Or I might just start working on the backlog. It is a mystery that only time will solve.

WPC – WEEK 340 – ABSTRACT

I want to start today by giving congratulations to Rebecca Peterson. She has become the latest person to show extreme good taste, class, and sophistication by becoming the latest Photography 139 email subscriber! Thank you Rebecca!

If you want to become such a subscriber you can either fill out the form that can be found a couple of different places on this website, or you can just let me know and I will add you manually.

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A quick PSA. A reminder, if you will. The deadline to submit your pictures is 11 AM Central. I leave for lunch then and often don’t have access to my computer until I return. Sometimes if you submit after 11 AM but before 12:01 PM, you might get lucky and I will have time to get your submissions added to the “An Artist’s Notebook” entry, but usually I won’t.

Thanks!

The theme of ABSTRACT is tough one. It is very conceptual. I’m pleased that so many people gave it a shot.

As of 10:59 AM on Monday, March 21, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks:

+ Jodie Cue – 1 week
+ Jesse Howard – 3 weeks
+ Suzie Brannen – 4 weeks
+ Dawn Krause – 4 weeks
+ Joe Duff – 8 weeks
+ Teresa Kahler – 8 weeks
+ Tamara Peterson – 8 weeks
+ Carla Stensland – 8 weeks
+ Michelle Haupt – 9 weeks
+ Micky Augustin – 10 weeks
+ Andy Sharp – 11 weeks
+ Bill Wentworth – 12 weeks
+ Cathie Raley – 16 weeks
+ Elizabeth Nordeen – 17 weeks
+ Shannon Bardole-Foley – 19 weeks
+ Kio Dettman – 22 weeks

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:


WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp – 12 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff – 9 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - JOE DUFF
Joe Duff

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland – 9 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman – 23 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MICHELLE HAUPT
Michelle Haupt – 10 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley – 20 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson – 9 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - BECKY PARMELEE
Becky Parmelee – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth – 13 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT -  TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler – 9 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT -  TERESA KAHLER
Teresa Kahler

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause – 5 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - HARRISON GORSHE
Harrison Gorshe – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin – 11 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - CATHIE RALEY
Cathie Raley – 17 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen – 18 weeks

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - LOGAN KAHLER
Logan Kahler

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning – 1 week

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning

WEEK 340 - ABSTRACT - MONICA HENNING
Monica Henning


29 submissions from 20 participants. That is a great week!

Congratulations to Michelle who joined the double digit streak club! WooHoo!

There were only 3 streaks snapped. Jodie couldn’t make it to two weeks. Jesse’s streak of 3 weeks is history. Suzie’s streak of 4 weeks is also now something that only exists in legends.

Stephanie submitted for the first time in a long time. I’m super excited to have her back. It might be a one time thing. I guess time will tell. But I don’t have any other friends that globetrot going to trendy art gallery openings. At least not yet.

Harrison Gorshe is a first time submitter and probably the youngest ever. Kid is like 2 years old. But he knows ABSTRACT when he sees it.

Here are the current top streaks:

1. Kio – 22 weeks
2. Shannon – 19 weeks
3. Elizabeth – 17 weeks
4. Cathie – 16 weeks
5. Bill – 12 weeks

I don’t know that Kio will ever give up that top spot, but if he slips up just once, there is a group on heels waiting to take it over.

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:


WEEK 341 - SHADOW
SHADOW

SHADOW! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a SHADOW picture? A SHADOW picture is simply a picture where one of the major compositional elements of the image is a SHADOW. The SHADOW can be on the ground. It can be on a wall. It can be across somebody’s face. A silhouette picture is a SHADOW picture, for example. And of course, there are other types of less literal SHADOWs out there too.

While considering possible subjects for your SHADOW picture, meditate on the following quote:

Beware that you do not lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.
-Aesop

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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 SHADOW in this place that is definitely one of my cyber shadows next Monday.

Triplet + Jonah Birthday Party

A few weeks back the Triplets and Jonah had a birthday party at the KOA near Adel. I wasn’t able to make the party because it was schedule for the same time as the Iowa State-Oklahoma State football game that I was scheduled to attend. But I did have time to drive down to Adel and hang out for about 90 minutes before I had to head to Ames to witness Iowa State beat a top ten Cowboy team.

Here are some pictures from my hang time:


The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

The Triplets and Jonah Birthday Party - 2021

Having everybody meet up in kind of a central location and spend the weekend was a pretty cool idea I thought. I hope it happens again on a weekend where Iowa State doesn’t have a home game, so I can be around more than 90 minutes. It was also really cold that weekend. I mean not really cold, but it was definitely colder than you would want.

Derrick told me that KOA campsites suck and hate children, but that wasn’t my experience, in the 90 minutes I was there. I would consider staying there on a trip sometime. I didn’t know they rented cabins and tents.

It was the first time I’d seen many of these people since before the pandemic. I hope it doesn’t take so long to see them again. Although I pretty sure I’m going down to Manhattan for Nate’s graduation in about a month.

2010-10-25

The folder 2010-10-25 includes pictures of a vacation I took to Minnesota. It is mostly pictures of a trip I took to the sculpture garden in Minneapolis with Becca, but it also includes pictures of Bethany and an old beau. I will be sharing the sculpture garden pictures and not the pictures of the old beau.


Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

MINNESOTA VACATION PICS VOLUME 1

MINNESOTA VACATION PICS VOLUME 2

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Iowa State Football.

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 2

When we left off, I had just won 1st Place in Black and White and 3rd Place in Color at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, but had been completely rejected by the Iowa State Fair for the 4th year in a row.

Whatever I was selling, the judges were not buying. I was despondent, but not discouraged because I knew I had entered some great photos, but they were not what the judges were looking for that year.

2011 comes around. I decided to retire from the Boone County Fair Photo Contest and to start a new way of picking pictures for the Pufferbilly Days. I also had what was probably the peak of my photo contest career at the Iowa State Fair. I got all 4 pictures exhibited. This is extremely hard to do. Thousands of people enter the contest every year. Only 5 of us got all 4 pictures exhibited. You can do the math. It is a big deal.

These are the pictures that were exhibited:


2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - I Recommend Pleasant

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
2nd Place Class 25

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Must Be Truth

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Drenched in Loneliness
Honorable Mention Class 13

For the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest it was the second year of letting other people select my entrants. Dawn, Derrick, Jen, Scott, Russell, and Rebecca chose my entries. Dawn’s choice got 2nd Place in Black and White:


2011 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Radiant Beams
2nd Place – Black and White

I was pretty excited for 2012. I thought I had cracked the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Code, but there is no code. Some years the judge like you. Some years they don’t. In 2012, they like one of my pictures:


2012 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Truth Perception

That year, I decided to retire from the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Then shortly after that, I decided to retire from Photo Contests altogether.

But in 2017, the itch came back. I decided to put on a Washington Wizards Jersey and come out of retirement. Hard. I decided to enter all 3 contests again. I got all Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

I got one picture selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2017 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Little Apple

I had the following people select my entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest: Jim Robbins (yeah that is a long story), Micky, Michelle, Amber, Laura, and Dawn. However, none of the pictures earned a ribbon.

In 2018, my Boone County Fair entries were determined by popular vote:


2018 Boone County Fair
Red

2018 Boone County Fair
Purple

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

I had two pictures selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Peep

2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Christmas Eve Morn

My Pufferbilly Days entries were also selected by popular vote that year:


2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - INRI
1st Place Photoshop

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Freedom Flight
1st Place Photojournalism

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Abandoned (Mill Creek)
3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County

2019 would also be a successful year. I moved to having individuals select my Boone County Fair entrants. Shannon, Michelle, and Logan selected my entries.


2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Red

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

I had one picture selected for exhibition at the Iowa State Fair and it earned a ribbon:


2019 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Entry - Green Little Vaulter
Honorable Mention Class 18

My Pufferbilly Day entries were once again selected by popular vote:


2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Hocks
1st Place Nature

2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Drops
1st Place Photoshop

In 2020 the pandemic hit and all photo contests were cancelled. Which was sad and I think it was avoidable because in a digital age, I think they could have found a way. For example the Iowa State Fair still held its Fine Arts competition.

Which brings us to 2021. I’m currently working on my next embarrassing failure at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. However, I am not going to enter the Boone County Fair this year. There is a reason for this decision. A very good reason. However, I’m not going to share the reason until it becomes official or it falls through. Things seem to fall through quite often these days. No decision has been made on Pufferbilly Days yet, but Pufferbilly Days has been moved to early August this year. I’m not crazy about the decision, but I’ll give it a chance.

If you want to peruse all 153 Photo Contest entrants in this long weird journey, click on the link below:

Photo Contests

You can see them all from the out of focus to the award winners. The good, the bad, and the moldy jam equivalent.

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 1

Recently I’ve been working on an organizational project as I prepare to get rid of a bunch of things in Boone’s annual Citywide Cleanup in a couple of weeks. Part of this has been organizing every (almost) picture that I have entered in a photo contest, both physically in a trunk and digitally in my website photo gallery.


Photo Contest Entries
150 or so Photo Entries

Almost every photo I’ve ever entered in in that trunk. Except for a few that I gave away. I thought I would share some of the highs and lows of my photo contest career. To start with, I have only entered 4 photo contests ever:

+ Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
+ Boone County Fair
+ Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest
+ Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest (this contest only existed one year – 2005)

I’ve entered 153 pictures in these 4 photo contests.

I’ve entered pictures of the following people in these photo contests:

+ Olivia
+ Jay
+ Willy
+ Humble Narrator
+ Derrick
+ Rebecca
+ Shannon
+ Alexis
+ Wedding Couple I don’t remember
+ Jill
+ Saydie
+ Kayelee
+ Jesse
+ Shorty
+ Mike Toot
+ Freedom Flight Participants

Plus I have entered pictures of both Karma and Naima.

My very first photo contest was the 2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It was before they had standardized that pictures had to be matted on 11×14 foamboard. It was long enough ago that one of the pictures I entered was printed from a slide. I entered it because it was somewhat of a legacy contest. My Dad won a category in 1984.

At the time I didn’t realize what a tough contest it was and how hard it was to get even a single picture in. It was dumb luck (which in many ways all photo contests are luck because who knows what the judge likes) that I got one picture accepted for exhibition:


2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Odanata the Snake Doctor
Odanata the Snake Doctor

In some ways, this is maybe the most important photo contest entry I ever made. It is possible that 2002 me would have been so distraught that I might not have even entered another photo contest, ever.

This is the picture I entered that was printed from a slide:


2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Quietus
Quietus

I still kinda dig this picture. My other 2 entries weren’t even really in focus.

Then I didn’t enter another contest until the 2004 Boone County Fair, where this picture of Karma got a blue ribbon:


2004 Boone County Fair - Karma
Happy Karma

I did enter the Iowa State Fair, but didn’t get any pictures exhibited. But in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, I got two Honorable Mentions in the Black and White Division:


2004 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Light Train by J.C. Janson
Light Train by J.C. Janson

2004 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Shapes
Shapes

Then 2005 came and I “cleaned up” at the Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest:


2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Earth's Laughter
Honorable Mention Color (This picture is now the favicon for this website)

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Giotto's Bull
3rd Place Black and White

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Chestnut Street
2nd Place Color

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Happy Karma
Best in Show and 1st Place Black and White

But my triumph was very short lived. Immediately afterwards, I had my biggest failures ever. I entered two pictures in the Boone County Fair Photography Contest and got no ribbons. This is hard to do. EVERYTHING at the Boone County Fair gets a ribbon. Well everything except me and a jar of moldy jam. My photography was the culinary equivalent of moldy jam.


2005 Boone County Fair Photography Contest - Black, White, and Marigold
The equivalent of moldy jam.

2005 Boone County Fair Photography Contest - Eye of the Beast
The equivalent of moldy jam.

I did rebound to get one picture in at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon and that picture did get an Honorable Mention:


2005 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Colgate Smile
Honorable Mention

But that was bittersweet. It was my first ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but it was a picture that I had already won a photo contest with, so that was the seeds of my rule of never entering a picture in more than one photo contest.

Also, this picture is still one of my all-time favorites and it has never gotten any love from a photo contest:


2005 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - My Giverny
My Giverny

I get why, but I don’t like it.

Then in 2006, I tried my luck at the Boone County Fair and this time, I got 2 Blue Ribbons, take that moldy jam!


2006 Boone County Fair - Internal Struggle
Blue Ribbon

2006 Boone County Fair - Scene from a Ditch
Blue Ribbon

I would also get 2 pictures exhibited at the Iowa State Fair:


2006 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Kentucky Appetizer
Kentucky Appetizer

2006 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Portrait of Self Portrait
Portrait of Self-Portrait

I would also have a good run at Pufferbilly Days:


2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Building 429
3rd Place Black and White

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Grizzly McAlpine
1st Place Black and White

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Outburst of the Soul
Honorable Mention Color

2007 wasn’t a great year for me and Photo Contests. I got shutout at the Iowa State Fair. I didn’t enter the Boone County Fair. I did enter Pufferbilly Days and believe a picture of a train wheel got a ribbon, but I’m struggling to find the documentation for that


2007 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Wheel

2008 also wasn’t a great year. I did get a couple blue ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2008 Boone County Fair Photo Contest

2008 Boone County Fair Photo Contest

But once again I got shut out at the Iowa State Fair. But I did rebound to get a ribbon at Pufferbilly Days:


2008 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - The Last Refuge
3rd Place Black and White

2009 was also not a stellar year. I did get 2 ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2009 Boone County Fair Photo Contest
Blue Ribbon

2009 Boone County Fair Photo Contest
Purple Ribbon

But got no other love at any other photo contest.

2010, I once again got two Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2010 Boone County Fair -The Best Place to Seek God
Blue Ribbon

2010 Boone County Fair - The Girl in the Blue Skirt Alternate
Blue Ribbon

But once again, I was shut out at the Iowa State Fair. If you are counting, that is four straight years. The Iowa State Fair really hated me.

However, Pufferbilly Days started to show some love:


2010 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Open Mic Night
3rd Place Color

2010 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Black and White
1st Place Black and White

Then 2011 happened. But we’ll get into that story in the conclusion of My (Sad) Photo Contest History.