Hitting the backlog for pictures from the Bennett Family Mother’s Day Barbecue:
I hope when you celebrated Mother’s Day 6 months ago, it was as awesome as our Mother’s Day celebration!
Mother’s Day – 2017
Category Archives: Logan
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE REMINDER – WEATHER
This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is WEATHER:
WEATHER!
WEATHER! What a great theme! I could explain to you what a WEATHER photo might look like, but instead, why not show you some examples?!?!
Cathie Raley
Angie DeWaard
Carla Stensland
Kim Barker
Stephanie Kim
Sarah Karber
Micky Augustin
Mike Vest
Logan Kahler
Those examples ought to get your heart pumping!
Happy photo harvesting!
Won’t Take that Credit; I know Where We Get It; Them Blessings Be Comin’ from God Above
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Rather than my standard picture of an inflatable turkey, thought (with apologies to Lecrae, I’d give thanks for some of the many blessings in my life.
Count it up, count it up, count it up.
Line ’em up, line ’em up, line ’em up.
Blessed with a tremendous biological family. Blessed to share DNA and a life with these people.
Blessed to be a part of Olivia’s family. Blessed to learn a new definition of the word “family” from Shorty and Doris.
Blessed to be a part of an incredible church family. From Youth Group to Methodist Men to the people I see in the pews on Sundays.
Blessed to have a job and double blessed to have a great work family. 7 AM comes pretty early, but so many of the people I work with make the struggle worth the effort.
Blessed to share a life with this band of brothers. Not one of us has any fashion sense, but I’d still take a bullet for any of them.
Blessed to fit in with this band of sisters as well.
Blessed to be able to share my love of weird cinema with like minded individuals once a month.
Blessed to be a Cyclone and double blessed to have somebody to share so many trips to Jack Trice (a spiritual place for me) with.
Blessed to have a roof over my head that belongs to me. Blessed that I can extend that roof over friends and family when their life needs it. Blessed that when I say, “Want to help paint by house?” 20+ people show up.
Blessed that friends from past jobs are still important pillars of my current life.
Blessed that people that aren’t related to me consider me an uncle to them.
Blessed to have a car that I can drive out of town and not worry about the tire falling off.
Blessed to have so many people in my life that when I say, “I’m coming to your city”, they say, “You’re staying with us right?”
Blessed to have so many people in my life that fill gaps.
Blessed that even though I’m aged, I still healthy enough to still ball. Although pretty poorly these days.
Blessed that even though I’m aged, I still have people in my life that keep me young.
Blessed to have people in my life that want to change the world for the better, when I get cynical.
Blessed to have art in my life.
Blessed to have a beautiful beard. Even if the old guys at my church hate it.
Blessed to have people who will help with projects like this, no questions asked.
Blessed to share a life and a domicile with this crazy beast. Teaches me about selfless love every single day.
Blessed to have a chance to spread my blessings to others, sometimes, with some of my favorite people.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of my blessings. But I don’t want it to start to sound like I’m bragging.
A Methodist Trio
Here is a collection of photos from 3 Methodist events. The Event Formerly Known as the Methodist Men Steak Fry, Safe Trick-or-Treat Night at the Eastern Star Home, and Consecration Sunday Brunch.
One of the bizarre things about the world of social media is that bizarre things happen. I posted a picture of Johnathan and Logan grilling for the Event Formerly Known as the Methodist Men Steak Fry on our church’s Facebook page thanking everybody that made the event such a smashing success.
A lady from the church left a comment on the photo tagging her husband with the comment, “See (husband name) they are cool.”
I don’t know what she meant by this comment, but here is my theory:
This lady has tried to get her husband to be active in the Methodist Men. He has openly dismissed her because the Methodist Men are “lame” and “uncool”. However, when she saw a picture of two dudes participating in Methodist Men activities like Logan and Johnathan that are undeniably cool and comport themselves with a little bit of their uncle’s well-documented badassness, she felt that this would be the example that would make her husband see that the Methodist Men aren’t “lame”. In fact, we are “cool”.
In fact, we are pretty lame. But their is coolness in lameness when you own it.
Remembered with Nostalgia
Now that I’ve been back to reality for 7 days, probably a good time to go over my vacation.
FRIDAY
Left work at 4 PM or so. Vacation starts.
Had FNSC with Willy. Ate at Colorado Grill.
After Colorado Grill. Started watching a new show, NARCOS.
SATURDAY
Breakfast at Legal Limit with Mom.
Photography for Amber and Steve’s Wedding.
Not Steve pictured.
SUNDAY
Went to the Lutheran Church in Gilbert with Jesse and Nader to celebrate Nader’s 30th year in the United States.
Ate lunch at the church with some of the people that helped Nader when he got to the country.
Went to Gene’s farm to admire his car collection.
Sent this picture to Russell of Youth Nazis harassing this old woman.
Sent this picture to Logan because he sent me a picture trying to make me jealous of his lunch.
A Studebaker with an El Camino back.
Naima getting her pills.
Went to the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad and Shorty was there working it.
While this food stand looks awesome, the ice cream isn’t that great.
MONDAY
Loaded up Mom’s car and headed for Mount Rushmore.
Stopped in Sioux Falls for gas, human fuel, and Falls Park. It rained all the way to Sioux Falls.
Sent this picture to Jorge and Joe to remind them that I wasn’t at work.
Falls Park
Mom struggles with the selfie concept.
Confused by the bridge they built to seemingly just to wreck the view.
I wonder what this picture would look like with me in it.
Oh. Like that.
I give Falls Park the thumbs up. I’ll have to go back when I have more time at some point.
Stopped for gas again next to 1880 town.
Stopped at Wall Drug right before it closed.
Still don’t have the selfie thing down.
Free Water.
Pretty horrible restaurant across the street from Wall Drug.
I’d give Wall Drug the bird. Don’t waste your time. A bunch of touristy garbage with ridiculous hours.
Got to Rapid City and checked into a hotel with free WI-FI and continental breakfast.
TUESDAY
Got up in the morning and ate continental breakfast at the hotel. Had a lengthy conversation with two women from Arizona that came up there for the Buffalo Roundup.
Left for Mount Rushmore.
Posted on Instagram. #wafflelife
First view of Mount Rushmore
View from the parking lot.
One armed woman took this picture for us.
Getting better at the selfie game.
What Mount Rushmore was supposed to look like, but they had to stop because of WWII. Another thing we can blame on Hitler.
I give Mount Rushmore the thumbs up.
At the base of Mount Rushmore we ran into Brad Dighton. The cousin of a member of my church. He gave us several pro tips for the area. We weren’t able to get to all of them, but maybe next time.
One of his pro tips was take the Iron Mountain Road to Custer State Park.
All of these tunnels point back to Mount Rushmore. You can’t tell in the picture, but trust me.
I give the Iron Mountain Road the thumbs up.
Custer State Park is a great example of white privilege. I have no clue why a park is named after Custer. His 2 claims to fame are graduating last in his class at West Point and then getting his buttocks handed to him at the Battle of Little Big Horn.
Custer Park (like the man) was more hype than pay off. We were told we would see hundreds of buffalo. We saw one. That being said, the feral donkeys and the prairie dogs made up for the lack of buffaloes.
I give Custer Park a thumbs up, but it didn’t live up to the hype.
After we left Custer, we went to Needles Highway.
Still working on the selfie game.
We’re starting to get there.
Needles Highway is a road about the width of McHose Park road, but with a 400 foot drop to your death on one side. It is amazing!
I give Needles Highway a big thumbs up!
After that we went to Hill City to eat lunch/dinner at a place recommended to us by Brad Dighton. That place was closed, so instead we dined at the Hill City Cafe.
We bought fudge there.
Hill City Cafe wasn’t terrible, but it certainly was not great. Thumb sideways.
After that, we went to the Crazy Horse Memorial.
Almost there!
We might’ve regressed on our selfie game.
I’d give Crazy Horse another big thumbs up! My only complaint is that all the information seems to be on the family carving the memorial and hardly anything on Crazy Horse himself. You know, the guy that ripped Custer’s buttocks off and handed them back to him. He took out Custer’s brothers while he was ate it. Crazy Horse was an OG.
Pro Tip: Pay for the $4 bus ride.
After leaving Crazy Horse, went back to Mount Rushmore for the lighting ceremony.
Sent this picture of Thomas Jefferson ice cream to Russell since Russell hate Thomas Jefferson for being a slave owner and a rapist. True, but he also made a mean ice cream.
Paid and extra dollar for the Thomas Jefferson ice cream.
The lighting ceremony kind of drags on for awhile, but the part where they bring veterans on stage and take the flag down is powerful. While waiting (forever) for them to light up the mountain we became single serving friends with Lance Young. A former Iowa State wide receiver that played in the Dan MacCarney era.
After the lighting we went back to Rapid City and crashed.
WEDNESDAY
Got up in the morning and hit the continental breakfast. Hard. Going home day. No time for single serving friends. Ate and hit the road.
Stopped at Badlands National Park.
This sign was all hype. No snake.
Still working on it.
I think we have it. At least we’re in striking distance.
Taken by a woman who was friendly, but strangely afraid of falling down the side to her death. She has no future as a Photography 139 Assistant!
“I’ll take one to the side and one of you in the middle.”
Not afraid of the edge. Pimp.
Badlands. 2 big thumbs up. They just need to work on their rattlesnake game.
Next stop on the way home was to see the Dignity Sculpture. It looks like the Big Jesus in Sioux City, only less creepy. I don’t have a picture with the cell phone, but when I unleash the camera pictures, there is one there.
The next stop was Mitchell. I was going to avoid the Corn Palace but it just lined up with when we needed gas and human fuel.
Go home corn. You’re drunk.
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER in corn. Well, I can’t hate that.
Mic Drop! I think we finally nailed it!
Last time I went to the Corn Palace, I gave it the bird. I’m going to upgrade it to just a thumbs down. It is worth seeing, if you don’t waste time going inside.
We stopped at a place called The Hungry Dog for lunch.
The Hungry Dog was by far the best eating experience of the trip. 6 out of 5 Stars!!! It only seats about 5 people on the inside and after the only employee took our order, made our food, and delivered it; she locked the door and told us she’d be right back. She had to go pick up her kids from school.
I loved every second of my experience!
On the way out of town we saw this Albert the Bull wannabe. Jason Baier will get that joke.
The last stop of the evening was in Jefferson for gas and human fuel.
I wish so badly we had this sign when I worked for the evil clown empire. I can’t even count all the times some dirty white trash blew cigarette smoke in my face as soon as I opened the drive-thru window.
1424.3 miles in 3 days.
Then home for sleep.
THURSDAY
Did not much in the day. Hung up a bunch of pictures in my bedroom. Cleaned out the guest bedroom now that Alexis has moved out.
Picked Derrick up for the Iowa State game.
I don’t care what anybody says. I love the new Bugle Cyclone secondary logo.
Well almost everything about that game sucked, except the company.
FRIDAY
I can’t remember next to anything that happened on Friday.
I visited Scottie D. to get a yard sign. He is running for City Council for Ward 5.
Also had FNSC with Willy. Think it was at Jimmy’s Barbecue.
SATURDAY
Don’t remember much about Saturday either.
Went uptown during YesterBoone to complete another page of the Photo Journal Project.
Sent this to Micky and offered to buy it in case he got shutout on his hunting trip in Wyoming.
Went out to McHose Park and with Jesse’s assistance completed yet another page of the Photo Journal Project.
After that, we went to a Gender Reveal Party for one of the members of the Youth Group. It’s a Girl!!
Headed up to Jay’s for Chili Lab. Both Jay and Wily made great chilis and we enjoyed a viewing of KONG ISLAND.
SUNDAY
Got up and went to church at Boone First United Methodist Church.
Then lunch with the family.
Meeting for the Council to Elect Degeneffe.
Then I went to the Freedom Flight Send-off to see Jesse’s Dad.
Derrick’s dad made an impromptu speech praising military spouses.
Monica’s mom made a bouquet that they took with them to place on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Then I went home. Sat on my couch and soaked up the last few hours of vacation, before being back at the grind on Monday.
I’ve been back to work one week. Already fantasizing about the next time I dip my toes into the PTO pool.
The Selfie Project – September
Here is a look back at my favorite September photos from THE SELFIE PROJECT:
September 1
September 2
September 6
September 7
September 10
September 15
September 16
September 17
September 20
September 21
September 23
September 24
September 25
September 26
September 27
September 28
September 29
And if you can’t wait for these monthly updates, you can follow THE SELFIE PROJECT’S daily updates by following me on Instagram:
@christopherdbennett
I think I had a pretty decent September. Hopefully October treats me well.
A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 59
On Labor Day I was able to take a picture for Page 59 of the Photo Journal:
Page 59 – Take a picture of yourself as yourself.
Logan assisted with the production by moving the camera here and there. Johnathan watched in a distance.
While most people will disagree, I think that I don’t take enough pictures of rubber dinosaurs. Probably should get on that.
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 99 – YELLOW
YELLOW really got the old creative juices flowing. I’d reckon that there is close to a record number of submissions this week.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see this week’s submissions. Here they are:
Angie DeWaard
Brooke Milligan 1
Brooke Milligan 2
Dawn Krause
Kim Barker
Kim Barker 2
Carla Stensland
Shannon Bardole
Logan Kahler 1
Logan Kahler 2
Logan Kahler 3
Micky Augustin 1
Micky Augustin 2
Tamara Peterson
Christopher D. Bennett
Michelle Haupt
Mike Vest
Stephanie Kim
Teresa Kahler 1
Teresa Kahler 2
Teresa Kahler 3
Teresa Kahler 4
Bill Wentworth 1
Bill Wentworth 2
Cathie Raley 1
Cathie Raley 2
Linda Bennett
What an incredible week of submissions!
I wish I could tell you the remaining themes are as easily accessible as YELLOW and SKY, but they aren’t. There are some challenging ones in there. But I know you guys are up to the challenge!
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:
COLD!
COLD! What a great theme! I don’t think I need to explain COLD. It is a temperature that we haven’t felt much of lately here in the middle of the Cyclone State. But it is more than just a temperature. People can be COLD. Actions can be COLD. Feel free to define COLD any way you see fit!
I look forward to seeing your interpretations!
HOUSEKEEPING
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.
Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION
Sometimes people send me descriptions of their photos. I’ve never done anything with that information in the past. However, if you send me a description in the future, I will add it to your image in the Weekly Photo Challenge Gallery that houses all the submissions.
**************************************
That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a very frigid Monday!
All the Fleas!
A couple months back Mom, Teresa, Logan, and I hopped into a vehicle of some kind and headed due east for famous What Cheer, Iowa and it’s even more famous flea market.
It didn’t disappoint. I think a person could spend all day there and still not see all the vendors.
Here are some pictures from that trip. You’re welcome Kio!
My favorite part of the What Cheer Flea Market is that they (seemingly) allow you to climb up onto the roof of their rickety grandstand. The roof is made out of sheet metal and their doesn’t seem to be any reinforcements as you walk across it. Hoping you don’t plummet to your death. It was awesome!
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 97 – THE STREETS
THE STREETS. I knew this would be a tough theme that only the tough would be able to handle. I was right about THE STREETS. It isn’t for everybody.
But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You came to see the submissions:
Bill Wentworth
Christopher D. Bennett
Carla Stensland
Kim Barker
Logan Kahler 1
Logan Kahler 2
Mike Vest
Stephanie Kim
Cathie Raley 1
Cathie Raley 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:
SKY!
SKY! What a great theme! I don’t think SKY takes much explanation. It is that thing above us. Sometimes blue. Sometimes black. Sometimes red or orange or pink. Sometimes there are clouds in it. Sometimes there aren’t clouds in it. Sometimes there are planes in it. Sometimes there isn’t.
I would argue that you shouldn’t just look straight up and take a picture. There is nothing wrong with that. But I would challenge you to look for something else to put in your picture. It could be the SKY reflecting off of something else. A window. A puddle. Your favorite pair of sunglasses. Or you could change your perspective, so that the SKY is a powerful background for another subject.
As always, I look forward to seeing your interpretations.
HOUSEKEEPING
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION
1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.
2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.
That is it, them’s the rules.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION
Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.
Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 GALLERY DIVISION
Sometimes people send me descriptions of their photos. I’ve never done anything with that information in the past. However, if you send me a description in the future, I will add it to your image in the Weekly Photo Challenge Gallery that houses all the submissions.
**************************************
That’s all I got for today, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will commune right here again next Monday. Hopefully it will be a sky high Monday!