Category Archives: Dawn

Animals, Becca, Becky, Candid Portrait, Dawn, Derrick, Event, Flowers, Jaycees, Jill, Mom, Music, Nature, Night, Self-Portrait, Shannon, Willy

2009-06-22

October 5, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Better strap it on. This post is going to be a LONG one, covering a ton of diverse ground! There are a ton of pictures in the folder known as 2009-06-22. I considered breaking this into multiple posts, but then I decided, “Nah, bro. We got this.”

Thee are night flower pictures, pictures from Ames on the Half Shell, pictures from Ottumwa, family pictures, and pictures of cherries.

The pictures from Ames on the Half Shell were from when The Josh Davis Band played there. It must have been rained out because the pictures are from DG’s Taphouse. The Josh Davis Band is my second favorite band to play Ames on the Half Shell. Not including Against the Grain or whatever Derrick’s band was called when they crashed Half Shell. It appears that I never published those photos.

The pictures from Ottumwa are from when I went there to help Jen & Derrick help with the house that Jen inherited from her uncle.

The cherry pictures are from when Shannon came over and baked me a cherry pie from the cherries from my cherry trees. It feels good to be self-sustaining.

There are pictures in here of people that are gone now. Gone, but definitely not forgotten:

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

Night Flowers: Session 1

I Can Not Tell a Lie

Night Flowers: Session 2

Skin to Win

Abstemious

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Little League baseball.

9 Emotions Project, Anders, Andy, Animals, Baby Got Rack, Black & White, Blogging, Candid Portrait, Carla, Dad, Dawn, Derrick, Drone, Evie, Flowers, Football, Formal Portrait, Iowa State, Jaxon, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jorge, Kalista, Kelly, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Mission Trip, Mom, Music, Naima, Railroad, Sara, Saydie, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Taylan, Teresa, Travel, Vest, Willy, Work, WPC - Reminder, Youth Group

An Artist’s Notebook Post #3,500

October 4, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Welcome to the 3,500th entry in “An Artist’s Notebook”. The blog portion of my Photography 139 website. It has been along time since I first took keyboard hand sitting in the old Computer Mine setup or possibly in my Mom’s basement, because that is where my life was at that time.

In fact, the first time I posted anything on “An Artist’s Notebook” was August 9, 2006. The very first word I wrote, “So”. Maybe not the best word. Maybe not the most forceful word. It is a word that almost feels like an apology.

I clearly didn’t know where this was going to take me and I’m not sure I even know where I’m at now. So.

I would go on in the first post to state that I had a few goals for this blog.

#1. To write in it.

I think I can say safely that 3,499 posts later, I have written in it. I often wonder if I were to print out every page of “An Artist’s Notebook”, how many pages it would be. While I know that most of those pages would just be pictures at not necessarily words, I’m still pretty sure that the entire thing would run several thousands of pages. While the things I write and the nature of what I write and post has changed over time and I’m sure it will continue to change, I will say for now, I’m still on track for Goal #1.

#2. To be as truthful as possible towards my true thoughts and feelings.

On this goal I’m going to give myself an incomplete. I feel that I am truthful to my loyal readers, but I don’t know that I necessarily share my feelings a lot. For example, I don’t know how many of you know how much I despise the open-faced sandwich. It is a pox upon mankind. Kind of like anti-vaxxers. When I think about it, I suppose I don’t hold back much. However, I’ll have to double down on my efforts to let you know about my true feelings. A 5,000 word piece on the worthlessness of the open-faced sandwich is coming your way on Sunday!

#3. Producing something that makes me worthy of having a pretentious sounding journal title like: “An Artist’s Notebook”.

The question here, is this: Is the blog any darn good? It would be arrogant of me to claim that it is. I have garnered a small amount of loyal subscribers. But I’m sure a better blog would garner more. My entries do occasionally gather comments. But I’m sure a better blog would gather more comments. I guess I’ll have to keep plugging away and let the sands of time figure out if this thing is any good.

On these mile marker posts, I like to look at what things and what people have most influenced this post.

On my 750th post, these were the Top 16 post categories and I’ll assume, the only categories I had for posts back then:

1. Photography – 295
2. Friends – 269
3. Life – 238
4. Family – 98
5. Religion – 63
6. ISU Football – 41
7. Jaycees – 40
8. Movies – 39
9. Blogging 33
10. Sports – 25
11. Work – 25
12. House – 24
13. Writing – 23
14. Comedy – 20
15. Politics – 17
16. History – 12

On post 1,000, these were the 10 people that I had tagged the most in posts:

1. Jay (144)
2. Jesse (143)
3. Shannon (140)
4. Derrick (117)
5. Jen (101)
6. Teresa (96)
7. Willy (93)
8. Sara (88)
9. Baier (65)
10. Dawn (64)

By post 1,447 these were the 10 most tagged people:

10. Dad – 117
9. Carla – 118
8. Sara – 122
7. Willy – 124
6. Jen – 143
5. Teresa – 144
4. Derrick – 157
3. Shannon – 160
2. Jay – 180
1. Jesse – 195

This picture of Evie was the most popular picture on my website:

By post 2500, these were the 5 most tagged people:

1. Jesse – 283 Posts
2. Teresa – 244 Posts
3. Shannon – 231 Posts
3. Jay – 231 Posts
5. Derrick – 220 Posts

By post 3,000 these were the most popular categories:

#10 – Jay – 262 Posts
#9 – Life – 274 Posts
#8 – Teresa – 282 Posts
#7 – Shannon – 289 Posts
#6 – Animals – 301 Posts
#5 – Portrait – 313 Posts
#4 – Jesse – 328 Posts
#3 – WPC (Formerly RWPE) – WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – 432 Posts
#2 – Flowers – 436 Posts
#1 – Photography – 440 Posts

And these were the most tagged people:

#10 – Vest 204 Posts
#9 – Jen – 205 Posts
#8 – Willy – 209 Posts
#7 – Derrick – 241 Posts
#6 – Mom – 247 Posts
#5 – Carla – 261 Posts
#4 – Jay – 262 Posts
#3 – Teresa – 282 Posts
#2 – Shannon – 289 Posts
#1 – Jesse – 328 Posts

Here we are, post 3,5000. I should point out before I reveal the current most popular categories on “An Artist’s Notebook”, I should point out that while I’ve been going back and fixing old broken entries via our Saturday night trips down memory lane, I have also been re-categorizing and breaking some categories into multiple categories. That is why some categories have actually lost posts. Hopefully some of those generic categories like “Photography” and “Life” will be down to zero some day.

Here are the most popular categories:

10. Photography – 311 Posts
9. Teresa – 312 Posts
8. Carla – 314 Posts
7. Shannon -351 Posts
6. Black & White – 390 Posts
5. Weekly Photo Challenge – 394 Posts
4. Jesse – 404 Posts
3. Animals – 477 Posts
2. Portrait – 516 Posts
1. Flowers – 537 Posts

10 Most Popular Not People Categories:

10. Art – 243 Posts
9. Nature – 260 Posts
8. Personal Photo Project – 261 Posts
7. Road Trip – 288 Posts
6. Photography – 311 Posts
5. Black & White – 390 Posts
4. Weekly Photo Challenge – 390 Posts
3. Animals – 477 Posts
2. Portrait – 516 Posts
1. Flowers – 537 Posts

10 Most Tagged Humans

10. Jen – 222 Posts
9. Vest – 234 Posts
8. Willy – 238 Posts
7. Derrick – 267 Posts
6. Jay – 294 Posts
5. Mom – 300 Posts
4. Teresa – 312 Posts
3. Carla – 314 Posts
2. Shannon – 351 Posts
1. Jesse – 403 Posts

You may be wondering, what does it take to improve my Photography 139 Score? How do I get on the big board by the time Post 3750 comes around next August-ish?

1. Submit pictures for the WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.
2. Assist or pose for photo projects.
3. Be related to me.

If you are wondering who is just outside of the top ten? The 3 people just outside of the Top Ten are Kim, Sara, and Logan.

Here are the current most popular pictures in the Photography 139 Gallery, by views in the last 365 days:

10. Iowa State Cyclones Football Varsity Marching Band – 514 Views

9. Howards 2017 – 571 Views

8. Michelle – Computer Mine Holiday Card – 2018 – 690 Views

7. Cy beating down Herky – 746 Views

6. Rapid City Mission Trip – 776 Views

5. Autumn Sharp – 935 Views

4. Selfie Project – January 1, 2019 – 1251 Views

3. Selfie Project – July 15, 2017 – 1511 Views

2. Metropolis, Illinois – 2724 Views

1. Selfie Project – January 14, 2019 – 3215 Views

And these are the Ten Most Popular Albums in the Photography 139 Gallery by views in the last 365 Days (You can go to the album by clicking on the picture):

10. Autumn Sharp – 2020 -11,036 Views

9. Misc. Portraits – 11,198 Views

8. 2018 Computer Mine Holiday Card Portrait – 11,409 Views

7. Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2008 – 12,024 Views

6. Iowa State Cyclones Football – 2018 – 12,715 Views

5. Naima – 14,770 Views

4. Photo Journal Rejects – 14,872 Views

3. Selfie Project – 2019 – 37,416 Views

2. Weekly Photo Challenge – Year 6 – 43,174 Views

1. 9 Emotions Project – 58,863 Views

Whew! Well, I’m spent. Thanks to everybody that subscribes to this here blog. You are a big part of whatever success that is does have!

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

FRAMED!

Reminder that a FRAMED photo is a photo where your subjected is FRAMED by objects that aren’t the subject of the photo. Like a window. Or a door. Or literally anything that creates negative space.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Black & White, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elizabeth, Iowa State, Kim, Logan, Micky, Steph, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 209 – ARCHITECTURE

September 16, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Welcome to Year 7 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!!! THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE was born under the name THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. It was actually originally the idea of Mike Vest. Back in the day we used to collaborate on the project with both our websites. Then, after a couple of years it had seemed to run its course, as I was lucky to get maybe 3 or 4 submissions on a good week. I decided to drop it because if people weren’t interested, I wasn’t going to put forth the effort. I got better things I can do with my Monday lunch hour. Like eating lunch. Or not being at my Computer Mine Cubicle.

After a several month hiatus, I got a few people start sending me emails or text messages about how they really missed THE RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. They wished I would bring it back. I remember Carla (who regularly participates) and Dawn (who regularly gives me excuses) being at the forefront of wanting it back.

So here it is. Back. I have no doubt that it is currently at its apex. I don’t even know how many weeks in a row that we have had double digit submissions. Even this week, where I have found ARCHITECTURE to usually be one of the least popular themes, we have double digit submissions.

I have my doubts that next week we will hit double digit submissions because it is a theme that takes most people out of their comfort zone, but I defy you people to prove me wrong!

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

Elizabeth Nordeen

Logan Kahler

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Stephanie Kim

Kim Barker

Tamara Peterson

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:

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY! What a great theme! But what is a STREET PHOTOGRAPHY image? STREET PHOTOGRAPHY isn’t a picture of a STREET. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is “conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.”

The 2 most important things. RANDOM and PUBLIC. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY is often mistaken for CANDID PORTRAITS. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY has to be done in a public place. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a portrait. It can be a piece of art. It can be a building. It can be a sign. It doesn’t have to be on a street. It can be at a football game. It can be at an art festival. A political event. It only has to meet those 2 criteria: public and random.

THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE themes were randomly selected, but I think that there is a chance that this week being STREET PHOTOGRAPHY might have been destined. Something that might have fallen through the cracks in last week’s news was that Robert Frank passed away.

Robert Frank was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. His book “The Americans” was one of the most influential photography books every published and it practically redefined STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.

Here is an excerpt from an NPR story on Robert Frank:

Influential photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank has died at the age of 94. He died of natural causes on Monday night in Nova Scotia, Canada. His death was confirmed by his longtime friend and gallerist Peter MacGill.

He was best known for his 1959 book The Americans, a collection of black-and-white photographs he took while road-tripping across the country starting in 1955. Frank’s images were dark, grainy and free from nostalgia; they showed a country at odds with the optimistic views of prosperity that characterized so much American photography at the time.

His Leica camera captured gay men in New York, factory workers in Detroit and a segregated trolley in New Orleans — sour and defiant white faces in front and the anguished face of a black man in back.

The book was savaged — mainstream critics called Frank sloppy and joyless. And Frank remembered the slights.

“The Museum of Modern Art wouldn’t even sell the book,” he told NPR for a story in 1994. “I mean, certain things, one doesn’t forget so easy. But the younger people caught on.”

Eventually, the photographs in The Americans became canon, inspiring legions. Photographer Joel Meyerowitz remembered watching Frank at work early on.

“And it was such an unbelievable and powerful experience watching him twisting, turning, bobbing, weaving,” Meyerowitz said in 1994. “And every time I heard his Leica go ‘click,’ I would see the moment freeze in front of Robert.”

I do not make this a commandment for STREET PHOTOGRAPHY, however let me suggest that when you do your STREET PHOTOGRAPHY image, you consider doing it in black & white to honor the late, great Robert Frank.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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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 public and random Monday!

Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Flat Earth Joe, Frank, Iowa State, Jason, Jesse, Jorge, Laura, Linda, Lowell, Micky, Pastor Sarah, Robert, Russell, Shannon, Teresa, Tim, Toby, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 15 Final Results

April 14, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

6 days ago another college basketball season sadly came to an end. While it was one of the most exciting tournaments in history, it was bittersweet as the Cyclones were eliminated in the 1st Round.

Now anybody that watched Iowa State’s mercurial season knew that there was a good chance that would happen. When I saw they were playing Ohio State, I was 95% that they would lose in the 1st Round. Ohio State was a completely garbage team that didn’t even belong in the tournament. Iowa State struggled all season with garbage teams.

Despite that, I still picked Iowa State to win it all in my bracket because I don’t pick against my rooting interests.

I don’t pick Iowa State to lose.
I don’t pick Duke to win the National Championship.
I don’t pick Michigan State to win the National Championship.
I don’t pick Liberty to win a single game.

When the overtime was over in Minneapolis on Monday night, the Virginia Cavaliers were the National Champions and Becky Parmelee won her first ever Roundball Oracles crown. Russell Kennerly won his first ever The Sara for last place adult.

Becky’s name has been added to the List of Immortals:

2019 – Becky Parmelee
2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Paul Golden’s iron grip on the throne has been released.

On the other end of the spectrum, Russell Kennerly adds his name to past “The Sara” winners:

The Sara
2019 – Russell Kennerly
2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The trophies will be in their possession shortly.

Here are the final standings:

RANK	TEAM NAME	SCORE	CORRECT	BEST SCORE	BEST CORRECT	CHAMPION
STANDINGS
1	Becky Perky	281	45	281	45	Virginia (112)
2	Linda Bennett	265	45	265	45	Virginia (93)
3	Michelle Haupt	242	40	242	40	Gonzaga (150)
4	Lowell Davis	242	45	242	45	Duke (148)
5	Angie DeWaard	242	41	242	41	Virginia (183)
6	Dawn Krause	239	42	239	42	N. Carolina (146)
7	Sean Clubine	237	44	237	44	Duke (152)
8	Paul Golden	237	43	237	43	Duke (135)
9	Rachel Gildersleeve	237	42	237	42	Iowa St. (125)
10	Jason Baier	236	41	236	41	Duke (159)
11	Jesse Howard	231	42	231	42	Duke (143)
12	Michael Augustin	230	43	230	43	Gonzaga (165)
13	Corey Faust	225	39	225	39	Duke (153)
14	Derek Dohrman	224	43	224	43	Duke (160)
15	Shannon Bardole	224	39	224	39	Gonzaga (138)
16	Cathie Raley	223	41	223	41	Duke (137)
17	Jordan Toot	221	40	221	40	N. Carolina (128)
18	Robert Henning	220	39	220	39	Duke (150)
19	FHMeiners	219	42	219	42	Duke (182)
20	Brandon Kahler	210	40	210	40	Duke (125)
21	Jackson Faust	209	38	209	38	Kentucky (126)
22	Which Mascot Would Win in a Fight	202	34	202	34	Iowa St. (150)
23	Bill Wentworth	202	40	202	40	Duke (105)
24	Ben Baier	201	36	201	36	Iowa St. (173)
25	Derrick Gorshe	201	38	201	38	Duke (128)
26	Christopher Bennett	198	40	198	40	Iowa St. (158)
27	Elizabeth Nordeen	196	41	196	41	Iowa St. (149)
28	Jason Stensland	195	39	195	39	N. Carolina (167)
29	Olivia Baier	195	32	195	32	Yale (155)
30	tim peterson	193	39	193	39	Duke (160)
31	William McAlpine	192	36	192	36	N. Carolina (165)
32	Jorge Rios	189	36	189	36	Iowa St. (150)
33	Sarah Duffel	189	34	189	34	Michigan St. (112)
34	Toby Sebring	185	36	185	36	Duke (144)
35	Joseph Lynch	181	38	181	38	Iowa St. (167)
36	Teresa Kahler	181	35	181	35	Iowa St. (124)
37	Will Baier	177	33	177	33	Duke (164)
38	Jon DeWaard	173	36	173	36	Duke (148)
39	Carrie Baier	170	34	170	34	Michigan St. (177)
40	Laura Priest	166	36	166	36	N. Carolina (155)
41	Sean Gildersleeve	161	31	161	31	Iowa St. (125)
42	Russell Kennerly	160	34	160	34	Villanova (145)
43	JJ Baier	150	25	150	25	Seton Hall (181)

If you are wondering, JJ Baier is 7 years old and isn’t eligible for “The Sara”.

Now that is behind us, it isn’t too early to start looking at what kind of team Iowa State will have next year.

Next year could be a potential step back for the Cyclones. They lose 3 seniors, including their starting point guard in Babb and leading scorer in Shayok. They are also losing Wigginton and THT to the NBA. Talented post Lard has also left the team and intends to transfer.

Iowa State has currently signed 3 players for the upcoming class. Currently, none of the freshman they have signed are highly ranked, but they all have the potential to be solid contributors. 2 in particular will be interesting to watch.

Marcedus Leech is perhaps the most intriguing. He was formerly a 5 star guy and one of the most recruited players in the country. 2 years ago he had a gruesome leg injury similar to the one Paul George suffered. Almost every school backed off, except Iowa State. Leech rewarded the Cyclones for their loyalty. If he gets back to what he was, he will be the steal of the recruiting class.

Tre Jackson is another interesting player. He was under recruited and didn’t really get many major offers until last summer. He is a shooter and a good athlete that recently dominated the Carolinas Classic by scoring 38 points and hitting eight 3 pointers. With so many guards leaving, Jackson will have a shot at getting some playing time.

Luke Anderson is the final commit. He will be a stretch 4 or 5. Even with the loss of Lard, Iowa State is still fairly stocked in the post with Jacobson and Conditt playing big roles this season and with Solomon Young coming back from an injury that sidelined him for a year and a half. That will give Anderson time to add some bulk to his body.

Another newcomer that I anticipate starting for the Cyclones next season is Prentiss Nixon. He sat out last season after transferring from Colorado State. The 6-2 point guard averaged over 16 points a game with the Rams. I anticipate he will be the starting point guard. He might not have Babb’s overall game, but he will be more of a scoring threat from the point.

Adding proven college players in Nixon and Young back to a returning nucleus of Halliburton, Jacobson, and Conditt, the Cyclones will still be pretty decent next season. How good they can be will depend on what a couple players buried on the bench last season are able to bring. Both Zion Griffin and Terrence Lewis were highly regarded coming out of high school. Zion was slowed at the beginning of last season with an injury and never really broke into the rotation. Lewis showed flashes, but got buried on the bench after Lard and Wigginton returned from injuries and suspension. Both could take great leaps next season if they can show some consistency. The potential is there.

The other unknown variable for next season is Iowa State currently has 3 scholarships open for next season.

I expect Iowa State to add 1 more freshman. Possibly Caleb Grill from Wichita. 1 sit out transfer. 1 graduate transfer.

Another possibility would be to leave one of those scholarships open for the 2020 class. As it sits now, Iowa State will only have 2 seniors on next year’s squad in Nixon and Jacobson.

The 2020 class is loaded and Iowa State is sitting in a good spot with a few very highly regarded recruits in Xavier Foster, Dudley Blackwell, and Ben Carlson.

Either way, I can’t wait for college basketball season to start again.

Andree, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Cathie, Dawn, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Laura, Linda, Lowell, Micky, Nader, Nate, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shannon, Tim, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 15

March 17, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

It is time once again for the greatest sporting event of year. It is that time known as March Madness. The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Once again, I will be sponsoring a pool. There is not cost to enter the pool, except for pride.

The winner gets a trophy. The dead last place person gets a trophy known as The Sara.

By winning, you get your name etched on the list of immortals:

PAST ROUNDBALL ORACLE CHAMPIONS

Past Roundball Oracle Champions:

2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

Paul’s repeat championship definitely puts a target square on his back.

But I said that there are 2 trophies. The 2nd trophy, The Sara, goes to the adult that finishes dead last, while trying. A person can not tank on purpose and win The Sara. The reason The Sara winner has to be an adult is that I don’t want to mock children, to their face. Probably a better rule would be that to “win” The Sara, you have to be at least a teenager. I have no problem mocking teenagers to their face. I do it pretty much every Wednesday night at Youth Group.

Past “The Sara” Winners:

The Sara

2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole – now Bardole-Foley
2016 – Laura Priest – now Miller
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2014 – Sara Lockner

The Sara doesn’t have the long storied history of the championship trophy, but it will get there. I have no doubts.

Last year, 35 combatants threw their hats into the ring. Here are the standings from last year:

2018 STANDINGS
RANK	TEAM NAME	SCORE	CORRECT	BEST SCORE	BEST CORRECT	CHAMPION
1	Paul Golden	248	40	248	40	Duke (175)
2	Dawn Krause	243	38	243	38	Villanova (132)
3	Christopher Bennett	243	37	243	37	Villanova (153)
4	tim peterson	232	41	232	41	Michigan St. (165)
5	Michelle Haupt	232	35	232	35	Villanova (182)
6	Nate Miller	230	37	230	37	Villanova (159)
7	Jordan Toot	224	33	224	33	Villanova (108)
8	Corey Faust	223	34	223	34	Villanova (153)
9	Angie DeWaard	221	34	221	34	Villanova (201)
10	Rachel Johnson	219	39	219	39	Kansas (178)
11	Lowell Davis	215	38	215	38	Virginia (152)
12	Benjamin Baier	213	33	213	33	Virginia (112)
13	Derek Dohrman	205	36	205	36	Virginia (155)
14	Cathie Raley	204	35	204	35	Virginia (138)
15	Bill Wentworth	200	34	200	34	N. Carolina (97)
16	Sean Gildersleeve	198	35	198	35	Michigan St. (145)
17	Linda Bennett	195	36	195	36	Kansas (145)
18	Jesse Howard	195	35	195	35	Duke (146)
19	Olivia Baier	188	33	188	33	Virginia (133)
20	Toby Sebring	185	32	185	32	Arizona (148)
21	Russell Kennerly	184	33	184	33	Virginia (161)
22	Jackson Faust	182	32	182	32	Auburn (124)
23	Sean Clubine	173	33	173	33	N. Carolina (151)
24	Jason Baier	173	30	173	30	Virginia (159)
25	Michael Augustin	167	31	167	31	Virginia (186)
26	Brandon Kahler	166	33	166	33	Kansas (133)
27	Nader Parsaei	166	33	166	33	St. Bona. (170)
28	Andree Jauhari	165	32	165	32	Virginia (145)
29	Elizabeth Nordeen	165	32	165	32	N. Carolina (173)
30	Carrie Baier	162	31	162	31	Gonzaga (144)
31	Laura Priest	158	32	158	32	Duke (125)
32	FHMeiners	156	31	156	31	Kansas (167)
33	Becky Perky	152	32	152	32	Kansas (168)
34	Will Baier	148	25	148	25	Marshall (113)
35	Robert Henning	141	28	141	28	Kansas (156)

The rules are as follows:

Round 1 = 1 point + seed

Round 2 = 2 points + seed

Round 3 = 4 points + seed

Round 4 = 8 points + seed

Round 5 = 16 points + seed

Rounds 6 = 32 points + seed

I can tell that you are already sold and just want to know how to get into this competition, so that you can battle it out and possibly get your name on “The List of Immortals”. It is easy enough, just click on the link below:

Roundball Oracles – Year 15

Good luck! I know you will fare well!

Alisa, Animals, Art, Baby Got Rack, Becky, Black & White, Blogging, Boone County Fair, Carla, Contests, Dae Hee, Dawn, Derrick, Flowers, Holidays, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Macro, Mom, Nader, Nature, Photoshop, Politics, Railroad, Road Trip, Sara, Scottie D., Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, State Fair, Teresa, Travel, Vest, Willy

Post #3252 – 2018 Year in Review

January 1, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Happy New Year to people who celebrate such things.

I like to look at some meaningless statistics every 250 posts and I also look at fairly meaningless year end statistics.

Just so happens that I get to combine them today!!

Here is both a year in review and a celebration that I have made it to 3252 blog posts. I was on the Alamo Bowl Road Trip visiting submarines, cults, and reality television stars when post #3250 came around, so I hope you can excuse the tardiness.

The first thing I want to look at are the most popular CATEGORIES in the history of “An Artist’s Notebook”.

Top 10 Journal Entry Categories

1. Portrait – 527
2. Weekly Photo Challenge – 504
3. Flowers – 497
4. Animals – 405
5. Jesse – 361
6. Photography – 355
7. Shannon – 320
8. Teresa – 296
9. Black & White – 291
10. Carla – 280

Top 10 People Categories

1. Jesse – 361
2. Shannon – 320
3. Teresa – 296
4. Carla – 280
5. Jay – 279
6. Mom – 277
7. Derrick – 256
8. Willy – 227
9. Vest – 221
10. Jen – 209

Top 10 Not-People Categories

1. Portrait – 527
2. Weekly Photo Challenge – 504
3. Flowers – 497
4. Animals – 405
5. Photography – 355
6. Black & White – 291
7. Road Trip – 262
8. Personal Photo Project – 261
9. Life – 234
10. Nature – 215

“Photography” and “Life” are general categories that I have been working on eliminating as I go back and restore historical “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory. Hopefully they will have both dropped off the Top 10 Lists by journal entry #3500.

If you are wondering how to become a Top 10 person on this list. The easiest way is to submit to the Weekly Photo Challenge. After that, the best way is to volunteer to model and photo assist for photography projects. Then after that, I would suggest going on road trips with me or attending Iowa State athletic events with me or going on road trips to Iowa State athletic events with me.

The people that are right outside of the Top 10 are:: Sara, Kim, Dawn, Becky, and Nader.

If you are looking for a goal for 2019, you could do worse than trying to crack the Photography 139 Top Ten People Category List. You obviously could do way, way, way, way, way, way, way better too.

Now we will turn out eye towards 2018.

Top 10 Most Popular Photography 139 Galleries of 2018 by Views

1. 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT – 48,722
2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE YEAR 5 – 37,614
3. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE YEAR 5 – ALTERNATES – 33,622
4. 2008 – JANUARY – JUNE – 26,032
5. SELFIE PROJECT – 2017 – 23,141
6. HOUSTON MISSION TRIP – 2018 – 22,046
7. SOUTH DAKOTA TRIP – 2017 – 21,868
8. BOONE COUNTY FAIR CONTEST NOMINEES – 2018 – 17,211
9. SAYDIE HOWARD – CLASS OF 2017 – 14,808
10. IOWA STATE CYCLONES FOOTBALL – 2018

The 10 Most Popular Photography 139 Images by Views

1. 2524

2. 2386

3. 2327

4. 1958

5. 1621

6. 1456

7. 1445

8. 1321

9. 1293

10. 1241

On the Instagram, these were my 9 Most Popular Photos based on Likes:

My theme for my 2018 Instagram posts was Black & White. My theme for 2019 will be HDR Toning. Also, I will be bringing back THE SELFIE PROJECT to Instagram in 2019.

You can follow me on Instagram here:

@christopherdbennett

I entered 3 photo contests with the following results:

Red Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Purple Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Blue Ribbon – Boone County Fair

Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Not Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

Not Selected for Display – Iowa State Fair

1st Place Photoshop – Pufferbilly Days

1st Place Photojournalism – Pufferbilly Days

Pufferbilly Days

3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County – Pufferbilly Days

Pufferbilly Days

Last note:

My goal for 2019 is the same as it was in 2018:

I’m gonna step my game up and get what is coming to me.

Good luck in 2019 everybody!

Alexis, Art, Baseball/Softball, Carla, Dawn, Elainie, Flowers, Jason, Macro, Road Trip

07-20-08/State Tournament

September 29, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The pictures in the folder 07-20-08/State Tournament are from when Elainie played in the Little League State Tournament in Albia.

Looking through the pictures, I had forgotten that Dawn’s daughter Debra also played on that team. It might be where we rekindled our friendship. Or maybe our friendship began. I’m not sure we were exactly friends in high school. That was a long time ago.

Boone won their first game against Grand View. Which was an event to rejoice. Grand View Little League is hard to describe. I think the best way I can put it is this way:

You know those movies about summer camp, where there is a rival camp across the lake filled with the worst people you can think of in the context of summer camp. Grand View Little League is that rival camp across the lake. Filled with the worst kind of Little League parents you can imagine.

Boone then lost in the championship. To somebody that wasn’t Grand View.

Here are some, but definitely not all of the pictures:

It is weird what can get ingrained into you from the past that you hold onto for no real reason. Grand View Little League’s Major Boys team made it to the Little League World Series just this past summer. Even though I haven’t had an interaction with that league in over 10 years and probably nobody that is affiliated with that league is still affiliated with the team that was in the World Series, I still found myself rooting against them. I usually root for almost anything that represents the great Cyclone State, but I found myself rooting against our representative in the Little League World Series.

Next time I shave maybe I’ll try to purge myself of this prejudice.

There are many more pictures from my trip to Albia. You can check them out by clicking on the link below:

Boone Little League – 2008

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

Albia, Iowa

Depending on ambition and free time levels, next week’s walk down memory lane will involve my first mission trip, a farewell of sorts to the Miller farm, and spandex.

Andy, Black & White, Cathie, Dawn, Kim, Micky, Nature, Shannon, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 151 – TREE

August 6, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

REMINDER

NOTE: IF YOU HAVEN’T VOTED YET, VOTE!!! THERE IS A 3 WAY TIE IN 2 CATEGORIES. IN 2 OTHER CATEGORIES, 1 VOTE SEPARATES 1ST AND 2ND. 2 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE.

It is once again time for me (and by me, I mean you guys) to pick out my photos to enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Once again, I am going to leave it up to a popular vote.

The Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest allows you to enter up to 6 photos.

There are 4 Categories:

1. Nature
2. Photojournalism
3. Photoshop Enhanced
4. Hidden Treasures of Boone County.

I have selected 60 images for you to consider. To simplify things, I have split the 60 photos into 6 sets of 10. If you wish to exercise your enfranchisement, clicking on the link below will take you to Poll #1. Vote for one of those pictures and then move onto the next poll, until you have voted in all six polls.

The winner of EACH poll will be entered into the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Click on the link below to start voting:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominees

Voting will end at midnight, August 8.

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TREE seemed to be a theme that motivated several people to get up off their couch and take some photos this week. Maybe I’ll have to keep it around for the next set of 52 themes.

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

Kim Barker

Dawn Krause

Micky Augustin

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Andy Sharp

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

A solid week of submissions!

FEAR!

FEAR! What a great theme! I know this might come off as one of the harder themes and I admit, it probably is one of the harder themes. Some might argue that it is redundant because earlier int he challenge we had the theme SCARY. Those people are wrong though.

A SCARY photograph challenged you to take a picture of something you find SCARY. Like snakes or spiders or ghosts or the truth.

A FEAR photograph challenges you to take a picture of the reaction to something scary. Like running away from a snake or a spider or a ghost or the truth.

Of course, there is more than one way to skin a community cat… I mean interpret a theme. I look forward to 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 due date. 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

Congratulations to Jodie Cue! She is the latest person to show taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. Jodie has one of the hardest jobs in the world. She is a Pastor’s Wife. She also has a job that pays her where she works with kids with special needs. I can stop right there and you get the idea of what kind of an amazing person she is, but I won’t. She works with the middle school students at our church’s youth group, helps teach Sunday School AND started a laundry soap ministry at our church. Laundry detergent is one of the major needs at food banks, (but like female hygiene products) it is something that people just don’t think about when they donate to their local food banks. Our local food bank can barely keep the laundry detergent on the shelf. We are able to make it for for pennies. I’m not sure how many pennies, but pennies!

So if you see Jodie out on the mean streets of Boone, feel free to give her a knowing glance and teach her the super secret Photography 139 handshake.

Welcome aboard Jodie, I know you will fare well!

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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 fearful Monday.

Andy, Animals, Becky, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Macro, Michelle, Night, Photoshop, Tamara, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 149 – NIGHT

July 23, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

I think NIGHT can be one of the tougher themes, but we still had plenty of submissions!

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

So without further adieu, I present the NIGHT photos:

Andy Sharp

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Christopher D. Bennett

Carla Stensland

Tamara Peterson

Michelle Haupt

Mike Vest

Tamara Peterson

FEET!

FEET! What a great theme! But what is a FEET picture, you might ask? A FEET picture is any picture that involves FEET. Most people have FEET! And did you know that humans aren’t the only animals with FEET. Many other animals have FEET as well. Even tables have FEET.

As always, feel free to define FEET any way you see fit. I look forward to seeing all the interpretations!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE THEME DIVISION

At this point, there is only a handful of week’s left in this 52 week run of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. If you wish to make suggestions for the next set of 52 themes, you should leave them n the Comments section of this here blog.

So far Andy has provided many solid suggestions:

Desert/dessert”the ice cream one”
Your vehicle
Family
Your pet(cats excluded)
Favorite color
Chris’s beard look alike
Pet peeves
Favorite wall of your house/inside or out
Pizza
Sporting event(ANF vs Actually Helping Farmers, for example)
Footwear
Halloween costume
Hat/headwear
Hair
Breakfast
Screenshot
License plate close or farthest away on flat earth
Favorite restaurant
Good deed
Water
Sunrise
Sunset
Samwich”southern pronounceiation”/sandwich
Music”the type baptists appose
Outhouse/old town sign

Now obviously, nobody could match my beard, so that one in an obvious non-starter, but I bet you’ll see a few of those make their way into the next set of 52.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 COMMENTS AVATAR DIVISION

Congratulations to Dawn for becoming the latest person to earn a Photography 139 Comments Avatar. Every time that Dawn comments on “An Artist’s Notebook”, she now has a customized avatar that will show up next to her commentary.

Would you like a spiffy Photography 139 comment avatar? All you have to do is leave some form of commentary in the Comments section of a blog entry and I will make you one. Guaranteed!

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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 footed Monday.

Becky, Dawn, Derrick, Event, Jaycees, Music, Shannon, Suzie, Willy

06-07-08

July 14, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Pretty much all of the images from the folder 06-07-08 are from Ames on the Half Shell’s Family Night.

I believe the name of the band was Murphy’s Law. There are plenty of images of people that weren’t Jaycees in this collection:

The picture of the pie was a rhubarb pie that Shannon had made me for my birthday.

By adding these images to the Photography 139 Gallery I was able to restore the following historical “An Artist’s Notebook” posts to their original glory:

HEAVEN AND HELL

FAMILY NIGHT

I took plenty more photos during Family Night. If you are interested, you could see those images by clicking on the link below:

Ames on the Half Shell – 2008

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the first time Scottie D. and I ever went formally tenderloining, plus some sunset pictures, and the cherry on the top will be pictures of the Ames Party Bus.