Category Archives: Dawn

Dawn, Jesse, Jill, Julie, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE Y2 #3: Panning Camera Blur

January 24, 2011 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

There was a decent response to what I consider to be the most technically demanding (with the possible exception of PAINTING WITH LIGHT) theme of the 52 different themes.

Here are the submissions for PANNING CAMERA BLUR:

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson

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Dawn Krause

Jesse Howard

Christopher D. Bennett

Mike Vest

After two weeks of fairly technical themes, I hoped that the the Random Theme Generator would give out a more interpretable theme and it did cooperate. Here is this week’s theme:

HARMONY

That is a theme that is fairly open to interpretation. Here is look back at last year’s HARMONY submissions:

HARMONY

Good luck with this theme. Hopefully it will inspire many people to contribute next Monday!

Dawn, Jay, Julie, Shannon, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE Y2 #1: Reflections

January 10, 2011 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Year 2 started out with a bang! Lots of submissions! First time submitter! Welcome aboard Alicia Vermeys!

Here are the submissions for REFLECTIONS:

Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Alicia Vermeys

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson A

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Julie Johnson B

Mike Vest

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Shannon Bardole

Dawn Poetry Submission:

Reflections

She can’t be too careful anymore,
Her memories have opened up that door.
Watching the tide bury her castle,
Wasted dreams are now just a hassle.

Who she once was when she ruled the world,
That girl is gone, reality unfurled.
Demons in the people she has met,
Subdued emotion, hearts do forget

A bitter thought will eventually melt,
After all the suffering is dealt.
Time to build new castles in the sand,
Learn from the past, take time by the hand.

I’ve been to the cave that houses the new and improved Random Theme Generator. The new generator is fancy and shiny and… it doesn’t work. So I walked over to a different cave and fired up old reliable. It did not disappoint. Here is the theme for this week:

LONG EXPOSURE

This is one of the technical themes. It is hard to set a real value on what is a “long exposure”, but I would say at a minimum, the shutter speed should be longer than 1/15 of a second. I would recommend trying an exposure of at least a second, but as always, you are free to interpret the theme in whatever way you see fit.

A look back at last year’s LONG EXPOSURE submissions:

LONG EXPOSURE – 2010

Alexis, Baier, Becca, Blogging, Cousin Amy, Dawn, Derrick, History, Jen, Jesse, Sara, Shannon, Teresa, Willy

Journal Entry One-Thousand

January 4, 2011 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

It is hard to believe that this journal has reached entry 1,000.

Since I enjoy rather meaningless statistics, I’m going to go over a few right now.

According to how many times they have been viewed, these are the 10 Most Popular Pictures in the Artistic Gallery:

1. Gazing Ball Self-Portrait

2. Outburst of the Soul

3. Jen Between UnHingd Sets

3. UnHingd Publicity Still

5. US30 East of Ogden

6. 1900

6. Abandoned Piano – McCallsburg

6. Becca Senior Picture

9. Grizzly McAlpine

10. Obama Political Rally

10. Campanile Self-Portrait

These are the 10 Most Popular Snapshots Gallery Pictures:

1. Jesse and I with the World’s Largest Cheeto

2. Jesse and I Backstage at the Surf Ballroom

3. Jesse Eating a Bob’s Dog

4. Shannon Reading a Map at Backbone State Park

5. Jesse and I at Eagle Point Park

5. Cousin Amy, Sara and Jen at Bonne Finken Concert

5. Jesse Kissing the Blarney Stone in Emmetsburg

8. Jesse Onstage at the Surf Ballroom

8. Jesse and I Resting at the Sargent Floyd Monument

10. Some Kind of Deal Going Down at a Bonne Finken Concert

10. Sara and Jen at Bonne Finken Concert

The Top Ten People I Write About, Photograph or Contribute in Some Way (Tagged in Journal Entries):

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)

Of course, we will revisit these numbers and pictures in about 100 or so journal entries. Of course, it will be interesting to see what has changed!

Becky, Dawn, Shannon, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #52 – Eye

January 3, 2011 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

It is the end of Year 1 for the Random Weekly Photo Experiment. The final theme was EYE. Here are the submissions:

Becky Perkovich B

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole

Mike Vest

Becky Perkovich A

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause

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Scott Krause

The themes for this year have been slightly modified, but it remains mostly the same list. Here are a list of this year’s themes:

GO
Adventure
Calm
Colorful
Communication
Depth of Field
Diagonal Rule
Black & White
Dry
Explore
Eye
Face
Fast
Feet
Food
Framing
Hands
Harmony
Hope
Leading Lines
Light Placement
Long Exposure
Love
Macro
Market
Motion
Odd Camera Angle
Painting with Light
Panning & Camera Blur
Paths
Animal
People
Noise
Reflections
Night
Rule of Thirds
Self Portrait
Shadows
Signs
Silence
Silhouettes
Smoke
Soothing
Spiritual
Still Life
Strength
Symmetry and Patterns
Unfocused
Use of Space
Viewpoint
Wet
Games

The Random Generator has spoken for this week’s theme:

REFLECTIONS

There is still only one rule. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. The deadline for submissions remains Monday at Noon.

Good luck this year!

Dawn, Nature, Shannon, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #51 – Peace of Mind

December 27, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

There were more submissions for PEACE OF MIND than I expected with the business of the holiday season. That is pleasing to me. Here are the submissions:

Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn Krause

Mike Vest

Shannon Bardole

So it has come down to one final theme. Then this project has officially ran its course. 52 weeks. 52 random pictures.

Here is the final theme:

EYE

I think this is a great theme to end year 1 of this project on. It is a very broad theme. Everybody has an eye or two. Everybody knows at least 1 person with an eye or two. There is a holiday this week, but it is a meaningless holiday, so I hope there are plenty of submissions.

Blogging, Christianity, Dawn, Willy, Writing

Proust No. Six

December 22, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 8 Comments

Dawn Krause correctly answered the Christopher D. Bennett Trivia Question:

Q: Christopher D. Bennett bowls on Monday nights. What is the name of his bowling team?

A: Patio Pros.

Proust Quote

“Time, which changes people, does not alter the image we have retained of them.”

Confessions Question

For what fault have you most toleration?

2009 Answer

Proust Questionnaire Number Sixteen

I have thought about this question for a small amount of time now and I’m pretty sure that my answer isn’t the same as in 2009. Mostly because I haven’t had to deal with that fault very much in 2010. Although I’m not sure I dealt with it much in 2009 for that matter.

The best I can do is just start writing. See what spills out of my brain. Then you will be responsible for scooping it up off the floor and we will call it an answer.

It is easy to list the faults of others that bug me to no end. I can’t stand laziness. I can’t stand ignorance. I can’t stand dishonesty. I can’t stand tardiness. I can’t stand boringness. I can’t stand cliches. I can’t stand unoriginality. I can’t stand neediness. Worst of all, I can’t stand bad taste. I would probably be willing to hang out with somebody that was lazy, as long as they listened to good music and watched good movies. Somebody that reads bad literature and watches reality television has a longs ways to go in being a proper human being in my eyes.

If I was more of a magnanimous person, I would hate my own faults. I don’t hate my faults.

There are three really good reasons for why I don’t hate my own faults.

1. My faults make me who I am. They might make me who I am as much as my good qualities make me who I am. Maybe even more so. Humans are are a cynical bunch and they usually see the bad in people before they see the good in people. I’m not sure if this is instinctual or a defense mechanism that allows humans to reject other humans before they are rejected, but I see it happen on a daily basis.

“I mean, could you really imagine me hanging out with somebody like her… she thinks Desperate Housewives is cerebral television!”

Think about it. How often do you hear gossip (another fault I hate) about other people?

“I heard that Joe was completely faithful to his wife last night. Plus, while he wasn’t canoodling with some hussy in a cheap hotel, he helped his children with their homework. Then he shoveled his elderly neighbor lady’s sidewalk. She didn’t even ask him.”

2. I have perfectly good excuses for my faults. I eat too much. Yeah, but that is because I’m living life and I have so many people in my life that are such good cooks that it would be a crime to let their good cooking go to waste.

I don’t exercise enough. Yea, but I just don’t have the time. I’m going to shaft on a friend because I need to go spend an hour in the weight room? I know I could lose some fat, but at the same time I worry about becoming one of those guys that is too ripped. I see them at the gym (when I go) and they don’t look like happy people. It is possible. I have a real quick learning curve. I might do a set of squats one night and wake up the next morning looking like Lou Ferrigno. Nobody wants that.

I spend too much money on movies and music. Do you seriously think that is a concept?

I buy books and never read them. Well, they should have been written better.

I’m an elitist. That is a flat out lie. Just because my standards make it look like you don’t have standards doesn’t make me an elitist. It means you need to try harder.

I don’t write enough. Yeah, I’ve also never killed a man in Reno just to watch him die. There are only so many hours in a day and I waste about 6 of them sleeping.

You can justify anything. Yeah…. and?

3. Having faults gives me places to improve and allows me to connect with other people that possess similar faults on a base level.

I think the best way for me to answer this question (since it is the Christmas season) is to answer the question which cardinal sin is the easiest for me to understand.

Lust?

Excessive sexual thoughts. I’m not sure what would be defined as excessive. However, I don’t really have much toleration for rapists or people who touch little children.

Sloth?

Failure to use one’s gifts. I’m sure there are people that would accuse me of this sin, but truthfully I’m not as talented as you think. (Also why Pride isn’t a big problem for me.) I really hate laziness. I enjoy having a good time. In fact, I enjoy having a great time. However, there is also a time for work and I can’t stand the lazy guy on the crew. I think you will note that many of my friends are hard workers. Yeah, there is Willy. The truth is he only cultivates an image of laziness. Nobody is lazy that runs 100 miles a week. Sorry Salmon.

Pride?

I just had a brief email conversation this week on Pride and why it is considered the Great Sin. There was a small amount of debate on whether Pride was really all that bad. My answer is “YES”! Pride is the desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self. I absolutely cannot stand the “one-upper”. “Yeah, that is good pizza, but back in MaComb…” I don’t mind confident people, but people that are so arrogant that they can’t acknowledge the greatness of the other people lucky enough to share their air, can bugger off this mortal coil.

Envy?

To resent that another person has something that your are lacking. This is a more understandable sin for me. I don’t struggle with it personally, but I can understand how somebody can look at me and feel that somehow they were shorted. They didn’t get my deep reservoirs of talent or incredible good looks. In fact, (due to my incredible humility) I try not to shove my greatness in the face of other people. We are all lesser creatures in some regard.

Anger?

Inordinate and uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger. I know quite a few people that have anger management issues. While I understand that there are proper times to be seething with rage: the ref blew a call and cost Iowa State a game, Congress won’t pass a bill to provide health care for 9/11 First Responders, somebody touched your Godzilla without asking (begging for) permission… But there are other times in life where you find yourself surrounded by cops because a friend called a ticket nazi a “soulless mother fudger” and you are given two choices “let it go or go to jail”. These are situations created by Anger that I don’t find it so easy to tolerate.

Greed?

Excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. I’m not too keen on this one either. I have a long standing hatred of rich people. Probably why I know so few of them. I guess that leaves…

Gluttony

The over-indulgence and over-consumption of anything to the point of waste. I have no choice to be most forgiving and tolerant of this one. I’m American.

Christopher D. Bennett Trivia Question

Since most people are probably already neck deep into Christmas activities, I’ll make this one extremely easy and I’ll accept up to 4 different answers. I’ll give extra credit for anybody that can come up with all 4 acceptable answers.

What is Christopher D. Bennett’s favorite movie?

Black & White, Dawn, Shannon, Still Life, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #50 – Restaurants

December 20, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

Exactly the same number of people that love LOVE, loved RESTAURANTS. Here are the submissions:

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole of Little White Lye Soap

Dawn Krause of Impassioned Versifier

Mike Vest of Waxen Media

This is it. Only 2 themes left. Somebody with a really good memory and a web browser could figure out the last remaining theme after the Random Theme Generator spit out an apropos theme for the week where Christians (like me) celebrate the birth of the savior.

Peace of Mind

I just want to throw out a reminder to anybody thinking of submitting a picture. The deadline is still noon on Monday. However, you don’t have to wait until Sunday night or Monday morning to submit.

I hope many of you find peace of mind this week. I know I will. Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve is my favorite church service of the year.

Also, the “Comments” section on my journal entries has been more active in the last week or so. This is something that I of course love, but the “comments notifier” plugin has went belly up. I’m actively working to solve the problem, but until I get fixed, you won’t be getting an email notifying you if I have responded to your comment. Or if somebody else has added a comment. So check back. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I suppose I could forward comments for the time being.

Also I would like to thank Kelly from The Colorado Grill for allowing me to take my RWPE photo this week. We had a lengthy conversation about the calendar during FNSC. It is always good to touch base with my fans.

Animals, Black & White, Dawn, Personal Photo Project, Shannon

Personal Photo Project of the Week #46 Alpha

December 17, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

I Recommend Pleasant

There is a long and elaborate story about how this rabbit came into my possession. The details that you need to know are that he was homeless so I opened up my home to him.

To slightly elaborate, I borrowed him from Dawn to photograph. While he was in my care all of his siblings died a horrible parasitic death. So he has kind of de facto became mine.

However, he needed a name. I understand that naming a rabbit is kind of like naming a car or a cat or fish or a washing machine. It is a complete waste of time. But since it easier to just say “Name X” rather than explaining why it is a waste of time to name a rabbit I finally settled on the name Foster Q. Bunny.

I gave him the name Foster to remind him that the people that were supposed to love him rejected him. I never want him to forget that. It will burn inside him and propel him to greatness. The Q. part is from John Q. Public. I want him to be a rabbit of the people. The bunny part is fairly self-evident. Bunny is clearly cuter than rabbit and lepus gives me nightmares because of the epic giant rabbit movie Night of the Lepus.

A special thanks to Shannon for acting as the bunny wrangler on this job.

Here are more pictures from the I Recommend Pleasant Photo Sessions.

Personal Photo Project #46 Alternate - I Recommend Pleasant

Just a quick reminder. Nobody has correctly answered the most recent Christopher D. Bennett Trivia Question.

If you would like to take a guess, follow this link and try your luck in the “Comments” section. You can also read more of my political rantings.

Proust No. Three

You can guess more than once, but only one guess at a time.

Animals, Black & White, Dawn, Macro, Personal Photo Project, Shannon

Personal Photo Project of the Week #45

December 10, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

Turtle Thoughts are Turtle

Special thanks should go to Dawn for loaning me this homeless turtle and to Shannon for acting as turtle wrangler on the inside photos of my stinky friend.

More pictures from the Turtle Thoughts are Turtle Photo Sessions.

My understanding is that this homeless turtle eventually found a home where he is being tortured with country music.

Black & White, Dawn, Photoshop, Self-Portrait, Vest, WPC - Submissions

RWPE #47 – Discover

November 29, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

I don’t know if it was the theme or if it was the holiday, but once again submissions were somewhat anemic. Here are the submissions for DISCOVER.

Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause

Mike Vest

There are only 5 themes left before this little experiment starts over. I went down and kicked the Random Theme Generator and told it to give me a theme that would light the fires of creativity under more people. It just sat there. Then it spit out the following theme:

ACTIVE

On the surface that seems like a good solid theme that could be interpreted in a bazillion different ways. Hopefully this will get RWPE back on track.