Category Archives: Jay

The Windy City: Day 1B

I need to start out by thanking everyone that wished me a happy birthday. I believe this is a comprehensive list of everybody that wished me a happy birthday.

+ Kim and also thank you for buying me birthday Buffalo Chicken tots and the card.
+ Ron, Clevenger, Jordan, and Aaron. Although I may have bought those birthday wishes with donuts.
+ Elizabeth and also thanks for buying me candy bars I know you don’t like but the real thanks goes for looking for my favorite candy bars the Whatchamacallit and the Take 5! You are the real hero! Also, glad you are digging SHRINKING! Such a great show!
+ Steph. My birthday buddy, I hope FAST X was everything you wanted to be and I’m trying not to lose just a smidge of respect that you went to it.
+ Jesse – Sorry I was so aggressive in accusing you of eating all the mystery cheese.
+ Nader – Thanks for the frog statue!
+ Shannon- half credit for including a picture of a gross cat with your birthday wishes.
+ Michelle – good job taking a three day weekend to celebrate my birth.
+ Jay – doesn’t look like you got any rhubarb. It isn’t going to pick itself.
+ Kelly – thanks for the kind words. Not necessary, but thanks.
+ Angie – hope the postcard arrives soon.
+ Monica – thanks for sending me the picture of me in my Hulkster phase.
+ Suzie – thanks for knowing the proper animal to include in a happy birthday wish!
+ Jason – glad you are feeling better!
+ Bill – thanks for replying “no problem” when I said “thanks”. Don’t know why, but that amused me.
+ Sara Lockner – thanks for almost using enough exclamation marks in your birthday wishes!
+ Shawn – I’m sorry your wife used up all the world’s supply of punctuation in her birthday wishes and there wasn’t any punctuation left for yours.
+ Faust – thanks for pretending that banking sounds fun.
+ Teresa – thanks but I have my doubts you know who Dwight Schrute is.
+ Anders – I don’t know if it was a great one, but I’m sure May Movie Night will be.
+ Sarah Toot – Thanks for thinking I have the slightest clue what emoticons mean. Don’t feel pressure to do better next year.
+ Alexis – thanks for letting me think today was my day.
+ Baier and Dre – We didn’t have much interaction, but thanks for thinking of me.
+ Micky – thanks for multiple birthday wishes. It isn’t a contest, but if it was I think Elizabeth won. At least I think that is what she yelled at me as I walked out the door. But your message was the closest I came to having cake today. So that is something.
+ Lori – thanks, no need to apologize for transferring me my favorite kind of call, even if I really shouldn’t have been first in queue. Hope things went well today.
+ Mark – thanks. I suppose I should learn when your birthday is. Also stop using your desk for storage. Nah!
+ Lowell – thanks for the gift card. I like to think you would get me one even if the company didn’t require it.
+ Carla – thanks for getting your birthday wishes in right before the buzzer.
+ Nathanial – thanks for the final birthday wishes of my day.

I think that is the list. I think that is everybody that wished me a happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

If you are wondering what I did for my birthday, it was nothing super spectacular. It was mostly an average day.

I woke up about 5:54 AM. A little late for me. I was up late last night watching the NBA Playoffs. Then trying to watch the season finale of THE CURSE OF OAK ISLAND. Dang it! This wasn’t the season they actually found treasure. And I was so sure! I also ate fried food the night before. I’m trying to eat healthier, so it is fairly rare I eat fried food these days, he said hoping that there were people that believed him. Point is I slept in. It was my birthday. Cut me some slack!

I’m not sure what I did when I first got out of bed. I think I moved to the couch and watched the news for a little bit. Then I went outside and watered the flowers. I also took apart the trunk in the Camry. I had a slight gas spill in the trunk the night before and it was creating a pretty strong smell in the rest of the car. Then I took a shower. Brushed my teeth. Got dressed. But on cologne option #2. Said goodbye to Naima. Got in the Camry. Headed out.

There is an old birthday tradition at the Computer Mine where on your birthday you bring in food for the other employees. On a good day, there are about 10 employees in the building. (On a great day there is less.) On this day, half those people were gone for various reasons. On my way to work I stopped at the Dutch Oven Bakery and picked up a dozen donuts for my co-workers.

This is a small detail of what transpired on my birthday, but perhaps one of my favorite things that happened.

I left the donuts in the breakroom and then sent an email out to the people I knew would be in the building. Here is the backstory.

About 2 weeks, Elizabeth brought in a dozen donuts from a bakery in Nevada. (For the record, and I might get rode out of Boone on a rail for saying this, these donuts buried the ones from Dutch Oven.) She cut all the donuts in half. Now I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain why, but I will. She cut them in half so that people could try multiple donuts and multiple people could try the same donut.

Back to my birthday. Based on my current work schedule, Ron gets to the building about 30 minutes before I do. Elizabeth gets to the office about 15-30 minutes after me. She is in Special Forces so she can come and go as she pleases. I guess that is really more backstory, for what I’m promising you isn’t much payoff.

So back to that email. I explained in the email that there were donuts in the breakroom for my birthday. I didn’t cut them in half (cause I’m lazy – I didn’t write that, but it was in the subtext) but maybe when Elizabeth got here she would cut the donuts in half. I added that this wasn’t sexist on my part, just she is very passionate about the donut cutting thing.

Here is the “payoff”. I’m telling you that the ink wasn’t dry on that email before Ron was standing next to my cubicle. He wished me a happy birthday and then said that he was going to go get a donut quick before Elizabeth got here and cut them in half.

I said it wasn’t much of a payoff, but I thought it was hilarious.

I think it was somewhere in here I went to take a Snap of the donuts to keep my Streaks going with Logan (501), Brandon (257), Nathanial (89), Fran (37), and Alexis (23).

Somewhere after this, Elizabeth did come in. She did not cut all the donuts in half, but she did cut the donuts she tried in half. Take that Ron! She also brought me candy! So the day was off to a great start.

After that I put in a good solid 8 hours for The Man. I was a problem solving machine. Well to be honest, in the morning I mostly did a lot of rando stuff. I think the highlight of my morning (besides the other stuff I’ve highlighted) was being on hold with a customer for about 30 minutes as they repeatedly rebooted their computer before announcing, I’ll have to call you back.

Then came my lunchbreak. I did point out that I am trying to eat healthier. That means (amongst other things) that I only drink pop once a week. I’m pretty much completely off fast food. I rarely eat fried foods. This means that one of my favorite haunts, B-Bop’s has been off the table. But I figured it was my birthday, I could treat myself to B-Bop’s.

I drove halfway across Ames and got the #2 with Cheese with a Large Pepsi.

Sidebar: A great birthday present would have been the B-Bops across the street from the Computer Mine opening back up so I don’t have to drive completely across tarnation to get B-Bops goodness. They have been remodeling for months now! How long does it take to remodel a restaurant that doesn’t have a dining room?!?!?

It was just as good as I remembered. Although, I could feel the salad place next door judging me a little bit. But I literally ate there the day before. Asian Crunch Salad, no protein. So I think we’re square. Stop looking at me lettuce!

After I got back to the work I was a machine. Updating Server Managers. Modifying hosts files. Attaching SQL databases. All a beauty of motion, while sitting in a desk chair staring at 3 monitors. Barely taking a break to try to solve the mystery of what happened to the missing (I failed).

I called it a day, leaving many a satisfied customer in my wake. (Which means next time I work I won’t be able to solve anybody’s problems.) I drove home. I like to take a route home (sometimes called Old 30) where I drive by a bunch of railroad cars just parked along the highway to see if there is any interesting graffiti to photograph. There wasn’t anything transcendent like a painting of a dog or a clown or characters from The Simpsons, but there was one I found photo worthy. I pulled over and snapped a photo. I’m collecting these images and when I hit about 20 or so I will share them. This is what passes for an art scene in Boone.

Got home. Said hello to Naima. Then mowed my back yard. Which needed to be done before it became a 3 man job… again. I was supposed to have a meeting with my friend Kelli. She is opening a wine bar and wants to use my photography on her walls. I was supposed to look at the space and kind of figure out what we wanted to put there, but that meeting got postponed cause, from what I’m gathering, one of her kids did something dumb. Like go to Grand Junction.

The cancellation opened up a hole in my schedule and I was able to take Naima to Dickcissel for a walk and some wading for her. It was also a good time for me to take the theme reveal image for next week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme.

There was a decent rain coming down on us when we completed the loop. Which meant Naima was soaked all over. I consider this to be a positive though, because the smell of wet dog masked the smell of gas. Not much of a trade up, but small victories.

I decided to go to Dairy Queen for ice cream on our way home since I’m eating healthier. Unfortunately, the line in the DQ drive-thru was crazy long, so instead I drove across town to Big Kahuna’s. This is a considerable upgrade in the quality of the ice cream for me, but it meant Naima didn’t get a pup cup. Sorry, Naima. Don’t feel too bad for her. She did get a full pork chop for supper. Me? I had a cherry amaretto ice cream waffle cone for supper. The supper of champions!

I came home and started watching the Lakers-Nuggets game to finish off my night. While sitting there I got a snap from Nathanial asking for my opinion on his options for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. He is the second person to ask for my opinion. Meanwhile, humble narrator, hasn’t even given any consideration to what he will enter. Usually at this point I at least know at least 2 of the pictures I will enter. This year I have absolutely no clue. I mean that could be a weekend project, but I don’t know I’ll have much time this weekend either. I guess we’ll see what happens.

After the Nuggets won, I watched a little bit of “90s Nation” on MTV Classic and called it a night. Nodding off into a golden slumber listening to the “Morbid” podcast on H.H. Holmes. Part 4. All in all, a pretty good birthday.

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We begin where we left off last Friday. Lowell, Tony, and I were walking around Chicago waiting for Kim to get done getting good union employees fired for smoking a joint while putting up our booth. Kim has no chill. We were going to checkout a place called Zombie Taco as a potential place for supper. Kim had told us that we were to pick the place for supper. Tacos are always a good choice. That is free advice that I’m giving you, that I wish I had listened to on Day 3 of this trip. Unfortunately when we found Zombie Taco it seemed to be only a walk-up window and on top of that, it seemed to be closed.

But back to the walkabout.


Chicago, Illinois
A play on “This American Life”. My favorite radio show. But I’m not sure what it means.

Chicago, Illinois
I think this place was abandoned.

Chicago, Illinois
Never let anybody tell you, wearing Skechers is not cool. I wear them. Snoop wears them. Tony wears them. Elizabeth’s Grandma used to wear them.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
My greatest regret from the trip to Chicago is not taking a river cruise.

Chicago, Illinois
I wonder if this was the boat that the Dave Matthews Band dumped their poop on. As awful as that must have been, still better than listening to their music.

Chicago, Illinois
Chicago has a fair collection of interesting bridges.

Chicago, Illinois
More street art.

Chicago, Illinois
Down to the River Walk.

Chicago, Illinois
Another interesting bridge.

Chicago, Illinois
It was around here I met a lady that was walking a golden retriever. Such a good dog. Also, more street art.

Chicago, Illinois

Chicago, Illinois
I’m guessing this is to protect you from Dave Matthews dumping his poop on your head. Now if they could devise a way to protect you from his awful music.

Chicago, Illinois
I assume Dave Matthews put that there.

Chicago, Illinois
I’d tell you what I think of Salesforce, but enough work talk.

Chicago, Illinois
There is also a Dick’s Last Resort on the San Antonio River Walk. This parking garage is an excellent example of why I would never want to live in a city.

Chicago, Illinois
But it is pretty to look at.

Chicago, Illinois
My #1 goal of the Chicago Trip was to see The Bean. Crossed it off the list Day 1.

Chicago, Illinois
After telling us to pick the restaurant, Kim picked the restaurant. Which fortunately, was 1 block from The Bean.

Chicago, Illinois
The WPC theme this week was FRIENDS. Nathanial told me I could take a picture of my reflection and I could be my own FRIEND(S). I have FRIENDS Nathanial. Still a cool shot.

Chicago, Illinois
The sculptor (Anish Kapoor) of The Bean at first hated that people called it that. It’s official name is Cloud Gate.

Chicago, Illinois
It is made out of 168 stainless steel plates welded together.

Chicago, Illinois
It’s highly polished exterior has no visible seams.

Chicago, Illinois
It measures 33 x 66 x 42 feet.

Chicago, Illinois
The design was inspired by liquid mercury.

Chicago, Illinois

I still have one more collection of images to share from Day 1 of the trip to Chicago.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is HAPPY!


WEEK 400 - HAPPY
HAPPY

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

But what in the Dave Rauker is a HAPPY photo? Simply put, it is a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or a picture of something that makes you HAPPY. HAPPY is, well it is a feeling of pleasure or contentment. In case you aren’t sure you know what it means to be HAPPY.

HAPPY has been a theme one other time. Here are a few of the submissions from that time to provide you with some inspiration:


WEEK 71 - HAPPY - SUZIE BRANNEN
Suzie Brannen – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard – Week 71

WEEK 71 - HAPPY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett – Week 71

In fact, that was pretty much every submission I received for HAPPY. I bet there will be more submissions this time.

Happy photo harvesting!

You Found Someone More Exciting

A good time to clean up some of the backlog. These pictures were all taken in June and never really found there way into an “Artist’s Notebook” entry. Almost all of these are from Maven’s birthday party. The other image was taken as a theme reveal for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme SELF-PORTRAIT. That picture was actually taken by Jay.


Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

Maven's Birthday Party - 2022

You Found Someone More Exciting

You Found Someone More Exciting

You Found Someone More Exciting

One of the things that Shawn and Sara excel in is throwing parties that are photogenic. More people should look into that.

Selfie Project – December 2022

Time to share the December images from THE SELFIE PROJECT. I don’t know I did a tremendous lot in December, but I think there are a few good pictures in there.

Here are my favorite December images:


Day 335 - December 1, 2022
December 1

Day 337 - December 3, 2022
December 3

Day 339 - December 5, 2022
December 5

Day 340 - December 6, 2022
December 6

Day 342 - December 8, 2022
December 8

Day 344 - December 10, 2022
December 10

Day 346 - December 12, 2022
December 12

Day 347 - December 13, 2022
December 13

Day 348 - December 14, 2022
December 14

Day 349 - December 15, 2022
December 15

Day 350 - December 16, 2022
December 16

Day 351 - December 17, 2022
December 17

Day 352 - December 18, 2022
December 18

Day 353 - December 19, 2022
December 19

Day 354 - December 20, 2022
December 20

Day 355 - December  21, 2022
December 21

Day 356 - December 22, 2022
December 22

Day 357 - December 23, 2022
December 23

Day 358 - December 24, 2022
December 24

Day 359 - December 25, 2022
December 25

Day 360 - December 26, 2022
December 26

Day 361 - December 27, 2022
December 27

Day 363 - December 29, 2022
December 29

Day 364 - December 30, 2022
December 30

Day 365 - December 31, 2022
December 31

Day 366 - January 1, 2023
January 1

Then I had to make a photomosaic out of the 365 THE SELFIE PROJECT images of what I looked like on January 1:


The Photomosaic from the 2022 SELFIE PROJECT.

I’m not doing THE SELFIE PROJECT in 2023. Maybe I’ll bring it back in 2024. But it isn’t happening in 2023. Sorry to all this disappoints.

Goodbye 2022.

Happy New Year to those of you sheeple that follow the Gregorian Calendar. I for one, moved to Unix time years ago. So if I have a birthday party this year (Sara wants me to have one, but I doubt it happens) the invites will list the time of the event in Unix Time, like an adult. But I don’t want to tell you what calendar to use.

I think you should look at the options. By the Gregorian Calendar, when this post publishes, it is the year 2022. But there are other calendars.

Here is a list of other calendars and what year it is if you use those calendars:

Hebrew – 5783
Islamic – 1444
Chinese – 4659
Coptic – 1739
Japanese – Reiwa 4
British Regnal – 1 Cha. 3
Buddhist – 2566
Nanakshahi – 554
Hindu – 5123
Juche – 111
Byzantine – 7531
Roman – 2775
Holocene – 12022
Unix Time (like an adult): 1672531199 (roughly)

As you can tell, Unix Time is clearly superior.

Even though I don’t celebrate New Years, I do like to give holiday Power Rankings.

Here are my champagne power rankings:

CHAMPAGNE POWER RANKINGS
10. All champagne is trash.
9. All champagne is trash.
8. All champagne is trash.
7. All champagne is trash.
6. All champagne is trash.
5. All champagne is trash.
4. All champagne is trash.
3. All champagne is trash.
2. All champagne is trash.
1. Champere

So Happy New Years to those who celebrate it. I will have been asleep a couple hours when the bell tolls for 2022. I’m old, lame, and don’t get invited to adult parties.

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Time to reveal the December image for the 2023 Photography 139 Gregorian Calendar:


2023 Calendar - December
December

The December image is a picture of the old mill in Independence, Iowa. I took it while harvesting the town signs of Buchanan County for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT. In retrospect, it isn’t a great image for the brutal colds and snows of December. But it was the last selected image and December was the last month that didn’t have an image. These things tend to sort themselves out.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M4
DATE: May 28, 2022 – 9:41 AM
LENS: Tamron 17-28 f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 28mm
APERTURE: f/9
EXPOSURE: 1/320
ISO: 100
EXPOSURE BIAS: +.3

I have no calendar images to share tomorrow. Or again until December. If the Photography 139 Calendar exists again in 2024.

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This year when I handed a calendar to somebody I asked them to pick a favorite image. Then I photographed them with their favorite image. I also asked people that I didn’t hand deliver a calendar to to pick a favorite image and then send me a picture of them with that image. Like 3 people did that. So good for them? Not that such treachery might factor in who gets a calendar next year…

I forgot to do this for the attendees of the Westhaven Christmas, so this won’t be held against them. Maybe Nate. I did ask him and he said “No problem” and then never sent me a picture.

Any way here is a collection of, but not comprehensive collection of pictures of people with their favorite pictures from the calendar:



Shannon


Bethany and Nora


Colleen


Also Colleen


Also, also Colleen


Andy


Baier (Jason)


More Baiers (Olivia)


More Baiers (Ben)


More Baiers (Carrie and J.J.)


More Baiers (Will)


Russell


Michelle


Elizabeth


Willy


Micky


Kio


Kim


Brandon


Teresa


Logan


Elainie


Sabas


Johnathan


Jason


Carla


Dawn


Lockners


Gorshes


Scott


Anders


Becky


Alexis


Jesse


Jay


Nader

It is possible more pictures might trickle in, if people I mailed calendars to haven’t received them yet. I think every picture got picked except for January. Poor January. Might try this again next year. We’ll see if the people like it.

+++++++

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


WEEK 381 - BODY PART
BODY PART

IT IS POSSIBLE I MIGHT ROAD TRIP ON MONDAY. IF I DO, THERE WILL BE NO ADDITIONAL REMINDERS. YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!!!

BODY PART! What a great final theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a BODY PART image? Simply put, it is a picture where a major compositional element of the image is a BODY PART. Doesn’t have to be your BODY PART. Could be somebody else’s. It could belong to an animal. There are so many BODY PART(s) to choose from! Heads. Shoulders. Knees. Toes. Just to name a few.

Happy photo harvesting!

World Food Fair Festival

Time to reveal the April image for the 2023 Photography 139 Calendar:


2023 Calendar - April
April

This image of a statue of Jesus crucified on the cross was taken in a cemetery near Stuble, Iowa. It was an image that when I took it that I knew was going to be processed into a black and white image. I placed in April because Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter are all in April. No deeper meaning than that.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M4
DATE: March 17, 2022 – 2:48 PM
LENS: Sigma 17-28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 19mm
APERTURE: f/3.2
EXPOSURE: 1/800
ISO: 100
EXPOSURE BIAS: +.7
FIELD OF VIEW: 86.9 degrees

Tomorrow I will reveal the May image for the 2023 Photography 139 Calendar.

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Back in September Teresa, Jesse, Jay and I went to the World Food Festival. It was a great opportunity for one of my favorite type of photography… street photography!

Here are some of my favorite images from the day:


World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

World Food Festival - 2022

I loved it! Will definitely try to go again next year!

Selfie Project – September 2022

I knew September was not going to be as busy as August, but looking at these pictures it is hard not to wonder if I ever left my house. Being sick for about 4 or 5 days didn’t help, but really… I’ll try to do better in October.

Here are some of my favorite selfies from THE SELFIE PROJECT in October:


Day 244 - September 1, 2022
September 1

Day 245 - September 2, 2022
September 2

Day 246 - September 3, 2022
September 3

Day 247 - September 4, 2022
September 4

Day 248 - September 5, 2022
September 5

Day 250 - September 7, 2022
September 7

Day 251 - September 8, 2022
September 8

Day 252 - September 9, 2022
September 9

Day 253 - September 10, 2022
September 10

Day 254 - September 11, 2022
September 11

Day 256 - September 13, 2022
September 13

Day 257 - September 14, 2022
September 14

Day 258 - September 15, 2022
September 15

Day 260 - September 17, 2022
September 17

Day 261 - September 18, 2022
September 18

Day 262 - September 19, 2022
September 19

Day 266 - September 23, 2022
September 23

Day 267 - September 24, 2022
September 24

Day 268 - September 25, 2022
September 25

Day 271 - September 28, 2022
September 28

Day 272 - September 29, 2022
September 29

While there can only be one picture to represent every day, thought I would share some of my favorite alternates from September.


SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - SEPTEMBER 2022

I will try to be more active again in October, but I make no promises. Maybe the slacker lifestyle agrees with me?

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Results

Before I delve into the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, I do know what picture and what award I got into the Iowa State Fair. It is my policy not to reveal the pictures I entered until after the State Fair is over, but your clue is don’t go all the way into the main room. Go almost into that room, then look to your left.

+++++++

I think that the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest was a success this year. Not a smashing success, but I definitely feel like it is on greater footing now. A more solid foundation. In 2021 there were only 24 pictures entered. This year that number more than doubled to 61. Which is a good number, but I won’t be satisfied until that number hits triple digits. Until we outgrow KWBG and I’m forced to find a new location.

This is how the entries broke down.

ADULT
+ BLACK & WHITE – 1 entry (I can’t put into word how this breaks my heart!)
+ HIDDEN TREASURES OF BOONE COUNTY – 3 entries
+ NATURE – 16 entries
+ PEOPLE – 5 entries
+ TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMOBILES – 6 entries
+ TOTAL – 31 entries

TEEN
+ BLACK & WHITE – 3 entries
+ HIDDEN TREASURES OF BOONE COUNTY – 1 entry
+ NATURE – 7 entries
+ PEOPLE – 1 entry
+ TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMOBILES – 0 entries
+ TOTAL – 12 entries

YOUTH
+ BLACK & WHITE – 4 entries
+ HIDDEN TREASURES OF BOONE COUNTY – 1 entry
+ NATURE – 10 entries
+ PEOPLE – 1 entry
+ TRAINS, PLANES, AND AUTOMOBILES – 2 entries
TOTAL – 18 entries

Thank God for the Youth and teens that are holding down the BLACK & WHITE class. Once again the balance with the NATURE class was all out of whack, so next year I’m going to split them up into ANIMALS and PLANTS.

These are the winners:



Best of Show – “Pismo Beach Beauty” – Angie DeWaard


People’s Choice Award – “Just A Swingin'” – Daphne Harris


1st Place Adult Overall – “Pismo Beach Beauty” – Angie DeWaard


2nd Place Adult Overall – “The Art in Nature” – Angie DeWaard


3rd Place Overall – “La Vita Dolce” – Angie DeWaard


1st Place Teen Overall – “Edison Phonographs” – Emma Wiebold


2nd Place Teen Overall – “Happy Little Squirrel” – Simon Enabnit


3rd Place Teen Overall – “Cartwheel in the Creek” – Emma Wiebold


1st Place Youth Overall – “Light Shining on Tables” – Tommy Williams


2nd Place Youth Overall – “Fly” – Layla Gorshe


3rd Place Youth Overall – “Lake Sunset” – Reese Howie


1st Place Adult Nature – “Pismo Beach Beauty” – Angie DeWaard


2nd Place Adult Nature – “Libella pulchella” – Allison Kayser


3rd Place Adult Nature – “Lithobates castebeianus maculosus” – Allison Kayser


1st Place Adult People – “The Art in Nature” – Angie DeWaard


2nd Place Adult People – “Good Sports” – Angie DeWaard


3rd Place Adult People – “Persevere” – Jen Ensley


1st Place Adult Trains, Planes, and Automobiles – “La Vita Dolce” – Angie DeWaard


2nd Place Adult Trains, Planes, and Automobiles – “Two Tracks” – Sally Kay Whitney


3rd Place Adult Trains, Planes, and Automobiles – “Spike Driving Contest” – Bea Upah


1st Place Adult Black & White – “Zebra Bark” – Angie DeWaard


1st Place Adult Hidden Treasures of Boone County – “Through the Wires in Pilot Mound” – Angie DeWaard


2nd Place Adult Hidden Treasures of Boone County – “Mill Creek Stone Arch” – Bea Upah


3rd Place Adult Hidden Treasures of Boone County – “Sunset Over Boone” – Nicole Schecklman


1st Place Teen Nature – “Happy Little Squirrel” – Simon Enabnit


2nd Place Teen Nature – “Fence Post” – Emma Wiebold


3rd Place Teen Nature – “Garden Raider” – Simon Enabnit


1st Place Teen People – “Cartwheel in the Creek” – Emma Wiebold


1st Place Teen Hidden Treasures of Boone County – “Beautiful Garbage” – Simon Enabnit


1st Place Teen Black & White – “Edison Phonographs” – Emma Wiebold


2nd Place Teen Black & White – “Rosie the Pug” – Emma Wiebold


3rd Place Teen Black & White – “Old Tree in Pasture” – Emma Wiebold


1st Place Youth Nature – “Lake Sunset” – Reese Howie


2nd Place Youth Nature – “The Cone” – Kayelee Burns


3rd Place Youth Nature – “Black Lab Smelling Flowers” – Tommy Williams


1st Place Youth People – “Grass” – Evie Gorshe


1st Place Youth Hidden Treasures of Boone County -“Kate Shelley Museum” – Kayelee Burns


1st Place Youth Trains, Planes, and Automobiles – “Fly” – Layla Gorshe


2nd Place Youth Trains, Planes and Automobiles – “Steam Engine” – Kayelee Burns


1st Place Youth Black & White – “Light Shining on Tables” – Tommy Williams


2nd Place Youth Black & White – “Easy on Me” – Kayelee Burns


3rd Place Youth Black & White – “Snickers” – Daphne Harris

Maybe you don’t agree with the judges? Which is fine. I don’t agree with all of their decisions, but I selected a great collection of judges this year and they did a tremendous job!

Meet them:



One thing I learned this year is that a lot of people seem to think I was “the judge” or “a judge” and then when they found out I wasn’t a judge, then I didn’t really do that much. Which I think is funny, but I’m okay with people not knowing how much work goes into this and thinking the judges do all the work. If people see how much work this is, then I’m not doing my job.

I’ve already mentally selected the three judges for next year. Two of them have already committed. I’m sure the third one will commit as well, I just have to make the call. Janae will be returning and Nathanial and Logan will be rotating out. The second judge that has committed is Angie. I had been playing with the idea of whomever wins Best of Show gets to be a judge the following year. Her winning Best of Show cemented that or maybe quickcreted it for this year, at least.

While I’ve already tried to explain how much work I put into this contest. I definitely don’t do it myself. I need to thank people that helped along the way:
+ Kim Barker – Helped with label printing and only complained once, but for good reason.
+ Nathanial Brown – a judge, but also a good idea man. For example, his idea to split the youth division into Teen and Youth. Also provided sides for dinner AND most responsible for streamlining the Judges Form.
+ Kio Dettman – Got me this gig, but also is part of the Display Team. Both setting up and tearing down.
+ Janae Erickson – Judge while being super pregnant. A trooper.
+ Michelle Haupt – Did the Photo Contest Book. It looks professional because it is professional. I think she was only moderately frustrated when she would ask a question and 9 times out of 10 my answer was “I trust you.”
+ Jesse Howard – Part of the tear down team and gophered stuff between Ames and Boone for me. Including purchasing the photo stands for the overall photos.
+ Jay Janson – Designed one of the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyers.
+ Monica Jennings – Designed multiple Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyers, designed and assembled the judges board for the display case, designed and put together the certificates that went with each ribbon. She was also instrumental in putting together the display. Bossing Logan around even more than I did. Which is saying something. I got so many compliments on what the display looked like this year. I think that was a lot of Monica.
+ Logan Kahler – Was a judge. Which was big. But even bigger in my mind, was being the “inside the display case” man when putting the display together. He also provided the meat for the judgement night meal. It was delicious.
+ Teresa Kahler – Did a ton of the administrative stuff and has big ideas for streamlining that process next year with mail merge.
+ Carla Stensland – Did a ton of administrative stuff as well. She was the judges’ assistant and helped keep them moving forward.
+ The Staff of KWBG – They are all wonderful, but Jennifer in particular is VERY helpful. She put up lights so there is some lighting in there at night and fixed some of the small mistakes that were made on the administrative end.

I’ve already mentioned some of the tweaks I’m going to make for next year. There are still more to make. However, the rest I’m going to keep close to my vest for now. But I might share them when I share some of the behind the scenes pictures in the future.

However, I think there is time for one last look back. I mentioned the incredible job that Michelle did on the book. This idea is pretty much completely stolen from, I mean influenced by, the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. Michelle is a genius when it comes to making this kind of thing and I think you should click on the links below and really appreciate her work:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Book – Easy to Read

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Book – Easy to Print

Be wary, next year I might try bothering you to get you on the photo contest team! Or even better, maybe next year you or your kids will enter. I heard more than one story about this being a great activity for parents to do with their children and grandparents to do with their grandchildren.

Fat Mum Slim – July 2022

A quick heads up. If you were thinking of going to or entering an animal into the Pufferbilly Days Dog and Exotic Animal Show, because of the extreme heat of today it was postponed. It is now tomorrow at noon at the park on 9th and Story.

+++++++

I have another month done in the Fat Mum Slim Photo a Day Challenge. This month wasn’t as difficult as last month because they were just standard themes. I think the images I took are a fair record of my experiences in July.


July 1
July 1 – Reflection

July 2
July 2 – Letters

July 3
July 3 – Human

July 4
July 4 – I’m Working On This…

July 5
July 5 – Wall

July 6
July 6 – Bright Colours

July 7
July 7 – A Fave Place

July 8
July 8 – Out of Focus

July 9
July 9 – A Boomerang

July 10
July 10 – Behind Someone

July 11
July 11 – Interior

July 12
July 12 – Exterior

July 13
July 13 – Life

July 14
July 14 – Create A Postcard

July 15
July 15 – Where I Stood

July 16
July 16 – Pattern

July 17
July 17 – Water

July 18
July 18 – Street Photography

July 19
July 19 – A Cylinder

July 20
July 20 – Hug

July 21
July 21 – A Church

July 22
July 22 – Current Interest

July 23
July 23 – Still Life

July 24
July 24 – A Metaphor

July 25
July 25 – Beauty

July 26
July 26 – Beauty

July 27
July 27 – Countryside

July 28
July 28 – An Old Car

JULY 29
July 29 – Black and White

July 30
July 30 – Happy Days


July 31 – Sunday Morning

I think there was some pretty good work in July. Hopefully some good work to be done in August.

Here are the August prompts:

August 1 – I Am…
August 2 – I Love This Colour…
August 3 – I Walked Here…
August 4 – I Like To…
August 5 – I Love This Time of Day…
August 6 – I Love…
August 7 – I Made This…
August 8 – I Work Here…
August 9 – I Held This…
August 10 – I Wrote This…
August 11 – I Saw…
August 12 – I Like To Drink…
August 13 – I Stood Here…
August 14 – I Do This On Sundays…
August 15 – I Once…
August 16 – I Never…
August 17 – I Went To…
August 18 – I Read This…
August 19 – I Did This Good Thing…
August 20 – I Love This View…
August 21 – I Don’t Life To…
August 22 – On Mondays I…
August 23 – I Sat Here…
August 24 – I Like To Eat…
August 25 – I Have To…
August 26 – I Wore This…
August 27 – On Weekends I…
August 28 – I Watched This…
August 29 – I Can…
August 30 – I Can’t…
August 31 – I Believe…

I guess people will get to know me better this month… unless I can help it.

If you want to follow this project on the daily, they are posted on my Fat Mum Slim Instagram account.

@fmsbennett

Otherwise, we’ll check in on this next month.

Selfie Project – July 2022

This is a reminder that tomorrow there is a dog and exotic animal pet show for Pufferbilly Days. A person could also enter a cat, but people don’t, cause… cat. I mean, it explains itself.

However, I give this reminder with the caveat that it is possible that the Dog and Exotic Animal Pet Show could possibly be cancelled due to heat.

Here is the information you need if you are interested:


Pufferbilly Days Pet Show Flyer - 2022

If it goes down, I will be there to photograph it. If it doesn’t go down, I’ll probably be eating ice cream, in the air conditioning.

+++++++

It is time once again to check in with THE SELFIE PROJECT. One of the things I like about THE SELFIE PROJECT I get to take a quick look back at everything I did last month and be like, “that was last month? I thought that was forever ago!”

I think I had a pretty busy July, but you can be the judge of that.

Here are some of my favorite images:


Day 182 - July 1, 2022
July 1

Day 183 - July 2, 2022
July 2

Day 184 - July 3, 2022
July 3

Day 186 - July 5, 2022
July 5

Day 187 - July 6, 2022
July 6

Day 188 - July 7, 2022
July 7

Day 189 - July 8, 2022
July 8
Day 190 - July 9, 2022
July 9

Day 191 - July 10, 2022
July 10

Day 193 - July 12, 2022
July 12

Day 194 - July 13, 2022
July 13

Day 195 - July 14, 2022
July 14

Day 196 - July 15, 2022
July 15

Day 197 - July 16, 2022
July 16

Day 198 - July 17, 2022
July 17

Day 199 - July 18, 2022
July 18

Day 200 - July 19, 2022
July 19

Day 201 - July 20, 2022
July 20

Day 202 - July 21, 2022
July 21

Day 204 - July 23, 2022
July 23

Day 208 - July 27, 2022
July 27

Day 209 - July 28, 2022
July 28

Day 210 - July 29, 2022
July 29

Day 211 - July 30, 2022
July 30

Day 212 - July 31, 2022
July 31

Obviously there were lots of selfies that couldn’t make the cut for this month’s THE SELFIE PROJECT. Here are some of my favorite alternates:


SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - JULY 2022

My August calendar is pretty loaded up with Pufferbilly Days, the Iowa State Fair, and numerous TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips all planned for the month. I’m even going to take some time off work. I’m not going anywhere. I’m just not going to work for a few days. I’m looking forward to it. I hope when we reconvene to look at my August pictures that there are some great new memories in there as well.

+++++++

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


WEEK 360 - PEOPLE
PEOPLE

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

But what is a PEOPLE picture? Well, it is simply a picture that has a PEOPLE or multiple PEOPLE in it. (Somewhere an English teacher is hanging their head so low right now.) I know. PEOPLE are vile and disgusting subjects. They are a failed species that are responsible for 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999% of the evil on this planet. Completely susceptible to propaganda. Responsible for the complete and utter raping of our planet. Avarice. Greed. War. Genocide. Racism. Homophobia. Transphobia. Misogyny. All unique products of PEOPLE. What I’m trying to say is that in the coming war between monkeys and humans, I am hard core #TeamMonkey*. I’d like to say we’ve had a good run, but all the evidence is to the contrary.

I have to admit that after some of the events of the past week, I’m still 100% #TeamMonkey in the coming Human vs. Monkey War (where do you think Monkey Pox comes from), but I think slightly better of our doomed and failed species than I did on Monday.

While thinking on possible subjects for your PEOPLE picture think on the words of the Law Giver:

“Beware the beast man, for he is the devil’s pawn.”
“Alone among God’s primates, he kills for sport or lust or greed. ”
“Yea, he will murder his brother to possess his brother’s land. ”
“Let him not breed in great numbers for he will make a desert of his home and yours. ”
“Shun him. ”
“Drive him back into his jungle lair. ”
“For he is the harbinger of death. “

Happy photo harvesting!

Baby Got Rack – Boone County Fair

Today is the last day to enter the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.


Pufferbilly Days Form - 2022

I will be picking up the entries from the Chamber about 5 PM today. I’m excited to see how many entries we got this year. I know of at least 4 people that have told me they are entering. I’m hoping there are plenty more out there. At the very least, there should be more submissions than there were last year. And that, my friends, is called improvement.

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A couple Saturdays back, Baby Got Rack put on our Hawai’ian shirts, our cargo shorts, and our fedoras and took to the field of battle in the rough and tumble world of competitive barbecue at the Boone County Fair.

Not everything went our way and we definitely dropped the ball in more than one way. But we did enough to win the combo category and we will be competing at the State Fair on Tuesday, August 16. In the morning. If you are at the State Fair on that day, stop by. We will be somewhere on the Grand Concourse.

Here are some pictures from the Boone County Fair:


Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Baby Got Rack - 2022 - Boone County Fair

Thanks to Jay for taking the Baby Got Rack team photo.

On to State!

+++++++

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


WEEK 359 - ODD CAMERA ANGLE
ODD CAMERA ANGLE

ODD CAMERA ANGLE! What a great theme for Year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what exactly is an ODD CAMERA ANGLE photo? It is pretty simple. 99.9% of the pictures in the world are taken from the eye level of the photographer. This theme asks you to move the camera. It can be from an extremely low camera angle. Or it can be from an extremely high camera angle. Move your body and your camera to a perspective of your subject that isn’t normally seen.

Happy photo harvesting!