Category Archives: Jesse

Angie, Animals, Carla, Jesse, Road Trip, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 192 – RURAL

May 20, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

It turns out that RURAL is a startlingly unpopular theme. Sad, since I can think of at least 5 people off-hand that regularly contribute that live RURAL. Even more if you consider that Iowa is almost completely RURAL.

The streak of double digit submissions sadly has come to an end. Hopefully a new streak starts up next week.

That being said, this week the Photography 139 Empire extended as far east as Italy and as far west as west of Boone. I’m guessing on the west part here.

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

Angie DeWaard

Carla Stensland

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Jesse Howard

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:

BLUE

BLUE! What a great theme! But what is a BLUE image? A BLUE image is any picture that involves the color BLUE. However, don’t forget that the term BLUE has multiple definitions.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

Don’t forget that next Monday is Memorial Day. While the government might take a holiday and your bank probably takes a holiday, Photography 139 doesn’t take holidays. The struggle is real! If you are going to be busy memorializing or barbecuing or taking your yacht to the lake, plan on getting your submission in early.

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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. 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 blue Monday.

Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Lowell, Nature, Travel, Vacation

2009-02-18 – Arizona Day 3

May 19, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

My photo organization for early 2019 is a complete mess. I’m trying to reorganize it a bit on the fly. Today’s collection of images come from the folder 2009-02-18/Arizona_Day_3.

These pictures were taken in Arizona as the vacation part of the trip was starting to wind down and the business part of the trip was getting ready to start up. Lowell and Eric came into town and we met up with them and checked out some more Spring Training.

Here are some pictures:

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

Arizona Day 3 – Part A

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve more from the trip to Arizona.

Animals, Baseball/Softball, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Nature, Travel

2009-02-18 – Arizona Day 2

May 11, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

There are several folders inside the folder called 2009-02-18, so rather than having one of those fifty photo journal entries, I’ve decided to break them down by the subfolder. This subfolder is called ARIZONA_DAY_2.

The pictures in this folder are from when I went to Arizona with Jesse on a trip that was 50% work related and 50% for fun.

Day 2 of the Arizona trip involved checking out the Chicago Cubs Spring Training facility and then hanging out on this weird rock-hill-miniature mountain type thing:

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

Arizona Day 2

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve even more of the trip to Arizona.

Candid Portrait, Jesse, Travel, Vacation

2009-02-15

May 4, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The photos in the folder 2009-02-15 are from a trip I took to Arizona with Jesse. 50% of the trip was for pleasure. 50% of the trip was for the Computer Mine.

These pictures are from Day 1 of the trip. Most of that day was spent in the air or in airports. It ended with Jesse and I supping with his brothers at a pizza place that had an organ and dancing puppets. It was one of the most unique places I’ve ever eaten.

Here are some pictures:

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

Arizona Day 1

Next Saturday’s trip down memory lane will involve a lot more Arizona.

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.

Animals, Black & White, Jay, Jesse, Naima, Self-Portrait

Shaving Says A Lot About A Man, Like, “I’m Not One”

April 11, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Immediately after the beautiful beard go its final photo shoot Jay and I trudged from the Photography 139 Basement Studio to the kitchen where the unpleasantness was set to be done. “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana playing through my head.

I still had time to back down. It was now spring and the weather was starting to heat up and I was well past time for a shearing, there was no reason to do it now. It could wait a few days. Maybe even a week. Maybe there was no reason to shave at all? Despite the naysayers, the beard had a near cult like following. There were beard fanatics out there and didn’t I have a certain obligation to them?

I shook all these thoughts out of my head as we reached the kitchen. I sat down in the chair. Jay got out his clippers. The following pictures document what transpired:

It was then that the battery on Jay’s clippers died. I spent the rest of the night with that cheeseball mustache. When I woke up in the morning I shaved down to full dirty naked face.

Thanks to Jesse for document the horror of it all.

Animals, Black & White, Equipment, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Naima, Nature

It Stands for the Sun

March 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Yellow.

Yellow is the most recent filter from the super cheap filter set that I cracked out and tested. I still took mostly pictures of Naima, but I actually left my yard and went out to Dickcissel.

This, was perhaps, not the best plan. With all the space to roam, Naima is definitely harder to photograph at Dickcissel. Also, your shutter speeds often slow down when using filters, so a dog running all over the place isn’t the best subject. But I made do.

You might be wondering what a yellow filter does in black & white photography.

Here is an explanation from shuttermuse.com:

A Yellow filter absorbs all coloured light except yellow. It is the most-popular colored filter used with black and white film. Because a yellow filter absorbs blue, it provides significantly greater contrast between blue and yellow or white subjects. The classic example of the use of a yellow filter is when shooting black and white scenes which include portions of a cloud filled sky. Use of a yellow filter in this situation significantly darkens the blue portions of the sky, whilst allowing the clouds to remain bright and vibrant. This change in contrast gives the sky a vastly improved sense of depth and drama.

Here are some pictures from the yellow filter photo shoot:

Naima decided she needed to dig a giant hole while we were out there. Here are a couple pictures in color to help you appreciate the mess she made:

The next filter I will test will be the green filter.

Candid Portrait, Faust, Football, Iowa State, Jesse, Nature, Night

11-15-08

March 23, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures from the folder 11-15-08 are from the final home game in Iowa State’s Gene Chizik era.

I can still remember the afternoon I head that Chizik was leaving for Auburn. I was driving around with Jason looking at potential houses when the rumors came across the radio.

We were looking at a house where the current occupant had smoked so much that you could smell it from the driveway. It was awful. As awful as these rumors. Rumors that I scoffed at and dismissed out of hand.

Auburn was not necessarily a national power, but they were certainly a national name. They had just fired a coach that consistently won 8 or 9 games a season. There was no way they were going to hire a coach who had gone 5-19 at Iowa State. A coach who had lost his last 10 games. Many of them weren’t even close.

38-10
35-7
59-17
52-20

But it still happened. Auburn hired Chizik. Iowa State was without a head coach. I was still without a house. It was a weird world.

Here are a few pictures from the Iowa State-Missouri game from 2008:

The tailgating pictures make me nostalgic. I do need to do more tailgating this season than I have the last few. I probably say that every year though.

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

It Ends

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane involves the Living History Farms Run and a very special cribbage board.

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!

Candid Portrait, Formal Portrait, Holidays, House, Jay, Jesse, Night, Olympic Sports, Scottie D., Shannon, Still Life, Willy

11-01-08

March 9, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

The images from the folder 11-1-08 are all over the place. They include pictures of Jesse and I exploring the disc golf course in McHose Park to pictures of Shannon before she made a donation to Locks of Love to pictures of my Hoosier before it got fixed up to pictures Halloween in 2008.

I’m not a frolfer, but I do think that McHose Park has a badass disc golf course. The first 9 holes are nothing special, but the back 9 is a man’s golf course. When I say man’s golf course, what I really mean is that it isn’t for the faint of heart. It is for people that aren’t afraid to get lost in the woods and never heard from again.

The Hoosier pictures were taken from before Shannon’s dad came to pick it up. It was in storage and he did a wonderful job making it presentable again and he did it in plenty of time before I found a house to call home. Which was quite the feat, even though I did take my own sweet time with my house hunt.

The pictures of Shannon before she cut off her hair were taken in Brookside Park. This was Shannon’s 3rd donation to Locks of Love. In that collection of pictures is one of my favorite pictures of Shannon and I believe it is safe to say that I have taken lots of pictures of Shannon.

Finally, the 2008 Halloween pictures includes a picture of Willy in what was definitely the best Halloween costume he has ever had.

Have a look:

The stick figure pumpkin is the best pumpkin I have ever carved. Jay hated it. I’m not bitter about that, otherwise I wouldn’t be bringing it up over 10 years later.

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

McHose Park Mystery

All Hallow’s Eve

Before

Another Before

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve another trip to Ottumwa and what Shannon looked like after she cut off her 12 or so inches of hair.