Category Archives: Life

State Fair Flower

Another flower from the Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden. This time from my trip with the old Campus crew.


Discovery Garden Flower

After taking this picture, I sat down at a picnic table with Steph and Kellie eating some kind of fried potato concoction, when a lady from New Jersey sat down with us.

She started out friendly enough. She told us about her daughter who lived with her. How they were trying to make it to all 48 states by the end of the year. But then the signs of being from New Jersey started to come out.

First, innocently enough. She started telling us about how she used to be a ballerina, but some choreographer from ballet studio x was ruining that ballet because his choreographry was so terrible.

Then she moved on to telling us about how some county fair in New Jersey was better than the Iowa State Fair.

Then she started talking about how New York has the best pizza in the world.

Let’s stop there, because let’s be honest, New York Style pizza is the worst style of pizza in the world. There is a reason it is a buck a slice. That floppy mess is best used to feed rats on the subway.


PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 100
FOCAL LENGTH: 60mm
APERTURE: f/6.3
EXPOSURE: 1/320
DATE: 08-20-2016 – 15:54
LATITUDE: 41.59489°
LONGITUDE: -93.55144°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Steph
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “Money” by Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 51 – ROAD TRIP

Happy Labor Day!

Not so many submissions this week, but that was to be expected. Let’s get to it!

Here are the submissions for ROAD TRIP:


WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - BILL WENTWORTH
Bill Wentworth

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - DAWN KRAUSE 1
Dawn Krause 1

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - DAWN KRAUSE 2
Dawn Krause 2

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - DAWN KRAUSE 3
Dawn Krause 3

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - JODIE BENNETT 1
Jodie Bennett 1

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - JODIE BENNETT 2
Jodie Bennett 2

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - ANGIE DEWAARD
Angie DeWaard

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - KIM BARKER 1
Kim Barker 1

WEEK 51 - ROAD TRIP - KIM BARKER 2
Kim Barker 2

I have to confess that my photo took more effort than normal, mostly because I can’t find a piece that would’ve made this picture quite a bit easier. But it worked out, at least I feel.

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:


WEEK 52 - WILD CARD
WILD CARD!

So what is WILD CARD? Anything! Literally anything you want! A picture of your neighbor mowing his lawn without his shirt on. That counts! A picture of your favorite flower. That counts! A picture of your least favorite child. That counts! A picture of what you’re eating for supper on Thursday night. That counts! Take a picture of anything you want!

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. The picture has to be taken the week of the theme. This isn’t a curate your pictures challenge. This is a get your butt off the couch (my personal experience) and put your camera in your hands challenge. Don’t send me a picture of you next to the Eiffel Tower, when I know you were in Iowa all week. I will point out that I have let that slide some in the past. I will not in the future. Since it is literally about the only rule.

2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge. It should be pointed out that this blog auto-publishes at 12:01 on Mondays. So it wouldn’t hurt to get your picture in earlier.

That is it, them’s the rules.

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE DIVISION

After small amounts of consideration and consulting with a few people here and there, here is the list of themes for the next 52 weeks. Presented in no particular order:

1. ORANGE
2. YELLOW
3. PURPLE
4. PORTRAIT
5. FACELESS PORTRAIT
6. SELF-PORTAIT
7. SAD
8. HAPPY
9. ANGRY
10. LOW PERSPECTIVE
11. HIGH PERSPECTIVE
12. OLD
13. CHILDREN
14. NIGHT
15. SIGNS
16. WATER
17. RELIGION
18. STILL LIFE
19. BLACK & WHITE
20. MUSIC
21. ABSTRACT
22. ANIMAL
23. WEATHER
24. TREE
25. SILHOUETTE
26. RUINS
27. RURAL
28. SKY
29. TOWN
30. TRANSPORTATION
31. SMOKE
32. FLOWER
33. MACRO
34. ART
35. ROAD TRIP
36. MIRROR
37. GLITTERY
38. GOVERNMENT
39. HANDMADE
40. THE STREETS
41. HOT
42. COLD
43. HUMANIZE
44. TIME
45. AMERICANA
46. LOVE
47. HATE
48. POP ART
49. NATURE
50. LANDSCAPE
51. BODY PART
52. FAMILY

I swapped out more than half the themes from last year. I combined a few and I split up a few. I reworded a few. Some are riffs on previous themes. Some are completely new. Should be a fun year!

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

I am pleased to announce that Brooke Milligan is the latest person to show her taste, class, and sophistication by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. Brooke shares an office with longtime Photography 139 supporter and friend of the blog Michelle Haupt, but we won’t hold that against her. So if you see Brooke out and about walking the mean streets, feel free to give her a knowing glance and if you have the time, show her the Super Secret Photography 139 Handshake.

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 wild Monday.

It’s Dollars to Doughnuts!

Here are some general pictures from my recent trips to the Iowa State Fair with Baby Got Rack, Stephanie, Kelly, Yin, Jeff, and the Beavers!

I was going to tell this story about the New Jersey woman I met that was just the worst. Like all people from New Jersey. But at this time I think it is just enough to point out that people from New Jersey are the worst.

If I get motivated, I might leave the story in the COMMENTS section of this here post later.

So without further adieu…


It was a successful Iowa State Fair. Next year, I might unretire and enter the Photo Contest again. Of course, I said that about Pufferbilly Days as well and decided that it just wasn’t for me this year.

State Champs!

As some may have heard from various social media outlets or via press release, Baby Got Rack competed at the Iowa State Fair barbecue contest in the Combination category last Tuesday and brought home the championship.

Word on the street is that we were very close to winning the Grand Championship, but fell just short because we didn’t have our own barbecue sauce. An oversight that has been remedied. 4X over.

Here are a few photos from the day.





We were set up and ready to rock by 5 AM.


This corn dog stand can take a long walk off a short pier.


Marcus holding down the smoker.


Chicken and pork loin on!


IPTV setup a timelapse camera in our booth, but didn’t use the footage in their show.


Meat check.


Meat resting.


This guy’s shirt. Came to the right place.


60 total barbecue combatants.


Never hurts to work the Staties.


Getting the pizza ready.


The Marriage Saver


Scott and the judges.


Cynthia Fodor spent quite a bit of time hanging around our booth.


Media Obligations


More Media Obligations


Even More Media Obligations. This interview was on IPTV.

The Grand Champion Judges


Scott receiving his award. If we would’ve won Grand Champion, he would’ve gotten that crown.

I also took some pictures of the preparations, but we don’t want any of the trade secrets going public.

If you’re sad you missed Baby Got Rack’s most recent competition, we will be competing again during the Pufferbilly Days barbecue contest. We will be looking to defend our People’s Choice Award. We have a few tricks up our sleeve for this one. An ace in the hole from a marketing standpoint. Almost as good as our trademark fedoras.

Some come up and try our free samples on Sunday, September 11. Downtown Boone. Follow the smell of smoky and goodness. Vote for Baby Got Rack! The one vote you can cast this fall that you won’t regret later.

Discoverbee

Yesterday, Baby Got Rack competed at the State Fair barbecue contest. After we got the pork and the chicken on the smoker, we had a couple of hours to kill. We smoke the chicken and pork for close to two hours and then we allow the meat to rest another hour.

During this time, we mostly conversate, dance, and wait anxiously for root beer stands to open. While Scottie D. and Marcus held down the fedora fort, I used a small amount of this time to pay my respects to the spot on the fairgrounds that used to hold Jennie’s Grinders. Then I went to visit probably my favorite part of the fairgrounds, Discovery Gardens.

While I was there, I took this picture:


As always, when I take a bee picture. I ask you all to take a moment to remember the horrible bee attack that decimated Houston in the 1970s. Never forget!

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO:640
FOCAL LENGTH: 60mm
APERTURE: f/4
EXPOSURE:1/160
DATE: 08-16-2016
LATITUDE: 41.59489°
LONGITUDE: -93.55139°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Team Baby Got Rack
EDITING SOUNDTRACK: “Retreat” by Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings

Also, I’d be a failure if I didn’t recognize the anniversary of the birth of long time Photography 139 supporter and long time sister Teresa Kahler!



Happy Birthday Teresa!

High Winds

When I woke up and drove to work this morning, the winds and the sky were amazing. I had to stop the car and take a picture.

Unfortunately, because the earliness of the morning and the darkness of the clouds and not having the right equipment, I instead cracked out my easel and painted the scene before hopping back in my car and finishing my daily commute.


I figured I better get this scene recorded, in case nature came back and finished off what it left of Jordan.

PARTICULARS

CAMERA: SONY SLT-A65V
ISO: 1600
FOCAL LENGTH: 35mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 1/30
DATE: 08/11/2016 – 06:46
LATITUDE: 42.05237°
LONGITUDE: -93.81548°
PHOTO ASSISTANT: Time
PHOTO EDITING SOUNDTRACK: American Dominance

Also, I might have touched this in Photoshop a little bit.