Category Archives: Pufferbilly Days

Art, Contests, History, Monica, Politics, Pufferbilly Days, Road Trip, Street Photography

Des Moines & Louisa County Aux. – Vol. 2

July 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Just a reminder that the deadline for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest is coming up, but there is still time to enter:

Thanks to Monica for making the sweet graphic for social media posts!

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For rules and the entry form, go here:

Time to share a second collection of images from my trip to Des Moines County and Louisa County to harvest their town signs. We start still in Columbus Junction.

Columbus Junction

Fredonia

Back in Columbus Junction

Grandview – Full applause for this sign.

A few notes about the Convict Road. The first section of concrete road in Iowa was placed in Le Mars in 1904. It was in service until 1968 when it was replaced. The oldest concrete road in Iowa that is still in service in Iowa is The Eddyville Cemetery Road. It was place in 1909. The Convict Road in Fredonia may be the 2nd oldest concrete paved road in Iowa. However, a segment of the Moscow Road might be older. It was placed in 1910. I’m not sure if it still exists. The history of concrete roads in Iowa isn’t as exciting as you might think so many sources seem to be out of date. Which is truly a shame. Most of it seems to link to a report by a Todd D. Hanson that was made in March of 2009.

The first rural paving in Iowa was between Mason City and Clear Lake. This happened in 1915.

The oldest concrete street in America is in Bellefontaine, Ohio. They paved Court Avenue in 1891 and one block of it remains the original concrete.

There is a lot more from my trip to these two counties left to share. But this is all I have on old concrete roads in Iowa.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Johnathan, Kim, Kio, Lensbaby, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nathanial, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Shannon, Sheri, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, Willy, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 405 – FLOWER

June 19, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

Here is another reminder that we are a little more than a month away from the deadline for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Flyers should start showing up around town this week. I hope at least a few of you enter. Or you get your kids to enter or your grandkids to enter. You don’t have be from Boone or Boone County to enter. You merely have to enjoy photography. Monica made a wonderful flyer this year:

Thanks Monica!

She had a lot of fun with this year’s Pufferbilly Days theme, which is the ’90s. I’ll probably need more volunteers than normal this year, so if that is something that might interest you. Let me know. Many hands make light work. And there might be a meal or two in it for you.

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NOTE: ALMOST EVERYBODY HAD THEIR SUBMISSIONS IN THIS WEEK BY SUNDAY NIGHT. WHILE THAT ISN’T THE DEADLINE, I CERTAINLY APPRECIATE IT. MAKES MY JOB MUCH EASIER! THANKS!

FLOWER! What a great theme! A person would have to have no joy in their heart to not find joy in a beautiful FLOWER. In fact, I’ve even heard some suggest that next year all 52 weeks should be flower themes. One week ROSE. The next week DAISY. The next week SUNFLOWER. I mean that is just crazy talk though. So crazy it just might work. But was this year’s lone FLOWER theme enough to make a bunch of people crazy enough to submit? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out.

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, June 12, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Elainie Hernandez – 1 week
2-Sabas Hernandez – 1 week
3-Monica Jennings – 1 week (3)
4-Logan Kahler – 1 week
5-Suzie Brannen – 2 weeks (3)
6-Nathanial Brown – 2 weeks
7-Jesse Howard – 2 weeks
8-Willy McAlpine – 3 weeks
9-Sara Lockner – 4 weeks (2)
10-Tamara Peterson – 5 weeks
11-Mike Vest – 7 weeks
12-Alexis Baugher – 10 week (2)
13-Mindi Terrell – 17 weeks (3)
14-Brandon Kahler – 42 weeks
15-Linda Bennett – 46 weeks (2)
16-Sarah Toot – 47 weeks (2)
17-Angie DeWaard – 51 weeks
18-Dawn Krause – 55 weeks (2)
19-Kim Barker – 61 weeks
20-Joe Duff – 62 weeks (2)
21-Teresa Kahler – 73 weeks (3)
22-Carla Stensland – 73 weeks (3)
23-Micky Augustin – 75 weeks
24-Andy Sharp – 76 weeks
25-Bill Wentworth – 77 weeks
26-Cathie Morton – 81 weeks (2)
27-Elizabeth Nordeen – 82 weeks (2)
28-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 84 weeks
29-Kio Dettman – 86 weeks

Entering today, this is the map of states where people have submitted pictures from:

Map made at visitedplaces.com

Only 1 new state added since last time I shared the map.

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Willy McAlpine (30 Miles East of Ashland, Montana) – 1 week

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana) – 62 weeks

Kim Barker (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Sabas Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Andy Sharp (Boone, Iowa) – 77 weeks

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa) – 1 week

Sheri Fakhouri (Boone, Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Iowa) – 3 weeks

Suzie Brannen (Iowa)

Micky Augustin (Rural Story County, Iowa) – 76 weeks

Johnathan Stensland (Iowa) – 1 week

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Ogden, Iowa)

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 87 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 47 weeks

Linda Bennett (Kansas)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Logan Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Rural Warren County, Iowa) – 85 weeks

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 6 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Boone, Iowa) – 11 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Rural Boone County, Iowa)

Angie DeWaard (Ames, Iowa) – 52 weeks

Bill Wentworth (Omaha, Nebraska) – 78 weeks

Nader Parsaei (State Center, Iowa) – 1 week

Nathanial Brown (Mexico) – 3 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Mexico)

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Christopher D. Bennett (Boone, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 18 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Porter Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa) – 74 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Boone, Iowa)

Dawn Krause (South Dakota) – 56 weeks

Dawn Krause (South Dakota)

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa) – 2 weeks

Elainie Hernandez (Ankeny, Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Johnston, Iowa) – 5 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas) – 63 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 48 weeks

Monica Jennings (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Brandon Kahler (Ames, Iowa) – 43 weeks

Jesse Howard (Boone, Iowa) – 3 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 82 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Bella Vista, Arkansas) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Noel, Missouri) – 8 weeks

36 participants this week! This is a new record for participation! Making FLOWER the most popular theme in the storied history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. Maybe the idea of 52 themes of FLOWER isn’t crazy after all. Marigolds one week. Pansies the next. Oooh… a week of begonias would be lovely!

36 participants breaks the previous record of 34 held by HAPPY that was set just 4 weeks ago.

36 participants is so many that it is more lines than I have in my Ledger book where I record such things for posterity. Have a look:

I’m not sure how I will record this week, but it is a great problem to have!

Also, if we continue on this trajectory (5 straight weeks of 30+ participants) I might be lowering the cap for submissions from 3 to 2. Just fair warning. Like I say in the FAQ, it isn’t about harshing anybody’s creativity buzz, but about managing workload. Hopefully, we get there!

Thanks to Willy attending a Tuesday Wedding in Montana (all weddings should be on Tuesday or Thursdays) and Kim’s work trip to Louisiana, we added two more states to the THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE SUBMISSION MAP!

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Arkansas
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ Mexico
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Louisiana
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ Montana
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Oregon
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

29 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

You might be wondering what states are currently missing. I got you:

+ Alabama
+ Alaska
+ Connecticut
+ Delaware
+ Hawaii
+ Idaho
+ Indiana
+ Kentucky
+ Maryland
+ Massachusetts
+ Mississippi
+ New Hampshire
+ New Mexico
+ North Carolina
+ Rhode Island
+ South Carolina
+ Tennessee
+ Vermont
+ Virginia
+ West Virginia

The Outside of the United States map is currently (I could put more info for Mexico, but nobody told me where they went in Mexico):

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I travelled about 15 steps from front door to take my submission I continue not to contribute to expanding the map.

The big accomplishment this week was Angie reaching the 52 Week Club! That is a fully year of submitting without missing a week. A big time accomplishment! WooHoo!

Bill also joined the Year and a Half Club. He isn’t the first person to join the club, but he is the first person that I have noted to have made the club. Cathie made it 4 weeks ago. Elizabeth made it 5 weeks ago. Shannon 7 weeks ago. Kio 12 weeks ago. Monster achievements for all of them!

Another sweet deal was that there wasn’t a single streak snapped this week.

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:

‘SCAPE

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

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? The “‘” in the theme name allows you to substitute in a few words. Your submission could be a LANDSCAPE or a WATERSCAPE or a CITYSCAPE.

Well for one thing, it is a great theme for me to remind you that you can include the town your picture was taken in or the county and I will include that with your submission.

Did you know that the first photograph ever taken was of a landscape?

“View from the Window at Le Gras” was captured by Nicéphore Niépce, in 1827. It features a very abstract view from Niépce’s window.

It would be another 12 years before somebody would think to take a “photograph” of a stupid human. I assume the 2nd picture ever taken was of a dog.

With this theme, you are literally touching the absolute deepest root of photography. Wow! That is powerful to think about. But maybe you are still confused about what LANDSCAPE photography is. Here is a definition from the Wiki:

Landscape photography commonly involves daylight photography of natural features of land, sky and waters, at a distance—though some landscapes may involve subjects in a scenic setting nearby, even close-up, and sometimes at night.

Photography of artificial scenery, such as farm fields, orchards, gardens and architecture, may be considered “landscape” photography as well. Even the presence of man-made structures (buildings, roads and bridges, etc.) or art (such as sculpture) may be considered “landscape” if presented in artistic settings or appearing (or photographed) in artistic style.

Further, landscape photography is typically of relatively stationary subjects—arguably a form of “still life.” This tends to simplify the task, as opposed to photography of kinetic or live subjects. However, landscape photography often overlaps the activity of wildlife photography and the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably; both wildlife and landscapes may be elements of the same picture or body of work.

While thinking about a possible subject for your ‘SCAPE theme, meditate on the following quote:

This is the gift of the landscape photograph, that the heart finds a place to stand.
-Emmet Gowin (American Photographer)

I look forward to seeing your interpretation!

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge. There is a limit of 3 submissions per participant. To be considered the photographer, you have to be the one that takes the picture. Don’t be stealing the work of other artists. You can submit pictures for other photographers that took pictures with your camera or phone, but give credit where credit is due.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of ‘SCAPE in this place that hopefully has a least put a little dent in the landscape of photography next Monday.

Alexis, Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Carla, Cathie, Contests, Dawn, Elizabeth, Flowers, Jesse, Joe Duff, Kim, Kio, Linda, Logan, Mary, Micky, Mindi, Monica, Nader, Naima, Nathanial, Pufferbilly Days, Sabas, Sara, Sarah Toot, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Shannon, Steph, Suzie, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 401 – HAPPY

May 22, 2023 Christopher D. Bennett

I mailed out a postcard to the entrants of last years Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest last week. I hear they still haven’t arrived in people’s mailboxes. Thought I would share the postcard here, since many of you entered last year or have kids or grandkids that entered. Or hopefully many of you are thinking of entering this year for the first time. Monica designed the postcard. Have a look:

There are 6 Photo Classes this year:
+ Animals
+ Black & White
+ People
+ Places
+ Plants
+ Trains, Planes, & Automobiles

There are 3 Age Divisions:
+ Youth (7-12)
+ Teen (13-17)
+ Adult (18+)

Hopefully many of you enter again and many more of you are inspired to enter this year. Or inspired to have your kids or grandkids enter.

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REMINDER THAT NEXT MONDAY IS MEMORIAL DAY. WHILE YOUR BANK AND THE GOVERNMENT AND A BUNCH OF OTHER BUSINESSES TAKE THE DAY OFF, THERE IS NO REST FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 139. RISE AND GRIND EVERY SINGLE DAY. I DON’T KNOW WHAT MY PLANS ARE FOR MEMORIAL DAY (OTHER THAN MAYBE SLEEPING LATE AFTER WHAT I HOPE IS AN EPIC MOVIE NIGHT ON SUNDAY) BUT IT MIGHT INCLUDE A ROAD TRIP OR A BARBECUE OR A FEW OTHER OPTIONS THAT MIGHT KEEP ME BUSY. LIKEWISE YOU MIGHT BE ENGAGED IN A SIMILAR ACTIVITY ON MONDAY MORNING. YOU MIGHT NOT GET A REMINDER AND YOU MIGHT NOT BE IN A POSITION TO SUBMIT. PLAN ACCORDINGLY.

HAPPY! Many people claim to like to be HAPPY, but did many people actually get a picture of somebody that is HAPPY or of something that makes them HAPPY? You’ll have to keep scrolling to find out!

As of 12:01 PM on Monday, May 15, this was the current list of ACTIVE streaks (ignore the numbers in parentheses):

1-Nathanial Brown – 1 week
2-Tamara Peterson – 1 week
3-Sabas Hernandez – 3 weeks
4-Mike Vest – 3 weeks
5-Alexis Baugher – 6 weeks (3)
6-Jesse Howard – 6 weeks
7-Mindi Terrell – 13 weeks (2)
8-Monica Jennings – 18 weeks (2)
9-Brandon Kahler – 38 weeks (2)
10-Linda Bennett – 42 weeks
11-Sarah Toot – 43 weeks
12-Angie DeWaard – 47 weeks
13-Dawn Krause – 51 weeks (2)
14-Kim Barker – 57 weeks
15-Joe Duff – 58 weeks
16-Logan Kahler – 60 weeks
17-Teresa Kahler – 69 weeks (2)
18-Carla Stensland – 69 weeks (2)
19-Micky Augustin – 71 weeks
20-Andy Sharp – 72 weeks (3)
21-Bill Wentworth – 73 weeks
22-Cathie Morton – 77 weeks
23-Elizabeth Nordeen – 78 weeks
24-Shannon Bardole-Foley – 80 weeks
25-Kio Dettman – 82 weeks (2)

But you didn’t come here to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates or streaks. You came to see the submissions and what streaks continued and what streaks flamed out:

Kim Barker (Iowa) – 58 weeks

Nader Parasei (Orange City, Iowa) – 1 week

Micky Augustin (Iowa) – 72 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa) – 79 weeks

Elizabeth Nordeen (Iowa)

Scott Degeneffe (Rural Boone County, Iowa) – 1 week

Melissa Degeneffe (Ankeny, Iowa) – 1 week

Melissa Degeneffe (Erb Pond – Boone County, Iowa)

Alexis Baugher (Iowa) – 7 weeks

Alexis Baugher (Iowa)

Bill Wentworth (Nebraska) – 74 weeks

Carla Stensland (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa) – 83 weeks

Kio Dettman (Iowa)

Linda Bennett (Kansas) – 43 weeks

Mary Green (Iowa) – 1 week

Mary Green (Iowa)

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania) – 44 weeks

Sarah Toot (Pennsylvania)

Tamara Peterson (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Angie DeWaard (Living History Farms – Urbandale, Iowa) – 48 weeks

Christopher D. Bennett (Orange City, Iowa)

Joe Duff (Texas) – 59 weeks

Joe Duff (Texas)

Andy Sharp (Iowa) – 73 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa) – 70 weeks

Teresa Kahler (Iowa)

Shannon Bardole-Foley (Iowa) – 81 weeks

Sabas Hernandez (Iowa) – 4 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa) – 2 weeks

Nathanial Brown (Iowa)

Sara Lockner (Iowa) – 1 week

Sara Lockner (Iowa)

Suzie Brannen (Ottumwa, Iowa) – 1 week

Suzie Brannen (Ottumwa, Iowa)

Mindi Terrell (Iowa) – 14 weeks

Mindi Terrell (Iowa)

Logan Kahler (Iowa) – 61 weeks

Jesse Howard (West Bend, Iowa) – 7 weeks

Jesse Howard (Iowa)

Dawn Krause (Iowa) – 52 weeks

Dawn Krause (Iowa)

Brandon Kahler (Iowa) – 39 weeks

Cathie Morton (Norwalk, Iowa) – 78 weeks

Becky Parmelee (Arkansas) – 1 week

Monica Jennings (Roland, Iowa) – 19 weeks

Stephanie Kim (Brooklyn, New York) – 1 week

Mike Vest (Iowa) – 4 weeks

34 participants! That is an amazing week! I know for sure it is the high for this calendar year and it might be the highest of all-time. I’ll have to check my records and get back to you.

Particularly exciting was first ever submissions from Nader and Melissa. I don’t expect Nader to be a regular contributor, but you never know. But with Melissa, there is some hope!

Also, Stephanie had her first submission this year. I don’t know if this will lead to regular or even irregular submissions or not. We will just wait and see.

There were no new states added to the map this week and at this point, I’m betting new states added will be an increasingly rare thing. Time will tell.

There were submissions this week taken in the following places:

+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New York
+ Pennsylvania
+ Texas

Here is the current calendar year list for states:

+ Arizona
+ Arkansas
+ California
+ Colorado
+ Florida
+ Georgia
+ Illinois
+ Iowa
+ Kansas
+ Nebraska
+ New Jersey
+ New York
+ Nevada
+ Michigan
+ Minnesota
+ Missouri
+ North Dakota
+ Ohio
+ Oklahoma
+ Pennsylvania
+ South Dakota
+ Texas
+ Utah
+ Washington D.C.
+ Wisconsin
+ Wyoming

25 states and 1 district! That is pretty impressive! Over halfway there!

The Outside of the United States map is currently:

+ British Virgin Islands
+ Mexico
+ Nassau Bahamas
+ Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I took my picture about 175 miles from my front door, so I continue to not contribute.

There was one major milestone this week! Dawn joined the 52 Week Club! One straight year of weekly submissions. Congratulations Dawn!

There were no streaks snapped!

PARK

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

But what in the John Culbertson is a PARK image? Simply put, it is a picture taken in a PARK. And there are all sorts of PARKs. There are city, state, national, baseball, softball, playgrounds, nature preserves, urban, pocket, sculpture gardens, cultural… just to name a few. Of course, there is more than one definition of PARK.

While considering a possible subject for your PARK submission, meditate on the following quote and I have no doubt you will come up with an inspiring image.

The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.
Franklin D. Roosevelt

I look forward to seeing your interpretation.

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is it. Thems the rules!

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing your idea of PARK in this place that I believe brings a bit of respite for some next Monday.

Carla, Contests, Fisheye, Greyson, Kio, Logan, Monica, Pufferbilly Days, Teresa, WPC - Reminder

Pufferbilly Day 2022 – Photo Contest

October 21, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the final collection of images from Pufferbilly Days. This collection is the behind the scenes pictures from the Photo Contest. Which for the most part went well, but there are already ideas being explored to streamline some of the process. By streamline the process, I mean find ways for me to do less work.

There is going to be a new person running Pufferbilly Days in 2023. Laura moved on to a job at the best university in all the land, so it is hard to blame her. I don’t know how that will effect that Photo Contest, but I don’t think it will much. Those might be famous last words.

I imagine many of the same people will help me again next year. But I bet there will be some new people as well. I have my eye on some of you.

I’ve kind of gotten used to using Fridays to mostly share pictures from fairs or festivals. I think next Friday I will share some pictures from a Renaissance Festival I attended back in May.

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

LINES

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

But what is LINES photo? Lines are a very powerful compositional element. The eye will naturally follow lines through the image. This is why they use of leading LINES is a very popular tool. That would be placing your subject at the end of a line in the picture. But you don’t have to just use leading LINES. Just any picture of a LINE(S) would work. Whether they lead somewhere or nowhere. Of course there are all sorts of different types of LINES. There are LINES to the bathroom (or so I’m told, I’m a man, I’ve never experienced such a thing) or LINES at a cash register. Traffic LINES. Some of us that are a little more aged even have LINES on our face. In some ways, it is practically impossible to take an in-focus picture that doesn’t include LINES.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Automobiles, Iowa State, Logan, Music, Politics, Pufferbilly Days, Still Life, WPC - Reminder

Pufferbilly Days Parade – 2022

October 7, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This year was the first year I made it to the Pufferbilly Days Parade where I wasn’t in it, since I don’t know when. At least a decade. I decided I better photograph it.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the parade:

There is generally nothing I find more boring than a parade, except for maybe fireworks. But I got enough enjoyment from going. At least from seeing the people I knew that were in it.

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

VIOLET

VIOLET! What a great theme for year 9 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what exactly is a VIOLET photo. It is simply any picture where the color VIOLET (or purple if you will) plays an important part of the composition. It can be a picture of something that is VIOLET. Or it can be surrounded by VIOLET. Heck, you can crack out a VIOLET filter and make everything VIOLET.

Happy photo harvesting!

Contests, Pufferbilly Days, Railroad, Still Life, WPC - Reminder

Pufferbilly Days – Saturday Afternoon

September 23, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

On the Saturday afternoon of Pufferbilly Days I wandered around downtown for a bit. I watched the 1st Annual Mullet and Moustache Contest. I tried to watch the Spike Driving Contest, but the weather was so blazing hot, none of the people that signed up to compete showed up to compete. So there was nothing there to photograph.

Here are some pictures:

Still at least a couple more sets of Pufferbilly Days photos to share.

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

SIGNS

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

But what is a SIGNS photo? Quite simply is is a photo of a SIGN(s) or of SIGNS. SIGNS. SIGNS. There are SIGNS everywhere. Messing up the scenery. Breaking my mind. Do this, don’t do that. Can’t you read the SIGN(s)?

But one thing you should definitely do is find an interesting SIGN(s) and photograph it in an interesting manner. Of course there is more than one definition of the term SIGNS.

Happy photo harvesting!

Automobiles, Pufferbilly Days, WPC - Reminder

Pufferbilly Days – Car Show

September 16, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

I headed up to Pufferbilly Days on the Friday Night to post the People’s Choice Standings. I thought I might get a funnel cake or check out the entertainment center, but I’m not even going to front. The band in there was so bad I had to check out after 1 really bad cover of Johnny Cash. Instead I walked through the car show. I’m not really a car guy, but I do like antiques and old stuff. Also, I know a few people that do the car show circuit and thought I might run into one or two of them.

Here are some pictures from my Pufferbilly Days Friday night.

The only car at the car show I could afford.

This car is made out of wood.

I still have many more Pufferbilly Days photos to share.

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This is your reminder that this weeks’ THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is PATHS:

PATHS

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

WARNING! WARNING! NEXT MONDAY I WILL NOT BE NEAR A COMPUTER DURING THE MORNING! THEREFORE, THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE NO REMINDER MESSAGES NEXT WEEK! YOU WILL BE ON YOUR OWN TO GET YOUR SUBMISSIONS IN!

But what is a PATHS image? It is simply an image where a PATH(S) is a major compositional element. Lots of things can qualify as a PATH(S). A sidewalk. A trail. A street. Railroad tracks. A PATH(S) doesn’t just show where somebody or something is going, but can also show where they have been.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Andy, Baseball/Softball, Bill, Boone FUMC, Dawn, Elizabeth, Evie, History, Kanoa, Kio, Linda, Nature, Photo of the Day, Politics, Pufferbilly Days, Sarah Toot, Self-Portrait, State Fair, Still Life, Street Photography, Tamara, Tim

FAT MUM SLIM – AUGUST 2022

September 7, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Another month done in the Fat Mum Slim Photo A Day Challenge. Think there is some good work in there this week. Having so much going on in August certainly helped. We’ll see how September goes.

Here are the August images:

August 1 – I AM…

August 2 – I LOVE THIS COLOUR

August 3 – I WALKED HERE…

August 4 – I LIKE TO…

August 5 – I LIKE 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 LIKE 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…

Remember you can follow these as they drop on the daily on my dedicated FatMumSlim Instagram account @FMSBENNETT.

Here are the prompts for September:

September 1: Something I Saw
September 2: Plastic
September 3: Paper
September 4: Somewhere I Went
September 5: Hobby
September 6: Green + Blue
September 7: Before Bed
September 8: An Emotion
September 9: Opposites
September 10: I Can Hear…
September 11: Paint
September 12: Symmetry
September 13: Tasty
September 14: Odd One Out
September 15: A Food Shop
September 16: 12:34
September 17: Lucky
September 18: Car Park
September 19: What’s on TV
September 20: Texture
September 21: Nature
September 22: Tree Trunk
September 23: Crunchy
September 24: I Can Smell…
September 25: Laneway
September 26: The Moon
September 27: Open Door
September 28: My Culture
September 29: Not My Style
September 30: Sentimental

Should be a good month. I think there are some good prompts in there. The woman who runs this challenge is Australian. There must be some Australian things in here cause I have no clue what a “Car Park” or a “Laneway” is, but I’ll find out.

Baby Got Rack, Bethany, Carla, Contests, Evie, Greyson, Jen, Jesse, Jodie Cue, Kanoa, Kim, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Monica, Nader, Naima, Nora, Pufferbilly Days, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, State Fair, Teresa, Willy

Selfie Project – August 2022

September 3, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Another month down and another month of THE SELFIE PROEJCT in the books. I think I had a pretty active August. At least in spurts. With Pufferbilly Days and the State Fair and some much needed vacation all in August, I did some things man.

I don’t anticipate September being anywhere as busy, but hopefully I’ll do some cool stuff this month.

Here are some of my favorites from August for THE SELFIE PROJECT:

August 1

August 2

August 3

August 4

August 5

August 6

August 8

August 9

August 11

August 12

August 13

August 14

August 16

August 17

August 18

August 19

August 20

August 21

August 24

August 25

August 26

August 27

August 28

August 29

August 31

Of course there can only be one selfie that represents THE SELFIE PROJECT every day, but I did have a busy August, so here are the many alternates:

SELFIE PROJECT - ALTERNATE - AUGUST 2022

You might be thinking, “That is a lot of pictures with ice cream!” There is a reason for that. The reason isn’t because I love ice cream, but that is probably the base level reason. I’ll explain the real reason in a future post. Or I won’t. What is important for you to know is that your humble narrator is a champion. A ice cream champion. Also, Willy and Jesse owe me dinner.

You also might be thinking, “How many gray t-shirts do you own?” The answer is, plenty.

Finally you might be thinking, “You need to retire that green t-shirt.” Yeah, that is true enough.

Animals, Event, Flowers, Kio, Pufferbilly Days, WPC - Reminder

Pufferbilly Days Dog Show

September 2, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

Another Pufferbilly Days event that I photographed was the Pufferbilly Days Dog Show. Technically, it is a pet show, but the only pets that show up are dogs. I mean, it is pretty obvious why nobody enters a cat, but I would think that somebody would enter a guinea pig or a hamster or a rat or a snake or a bearded lizard or a tarantula or a tortoise or a turtle or a fish or something. Makes me want to go buy a tarantula just to enter it. But I can’t. I’m the events official photographer. It is the sacrifice that I make. Maybe next year somebody will enter a tarantula.

Here are some pictures from the Pufferbilly Days Dog Show:

I look forward to the 2023 Pufferbilly Days Pet Show. Hopefully there will be plenty of spiders and lizards!

There are still plenty more Pufferbilly Days event photos left to share.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is COLORFUL.

COLORFUL

REMINDER IS LABOR DAY. WHILE SCHOOLS AND BANKS AND GOVERMENTS TAKE THE DAY OFF, THERE ARE NO DAYS OFF FOR PHOTOGRAPHY 139! I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING ON THAT DAY, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE I WON’T BE IN A POSITION TO REMIND ANYBODY ABOUT SUBMITTING. PLAN YOUR SUBMISSION ACCORDINGLY AND DON’T LET YOUR STREAK GET SNAPPED CAUSE YOU ARE A BANKER OR GOVERNMENT WORKER THAT GETS THE DAY OFF AND YOU GOT LOST IN WATCHING NETFLIX OR TAKING YOUR BOAT TO THE LAKE OR WHATEVER NORMAL PEOPLE DO ON LABOR DAY. MOSTLY MOURN THE END OF SUMMER I BELIEVE.

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

But what is a COLORFUL image? If we break down the word COLORFUL it simply means something that is full of color. So any subject or scene where there is a lot of color is COLORFUL. Almost too easy! Many of the pictures taken for CIRCLE would also qualify for COLORFUL.

Of course, there is more than one definition of the term COLORFUL.

Happy photo harvesting!