Category Archives: State Fair

Art, Black & White, Contests, Ruins, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Osceola County Aux – Vol. 2

July 15, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

It is that time of year where a card comes in the mail that tells you how you did in the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. My card came last Saturday and I did manage to sneak one picture past the judges to be displayed.

Here is what the card looks like:

I don’t know which of the four got in and no, I’m not sharing what four pictures I entered at this time. That will happen when the Fair is over. I will find out which one got in when I go to the Fair on the first day of the Fair.

I say this every year, but I really procrastinated this year on the Fair. Next year I will start this process earlier and have better thought through entries. Or not. It seems to go better when I don’t think about it so much. If you do go to the Iowa State Fair and look for my picture, you can ask the volunteer to tell you where it is, so you don’t have to look around for hours and never find it.

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Time for another collection of auxiliary images from my trip to Osceola County to harvest their town signs.

Sibley

Hawkeye Point

Little Rock

There is still one more collection of images to share from this road trip.

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

WORK

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

But what is a WORK image? A WORK picture is simply a picture of somebody doing WORK or tools that are used to do WORK or a place where WORK is done. Remember not everybody has to WORK as hard as I do. Some people have slacker jobs where they get to frolic on a mezzanine or play with trains all day. Try not to think how hard I have it at the Computer Mine and maybe think on the physics definition of WORK. The measure of energy transfer that occurs when an object is moved over a distance by an external force.

WARNING: If you are taking a picture at your place of employment, consider what things in your picture your employer would not want the rest of the world to see. You won’t get in trouble with me, but you might with one of your eight bosses.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Black & White, Flowers, Macro, Naima, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Throw It All Away

January 28, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

This is the final collection of flower pictures I took at the Iowa State Fair in 2021. There are also a few pictures of a monarch butterfly that I also captured, photographically.

I’m already looking forward to the 2022 Iowa State Fair. Hope to get there a couple times again. One of my favorite food, photography, and cultural experiences every year.

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

#LOVE

But what is a #LOVE photo you may be asking? It is simply a picture that you would #LOVE on Instagram. It can be a picture that depicts #LOVE or it could simply be a picture of something you #LOVE. And the thing you love can be as simple as “Man, I really love these cheesy gordita crunch!” Snap. Post. #LOVE. Although in fairness, everything from Taco Bell is gross and if you love one of those, you might have serious psychological issues. But like I said, here at Photography 139 love is love and #LOVE IS #LOVE.

If you are person that has been through some stuff, and there is a burned out husk where your heart used to be, I got you. Think on these kinds of #LOVE:

+ Philia – affectionate love. A love that runs deep in true friendships.
+ Pragma – enduring love. Mature love that develops over time.
+ Storge – familiar love. Love between parents and children or childhood friends and siblings.
+ Eros – romantic love. Infatuation and physical pleasure.
+ Ludus – playful love. Flirting and beginning stages of intimate love.
+ Mania – obsessive love. Obsessiveness or madness over a love partner. This might be called stalking these days.
+ Philautia – self love. Having a healthy self-compassion love towards one’s self.
+ Agape – selfless love. An empathetic attitude of love for everyone and anyone. Also describes God’s infinite, unconditional love.

You find just one of these types of love, or a disgusting cheesy gordita crunch, and you’re photo harvesting will go just fine.

Flowers, Lensbaby, Macro, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Closer to You

January 21, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett

It is -9 degrees as I sit down to write this entry. I don’t mind the cold too much, but it still makes me long for warm August days and the Iowa State Fair. Standing in the Discovery Garden, photographing flowers.

One of my organizational projects of 2021 is to get my flower galleries better organized and get the naming conventions nailed down better. For example, I name any hibiscus picture I take “Unceasing Effort” for the Alan Key quote, “Some people worry that artificial intelligence will make us feel inferior, but then anybody in his right mind should have an inferiority complex every time he looks at a flower.”

It shouldn’t take anywhere near as long as fixing all my past broken blogs has taken and continues to take, but it is a larger project than I want it to be.

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

TRIANGLE

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

But what is a TRIANGLE image? It is simply a picture where the subject includes or is a TRIANGLE. Isosceles, equilateral, scalene, obtuse, acute, or right. Doesn’t matter. When you start to look for them, you will realize that TRIANGLE(s) are every where. Commonly used in construction and logos, for example. Heck, sometimes even love has a TRIANGLE.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Flowers, Macro, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

What Can I Say

January 14, 2022 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Today felt like the right day to start sharing pictures I took of the flowers at the Iowa State Fair. As you know, the Discovery Garden is one of my favorite parts of the Iowa State Fair and I try to spend at least sometime there every year.

There are still more flowers from the Iowa State Fair left to share. But maybe not as many as usual.

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

ROCK

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

But what is a ROCK photo? Well, there are several types of rocks. Igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary. All you have to do is find a rock you like (I’m partial to igneous) and take a picture of it. And ROCKs have so many uses, they can hold historical markers, they are canvasses for artists, and people build things out of them. Just to name a few. Of course, ROCK can have multiple meanings. There is the type of ROCK that Twisted Sister wants to do. Which isn’t all that different from the kind of ROCK that AC/DC salutes those about to engage in or that Queen wants to do to you. Whatever definition of ROCK you use, it will be the right one for you.

I’d be remiss, if I didn’t point out that ROCK was a theme suggested by Angie. Thanks for the suggestion Angie.

If you don’t like ROCK as a theme, you can call her to complain. Her phone number is 555-2368.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Art, Basketball, Football, Iowa State, Jesse, Shannon, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Last Day of the Fair

September 3, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On the last day of the Iowa State Fair, Jesse and I went down there and spent several hours down there before picking up my pictures from the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. I barely made it in to the Cultural Center to get my photos because they started closing the building down at 7, which is when you were supposed to be able to go in and get your photos. I was one of the few people that let in and got my photos. I was lucky.

Here are some pictures from the day:

I’m already looking forward to the 2022 Iowa State Fair. I hope we are completely through this pandemic by then so I can enjoy the Fair more freely.

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

‘SCAPE

REMINDER: NEXT MONDAY IS LABOR DAY. WHILE THE BANK MAY TAKE A DAY OFF AND THE SCHOOLS MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF AND MOST OF THE GOVERNMENT MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF AND THE COMPUTER MINE MIGHT TAKE THE DAY OFF… PHOTOGRAPHY 139 DOES NOT TAKE THE DAY OFF. EVERY DAY I’M HUSTLING. PLAN WHEN YOU SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO ACCORDINGLY!

‘SCAPE! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE!

But what is a ‘SCAPE picture? Do you mean landscape? Don’t worry, I’m about to feed you baby bird.

Yes, a landscape picture could be a ‘SCAPE picture, but a ‘SCAPE picture isn’t necessarily a landscape picture. The theme reveal picture is a picture of a landscape that I took high up in the Loess Hills on Saturday. However it is the apostrophe before the SCAPE that is key here. You don’t have to limit your possibilities to a landscape. There are other types of ‘SCAPEs. There are citySCAPEs. There are also waterSCAPES and skySCAPEs and even inSCAPEs.

And if you don’t know what a landSCAPE is, it is this:

“all the visible features of an area of countryside or land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.”

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Brandon, Carla, Contests, Elainie, Evie, Jen, Jesse, Kio, Layla, Logan, Mom, Pufferbilly Days, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, State Fair, Teresa, Town Sign Project

Selfie Project – August 2021

September 1, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Yesterday I completed yet another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. I was surprised how packed a month it was. When I looked back at some of the images, I thought, “that happened in August? It feels like such a long time ago!”

Here are my favorites from August:

August 1, 2021

August 3, 2021

August 4, 2021

August 5, 2021

August 7, 2021

August 8, 2021

August 11, 2021

August 12, 2021

August 13, 2021

August 15, 2021

August 17, 2021

August 19, 2021

August 22, 2021

August 24, 2021

August 27, 2021

August 28, 2021

August 29, 2021

August 31, 2021

There can only be one Selfie per day, but I’ve decided to start sharing some alternate selfies from the month, that just didn’t make the cut:

If you want to peruse all the THE SELFIE PROJECT images, click on the link below:

Selfie Project – 2021

Hopefully September is another successful month!

Animals, Art, Candid Portrait, Contests, Evie, Jen, Layla, Mom, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

First Day of the Fair

August 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On the first day of the Iowa State Fair I attended it with Jen, Layla, and Evie. Evie was performing with her Irish Dance Team. We wandered around the Fair for several hours before and after watching Evie perform. Here on some of the pictures from the day:

I also went to the Fair on the last day with Jesse. I will share those pictures in the future.

If you want to take peruse the rest of my Day 1 Iowa State Fair pictures, click on the link below:

Iowa State Fair – 2021

Over 200 images in there right now.

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

PEOPLE

PEOPLE! What a great theme! But what is a PEOPLE photo? Fortunately for you, people infest nearly every corner of this planet, so they are easy to find. All you have to do is find some PEOPLE or remnants or proof that PEOPLE were once there. This group of PEOPLE doesn’t have to have any connection. They don’t have to be friends or family. They just have to be homo sapiens. I suppose Neanderthals would work as well.

Happy photo harvesting!

Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Sara, Shannon, State Fair, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 310 – FRIENDS

August 23, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I’m pretty sure that this is the most popular theme in the history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. 30 submissions! Wow! I’m glad to see so many people have people they consider FRIENDS or could at least find a group of somebody else’s FRIENDS to photograph or found something that represented a FRIENDShip to them. Or maybe THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is hitting new heights in popularity. Maybe every week there will be nearly 30 submissions. A guy can dream, right?

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

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Amy Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Bill Wentworth

Tamara Peterson

Amy Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Andy Sharp

Sara Lockner

Teresa Kahler

Kio Dettman

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Logan Kahler

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

Elizabeth Nordeen

Mike Vest

A great week of submissions!

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:

PEOPLE

When you are thinking about the picture you want to make, you can consider this quote and I have no doubt you will make a great PEOPLE photo:

I love mankind… it’s people I can’t stand!!
-Charles M. Schulz

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.

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

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of PEOPLE in this place that is little more than my ineffective people trap next Monday.

Black & White, Contests, Drone, Formal Portrait, Mom, State Fair

2021 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Personal Results

August 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

By the time this publishes, my entries in this year’s Iowa State Fair Photography Salon should be safely in my possession. It seems like a good time to share what pictures I entered and how they fared.

2021 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon -

Class 45: Planes, Trains & Automobiles – Honorable Mention

Class 22: Black & White People – Selected for Display

Class 17: Plants, Flowers & Trees – Honorable Mention

Class 13: USA Places & Landscapes – Not Selected for Display

I’m not going into the picture of my Mom that I entered, but probably will in a later post. I don’t think she would have liked to have a picture of her entered, but I also know she would have gotten over it pretty quickly.

I’ll just concentrate on the picture that didn’t get in. It was the one that I was most confident would get accepted for display, which meant it was doomed from the beginning. I entered it based mostly on the fact that it was the most commented on picture from the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar. I will never know why it wasn’t accepted for display, but I have a feeling it it because the highlights are overblown. Oh well, I guess it is time to start thinking on the 2022 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.

Animals, Evie, Jen, Kio, Layla, Pufferbilly Days, State Fair

Pufferbilly Days Pet Show – 2021

August 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

We are having some kind of sale at my Mom’s garage tonight and tomorrow morning.

The address is 111 South Benton Street. The sale tonight will start at 4 and end when people stop showing up. Tomorrow it will start at 7 and end when people stop showing up. Probably around 1.

The alley is a dead end, so don’t drive down it looking to park.

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I once again did the photography for the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show. It wasn’t a very good environment for photography because all the tables were crushed in together and there wasn’t a stage, so you really couldn’t see the animals that were on the ground.

There were 4 entries. All dogs. Despite the flyer having 2 cats and one dog… Just reporting the facts.

Here are some pictures from the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show:

I look forward to the 2022 Pufferbilly Days Pet Contest where there will be 6 dogs and no cats.

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

FRIENDS

FRIENDS! What a great theme! But what is a FRIENDS photo? It is simply a picture of a group of FRIENDS or even just a picture of one of your FRIEND(S). Maybe it could even be a picture of an object that represents a FRIENDShip to you. The theme reveal picture shows Jen, Layla, and Evie. They are a family, but they are also my FRIENDS. They are also in many ways, my family. However, the lines between FRIENDS and FAMILY can blur in multiple directions. So don’t get too hung up on is this person FAMILY or a FRIEND(S)? If you have to ask the question, the answer is that they are both.

Happy photo harvesting.