Category Archives: State Fair

Andy, Bill, Carla, Elizabeth, Evie, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Micky, State Fair, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 309 – MOVEMENT

August 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I want to start today by announcing that there will be some kind Estate/Garage/Tag/Rummage Sale at my Mom’s house on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I’m not really 100% sure of the hours, but the location is in the garage on the alley. The alley is a dead end, so don’t pull down there looking for a place to park. The address is 111 South Benton Street. It is hard to tell what is going to be for sale, but I’m sure it will involve lots of glassware and holiday decorations. When I have an idea of times, I will let you know.

+++++++

The theme MOVEMENT did cause many people to spring into action and capture an object displaying MOVEMENT of one kind or another.

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

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Andy Sharp

Logan Kahler

Jesse Howard

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

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:

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.

While you are thinking about your FRIENDS photo, think on this quote and you will no doubt create a photo as rare as the FRIENDShip you are trying to capture:

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

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 FRIENDS in this place that is little more than a record of my FRIENDS next Monday.

Contests, Flowers, Macro, Mom, State Fair

I’m Just Me

August 12, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Today is the first day of the Iowa State Fair. In case you haven’t heard, I got 3 out of 4 pictures accepted for display. 2 pictures received Honorable Mentions. I would consider this my second best showing at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon, behind the year I got all 4 pictures in. I know what two pictures got Honorable Mentions, but I don’t know what the third picture to get accepted for display is at this time. But hopefully by the time this publishes, I will.

It looks like participation might have been down a bit this year. I can’t remember what the numbers were in the past and I’m not going to get into the photo contest trunk just to find out but this year there were 636 photographers that submitted 2086 images. That seems a little light. From Boone County there were 11 photographers that entered 29 photographs. I was the only photographer from Boone (the city) to get any pictures accepted for display. However, several photographers from Madrid had pictures accepted. Seven if I counted correctly (4 from one family). None from Ogden.

Only two photographers got all 4 pictures accepted for display. 37% of of entered pictures were accepted for display. Of that 37%, 20% of those received a ribbon. Not counting the Youth Division, the Class that had the highest exhibition rate was Sports at 65% exhibition rate. The Class with the lowest exhibition rate was Color USA Places & Landscapes at 13%. The most entered Class was Color Animals, Insects, & Wildlife at 236 entries. The least entered category was High Dynamic Range at 20 entries. 27% of color entries are exhibited. 51% of black & white entries are exhibited. 44% of special division entries are exhibited. Next year’s special theme class is “The Open Road”. I never enter the theme class, but “The Open Road” seems to be one of my specialties.

If you want to look at the digital book, click on the link below:

Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Digital Book

You can find my two Honorable Mentions in the book, if you look real hard.

+++++++

Time to share another collection of pictures I have taken of my Mom’s flowers. Once again, mostly tulips, but one peony picture in there. These pictures were taken on April 28, 2021.

I have many, many more flower pictures to share. So many more.

Anders, Art, Boone County Fair, Carla, Contests, Jaxon, Jesse, Kim, Logan, Michelle, Road Trip, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, State Fair, Teresa, Vest, Work

Selfie Project – July 2021

August 1, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

On Saturday night I completed another successful month of THE SELFIE PROJECT. It probably wasn’t the most exciting month, but I think we did some good work here now and then.

Here are my favorites from July:

July 2, 2021

July 3, 2021

July 4, 2021

July 5, 2021

July 6, 2021

July 9, 2021

July 10, 2021

July 11, 2021

July 12, 2021

July 14, 2021

July 16, 2021

July 17, 2021

July 18, 2021

July 21, 2021

July 24, 2021

July 25, 2021

July 27, 2021

July 28, 2021

July 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 from 2021, click on the link below:

Selfie Project – 2021

Hopefully August is another successful month!

Boone County Fair, Contests, Flowers, Macro, Pufferbilly Days, State Fair

Truth Locks

July 7, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I need to start by making a few photo contest announcements. First of all, the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon is the only photo contest I will be doing this year. Before the pandemic shut them down last year, I have been doing the Boone County Fair and the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. I am not doing either of those for good reasons.

I’m not doing the Boone County Fair because I am going to be one of the judges for the Boone County Fair. That takes me out of the running there. I also recently achieved a several year long goal of becoming the Chair of the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. Which also means I can’t enter that contest either.

However, I am very excited about taking over the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. It is too late in the game to make a few of the changes that I want to make and Pufferbilly Days is now only a month away, but I can still make a few of the changes.

Graphic design is not my forte, but I did slap together a flyer I hope to see on social media and hanging up around town in the next few days. Have a look:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Flyer - 2021

The entry deadline is only 2 weeks from today, so if you are interested in entering, better get on the ball!

Also, I got the results back (partially) from the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon:

Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Results Card - 2021

I don’t know what picture or how many pictures (but I’ll assume it is one for now) were accepted, but I’ll let you know after the conclusion of the Iowa State Fair.

+++++++

Enough of that photo contest noise, here are some pictures I took around my yard:

I’m hoping to rip out some of the bushes in my front yard out and replace one of them with a lilac bush. I do love lilacs so.

Animals, Art, Becca, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Christianity, Contests, Dawn, Derrick, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Laura, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Nature, Night, Photoshop, Pufferbilly Days, Russell, Scottie D., Shannon, Shorty, State Fair, Still Life, Willy

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 2

June 3, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

When we left off, I had just won 1st Place in Black and White and 3rd Place in Color at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, but had been completely rejected by the Iowa State Fair for the 4th year in a row.

Whatever I was selling, the judges were not buying. I was despondent, but not discouraged because I knew I had entered some great photos, but they were not what the judges were looking for that year.

2011 comes around. I decided to retire from the Boone County Fair Photo Contest and to start a new way of picking pictures for the Pufferbilly Days. I also had what was probably the peak of my photo contest career at the Iowa State Fair. I got all 4 pictures exhibited. This is extremely hard to do. Thousands of people enter the contest every year. Only 5 of us got all 4 pictures exhibited. You can do the math. It is a big deal.

These are the pictures that were exhibited:

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - I Recommend Pleasant

2nd Place Class 25

Honorable Mention Class 13

For the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest it was the second year of letting other people select my entrants. Dawn, Derrick, Jen, Scott, Russell, and Rebecca chose my entries. Dawn’s choice got 2nd Place in Black and White:

2011 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Radiant Beams

2nd Place – Black and White

I was pretty excited for 2012. I thought I had cracked the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Code, but there is no code. Some years the judge like you. Some years they don’t. In 2012, they like one of my pictures:

2012 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Truth Perception

That year, I decided to retire from the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Then shortly after that, I decided to retire from Photo Contests altogether.

But in 2017, the itch came back. I decided to put on a Washington Wizards Jersey and come out of retirement. Hard. I decided to enter all 3 contests again. I got all Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:

I got one picture selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:

2017 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Little Apple

I had the following people select my entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest: Jim Robbins (yeah that is a long story), Micky, Michelle, Amber, Laura, and Dawn. However, none of the pictures earned a ribbon.

In 2018, my Boone County Fair entries were determined by popular vote:

Red

Purple

Blue

I had two pictures selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:

2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Peep

My Pufferbilly Days entries were also selected by popular vote that year:

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - INRI

1st Place Photoshop

1st Place Photojournalism

3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County

2019 would also be a successful year. I moved to having individuals select my Boone County Fair entrants. Shannon, Michelle, and Logan selected my entries.

Purple

Blue

Red

Blue

Purple

I had one picture selected for exhibition at the Iowa State Fair and it earned a ribbon:

2019 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Entry - Green Little Vaulter

Honorable Mention Class 18

My Pufferbilly Day entries were once again selected by popular vote:

2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Hocks

1st Place Nature

1st Place Photoshop

In 2020 the pandemic hit and all photo contests were cancelled. Which was sad and I think it was avoidable because in a digital age, I think they could have found a way. For example the Iowa State Fair still held its Fine Arts competition.

Which brings us to 2021. I’m currently working on my next embarrassing failure at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. However, I am not going to enter the Boone County Fair this year. There is a reason for this decision. A very good reason. However, I’m not going to share the reason until it becomes official or it falls through. Things seem to fall through quite often these days. No decision has been made on Pufferbilly Days yet, but Pufferbilly Days has been moved to early August this year. I’m not crazy about the decision, but I’ll give it a chance.

If you want to peruse all 153 Photo Contest entrants in this long weird journey, click on the link below:

Photo Contests

You can see them all from the out of focus to the award winners. The good, the bad, and the moldy jam equivalent.

Alexis, Animals, Becca, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Contests, Derrick, Flowers, Formal Portrait, History, Jay, Jesse, Jill, Macro, Photoshop, Pufferbilly Days, Saydie, State Fair, Willy

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 1

June 2, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

Recently I’ve been working on an organizational project as I prepare to get rid of a bunch of things in Boone’s annual Citywide Cleanup in a couple of weeks. Part of this has been organizing every (almost) picture that I have entered in a photo contest, both physically in a trunk and digitally in my website photo gallery.

150 or so Photo Entries

Almost every photo I’ve ever entered in in that trunk. Except for a few that I gave away. I thought I would share some of the highs and lows of my photo contest career. To start with, I have only entered 4 photo contests ever:

+ Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
+ Boone County Fair
+ Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest
+ Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest (this contest only existed one year – 2005)

I’ve entered 153 pictures in these 4 photo contests.

I’ve entered pictures of the following people in these photo contests:

+ Olivia
+ Jay
+ Willy
+ Humble Narrator
+ Derrick
+ Rebecca
+ Shannon
+ Alexis
+ Wedding Couple I don’t remember
+ Jill
+ Saydie
+ Kayelee
+ Jesse
+ Shorty
+ Mike Toot
+ Freedom Flight Participants

Plus I have entered pictures of both Karma and Naima.

My very first photo contest was the 2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It was before they had standardized that pictures had to be matted on 11×14 foamboard. It was long enough ago that one of the pictures I entered was printed from a slide. I entered it because it was somewhat of a legacy contest. My Dad won a category in 1984.

At the time I didn’t realize what a tough contest it was and how hard it was to get even a single picture in. It was dumb luck (which in many ways all photo contests are luck because who knows what the judge likes) that I got one picture accepted for exhibition:

Odanata the Snake Doctor

In some ways, this is maybe the most important photo contest entry I ever made. It is possible that 2002 me would have been so distraught that I might not have even entered another photo contest, ever.

This is the picture I entered that was printed from a slide:

Quietus

I still kinda dig this picture. My other 2 entries weren’t even really in focus.

Then I didn’t enter another contest until the 2004 Boone County Fair, where this picture of Karma got a blue ribbon:

Happy Karma

I did enter the Iowa State Fair, but didn’t get any pictures exhibited. But in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, I got two Honorable Mentions in the Black and White Division:

Light Train by J.C. Janson

Shapes

Then 2005 came and I “cleaned up” at the Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest:

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Earth's Laughter

Honorable Mention Color (This picture is now the favicon for this website)

3rd Place Black and White

2nd Place Color

Best in Show and 1st Place Black and White

But my triumph was very short lived. Immediately afterwards, I had my biggest failures ever. I entered two pictures in the Boone County Fair Photography Contest and got no ribbons. This is hard to do. EVERYTHING at the Boone County Fair gets a ribbon. Well everything except me and a jar of moldy jam. My photography was the culinary equivalent of moldy jam.

2005 Boone County Fair Photography Contest - Black, White, and Marigold

The equivalent of moldy jam.

I did rebound to get one picture in at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon and that picture did get an Honorable Mention:

2005 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Colgate Smile

Honorable Mention

But that was bittersweet. It was my first ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but it was a picture that I had already won a photo contest with, so that was the seeds of my rule of never entering a picture in more than one photo contest.

Also, this picture is still one of my all-time favorites and it has never gotten any love from a photo contest:

My Giverny

I get why, but I don’t like it.

Then in 2006, I tried my luck at the Boone County Fair and this time, I got 2 Blue Ribbons, take that moldy jam!

2006 Boone County Fair - Internal Struggle

Blue Ribbon

I would also get 2 pictures exhibited at the Iowa State Fair:

Kentucky Appetizer

Portrait of Self-Portrait

I would also have a good run at Pufferbilly Days:

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Building 429

3rd Place Black and White

1st Place Black and White

Honorable Mention Color

2007 wasn’t a great year for me and Photo Contests. I got shutout at the Iowa State Fair. I didn’t enter the Boone County Fair. I did enter Pufferbilly Days and believe a picture of a train wheel got a ribbon, but I’m struggling to find the documentation for that

2007 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Wheel

2008 also wasn’t a great year. I did get a couple blue ribbons at the Boone County Fair:

But once again I got shut out at the Iowa State Fair. But I did rebound to get a ribbon at Pufferbilly Days:

2008 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - The Last Refuge

3rd Place Black and White

2009 was also not a stellar year. I did get 2 ribbons at the Boone County Fair:

Blue Ribbon

Purple Ribbon

But got no other love at any other photo contest.

2010, I once again got two Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:

2010 Boone County Fair -The Best Place to Seek God

Blue Ribbon

But once again, I was shut out at the Iowa State Fair. If you are counting, that is four straight years. The Iowa State Fair really hated me.

However, Pufferbilly Days started to show some love:

2010 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Open Mic Night

3rd Place Color

1st Place Black and White

Then 2011 happened. But we’ll get into that story in the conclusion of My (Sad) Photo Contest History.

Alexis, Animals, Art, Black & White, Christianity, Derrick, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Jen, Macro, Nader, Photoshop, State Fair

2010-08-23

May 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The folder 2010-08-23 is absolutely stuffed to the gills. There are so many images in there I almost considered breaking it up into a couple posts, but decided against it. There are pictures in there from a trip to the Iowa State Fair and pictures of Jen and Derrick when Jen was preggers with Evie. Alexis competed in a cheerleading/tumbling competition this year.

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:

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #32

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #43

STATE FAIR TRIP 2 – COLLECTION 1

STATE FAIR TRIP 2 – COLLECTION 2

RWPE #33 – SILENCE

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a full moon and possibly a baby shower.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Kalista, Photoshop, Sara, Saydie, State Fair

2010-08-13, 2010-08-14, & 2010-08-16

May 8, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

There aren’t many images in the folders 2010-08-13 and 2010-08-14 so I decided to combine them with the folder 2010-08-16 that contains many pictures from a trip I took to the Iowa State Fair.

There are also pictures of Jesse and two of his progeny and of a moonflower.

WEEK 32 - SILHOUETTE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

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:

RWPE #32 – SILHOUETTE

State Fair Koan

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #38

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve more Iowa State Fair.

Animals, Art, Flowers, House, Macro, Monica, State Fair

The Gladdest Thing Under the Sun

August 19, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Way back in May, Monica searched out my photo services. For probably about 20 years (no joke) to enter the Fine Arts Show at the Iowa State Fair. This year, the year the Fair got cancelled due to mismanaged pandemic, she finally entered. However, she needed an image to send to the fine people at the Fine Arts show. So she came over and I snapped some pictures for her. This painting is the one that ultimately made the show:

Yes, you heard that right. Made the Iowa State Fair Fine Arts Show. You see, despite there being no Iowa State Fair, the Fine Arts Show is still going on, via the interwebs. That means you should click on the link below:

Fine Arts Show

You should then find Monica’s painting and click on the “Vote” button below it and cast your ballot for Monica and the People’s Choice Award. I believe voting lasts until Sunday. You must have a Facebook account to vote, which sucks, because Facebook sucks. But you probably already have an account that Russia is mining for data right now. So you might as well use it to help out Monica. Who knows? Maybe she will get a big following in Omsk!

What are you still doing here? Go vote for Monica.

+++++++

Here is a collection of pictures I took around the Photography 139 Studio back near the end of June. Hollyhocks, daisies, lilies and a beetle that surpasses them all in beauty!

That bowl of raspberries was made into a delicious pie by my Mom. Raspberry pie was my Grandma’s favorite and my Mom always used to make her a pie out of my raspberries. It wasn’t a great year for raspberries because of the drought, but there was still plenty enough for a pie. It is good to be a self-sufficient. I had a bountiful harvest of rhubarb, raspberries, and cherries this year. Looks like there will be plenty of garlic and maybe a record amount of grapes!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Logan, State Fair, WPC - Alternate

Ghost in a Dream

June 11, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

In a sad, but necessary decision, the Iowa State Fair officially cancelled for this year yesterday. They sent out the following email:

The Iowa State Fair Board, the governing body who oversees the Iowa State Fair, today voted to postpone the 2020 Iowa State Fair until August 12-22, 2021, amid ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. The decision was made to protect the health and safety of all Fairgoers.

After a thorough review of possible options, while carefully reviewing current health guidelines and examining operating limitations, it became clear that holding the 2020 Iowa State Fair, which attracts approximately one million people over 11 days, would not be responsible.

“The top priority of the Iowa State Fair has and always will be to protect the health and safety of Fairgoers. While the decision of the Iowa State Fair Board today will certainly come as a disappointment to many, the Board determined that holding a Fair in accordance with current health guidelines related to COVID-19 wasn’t feasible,” said Iowa State Fair Manager and CEO Gary Slater. “We appreciate the support of Fairgoers over the past few months as we’ve reviewed various options for the 2020 Iowa State Fair. We certainly look forward to welcoming over one million people back to the Fair in 2021.”

The Iowa State Fair had been scheduled for August 13-23, 2020. The Iowa State Fair Board delayed a decision as long as possible and believed it was important to make a decision on the Fair now in order to give concessionaires, vendors and Fairgoers planning a trip to the Fair ample notice.

Iowa State Fair staff and management have already begun the process of booking entertainment and planning for the 2021 Iowa State Fair scheduled for August 12-22.

I’m particularly sad because this was supposed to be the year that Jennie’s Grinders returned to the Fair. I am glad that I didn’t spend money or too much time on planning my Photography Salon entries.

I don’t think that the Boone County Fair has decided to cancel yet, but I would have to imagine that it is only a matter of time. Along with Pufferbilly Days.

+++++++

Back in March I took a series of pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE with Logan for the theme FASHION at a roadside park near Grand Junction. I never got around to sharing the alternates until now:

Logan took this picture so he could get a taste of the Lensbaby.

Going out for lunch after church. Taking pictures of people. Seem like weird foreign concepts right now.