Category Archives: State Fair

Iowa State Fair 2018 – Misc.

This is final collection of Iowa State Fair pictures from 2018. Published just in time for the close of the 2019 Iowa State Fair.

I’ll be spending the day at the Iowa State Fair solo today as all 4 of the people that were going to go with me all gave me the shaft. C’est la vie!

These pictures are from the day I went to the last day of the Fair to pick up my pictures from the Photography Salon. Nader and Jesse went with me on that day.


Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

I’m already looking forward to the 2020 Fair.

Iowa State Fair 2018 – More Animals

You can still technically vote in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Poll right now, but it will shut down at some point today. So if you haven’t voted yet, then you need to get on it.

By the time this post publishes, Baby Got Rack will have been judged and should be finding out where we placed in this year’s State Fair Barbecue Contest sponsored by some insurance company that I can never remember because it isn’t my insurance company. I insure with American Family Insurance. I don’t necessarily endorse them because I’ve literally never had an interaction with them. I pay them. They take my money. I’ve never made a claim. Car or house. It is a good relationship. So far.

Unlike Bank of the West. It is a matter of time before I dump that awful bank. I just haven’t figured out where to go. I prefer to bank in Boone and I’ve been considering credit unions lately, but there isn’t a credit union in Boone. So I just sit and stew about Bank of the West and their terrible customer service. This is why I should have never went to direct deposit for day job’s paycheck. Even though I’m sure they would have just forced me to do it at some point by now. I wonder if they would direct deposit my paycheck in a rusty coffee can buried in my backyard. Don’t laugh. That rusty coffee can gives me the same customer service as Bank of the West. Probably more.

Any way, go vote in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest poll if you haven’t. I’m not providing you a link. You should have figured it out by now.

Here are some pictures of animals from last year’s Iowa State Fair:


Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

There are about 3 collections of Iowa State Fair pictures left to share. By my calculations at least.

Iowa State Fair – 2018 – Animals

There are just a couple of day s left to vote in my polls that will determine what pictures I enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

If voting in 6 polls at once in too much for you, you can vote in one of the Hidden Treasures of Bone County polls below:

Boone County Treasures – Set 1

TS Poll - Loading poll ...

If you are ready to vote in all the polls, you can do that by clicking on the link below:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest

Thanks for voting!

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As I try to clear out my 2018 Iowa State Fair backlog before the end of the 2019 Iowa State Fair concludes, here is a collection of animal pictures from the petting zoo and the baby animals exhibits!

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Still at least a couple posts worth of State Fair pictures in the hopper.

Iowa State Fair – 2018 – DNR

There are now 5 days left to vote for what pictures I will enter in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

If it is too much for you to take on all 6 polls at once, you can vote in the Photojournalism poll below. At this point, there is a clear cut Photojournalism front-runner.

Photojournalism

TS Poll - Loading poll ...

If you want to vote in all 6 polls, click on the link below:

Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Poll

Thanks for your assistance!

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Since today is the opening day of the Iowa State Fair, you should remember that I do have one picture on display at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. You should go check it out!

I also figured that today would be a good day to publish pictures from last year’s trip to the Iowa State Fair with Jesse and Nader. This is collection is from the DNR Building. The DNR Building is probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite building to visit at the Iowa State Fair.

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Iowa State Fair - 2018

Plenty more from last year’s Iowa State Fair in the backlog!

Boone County Fair Photography Contest Results

Now that the Boone County Fair is winding down and my collection of Boone County Fair Photography Contest entries are bagged up and safely stowed in one of the now TWO trunks that archive my past photo contest entries, I can release the results to the general public that didn’t make it to the Boone County Fair this year. A fair that I can safely say if Family-Friendly Fun & Entertainment, Right here in Central Iowa! I would dare say that this year’s fair was “Picture Perfect”.

Here are my submissions, along with who selected them for entry and the result:


Boone County Fair Photo Contest Entry
Purple Ribbon – Logan Kahler

Boone County Fair Photo Contest Entry
Blue Ribbon – Michelle Haupt

Boone County Fair Photo Contest Entry
Red Ribbon – Monica Henning

Boone County Fair Photo Contest Entry
Blue Ribbon – Jesse Howard

Boone County Fair - 2019
Purple Ribbon – Shannon Bardole-Foley

A reminder that I do have one picture that will be displayed at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. I don’t know what it is, but I will find out at the Photographer Reception here in a couple weeks. I’ll release that photo at the conclusion of the Iowa State Fair on August 18.

There is still good seats available to join me at the Iowa State Fair on August 18. But they are filling up fast!

As for the last photo contest I enter this year, the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. I will again be selecting my entries by poll. I will be putting that poll together in the next couple of weeks. So stay tuned to this station. Information will be forthcoming!

A Photo Journal – Page 36

A week ago I went to my mailbox and found the results sheet from the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon sitting in my mailbox waiting for me.

The Iowa State Fair Photography Salon is one of the most prestigious and hardest photo contests in the state. I usually count myself lucky if I get one picture accepted. There have been plenty of years where I have been shutout. It is always with low expectations when I grab the yellow card out of my mailbox and take a look at it:



It would appear that I got one picture accepted and that picture got an award. That is nice. If you pushed me on it, I would probably rather get multiple pictures in rather than an award, however an award comes with a cash prize, so that is nice.

I don’t know what picture got accepted, but I guess this gives you a reason to go to the Iowa State Fair. I will find out when I go to the Photographer’s Reception in early August.

Since I can’t pick up my pictures until the last day of the fair, it looks like I will be going to the fair on the last day again. If you would like to attend with me, let me know. I usually hit the fair about 11 AM on that day. Leave after 10 PM, so this isn’t a trip to be considered lightly. And if you are a woman, for God’s sake, wear sensible shoes!

Unfortunately, there is no badass band like Here Come the Mummies playing on the last day of the fair this year. However, Nelson will be taking the stage at 8 PM that night. Although I confess, I’ll probably try to make my way to the Bill Riley Stage at 8 PM to see Unspoken. They are a Christian rock band.

Looks like all the hands that were in the air to join me at the fair just went down when the bodies they were attached to read the words “Christian rock”. I’m telling you, Unspoken is a solid band and you would probably love the song “Who You Are” and more than enjoy the tune “Reason”. If you don’t like “Start A Fire”, I think you probably just have terrible taste in music.

Hit me up on the horn or the Snapchat or the Insta or the Tweets or the emails if you are interested.

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The other Sunday Brandon joined us for our post-church feeding. I have had my eye on Brandon for awhile now as the model for Page 36 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. I used this chance to get him to come over so we could get Page 36 knocked out.


Photo Journal - Page 36
Page 36 – Use shutter speed to capture anger.

I took several pictures for Page 36 (including one with a camera inside the aquarium), but only one can be physically adhered into the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL. Here are some of the other pictures I liked, but will only exist in the tunnels of cyberland:


Photo Journal - Page 36

Photo Journal - Page 36

Photo Journal - Page 36

Photo Journal - Page 36

Photo Journal - Page 36

Photo Journal - Page 36

The shutter speed on these pictures is 1/8000th of a second.

This is the list of pages I have left to capture for THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

PAGE 16 – Photograph the last thing that made you laugh.
Page 18 – Shoot the other half of this picture by Jason by Jason Evans.
PAGE 27- Create drama around the edge of your frame.
Page 28 – Recreate a famous photograph without looking it up.
PAGE 31 – Tell a joke with two pictures.
Page 64 – Head out with a fellow photographer and play a game of photography dare.
PAGE 66-67 – Make a sequence of four pictures inspired by the rise and fall of Britney Spears (or another celebrity).
Page 73 – Turn form into rhythm.
PAGE 101 – Find an object, close your eyes and compse your shot using touch rather than vision.
Page 106-107 – Email one of your pictures to your photography hero and ask them what they hate about it.
PAGE 116 – Shoot an advert where the image says it all without need for any additional copy.
Page 117 – Freeze the frame exactly 57 minutes and 32 seconds in to your favourite film. Take a picture inspired by what you see.
PAGE 121 – Show us that photography is a form of magic.
Page 123 – Don’t take any more photographs -none- until you see something that emotionally moves you. Only then pick up your camera.

I might be looking for some volunteers to help finish this project off.

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Reminder that this week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is SIGNS:


WEEK 200 -SIGNS
SIGNS

A SIGNS picture is any picture that involves a SIGN(S).

Happy photo harvesting!

Having New Eyes

I’ve been ignoring the 2018 backlog quite a bit lately, so I thought I better get back at it.

This collection of images comes from the Discovery Garden at the Iowa State Fair. I visited the Iowa State Fair twice in 2018. The first time was to compete in the barbecue contest. It was this day where I took this collection of images after the contest had ended.


Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

Iowa State Fair Discovery Garden - 2019

I actually probably have a tremendous lot of pictures from last year’s Iowa State Fair that I need to get to editing. I also need to figure out what pictures I’m going to enter in this year’s Iowa State Fair. A project I need to start on in the next few weeks.

Iowa State Fair – 2006

Another Throwback Thursday. Throwing it back to pictures I took at the 2006 Iowa State Fair.

These picture never appeared in “An Artist’s Notebook”. I uploaded them now because I am going through some nearly pre-Photography 139 photos and trying to get a grasp of a semblance of an organizational system for them.

Looks like in 2006 I took 2 trips the Iowa State Fair. One involved Ernie and I assume Teresa. Also Monica, Robert, and Robert’s lady friend at the time. Then there must have been a second trip with Jay.

Here are a few photos from those days:


Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

Iowa State Fair - 2006

I don’t know that I have many of these extreme walks down memory lane left to publish, but perhaps a set of pictures from after the Towers were imploded might be on the docket. The ones in Ames. Not the ones in New York City.