Category Archives: Animals

Animals, Black & White, Boone County Fair, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Contests, Event, Geri, Iowa State, Jaycees, Jesse, Music, Nature, Road Trip

2009-08-05

December 28, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Today we reveal the images for May and June from the 2020 Photography 139 Calendar.

The May Image:

May

The May image is of the Dunning Spring waterfall in Decorah, Iowa. Jesse and I took a road trip to check them out and to photograph them as my birthday road trip. I entered this picture in the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon, but it was not selected for display. In fact, the picture that was selected for display is not in the 2020 calendar. It is the September image for the 2019 calendar. This picture was taken on May 17, 2019.

Details

Camera: Sony ILCA-77M2
Focal Length: 20mm
Aperture: f/18
Exposure: 1/2
ISO: 50

The June Image:

June

If you think it was weird that there was a picture from 2013 in the calendar, then this one will really mess with your head. This black and white image of a swan was taken at Lake Laverne on the beautiful campus of Iowa State University. I came across it when during our Saturday walks down memory lane as I restore old entries of “An Artist’s Notebook”. I liked it and I decided to throw it into the collection of nominees for the pictures I would enter in the Boone County Fair Photo Contest. I didn’t expect anybody to pick it, but Logan did. It won a Purple Ribbon. It was taken May 10, 2006.

Details

Camera: Konica Minolta Dynax 5D
Focal Lenght: 300mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/500
ISO: 200

Tomorrow we’ll reveal the images for July and August.

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The pictures in the folder 2009-08-05 are from the last Ames Jaycees event I ever attended. It was at that point just a formality. I had joined the Ames on the Half Shell Committee, therefore I was going to fulfill my duties. The moment that last not of the Ames on the Half Shell season faded from existence, I was Audi 5000.

Now that you have sat through several entries about my ill-fated time with the Ames Jaycees, I think you, loyal reader, deserve an explanation for why it came to an end.

I joined the Ames Jaycees for two reasons. First, a friend asked me to join. This person, we will refer to as “1”, was like 1000% into the Ames Jaycees. Her passion was somewhat contagious. I was also doing her a favor because recruiting a new member made her like a 33rd degree Mason. I don’t know, the inner workings and rankings of the organization were something I never cared about. Even when I was at my peak Jayceeness. Which I’m guessing was about January of 2009. my passion for the Jaycees was about a 5 on a scale of 1-10.

By March of 2009, I knew that that my time with the Jaycees was over, but I also knew, I would finish out the Ames on the Half Shell. I was a quitter, but I always finish out my commitments.

In January of 2009 I joined the Board as a Vice-President in some capacity. VP of Promotions or something like that. All it really meant was that I ran the website and had to go to an extra meeting a month. Which was okay, even though I am a person that to their very core, loathes meetings.

Which brings me to the other reason I joined the Jaycees. I needed an excuse to leave my house now and again. This provided that. I didn’t realize it would put so much undesired drama into my life.

The Board was split into basically two factions. There were 1’s friends, who were also all 1000% into the Jaycees. The other half of the boardroom was dominated by the President and his cronies. The President was apparently buggering one of the vice-presidents, which wasn’t cool because he was married, but not to the vice-president he was buggering. I can’t even recall how this even factored into the story, but it provided me with a chance to use the term buggering.

The President and the VP he was buggering didn’t like one of 1’s friends, we will call her 2. I think it was because 2 knew about the buggering, but I don’t know that to within a degree of certainy. What I do know is that what happened next is that the Buggered VP accused 2 of some creative accounting involving some kind of Halloween drinking outing that involved the Jaycees.

One reason why I was a 5 on the Jaycees at my peak Jayceeness was that they like to talk about drinking. I don’t mean they liked to drink. They liked talking about drinking. You know that thing that high school students and college students do when they drink, they can’t stop talking about it. “Look at me I’m drinking.” Yeah, nobody cares. Shut up and drink your Zima Chad.

This is all hypothetical at this point. I haven’t been around a high school student or college student that is drinking alcohol, since I left the service of the Evil Clown Empire, but I’m sure it hasn’t changed much. Other than, I assume that nobody drinks Zima now. White Claws?

But I digress…

The charges were at least 76% hokum that stemmed from some kind of personal grievance with 2. Plus, there might have been a bit of a power play in there. A chance to show dominance. A chance to show that the Buggered VP wasn’t the President, but she was still running this beach.

I think there was some kind of trial. Not really, it was really just one person’s word and then there was some kind of vote. 2 got sent to Jaycee prison. I think she wasn’t allowed to touch money for a year.

Almost as soon as the sentence was handed down, 1 and all of her friends resigned. Grabbed their Jaycee ball and went to Nevada and Des Moines. That left me alone. Like I said, I was a 5. In January. at this point, I was a 3. Even at a 3, I was willing to stick around and fight for the soul of the Ames Jaycees. When the people who were at a 1000% were like deuces and checked out, I was like make that 3 a -2.

The funny thing is that after everybody else left, 2 stuck around. I’m not sure if I respect that or not. Maybe I’ll have to talk to her about it someday.

I fulfilled my obligations and haven’t been to a Jaycee event since. I sometimes see them at the unofficial reunions and I chalk this up as a life lesson. I don’t leave my house now.

(This is how I remember everything going down, I’m sure some of my details aren’t 100% accurate, but if you are going to complain about that, you can bugger off.)

If you want to look at the pictures from the 2009 Ames on the Half Shell season, you can click on the link below:

Ames on the Half Shell – 2009

Next Saturday’s walk down Memory Lane will involve things I grew in my backyard.

Alexis, Animals, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Drone, Iowa State, Kanoa, Mom, Nature, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Page 123

December 27, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Today we will reveal the March and April images from the 2020 Photography 139 Calendar.

March image:

March

The March image was taken at the Harrier Marsh near Ogden. It was taken of the not best maintained gravel road that splits the marsh into two. It is taken from a drone. This image was taken on April 13, 2019.

Details

Camera: Hasselblad L1D-20C
Focal Length: 10.3mm
Aperture: f/7.1
Exposure: 1/800
ISO: 100
Altitude: 284.6 meters above Sea Level

April Image:

April

The April image is a yellow bird (that I have yet to identify) enjoying the cherry blossoms of one of my cherry trees. This image was taken on May 14, 2018.

Details

Camera: Sony ILCA-77M2
Focal Length: 400mm
Aperture: f/5.6
Exposure: 1/500
ISO: 320

Tomorrow we will reveal the images for May and June.

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Here it is, the end of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. You didn’t think I’d ever get there, did you. Wherever I am when this publishes (probably in Tennessee is my guess), I will be drinking a steaming hot cup of coffee. Cause coffee is for closers. As of today, I am a closer!

Just kidding. Coffee is gross and I won’t be touching that trash. If there is any silver lining to be taken from man made climate change, it is that coffee is one of the first things that will stop growing. Bye-bye coffee. You won’t be missed.

Back to my Trevor Hoffman moment. This is the last page from THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 123 – Don’t take any more photographs -none- until you see something that emotionally moves you. Only then pick up your camera.

Phew! Thanks to everybody that will appear on one of the pages of the physical photo journal that sits on my coffee table:

DaeHee Yoon
Nora Yoon
Kyle Sharp and some random wrestler from Perry
Saydie Howard
Micky Augustin
Naima
Elainie Hernandez
Sabas Hernandez
Willy McAlpine
Logan Kahler
Brandon Kahler
Nader Parsaei
Ernie Redd
Russell Kennerly
Greg Wever
Jason Baier
Andree Jauhari
Shannon Bardole-Foley
Mike Vest
Jesse Howard
Joe Lynch
Johnathan Stensland
Autumn Sharp, Emily Bridges, Kassidy, and Myriah Sharp (I think)
Layla Gorshe
Kalista Howard
Taylan Howard
Tiffany Bloomquist
Doris Paris
Charlotte Bennett
Jay Janson
Anders Runestad
Alexis Stensland
Kanoa Baugher

If you wish to see all 105 pictures taken for THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, click on the link below:

THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT

So, what is next? I hinted that I was going to tack a new photo project next year. There is a new project. In 2020 I’m going to tackle a book called “104 Things to Photograph”. There are 52 weeks in a year, there for I plan on taking 2 pictures a week.

The themes in this book are not nearly as ambitious as the themes in THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT. Here is an example of some of the themes:

Jumping Rope
A Belly Laugh
Peeking
A Neon Sign
Siblings
What’s in your Pocket

I’m sure I’ll be calling on many of the people that appeared in THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT and I’m sure I’ll be calling on many other people as well. Stay tuned.

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This is your reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is CANDID PORTRAIT:

CANDID PORTRAIT

A CANDID PORTRAIT is a picture of somebody that isn’t posing for a picture. They can know that you are taking their picture, but they aren’t posing for the picture.

Happy photo harvesting!

Animals, Black & White, Calendar, Contests, Drone, Flowers, Logan, Macro, Naima, Railroad

Sky

December 26, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Today we will reveal the January and February images for the 2020 Photography 139 Calendar.

The January image:

January

The January image was one of the earlier pictures I took with the drone. It was taken for the TRANSPORTATION theme of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. The image is of the original Kate Shelley High Bridge and the less pleasing aesthetically bridge that replaced it. This image was taken February 23, 2019.

Details

Camera: Hasselblad L1D-20C
Focal Length: 28mm
Aperture: f/4.5
Exposure: 1/160
ISO: 100
Altitude: 420.3 meters above sea level

The February Image:

February

The February image is of a pink hollyhock that grew in my backyard. This photo was elected by popular vote to be entered in the Nature category of the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest. It won first place in that category. This picture was taken August 6, 2013.

Details

Camera: Sony SLT-A35
Focal Length: 60mm
Aperture: f/9
Exposure: 1/160
ISO: 400

We will reveal the March and April images tomorrow.

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Back in March Logan got a dog. A dog named Sky. He brought it over to my house so Sky could meet Naima. Here are a few pictures of Sky:

I don’t know that I have seen Sky since this day. It would seem that Logan should correct that.

Animals, Black & White, Naima, Ruins, WPC - Alternate

A Jazz Standard

December 17, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Today’s post features some pictures I took back in February. Some are pictures I took for the RUINS theme of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE in Colo. The majority of the pictures are of Naima playing around in the backyard of the Photography 139 Studio.

Some of these pictures clearly don’t follow the rules of composition and that is why I love them so.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Brandon, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Night, Railroad, Sara

2009-07-24 & 2009-07-27

December 14, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

I decided to throw two folders into today’s walk down memory lane because one folder really only had two pictures of Brandon in it.

The other folder had a ton of pictures from a trip to Ledges and a trip to Des Moines with Sara. There has been a lot of pictures of Sara in these recent trips down memory lane. I think I’ve seen Sara exactly one time in 2019. I think I saw her twice in 2018. If things break just right, I might see her again in 2020.

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:

Future Road Trip Master

Lousy with People

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Jay and more sparklers.

Animals, Black & White, Naima

Slow, Restrained Melody

December 12, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Today’s post is a collection of Naima pictures taken in January and 1 taken in February. One of the pictures is an in camera special effect, which has become somewhat of a lost art in photography. Not this particular effect, but in-camera special effects in general. If your name is Stephanie, you may want to look away. I know how this effect creeps you out.

I like to think of some of the pictures in the middle of this collection as emo Naima.

Anders, Animals, Boone FUMC, Brandon, Derrick, Football, Iowa State, Jay, Jesse, Logan, Naima, Night, Politics, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Willy, Youth Group

Selfie Project – November

December 10, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Now that the 2018 backlog is mercifully behind us, it seems like a good time to check back in with THE SELFIE PROJECT. The 2019 version of THE SELFIE PROJECT has almost ran its course. I won’t repeat it in 2020, but maybe I’ll bring it back in 2021. We’ll see.

Here are my favorite images from November:

November 1

November 2

November 3

November 4

November 7

November 9

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 14

November 15

November 16

November 17

November 20

November 21

November 23

November 24

November 25

November 26

November 27

November 28

November 29

I think November was one of my best months. At least for interesting pictures.

Animals, Boone FUMC, Christianity, Flowers, Logan, Macro, Mom, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, Youth Group

The 2018 Backlog Endeth

December 8, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Before I get too much into the end of the 2018 Backlog, I do want to talk about Advent. On Wednesday we finished our Advent candle services for the Youth Group. The proudest moment of that was when Emily actually remember what Advent means! I was pretty pumped, let me tell you.

This Sunday, Mom, Logan, and I lit the Advent Candles during the first service at church. Today is the second Sunday of Advent and I forgot that because I missed the first Sunday of Advent when I went to Manhattan, Kansas last Sunday.

I thought (lest you forget that this is a Christian website) we could have our own little advent service here. I could just lift the reading straight from what the readers at my church read. We will have to do two candles this Sunday because I slacked off last week.

THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

One: Advent calls us to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ.
All around us people prepare for parties, dinners and presents.
These events could distract us from the real reason for our anticipation.
On the other hand, they also could prepare us;
they could be the voice crying in a wilderness of materialism:
“Prepare the way for the coming of what is really important.”

All: Rather than get lost in the wilderness of distractions,
we will let the music and the lights make us sensitive
to the voice that is even now calling our name.
We will listen for the Word in the words and even in the noise.

One: A reading from the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 40, verses 1-5,9.
Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!”

Please join me:

All: In this season of hustle and bustle
we are tempted to get frantic and join the panic
to shop our way into the holiday spirit.
In this moment, we resist that temptation
and choose instead to be at peace
with who we are and where we are on this path.
We will let this time prepare us,
and we will hear God’s call
to be those who prepare the world.

One: On this first Sunday of Advent
we choose to be a peaceful presence
in this midst of a frantic season.
So, today, we light the first candle
as an act of preparation and call it Peace.

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT

One: As our days grow shorter and our nights longer,
we who are people of faith turn to symbols
such as candles, evergreens and wreaths
to proclaim our belief in the unquenchable light.
In hopeful anticipation,
we prepare for the coming of the Reign of God.
Listen for the Word in the words of the prophet
for the second Sunday of this new church year:

All: We open our hearts to the Word in the words.

One: A reading from the Prophet Isaiah, Chapter 64, verses 1, 7- 9.
O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence. There is no one who calls on your name, or attempts to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have delivered us into the hand of our iniquity. Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be exceedingly angry, O Lord, and do not remember iniquity forever. Now consider, we are all your people.

Please join me:

All: As we begin our journey to the light,
we confess that our lives have not always been lived
in ways pleasing to God.
Our shame has left us feeling distant from
the One who is both Mother and Father to us all,
the One in whose hands we are like clay.
Yet even now,
our longing for the One
who tears open the heavens and comes down
kindles like a fire in our soul.
Even now as we wait, we dare to hope.

One: We who are pregnant with anticipation
feel hope rise up within us.
And so we light this second candle
and name it Hope.

Yes, I know the candles are lit out of order.

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A special Sunday post to celebrate the end of the 2018 backlog. From now on “An Artist’s Notebook” will live more in the here and now, however, it should be pointed out that there is quite the 2019 backlog, but I can probably hammer that out in another 9 months or so…

Focus Stacked Image

Believe it or not, some of the Naima pictures weren’t taken at Dickcissel. They were taken at the Jay Carlson Wildlife Area. I don’t take Naima there very often because it just isn’t setup very well for her.

The 2018 Backlog is dead! Long live the 2019 Backlog!

Andy, Angie, Animals, Becky, Billy, Cathie, Christianity, Dawn, Dory, Elizabeth, Equipment, Formal Portrait, J.T., Jen, Jesse, Jim, Kim, Laura, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Naima, Nate, Road Trip, Self-Portrait, Shannon, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 220 – COLORFUL

December 2, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Before we get into the meat of today’s post, I just want to throw out a quick prayer request out there. On Friday when I was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army, a woman that I don’t know handed the money directly to me and asked me to pray for her. She has a job interview on Monday (today) and she really needs that job. It is possible at this hour that she has already had the interview and the decisions have already been made*, but if you are the praying type, throw up a quick prayer for this woman.

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COLORFUL really inspired a wide group of people in many different directions. We’ve reached a double digit streak for weeks with double digit submissions!

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

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Monica Henning

Kim Barker

Monica Henning

Andy Sharp

Dawn Krause

Jesse Howard

Elizabeth Nordeen

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Micky Augustin

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Monica Henning

Michelle Haupt

Tamara Peterson

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Angie Dewaard

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:

HIGH PERSPECTIVE

HIGH PERSPECTIVE! What a great theme! But what is a HIGH PERSPECTIVE image. Think of it like this 97% of the images taken in this world, in a study I just made up to back up my point, are taken from exactly the eye level of the person taking the picture. A HIGH PERSPECTIVE picture challenges you to do one of two things. Find a way to get higher up than normal ground level and take a picture. Climb a ladder. Go on a roof. Take your company helicopter for a spin. Or, you could simple look down and be higher than your subject.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

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.

Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge due date.

I now allow people to text me their submissions. In the past, I had made exceptions for a couple people that aren’t real computer savvy, even though it was an inconvenience for me and required at least 3 extra steps for me. I am now lifting that embargo because I have a streamline way of uploading photos. I’m not giving out my phone number, but if you have it, you can text me.

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 SHAMELESS SELF-PROMOTION DIVISION

Nobody showed class, taste, and sophistication this week by signing up for a Photography 139 email subscription. I’ll try and do better next week.

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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 very high Monday!

*This isn’t my understanding of the way prayer works, but using for illustrative purposes.

Animals, Boone FUMC, Naima, Still Life, WPC - Reminder

Naima + Snow

November 29, 2019 Christopher D. Bennett

Happy day to celebrate America’s addiction to soul-crushing consumerism! I will barely be leaving my house other than to ring the bell for the Salvation Army (4-5 at Hy-Vee if you are interested in dropping in and saying hi), do a little photography, and go watch Ashley Joens and the gang crush some hapless fools. So go punch another person in the face to save 5% on 2015’s television model for me.

Hitting up the 2018 backlog with a collection of Naima pictures. These pictures of Naima frolicking in the snow, which she is know to do. Big fan of snow, that dog. Extreme cold, not so much. Snow, definitely.