Category Archives: Automobiles

My Minnesota Spirit Animal

Back in August I went up to Minnesota to visit some of my favorite peeps, but I also had an ulterior motive. For years I’ve driven up to the Twin Cities area and just south of Lakeville I would come across a strange collection of sculptures on the east side of I-35. I’ve never been able to figure out how to get there. Or for that matter, what it even was.

This trip to Minnesota I vowed to crack the mystery. Before supper Bethany, Nora, and Dae Hee and I and a sense of wonderment loaded up into a vehicle and tried to solve the mystery… and solve the mystery, we did.

After some wrong turns we finally located the source of the wonderful mystery sculptures. The source was Hot Sam’s Antiques and Foto Park. For $10 your party could take as many cruddy cell phone pictures as you wanted. It was $25 for an actual camera-camera.

We plunked down the Hamilton and wandered and wondered around the Minnesota magical wonderland that is Sam’s Foto Park. Here are some cell phone pictures from this wondrous adventure:


Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
Dino Bustin’

Hot Sam's Foto Park
So this is what happened to the bus from TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE

Hot Sam's Foto Park
Dae Hee in Repose

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
Nora LOVED this car!

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
#outhousesofinstagram

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
I both love and am creeped out by old industrial trucks!

Hot Sam's Foto Park
This is a fence of nightmares!

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
Worst Pixar movie ever! Not counting the worse sequels.

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
Plan 9 from Outer Space?

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park
You know this would look amazing in my yard!

Hot Sam's Foto Park
My birthday is 7 months away… If you start saving now…

Hot Sam's Foto Park

Hot Sam's Foto Park

You can have Disneyland. Give me Hot Sam’s Foto Park. Every day of the week and… wait for it…. thrice on Sundays!!

All the Fleas!

A couple months back Mom, Teresa, Logan, and I hopped into a vehicle of some kind and headed due east for famous What Cheer, Iowa and it’s even more famous flea market.

It didn’t disappoint. I think a person could spend all day there and still not see all the vendors.

Here are some pictures from that trip. You’re welcome Kio!


What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

What Cheer, Iowa

My favorite part of the What Cheer Flea Market is that they (seemingly) allow you to climb up onto the roof of their rickety grandstand. The roof is made out of sheet metal and their doesn’t seem to be any reinforcements as you walk across it. Hoping you don’t plummet to your death. It was awesome!

Father’s Day Car Show

On Father’s Day the Methodist Men held their first car show. For a first time event, it was quite the success! There were 7 cars there and almost everybody in church came out and looked at and gawked and asked questions about the classic cars. Next year I anticipate getting quite a bit more cars. I have some plans for that.

Here are a few pictures from the event:


Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

Father's Day Car Show

There are more pictures from the event. You can see them by clicking on the link below:

FATHER’S DAY CAR SHOW

The event made me wish that the Bennetts still had the old milk truck from… might have been before I was born.

2017 Photography 139 Calendar April

Here is the April image for the 2017 Photography 139 Calendar:


2017 CALENDAR - APRIL

This picture goes into a category (it is a fairly stacked category) of, “I really love this photo but I’m not sure many other people will.” Different strokes for different folks. I love pictures of deterioration. Plus the license plate proclaiming Kansas “Land of Beautiful Girls” just kills me. Fits right into my wheelhouse of humor.

This particular picture of deterioration was taken in Strong City, Kansas. I went to Wichita to see the Zac Brown Band with Nate. The next morning after breakfasting at the International House of Pancakes (I know. Fancy!) we made our way back to Manhattan. Stopping every once in awhile to take some photographs. On one of these stops, I found this truck. The rest is Photography 139 history.

Before I let you go, the Photography 139 Calendar is now in stock.


This is a limited run and there will not be a second run. So if you wish to purchase a calendar, let me know. The price is $10. American.

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 59 – ROAD TRIP

ROAD TRIP saw some of the regulars drop out, but the ones that did participate went all in. But you don’t want to listen to me talk all tommyrot about participation rates. You just want to see the submissions.

Here they are:


WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - BECKY PERKOVICH 1
Becky Perkovich 1

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - BECKY PERKOVICH 2
Becky Perkovich 2

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - BECKY PERKOVICH 3
Becky Perkovich 3

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - BECKY PERKOVICH 4
Becky Perkovich 4

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 1
Carla Stensland 1

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 2
Carla Stensland 2

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 3
Carla Stensland 3

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 4
Carla Stensland 4

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 5
Carla Stensland 5

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CARLA STENSLAND 6
Carla Stensland 6

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - MIKE VEST 1
Mike Vest 1

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - MIKE VEST 2
Mike Vest 2

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - SHANNON BARDOLE
Shannon Bardole

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - STEPHANIE KIM
Stephanie Kim

WEEK 59 - TEAM AUGUSTIN - ROAD TRIP
Team Augustin

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - KIM BARKER
Kim Barker

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - TERESA KAHLER 1
Teresa Kahler 1

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - TERESA KAHLER 2
Teresa Kahler 2

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - TERESA KAHLER 3
Teresa Kahler 3

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - TERESA KAHLER 4
Teresa Kahler 4

WEEK 59 - ROAD TRIP - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

A healthy and diverse collection of submissions. Something to think about. This is the second time a picture of Pete Kostelnick (Boone native, Iowa State Graduate, and World Record Holder) has appeared in a WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE submission. Once when he was running through Boone. Now again when was finishing his world record trek across the United States in New York City. Do you think he will show up again? Yeah, I kind of doubt it too.

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:


WEEK 60 - LANDSCAPE
LANDSCAPE!

LANDSCAPE is something I personally sometimes struggle with in my photography. At least I feel that I do. Not to the level where I struggle in my faith that God loves murderers and child molesters and rapists just as much as me. But it is a struggle nonetheless. Did it just get dark in here? I feel like maybe it just got dark in here…

But what is LANDSCAPE?

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

That seems like a fair definition. However, for our sake. Feel free to consider cityscapes or waterscapes. I know a guy that LOVES cityscapes. He works in a booming metropolis. He gets infinite PTO and he doesn’t allow his underlings to listen to Bachman Turner Overdrive. Maybe he will finally throw his hat into the ring with a lovely cityscape taken on his lunch break. We’ll see.

As always… feel free to interpret the theme however, you see fit.

HOUSEKEEPING


A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. 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.

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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

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 open landscapey Monday.

First!

I was recently summoned to the Junck farm in Ogden to photography the Junk people and one of their old timey firetrucks. This particular firetruck was the first ever in Boone County.

Here are some of my favorite images of the firetruck.


If you’re a thinking, “Man that is one sweet ride! I’d like to get up close and personal with it!” You are in luck! I’ll be riding on the back of that bad boy during the Pufferbilly Days Parade. Since you are already coming to Pufferbilly Days to vote for Baby Got Rack, you might as well spend the whole weekend here. Come over Saturday morning for the parade. Then head to the Photography 139 Worldwide Headquarters to watch the Iowa State-Iowa game. Then head up town to celebrate the Cyclones victory. Take a little nap. Then come back downtown on Sunday to vote for Baby Got Rack in the Pufferbilly Days Barbecue Contest!

I am actually looking for a couple of people to help distribute candy during the parade. If you’re interested, you know where to find me.