Category Archives: Black & White

Art, Black & White, Calendar, Christianity, Elizabeth, Jesse, Road Trip, Ruins, WPC - Submissions

Southwest Iowa Auxiliary Images Vol. 3

December 29, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The October image for the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is of an abandoned farmhouse in rural Benton County.

Tomorrow I will share the November image from the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar.

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Way back on Monday I screwed a couple things up on THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. First, I incorrectly labeled the picture below as a submission from Logan Kahler, but it was Jesse Howard’s submission:

Jesse Howard

The second mistake I made was to have a communication breakdown with Elizabeth and I forgot to include her second submission of her Christmas tree and stockings and gifts:

Elizabeth Nordeen

I had a pretty good streak going of not messing up. It is a good thing that I recently added a proofreader to the staff that I will probably never use.

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It is time once again to share some auxiliary images from the couple of times I went to southwest Iowa to harvest some town signs. Once again, I think I have the towns lined up correctly, but this trip was a while ago.

Farragut

I love old neon almost as much as I love working neon.

Yorktown

Lenox

Van Wert

Grand River

Beaconsfield

Kellerton

There still are plenty of auxiliary images from southwest Iowa left to share.

Black & White, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Ruins, Sarah Toot, Steph, Street Photography, Tim, Travel

NYC – Six

December 25, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I should start by wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, so Merry Christmas!

The June image in the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is of an old grain elevator (or something similar) in Pioneer, Iowa.

Tomorrow I will share the July image from the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar.

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This is yet another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse back in 2011. Steph pops up in these images. She used to live on this cool little island called Roosevelt Island. But now she doesn’t.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

THE END OF RANDOM NYC

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will also involve New York City. It might be the last collection of New York City images. Or perhaps, there will be one more. You’ll have to wait and see.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Calendar, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Southwest Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

December 24, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

The May picture for the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is a picture of an elk from Jester Park.

It was from the first “real” photography session I took after taking a few weeks off from photography.

Tomorrow I will reveal the June image.

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Here is another collection of images from a trip(s) to Southwest Iowa to do some serious town sign harvesting. It has been some time since I went on this trip, so I’ve matched the location of the picture with the town the best that I can.

Imogene – Imogene has one of the restaurants that is on the Tenderloin Trail 2.0.

Randolph

The window placement fascinates me.

Tabor

Thurman

Did I Photoshop out the powerlines? You’ll never know. Okay, I did. I hate powerlines so much!

Sidney

I wish I would have photographed more of these boots.

I would love to interview the artist.

Riverton – One of my favorite restaurant signs ever! EVER!

Hamburg

I love this picture. There is a shot, I would have included it in this year’s calendar if I hadn’t edited it yesterday.

There are plenty more pictures from southwest Iowa still to come.

Amanda, Angie, Black & White, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Carla, Cathie, Dawn, Elainie, Elizabeth, Holidays, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Micky, Nature, Sara, Tamara, Teresa, WPC - Submissions

WPC – 327 – CANDID PORTRAIT

December 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The January image for the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar is an image I took for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. It is of a corn crib (methinks) that was blown askew by the derecho. It is slightly east of Boone on US-30.

Tomorrow I will reveal the February image.

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Thus far, CANDID PORTRAIT has proven to be a very popular theme.

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

Kim Barker

Elizabeth Nordeen

Carla Stensland

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson

Jesse Howard

Jen Ensely-Gorshe

Angie DeWaard

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Teresa Kahler

Michelle Haupt

Kio Dettman

Micky Augustin

Logan Kahler

Dawn Krause

Logan Kahler

Cathie Raley

Sara Lockner

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:

HOLIDAYS

HOLIDAYS! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE! But wait, I thought the themes were random? Seems also convenient that HOLIDAYS is the theme the same week as Christmas? Yeah, it does seem convenient. Perhaps even desperately random…

But what exactly is a HOLIDAYS image? Simply put, a HOLIDAYS image is just any image that suggest the celebration of a HOLIDAY. Opening presents, decorations, making treats, hanging with family or friends or co-workers. There are so many possibilities! And yes, Christmas is this week, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go to the basement and pull out your favorite Arbor Day decoration and take a picture of that.

While considering your possible subjects for your HOLIDAYS image, consider the following quote:

A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.
-Garrison Keillor

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 HOLIDAYS in this place that is little more than where I go for my personal holidays next Monday.

Art, Black & White, Brandon, Calendar, Candid Portrait, History, Logan, Mom, Nature, Road Trip, Ruins

Cass County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

December 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

It is time I start revealing the images that are included in the 2022 Photography 139 Calendar. Each picture was chosen for one reason or another. I might reveal the reason why those images were picked or I might not. It is a mystery. But the pieces are there, if you can put them together.

I tried to represent all the photo projects I’ve worked on or the pictures I entered into Photo Contests, but I only entered one photo contest this past year and most of those pictures were in last year’s calendar. However, THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT is represented by 3 of the images. 3 of the pictures were auxiliary images taken on THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT road trips. THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is represented by 2 images. I also included 2 drone images, even though I barely took any drone images this year. I didn’t include any pictures from THE SELFIE PROJECT, cause nobody wants to stare at this mug for 31 days. I also didn’t include any images from the abandoned POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT. None of them seemed to fit any of the prerequisites that I have inside my head for each month’s image.

Here is the image that graces the front cover:

This picture of a Banksy inspired mural was found on the side of a building in Creston, Iowa. To know me at all is to know that I love Banksy. I took this picture on the last town sign harvesting trip I took with my Mom.

Tomorrow I will reveal January’s image.

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Here is the balance of the images I took on my road trip with Logan and Brandon to harvest the town signs of Cass County:

Cold Springs State Park

Lewis

Hitchcock House

Atlantic

Tree in the Road – Audubon County

Grand Junction – Greene County

Here is the story behind the Tree in the Road from the Travel Iowa website:

This is a Cottonwood tree that has become a landmark in Audubon County. The story is when the county lines were being established the surveyor placed a green cottonwood stick into the ground at the exact point where the lines crossed and grew into the present tree.

The next set of auxiliary images will come from southwest Iowa.

Black & White, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Ruins, Sarah Toot, Still Life, Street Photography, Travel

NYC – Five

December 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse. It wasn’t exactly to visit my cousin Sarah, but that was really the highlight of the trip.

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:

MORE RANDOM NYC

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #64

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will still include more New York City.

Animals, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Jesse, Sarah Toot, Still Life, Street Photography, Travel

NYC – Four

December 11, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City I took with Jesse. This collection is a bit more random. Some are taken on Liberty Island. The rest are kind of random.

I hope if you ever make it to New York City, you have as great as a tour guide as my cousin Sarah. Even though, she herself doesn’t go to touristy places.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

MORE RANDOM NYC – LIBERTY ISLAND AND DAY 3

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will still involve this trip to New York City.

Art, Black & White, History, Jesse, Railroad, Road Trip, Ruins

Cerro Gordo and Worth County Auxiliary Images Vol. 2

December 8, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Here is the balance of images from my road trip with Jesse to harvest the town signs of Cerro Gordo and Worth County:

Mason City

Rock Falls

Plymouth

Grafton

Legend has it this place has great chicken!

Bolan

Kensett

Northwood

Manly

I love the part about the town of Bolan being on David Letterman. Even the people of Bolan’s suburbs. Bolan is an unincorporated community, for the record.

Art, Black & White, Travel

NYC – Three

December 4, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse back in 2011. These pictures were all taken around the Statue of Liberty.

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 #62 – ALPHA

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #62 – BETA

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will still involve New York City.

Animals, Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Christianity, History, Jesse, Sarah Toot, Travel

NYC – Two

November 27, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

Here is another collection of images from my trip to New York City with Jesse back in 2011. Most of these pictures are taken around Ellis Island, but some are taken where all the white collar criminals hang out. It was scary hanging out in such a bad neighborhood, but we got in and out without anybody getting us involved in shorting stocks.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Gallery, I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entry to its original glory:

MORE RANDOM NYC – ELLIS ISLAND AND FINANCIAL DISTRICT

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will also involve New York City.