Category Archives: Flowers

Animals, Art, Christianity, Ernie, Flowers, Still Life, Teresa, Travel, Vacation

08-03-08

October 27, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 08-03-08 is from the third day of my vacation in Kentucky with Teresa.

On that day, we went to a Southern Baptist Church service. We spent 3 hours at the church service, before we snuck out the back. I’m not sure how much long it went on. There were some positives about the church service. The music was amazing. The people were friendly. The story of the church was fascinating. It was started by a former prisoner. When he got out of prison he started the church with a mission of helping other convicts of surviving outside of prison and not falling back into the actions that got them in prison the first time.

The negative was it was the only time I’ve heard hate preached from a pulpit. At least hate on a certain group of people. The weird part of it was the pastor wasn’t even talking about the group of people he hated. He just threw a couple of bombs at them for no apparent reason. It was kind of sad.

After the 3+ hour church service, we also went to the lake and watch birds. Then we went to Ernie’s pond and fed his catfish.

Here are some pictures from the day:

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:

KENTUCKY – DAY 3

Next week’s walk down memory lane will involve driving home from Kentucky and a look at some Abraham Lincoln history!

Art, Ernie, Flowers, Railroad, Teresa, Travel, Vacation

08-02-08

October 20, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Pictures from the folder 08-02-08 are from my second day of a Kentucky vacation to visit Ernie with Teresa.

On Day 2 we visit a tobacco farm, a gravity pull hill, Newsom’s, and Lambert’s. Plus we also visited a PostSecret display in Paducah. I think everybody knows how much I love PostSecret.

If you ever have a chance to eat at Lambert’s, I highly recommend it. Might be the best restaurant I’ve ever been to. If you every get to eat a ham from Newsom’s, I highly recommend that as well.

If you don’t know what a gravity pull hill is, it is a hill where if you put your car in neutral, ghosts will push your car uphill. I can’t remember why there are ghosts on this particular gravity pull hill, but I think a woman murdered her children here. Similar to the haunted Bannwell Bridge near Fort Dodge.

If you watch Ghost Adventures, they visit a gravity pull hill in one of their episodes.

Here are some of the pictures from the folder 08-02-08:

I should point out that a gravity pull hill is actually an optical illusion. Ghosts don’t really push you up a hill. I have no commentary on whether or Bannwell Bridge is haunted. I have never been there. Maybe I’ll visit before Halloween to see.

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

Down South – Day 2

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a trip to a Southern Baptist church and a trip to a lake and a trip to a pond. Plus, some pictures where I might have accidentally desecrated the memory of Abraham Lincoln, not as thoroughly as the modern Republican Party, but still not good.

Animals, Flowers, Macro, Naima, Photo Journal, Railroad, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 48

October 5, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back when I was taking the pictures for Page 49 for THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, I also took pictures for Page 48:

Page 48 – Take a photo that whispers.

To take this picture I cranked down the saturation, contrast, and sharpness levels on my camera.

Only 1 picture can be physically adhered into the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL, but I did take several more. Have a gander:

The next time we check in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT we will check in with Page 111.

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This is your reminder that this week’s theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is MOUTH:

MOUTH

A MOUTH photo is any photo that involves a MOUTH or something that goes in a MOUTH or is used by a MOUTH. Remember, there is more than one definition of MOUTH.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Art, Baseball/Softball, Carla, Dawn, Elainie, Flowers, Jason, Macro, Road Trip

07-20-08/State Tournament

September 29, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The pictures in the folder 07-20-08/State Tournament are from when Elainie played in the Little League State Tournament in Albia.

Looking through the pictures, I had forgotten that Dawn’s daughter Debra also played on that team. It might be where we rekindled our friendship. Or maybe our friendship began. I’m not sure we were exactly friends in high school. That was a long time ago.

Boone won their first game against Grand View. Which was an event to rejoice. Grand View Little League is hard to describe. I think the best way I can put it is this way:

You know those movies about summer camp, where there is a rival camp across the lake filled with the worst people you can think of in the context of summer camp. Grand View Little League is that rival camp across the lake. Filled with the worst kind of Little League parents you can imagine.

Boone then lost in the championship. To somebody that wasn’t Grand View.

Here are some, but definitely not all of the pictures:

It is weird what can get ingrained into you from the past that you hold onto for no real reason. Grand View Little League’s Major Boys team made it to the Little League World Series just this past summer. Even though I haven’t had an interaction with that league in over 10 years and probably nobody that is affiliated with that league is still affiliated with the team that was in the World Series, I still found myself rooting against them. I usually root for almost anything that represents the great Cyclone State, but I found myself rooting against our representative in the Little League World Series.

Next time I shave maybe I’ll try to purge myself of this prejudice.

There are many more pictures from my trip to Albia. You can check them out by clicking on the link below:

Boone Little League – 2008

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

Albia, Iowa

Depending on ambition and free time levels, next week’s walk down memory lane will involve my first mission trip, a farewell of sorts to the Miller farm, and spandex.

Animals, Flowers, Macro, Mom, Naima, Photo Journal, Railroad, WPC - Reminder

A Photo Journal – Henry Carroll – Page 49

September 28, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back I was messing with some camera settings and decided it was a perfect time to crank out Page 49 of THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT:

Page 49 – Take a photograph that shouts.

By a photograph that shouts, it is a picture that is bold in its colors, contrast, and sharpness. I jacked these settings up all the way on my camera and photographed some flowers in the Photography 139 flowerbeds and at my Mom’s house.

While only one picture can be physically adhered into the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL, I did take several others. Here are some of those I like, but won’t be in the physical A PHOTO JOURNAL:

Next time we check-in with THE PHOTO JOURNAL PROJECT, we will check out Page 48.

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This is your weekly reminder that this week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ARCHITECTURE.

ARCHITECTURE

An ARCHITECTURE photo is any photo that has to do with a building or a man-made structure. Inside or out. Doesn’t matter.

Happy photo harvesting!

Event, Flowers, Jaycees, Music, Night, Shannon

07-07-08 & 07-12-08

September 15, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 6 Comments

Going to put two folders of images out there on this post. The folders 07-07-08 and 07-12-08 contain pictures of light painting of flowers and from Saucy Jack’s night at Ames on the Half Shell.

I haven’t really done much light painting lately. It is something I need to try my hand at again.

I remember Saucy Jack being the worst band to play Ames on the Half Shell the times I attended Ames on the Half Shell. They were booked every year because they had a connection with somebody who maybe was once a Jacyees. They were kind of a poor man’s Hairball, only without the limited musicianship. Also, without the theatrics.

By adding these pictures to the Photography 139 Photo Gallery, I was able to restore the following “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original gallery:

Night Visions

Saucy Jack

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve lots of softball, among other things.

Animals, Black & White, Contests, Event, Flowers, Formal Portrait, Macro, Nature, Photoshop, Pufferbilly Days, Railroad, Ruins, Scottie D., Travel

Them Degeneffe Boys – Volume 2

September 9, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

As Pufferbilly Days wound to a close, I would like to share the photos that were selected by popular vote and how they did in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest:

No Love.

3rd Place – Hidden Treasures of Boone County.

1st Place – Photojournalism.

1st Place – Photoshop.

As far as I know, there wasn’t anybody else in the contest that I know. Once again, they didn’t put any names on any of the photos. In years past they had at least put a sheet of paper at the bottom of the display with a list of who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. It is what it is.

I started entering the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest again 2 years ago because I was worried that the amount of entries had gotten really small. the last couple of years the numbers had ballooned. This year, the amount of entries atrophied again.

Hopefully it bounces back again next year.

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We are so close to the end of the 2016 backlog that you can probably feel it. After this post, there is only one photo shoot left to publish.

But before we get to that, we need to finish up with the pictures of Austin and Porter at a McHose Park playground.

Next Sunday, when hit the 2016 backlog, we look at a commercial photo shoot I did for a Minnesota leather company.

Black & White, Flowers, Jesse, Nature, Road Trip, Sarah Toot, Street Photography, Travel

The Great Eclipse Failure of ’17! – Uno

September 5, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 8 Comments

You might recall that back in August of 2017 there was a solar eclipse in the United States for the first time in decades. Or at least a really long time.

It cut a swath through Iowa, but in Iowa you couldn’t see the totality. It was only something like 85%. And if you are satisfied with an 85% solar eclipse, you aren’t living life to its fullest. Let it sink in and do better.

The totality was cutting through parts of Kansas and Missouri. I have some kinfolk in the area where the totality was to happen. My big city cousin Sarah was even going to come home from New York with her beau Tim to see the totality.

We made a plan to get together and watch the eclipse together. She did some research and we determined a park on the Missouri River in Saint Joseph, Missouri would be the best place to watch it. The totality was at its longest there. Plus, Saint Joseph was considered one of the top ten places to watch the eclipse because of the length of the totality and the fact that it hardly ever rains in Saint Joseph in August. People do research on such things.

Jesse and I took a couple days off to come down to see the eclipse. Another one of my cousins, Jordan and his wife Erin graciously allowed us to stay in their tall basement for the night.

We left Boone at something like 4 in the morning because I didn’t want to miss the eclipse because we were stuck in eclipse traffic. I also didn’t want to fight other people for a spot to see the eclipse. We were going to have our spot carved out a good 4 hours before the eclipse started.

We were successful. We beat the traffic and we secured a spot of real estate next to the Mighty Mo. Then it started to rain. Then rain some more. We didn’t get to “see” the totality. It was covered by clouds, for the most part. However, we did get to experience it. The temperature does drop like 10 degree. Everywhere you look in all 360 degrees looks like a sunset.

I didn’t get the picture that I wanted, but I still got an amazing experience. With some amazing people. Including my Uncle Mike and cousin Adam and his daughter Florence.

Here are some pictures from the failure:

I’m already making plans for the eclipse in 2024. It cuts across Paducah, Kentucky. I have some kinfolk that live near there!

Becky, Flowers, Macro, Nature, Night, Railroad

07-02-08

September 1, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

There isn’t much to the folder called 07-02-08. A few pictures from a small road trip that I took with Becky. Then some flower pictures.

No reason to dilly dally. Let’s get to it:

I remember being so disappointed when I saw the design of the new “High Bridge”. 10 years later, I’m still disappointed.

By adding these photos to the Photography 139 Gallery I was able to restore the following historic “An Artist’s Notebook” entries to their original glory:

Enigmatic

Killing Time

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve more Ames on the Half Shell and fireworks.

Art, Bethany, Black & White, Dae Hee, Flowers, Logan, Nora, Photoshop, Travel, WPC - Submissions

Franconia: Part II

August 28, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

One photo from last week’s WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE came in late, but I thought I would share it anyways.

The picture below was submitted by Logan. It was taken at Vinton’s fireworks competition.

I didn’t know such a thing existed, but it does. I might have to check it out next year.

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Time to answer the question I left you with in last Tuesday’s blog.

Going back to my trip to the Franconia Sculpture Garden with Bethany, Dae Hee, and Nora from back in August of 2017:

I only have 3 car payments left. While it isn’t a ton of money that I will be not have to lay out every month, I have spent it over and over and over in my head. One of those things i think about buying is a piece of art for the yard. I think that lizard would like great in my yard.

There is one more collection of photos from Franconia next Tuesday.