Category Archives: Nature

Christianity, Drone, Nature, Panorama, Road Trip, Town Sign Project

TOWN SIGN PROJECT: POLK COUNTY

December 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 12 Comments

The November image of the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar is actually a combination of 3 panoramic images taken with Rodan139. Something that was rekindled in 2020 was a love for panoramic photos. However, it is hard to include such an image in a calendar, so I combined 3 of them to fill up a page. I don’t know if it works, but at least one person told me that this was their favorite month in the calendar. So, that is something at least.

The top image is of Horseshoe Bluff in Mines of Spain. The middle image is of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in northeast Boone County. The bottom image is of the Loess Hills, taken in Monona County.

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When I looked the map for the TOWN SIGN PROJECT and knew that getting the town signs in Polk County was going to be next, I wasn’t overly excited. My excursion to West Des Moines to complete Dallas County was less than enjoyable and I anticipated finding town signs in places like Windsor Heights and and Pleasant Hill was going to be equally horrible. And it was. Only, I actually found decent signs for Windsor Heights and actually like the sign for Pleasant Hill. Now it took some time with Google Maps Street View before I even left on the trip to find those signs. Strike that, before I left on my second trip. I ran out of time and couldn’t find signs for Altoona, Pleasant Hill, Des Moines, and Windsor Heights on my first trip. I had to research it at home before I made a second trip, that doubled as a calendar delivery trip for Baier, Russell, Dre, and Sara. I don’t like doing that much research ahead of time. I like being surprised by what I find, but there is no way around it in Suburbia. Besides, this really is more of a small town project.

I will concede, I never really found a Des Moines “sign”. So I’m throwing in a downtown Des Moines Mural. I’m not going to consider it for Best in Show for Polk County though. Even though it is a pretty sweet mural. Think there is a fair chance that this spring I’m going to spend sometime photographing the murals in downtown Des Moines, cause there are some pretty cool ones.

If you don’t know Polk County, here is a look at it on the TOWN SIGNS PROJECT PHOTO MAP:

POLK COUNTY

Polk County is the 7th County I have completed:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

Here is a look at the town signs of Polk County. Population Data is from 2010, so it is probably not remotely correct for Polk County:

Des Moines, Iowa
Greater Des Moines – Better Together – Better Forever
Population: 203.433

West Des Moines, Iowa
The City of West Des Moines
Population: 56,609

Ankeny, Iowa
Ankeny
Population: 45,582

Urbandale, Iowa
Welcome to… Urbandale – Uniquely Urbandale

Johnston, Iowa
Johnston
Population: 17,278

Clive, Iowa
Clive – District by Nature
Population: 15,447

Altoona, Iowa
Altoona
Population: 14,541

Norwalk, Iowa
Norwalk Welcomes You
Population: 8,945

Pleasant Hill, Iowa
Welcome to Pleasant Hill
Population: 8,785

Grimes, Iowa
Grimes
Population: 8,246

Windsor Heights, Iowa
Welcome to Windsor Heights – the heart of it all
Population: 4,860

Carlisle, Iowa
Carlisle – The Natural Choice – Established 1851
Population: 3,876

Bondurant, Iowa
Bondurant
Population: 3,860

Polk City, Iowa
Welcome to Polk City – A City for All Season
Population: 3,418

Mitchellville, Iowa
Welcome to Mitchellville
Population: 2,254

Granger, Iowa
Welcome to Granger
Population: 1,244

Elkhart, Iowa
Welcome to Elkhart – Est. 1902
Population: 683

Runnells, Iowa
Runnells Welcomes You
Population: 507

Alleman, Iowa
Welcome to Alleman
Population: 432

Sheldahl, Iowa
The People of Sheldahl Welcome You – Biggest Little Town in Three Counties
Population: 319

So what is Best in Show for Polk County. Normally the no-brainer would be Sheldahl or Granger. There are 21 town in Polk County or partially in Polk County. It is amazing that most of them are below average. My biggest disappointment is Mitchellville. There is a prison in Mitchellville! How does a town that has a prison not have a cool sign?

However, since Granger is really almost entirely in Dallas County, I’m going to put it aside. Sheldahl is fairly evenly split amongst Polk County, Story County, and Boone County. However, while I was driving home from Polk County, I made the most alarming discovery cruising through Sheldahl. They took down their town sign! It doesn’t exist any more. I’m going to assume that it was a victim of the derecho and the good people of Sheldahl will make amends for this and get it back up in the very near future.

Putting those aside, I’m going to give Best in Show to Bondurant:

Best in Show – Polk County

I know it definitely isn’t my style of Best in Show, but while it has no art or a snappy town slogan, it is original and cool looking. I give the highest marks for originality and I have never seen a sign like it.

The worst signs in Polk County? Take your pick from Urbandale or West Des Moines or Norwalk. Although Grimes and Johnston are literally on the opposites sides of the same brick wall, so maybe they should share last place.

Time for the BENNETT TOWN SIGN POWER RANKINGS.

#10. Collins

#9. Sheldahl

#8. Badger

#7. Granger

#6. Scranton

#5. Boone

#4. Dexter

#3. Farnhamville

#2. Pilot Mound

#1. Moingona

Nothing has changed. However, I’m putting Sheldahl on notice. If the sign doesn’t return, I’m going to have to drop them from the power rankings. They’ll still make a book, but with several demerits.

The next time we visit THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Marshall County, the site of the deadliest train crash in Iowa history.

Aaron, Calendar, Carla, Cathie, Flowers, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Macro, Michelle, Micky, Monica, Nature, Road Trip, Shannon, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 276 – ROAD TRIP

December 28, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The September image for the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar is a picture of an orange gazania that I sprayed down with a water bottle. This gazania was grown in the Photography 139 Flower Garden. It is one of the bucket flower pots that lives in the front yard next to my front porch. This picture was taken on June 27, 2020.

Here are details of the photo:

DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: FE 50mm 2.8 Macro
FOCAL LENGTH: 50mm
APERTURE: f/5.6
EXPOSURE: 1/100
ISO: 100
FIELD OF VIEW: 39.6 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.05523
LONGITUDE: -93.87072

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The theme that will be revealed later in this post for this week is the last theme in the run of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE HALL OF FAME themes. We will start a fresh new set of theme as we change to a new calendar. Particularly, if you have received a Photography 139 Calendar, you will see that the new theme for every week is printed on every Monday. I did not include any of the Hall of Fame theme is the next set of 52 themes. When we get to those set of themes next Monday, my description of every theme might sound a little bit difference to my descriptions in the past.

Here is a look at the next 52 Themes:

1. FAMILY
2. COMMERCIAL
3. HOBBIES
4. BLACK
5. USE OF SPACE
6. WIND
7. SYMMETRY & PATTERNS
8. LINES
9. PLAY
10. PICTURE IN PICTURE
11. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY
12. LOVE
13. LOCAL INTEREST – SLICE OF LIFE
14. DRINKS
15. SHADOW
16. HANDS
17. TRAVEL
18. FACE
19. LIGHT
20. GOVERNMENT
21. IN THE AIR
22. WORDS
23. RED
24. WHITE
25. COMMUNICATION
26. ADVENTURE
27. HISTORY
28. MUSIC
29. ARCHITECTURE
30. PATHS
31. TOY
32. MOVEMENT
33. FRIENDS
34. PEOPLE
35. ‘SCAPE
36. JUNK
37. WORK
38. DREAM JOB
39. FLOWER
40. TIME
41. PASSION
42. GREEN
43. HERO
44. BUSINESS
45. RELIGION
46. REFLECTION
47. NATURE
48. BLUE
49. ODD CAMERA ANGLE
50. CANDID PORTRAIT
51. HOLIDAY
52. EDUCATION

There are many themes that we have tackled in the past. Some that haven’t been used in years. Some that have never been used before. Thanks to Andy for being the one person to suggest themes for what will be the 8th Year of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE… born the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT a decade ago.

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ROAD TRIP was another theme that triggered plenty of creativity, despite the holiday season. I had double digit submission before I even went to bed Sunday night! 65 straight weeks of 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:

Aaron Barnett

Kio Dettman

Tamara Peterson

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Christopher D. Bennett

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Jesse Howard

Cathie Raley

Monica Henning

Carla Stensland

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:

TRANSPORTATION

TRANSPORTATION! What a great theme! But what is a TRANSPORTATION picture? Any picture that has to deal with transporting things from point A to point B. A road is used in the example, but cars that drive on that road could be used. So could railroad tracks. Trains. Planes. Boats. Horses. Anything that takes anything or anybody from point A to point B is fair game!

Here is a look back at all the times in the past that TRANSPORTATION has been a theme:

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 42 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 67 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 114 – TRANSPORTATION

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 180 – TRANSPORTATION

WPC – WEEK 256 – TRANSPORTATION

I look forward to seeing the new 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 transported Monday!

Billy, Calendar, Candid Portrait, Dory, J.T., Laura, Nate, Nature

Miller Time – 2020 – Vol. 1

December 27, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

The picture for the August in the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar was taken after the derecho devastate a good chunk of Iowa. It was taken of the elevator in Luther with a fisheye lens. It was taken on August 11, 2020.

Here are some details on the photo:

DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCE-7M2
LENS: Fisheye
EXPOSURE: 1/320
ISO: 100
LATITUDE: 41.96685
LONGITUDE: -93.82281

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Back in October, I made a daytrip to Manhattan, Kansas to take pictures of the triplets around the time of their first birthday. Although a more formal portrait was planned, candid portraits more ruled the day. 1 year olds (particularly 3 of them) don’t cooperate much for formal portraits.

Here are some of my favorites:

When we got to the park, we ran into a group of witches. Just kidding, it was a group of women that were in the woods, dancing in a circle. They gave us bubbles though, so they were good witches… errr… women dancing in the woods in a circle.

There are definitely more pictures from this day to come.

Black & White, Calendar, Drone, Flowers, Macro, Nature, Photoshop

2010-06-01

December 26, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The July picture for the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar was taken by Rodan139 of the High Trestle Trail Bridge looking east early one morning. This picture is the one that I’ve gotten the most feedback on from calendar recipients. It was taken on August 30, 2020.

Here are some details on the photo:

DETAILS
CAMERA: Hasselblad L1D-20c
LENS: 28mm f/2.8
FOCAL LENGTH: 10.3mm (28mm – 35mm equivalency)
APERTURE: f/6.3
EXPSOURE: 1/500
ISO: 100
FIELD OF VIEW: 65.5 degrees
LATITUDE: 41.86697
LONGITUDE: -93.86821
ALTITUDE: 302 meters above sea level

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I hope everybody had a great Christmas. Or at least, as great of a Christmas as anybody can have under current conditions.

The pictures in the folder 2010-06-01 were taken on Memorial Day. They are almost exclusively flower pictures. Some that are part of the “Girl in the Blue Skirt” series. Others that are, I think from my Grandma’s house. But I’m not 100% sure. But she always had peonies. Plus the roses look like the roses from her yellow rose bush.

The new occupants of her house, pruned that bush too much this year, but I hope it returns to form in 2021.

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:

Memorial Day Weekend

Social Networking and the Beast

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK NO. 24 BETA

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Jen and Derrick.

Art, Black & White, Calendar, Christianity, Holidays, Mom, Nature, Road Trip, Teresa, WPC - Reminder

Merry Christmas – 2020

December 25, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start by wishing everybody a Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Many of us (me included) aren’t having our typical Christmas, or even the Christmas that they remotely wanted. Remember it is okay to feel a mixture of feelings today, because this isn’t the Christmas you wanted. Maybe it is the first Christmas without somebody. Maybe it is a Christmas you can’t spend with the people you want because of the pandemic. It is okay to feel whatever you feel. It is with those thoughts that I still say (and remember joy and happiness are not the same thing):

Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King!

And of course to remember who that baby in that manger grew up to be:

JESUS WAS
A Radical.
A Nonviolent Revolutionary.
He hung out with lepers, hookers, and crooks.
Was NOT American.
Did NOT speak English. (Spoke Aramaic, if you were wondering)
Was ANTI-wealth.
Was ANTI-death penalty.
Was ANT-public prayer.

NOT ANTI-gay.
NEVER mentioned abortion. (Yes, abortion pre-dates Jesus by at least 1600 years)
NEVER mentioned birth control. (Yes, birth control pre-dates Jesus by at least 1850 years)
NEVER called the poor lazy.
NEVER justified torture.
NEVER fought for tax cuts for the wealthy.
NEVER asked a leper for a co-pay.
NEVER slut-shamed. In fact Jesus was anti-slut shaming.

WAS long-haired.
WAS brown-skinned.
WAS homeless.
WAS a refugee.
WAS a community organizer.
WAS a middle easterner.
WAS a Jew.

TOLD us to love one another.
LOVED poor people.
HUMANIZED everybody, regardless of their background.
MET people where they are at.
WAS considered a troublemaker by the authorities.
WAS ultimately murdered by the police.

Let every heart prepare room!

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The June calendar image is taken from when Fly Iowa was in Boone back in 2019. Remember big events, when you could be around other people. Safely. Yeah. Good times. Good times. This picture was taken on August 3, 2019.

Here are some details of this photo:

PHOTO DETAILS

CAMERA: Sony ILCA-77M2
LENS: 120-400mm F/4.5-5.6
FOCAL LENGTH: 180mm (270mm 35mm equivalent)
APERTURE: f/5
EXPOSURE: 1/2000
ISO:250
FIELD OF VIEW: 7.6 degrees
LATITUDE: 42.05149
LONGITUDE: -93.84873

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Today I’d like to share some pictures I took back on another holiday… Labor Day. On Labor Day I loaded Mom and Teresa up into a car and drove to Mines of Spain because I wanted to see Horseshoe Bluff. I posted some drone pictures of this day in the past. Now I’m getting around to pictures that are more for you land lovers. Or is that spelled land lubbers! I’m not sure, it has been so long since I’ve had my sea legs. Or lake legs. Or river legs. Or small farm pond legs. But we don’t need to talk about the last time I was on a boat in a farm pond.

Mom and Teresa did not want to get up and leave as early as I did. They have both volunteered to be a part of a future town sign harvesting road trip. Hopefully, they remember how early these trips need to leave dock…

Here are some pictures from one of the most beautiful parks in Iowa.

I would love to go there again. It would probably make a beautiful winter subject as well. Plus, less lousy with people. People, the enemy of nature photography.

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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is ROAD TRIP.

ROAD TRIP

A ROAD TRIP photo is any picture taken during a ROAD TRIP or making preparations for a ROAD TRIP or spoils that came from a ROAD TRIP. What constitutes a ROAD TRIP? I’m pretty lax, but I would say that as long as your car leaves the driveway, it is a ROAD TRIP.

Happy photo harvesting!

Alexis, Black & White, Calendar, Formal Portrait, Johnathan, Kanoa, Lensbaby, Nature, Photoshop

Kanoa at 1!

December 20, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The January image of the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar was taken in lower Ledges. It was taken on January 4, 2020. It was taken shortly after a recent snow fall. One sad part about the printed version of this picture in the calendar is that the picnic table gets cut off where the pages are bound.

Here are some of the details of the picture:

DETAILS

CAMERA: SONY ILCA-77M2
LENS: DT 18-135mm f3.5-5.6 SAM
FOCAL LENGTH: 20mm (30mm in 35mm)
APERTURE: f/6.3
EXPOSURE: 1/250
ISO: 100
LATITUDE: 41.99793
LONGITUDE: -93.88033

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Back in August at Kanoa’s Birthday Party he also “posed” for some more formal portraits. Here are some of my favorites:

You’d be surprised to know how much Photoshop was used on this picture to remove Johnathan.

If you want to peruse the rest of the Kanoa pictures, click on the link below:

Kanoa – 1 Year Old

Not getting to see Kanoa very much is just one of the many things that suck about this mismanaged pandemic. But hopefully I’ll get to see him more in 2021.

Drone, Nature

Rodan139: Turtle Pond

December 8, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back, I took the drone for a very brief flight around McHose Park’s Turtle Pond. It was very windy, so it was very brief. I just needed to get a quick “Cool” Drone Video of the Week. While I was there, I snapped a few photos:

If you look closely, in some of these pictures, you can see how low the pond is. It has atrophied at least a yard from its normal banks. Not as bad as the pond a Dickcissel, but you can see how the drought this year has really did a number on ponds in Iowa.

Black & White, Drone, Nature, Panorama

Rodan139: Jay Carlson Wildlife Area

December 1, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

A few weeks back I took Rodan139 out to the Jay Carlson Wildlife Are for a quick flight around before the sun went down. It is a great place for flying the drone. I should really go out there more. At least before weather shuts drone season down for a few months:

I’m hope I still have a few flights left in the bird before 2020 is over. But it has been getting crazy windy lately. At least crazy windy on weekends. stupid short winter weekdays.

Drone, Nature, Panorama

Rodan139: Peas Creek

November 24, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

A few weeks back I went out to Ledges late in a Sunday evening and flew Rodan139 around and where Peas Creek empties into the Des Moines River.

Here are a few pictures:

On Sunday nights I send out a “Cool” Drone Video of the Week to a couple of friends that have requested it. It has been a blessing because it provides me with motivation to get out there with the drone on several weekends where I would’ve left Rodan139 in the hangar. This set of pictures is a set of pictures that exists for that reason.

Animals, Black & White, Flowers, Nature, Night, Photoshop

2010-05-07

November 21, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2010-05-07 were all taken in Brookside Park. Some during the day. Some at night.

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 NO. 22

Walk in Park

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve my Mom’s retirement.