Category Archives: Photoshop

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

Back in early May I went down to Jester Park because I had heard reports that some baby bison were wandering around down there. It turned out that they were there, but they never really got near enough to the fence for me to get a decent picture of them. However, I did get plenty of pictures of the elk to make up for it.


A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

A Coat Borrowed from James Dean

Jester Park is definitely one of my favorite parks in central Iowa. The whole area around the buffalo and elk is awesome to visit. If you haven’t been, I’d recommend it strongly.

2010-11-15 & 2010-11-18

There was really only one picture in the folder 2010-11-15, so I decided to include 2010-11-18 in this post. The picture in the folder 2010-11-15 is a picture of Jill holding her flute that I took for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE, back then known as the RANDOM WEEKLY PHOTO EXPERIMENT. The pictures in the folder 2010-11-18 are from the 2010 Philanthropy Day.


WEEK 45 - DIAGONAL RULE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

Philanthropy Day - 2010

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:

Philanthropy Day

RWPE #45 – DIAGONAL RULE

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve the Baiers.

2010-10-25

The folder 2010-10-25 includes pictures of a vacation I took to Minnesota. It is mostly pictures of a trip I took to the sculpture garden in Minneapolis with Becca, but it also includes pictures of Bethany and an old beau. I will be sharing the sculpture garden pictures and not the pictures of the old beau.


Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

Minnesota Vacation Pics - 2010

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:

MINNESOTA VACATION PICS VOLUME 1

MINNESOTA VACATION PICS VOLUME 2

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Iowa State Football.

WPC – WEEK 302 – COMMUNICATION

The theme of COMMUNICATION did not communicate to a tremendous amount of people. That is fine. Maybe this week’s theme will be more popular.

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


WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - ELIZABETH NORDEEN
Elizabeth Nordeen

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - ANDY SHARP
Andy Sharp (This was actually Andy’s submission for WHITE that I missed, but it also works here.)

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - SHANNON BARDOLE-FOLEY
Shannon Bardole-Foley

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - TAMARA PETERSON
Tamara Peterson

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - KIO DETTMAN
Kio Dettman

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - CARLA STENSLAND
Carla Stensland

WEEK 302 - COMMUNICATION - MICKY AUGUSTIN
Micky Augustin

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 303 - ADVENTURE
ADVENTURE

ADVENTURE! What a great theme for Year 8 of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE.

But what is an ADVENTURE image? An ADVENTURE image is simply any image that was taken while on an ADVENTURE or preparing for an ADVENTURE or going on an ADVENTURE. The theme reveal picture could qualify for all 3. The twist to this picture is that YOU have to figure out what you consider to be an ADVENTURE.

DON’T FORGET THAT INDEPENDENCE DAY IS SUNDAY, THEREFORE MANY PEOPLE HAVE MONDAY AS A VACATION. BUT PHOTOGRAPHY 139 DOES NOT TAKE HOLIDAYS. PLAN YOUR SUBMISSION ACCORDINGLY!!

Also, meditate on this quote before thinking about your ADVENTURE photo:

As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen.
-Winnie the Pooh

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 ADVENTURE in this place that is just a record of my ADVENTURE(s) next Monday.

2010-09-20, 2010-09-21, and 2010-09-27

There were large collections of images in the folders 2010-09-20, 2010-09-21, or 2010-09-27 so I combined them into one post. These include pictures of an Iowa State-Kansas State football game, pictures taken shortly after Evie was born, and pictures of Elainie playing football.


WEEK 37 - HOPE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Powerpuff Football - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 2010

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

Evie!

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:

RWPE #37 – HOPE

RWPE #38 – FACE

Next Saturday’s post will involve a picture I really wish I remember why I took it. Plus pictures of Foster Q. Bunny.

2010-09-06

There is a wide collection of images in the folder 2010-09-06. Some are of Jen and Derrick when she was pregnant with Evie. The others are from a Labor Day cookout I hosted at my house for the family. Also, some pictures of a toad I found in my backyard.


Labor Day Toad

Labor Day Toad

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

Labor Day - 2010

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

5 of 6 Alternate

Test Run

Test Run

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:

Clu’s Holiday

PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT OF THE WEEK #36

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a turtle.

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 2

When we left off, I had just won 1st Place in Black and White and 3rd Place in Color at the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, but had been completely rejected by the Iowa State Fair for the 4th year in a row.

Whatever I was selling, the judges were not buying. I was despondent, but not discouraged because I knew I had entered some great photos, but they were not what the judges were looking for that year.

2011 comes around. I decided to retire from the Boone County Fair Photo Contest and to start a new way of picking pictures for the Pufferbilly Days. I also had what was probably the peak of my photo contest career at the Iowa State Fair. I got all 4 pictures exhibited. This is extremely hard to do. Thousands of people enter the contest every year. Only 5 of us got all 4 pictures exhibited. You can do the math. It is a big deal.

These are the pictures that were exhibited:


2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - I Recommend Pleasant

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
2nd Place Class 25

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Must Be Truth

2011 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Drenched in Loneliness
Honorable Mention Class 13

For the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest it was the second year of letting other people select my entrants. Dawn, Derrick, Jen, Scott, Russell, and Rebecca chose my entries. Dawn’s choice got 2nd Place in Black and White:


2011 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Radiant Beams
2nd Place – Black and White

I was pretty excited for 2012. I thought I had cracked the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Code, but there is no code. Some years the judge like you. Some years they don’t. In 2012, they like one of my pictures:


2012 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Truth Perception

That year, I decided to retire from the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest.

Then shortly after that, I decided to retire from Photo Contests altogether.

But in 2017, the itch came back. I decided to put on a Washington Wizards Jersey and come out of retirement. Hard. I decided to enter all 3 contests again. I got all Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

2017 Boone County Fair

I got one picture selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2017 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Little Apple

I had the following people select my entries for the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest: Jim Robbins (yeah that is a long story), Micky, Michelle, Amber, Laura, and Dawn. However, none of the pictures earned a ribbon.

In 2018, my Boone County Fair entries were determined by popular vote:


2018 Boone County Fair
Red

2018 Boone County Fair
Purple

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

2018 Boone County Fair
Blue

I had two pictures selected for display at the Iowa State Fair:


2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Peep

2018 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Christmas Eve Morn

My Pufferbilly Days entries were also selected by popular vote that year:


2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - INRI
1st Place Photoshop

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Freedom Flight
1st Place Photojournalism

2018 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Abandoned (Mill Creek)
3rd Place Hidden Treasures of Boone County

2019 would also be a successful year. I moved to having individuals select my Boone County Fair entrants. Shannon, Michelle, and Logan selected my entries.


2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Red

2019 Boone County Fair
Blue

2019 Boone County Fair
Purple

I had one picture selected for exhibition at the Iowa State Fair and it earned a ribbon:


2019 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Entry - Green Little Vaulter
Honorable Mention Class 18

My Pufferbilly Day entries were once again selected by popular vote:


2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Hocks
1st Place Nature

2019 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Drops
1st Place Photoshop

In 2020 the pandemic hit and all photo contests were cancelled. Which was sad and I think it was avoidable because in a digital age, I think they could have found a way. For example the Iowa State Fair still held its Fine Arts competition.

Which brings us to 2021. I’m currently working on my next embarrassing failure at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. However, I am not going to enter the Boone County Fair this year. There is a reason for this decision. A very good reason. However, I’m not going to share the reason until it becomes official or it falls through. Things seem to fall through quite often these days. No decision has been made on Pufferbilly Days yet, but Pufferbilly Days has been moved to early August this year. I’m not crazy about the decision, but I’ll give it a chance.

If you want to peruse all 153 Photo Contest entrants in this long weird journey, click on the link below:

Photo Contests

You can see them all from the out of focus to the award winners. The good, the bad, and the moldy jam equivalent.

My (Sad) Photo Contest History – 1

Recently I’ve been working on an organizational project as I prepare to get rid of a bunch of things in Boone’s annual Citywide Cleanup in a couple of weeks. Part of this has been organizing every (almost) picture that I have entered in a photo contest, both physically in a trunk and digitally in my website photo gallery.


Photo Contest Entries
150 or so Photo Entries

Almost every photo I’ve ever entered in in that trunk. Except for a few that I gave away. I thought I would share some of the highs and lows of my photo contest career. To start with, I have only entered 4 photo contests ever:

+ Iowa State Fair Photography Salon
+ Boone County Fair
+ Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest
+ Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest (this contest only existed one year – 2005)

I’ve entered 153 pictures in these 4 photo contests.

I’ve entered pictures of the following people in these photo contests:

+ Olivia
+ Jay
+ Willy
+ Humble Narrator
+ Derrick
+ Rebecca
+ Shannon
+ Alexis
+ Wedding Couple I don’t remember
+ Jill
+ Saydie
+ Kayelee
+ Jesse
+ Shorty
+ Mike Toot
+ Freedom Flight Participants

Plus I have entered pictures of both Karma and Naima.

My very first photo contest was the 2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. It was before they had standardized that pictures had to be matted on 11×14 foamboard. It was long enough ago that one of the pictures I entered was printed from a slide. I entered it because it was somewhat of a legacy contest. My Dad won a category in 1984.

At the time I didn’t realize what a tough contest it was and how hard it was to get even a single picture in. It was dumb luck (which in many ways all photo contests are luck because who knows what the judge likes) that I got one picture accepted for exhibition:


2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Odanata the Snake Doctor
Odanata the Snake Doctor

In some ways, this is maybe the most important photo contest entry I ever made. It is possible that 2002 me would have been so distraught that I might not have even entered another photo contest, ever.

This is the picture I entered that was printed from a slide:


2002 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Quietus
Quietus

I still kinda dig this picture. My other 2 entries weren’t even really in focus.

Then I didn’t enter another contest until the 2004 Boone County Fair, where this picture of Karma got a blue ribbon:


2004 Boone County Fair - Karma
Happy Karma

I did enter the Iowa State Fair, but didn’t get any pictures exhibited. But in the Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest, I got two Honorable Mentions in the Black and White Division:


2004 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Light Train by J.C. Janson
Light Train by J.C. Janson

2004 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Shapes
Shapes

Then 2005 came and I “cleaned up” at the Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest:


2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Earth's Laughter
Honorable Mention Color (This picture is now the favicon for this website)

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Giotto's Bull
3rd Place Black and White

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Chestnut Street
2nd Place Color

2005 Ogden Fun Days Photo Contest - Happy Karma
Best in Show and 1st Place Black and White

But my triumph was very short lived. Immediately afterwards, I had my biggest failures ever. I entered two pictures in the Boone County Fair Photography Contest and got no ribbons. This is hard to do. EVERYTHING at the Boone County Fair gets a ribbon. Well everything except me and a jar of moldy jam. My photography was the culinary equivalent of moldy jam.


2005 Boone County Fair Photography Contest - Black, White, and Marigold
The equivalent of moldy jam.

2005 Boone County Fair Photography Contest - Eye of the Beast
The equivalent of moldy jam.

I did rebound to get one picture in at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon and that picture did get an Honorable Mention:


2005 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Colgate Smile
Honorable Mention

But that was bittersweet. It was my first ribbon at the Iowa State Fair, but it was a picture that I had already won a photo contest with, so that was the seeds of my rule of never entering a picture in more than one photo contest.

Also, this picture is still one of my all-time favorites and it has never gotten any love from a photo contest:


2005 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - My Giverny
My Giverny

I get why, but I don’t like it.

Then in 2006, I tried my luck at the Boone County Fair and this time, I got 2 Blue Ribbons, take that moldy jam!


2006 Boone County Fair - Internal Struggle
Blue Ribbon

2006 Boone County Fair - Scene from a Ditch
Blue Ribbon

I would also get 2 pictures exhibited at the Iowa State Fair:


2006 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Kentucky Appetizer
Kentucky Appetizer

2006 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon - Portrait of Self Portrait
Portrait of Self-Portrait

I would also have a good run at Pufferbilly Days:


2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Building 429
3rd Place Black and White

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Grizzly McAlpine
1st Place Black and White

2006 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Outburst of the Soul
Honorable Mention Color

2007 wasn’t a great year for me and Photo Contests. I got shutout at the Iowa State Fair. I didn’t enter the Boone County Fair. I did enter Pufferbilly Days and believe a picture of a train wheel got a ribbon, but I’m struggling to find the documentation for that


2007 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Wheel

2008 also wasn’t a great year. I did get a couple blue ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2008 Boone County Fair Photo Contest

2008 Boone County Fair Photo Contest

But once again I got shut out at the Iowa State Fair. But I did rebound to get a ribbon at Pufferbilly Days:


2008 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - The Last Refuge
3rd Place Black and White

2009 was also not a stellar year. I did get 2 ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2009 Boone County Fair Photo Contest
Blue Ribbon

2009 Boone County Fair Photo Contest
Purple Ribbon

But got no other love at any other photo contest.

2010, I once again got two Blue Ribbons at the Boone County Fair:


2010 Boone County Fair -The Best Place to Seek God
Blue Ribbon

2010 Boone County Fair - The Girl in the Blue Skirt Alternate
Blue Ribbon

But once again, I was shut out at the Iowa State Fair. If you are counting, that is four straight years. The Iowa State Fair really hated me.

However, Pufferbilly Days started to show some love:


2010 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Open Mic Night
3rd Place Color

2010 Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest - Black and White
1st Place Black and White

Then 2011 happened. But we’ll get into that story in the conclusion of My (Sad) Photo Contest History.

2010-09-05

The pictures in the folder 2010-09-05 are of Shannon after she got a new haircut and of a turtle that was briefly in my custody in 2010. I don’t remember the exact details of the turtle, but it came from Dawn and then eventually was adopted by somebody else, but then I believe bullied by the turtles at its new home and after that, I don’t really know where it ended up.


Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Coiffure

Turtle Day

Personal Photo Project #45 - Alternate

Personal Photo Project #45 - Alternate

Personal Photo Project #45 - Alternate

Personal Photo Project #45 - Alternate

Personal Photo Project #45 - Alternate

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

Coiffure

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