Category Archives: Portrait

Andree, Baier, Basketball, Becca, Bethany, Bill, Brog Frog, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Jesse, Music, Nate, Russell, Sara, Schmidt, Shannon, Vacation, Willy

Vacation Day 4 – Cotton Candy

May 5, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 7 Comments

I was set on going back to the Cyclone State on Tuesday night after visiting Faust on his day off, but Bethany and Becca requested that I stay one more night. I had no plans for Wednesday (Sara’s attempt to convince me to go to Iowa City failed since she couldn’t produce a single credible theory on why it would be fun for me to sit around while she put stitches in a pig’s foot), so I agreed to come back to Eagan after my visit to Mankato.

Nate, Becca and Bethany live a couple blocks from a donut store by the name of Puffy Cream Donuts. After I woke up and showered, I hit the open road to Mankato after picking up some cream filled goodness at Puffy Cream.

When I got to Mankato I stopped at Target so I could buy some extra clothes for the extra day in Minnesota.

I arrived at the Faust home and we discussed potential new coaches for the Cyclones.

My dream has always been that Iowa State rights the wrong it made several years ago and brings back Eustachy. I know this was a pipedream, but there are several great options out there. It was exciting to think about what guy Pollard would bring to Ames to return the Cyclones to glory.

We went to Mr. Goodcents for lunch. I hadn’t eaten at Mr. Goodcents since the one in Ames closed down while I was still in college. The sandwiches are no longer as epic in scope as they were all those years ago, but it was definitely still very tasty and I wasn’t disappointed. Not like how disappointed I am with the horrible joke that is masquerading as Panchero’s across the street from the Computer Mine.

At 2:30 we walked over to Jackson’s school to pick him up. I got to admire some of his artwork and look around his school.

As we returned to the Faust abode, I checked my email on my phone. I wasn’t expecting any messages of great consequence, I was just trying to hammer out lunch plans for Thursday with Shannon, but then I got an email message from The Swell Season updating their Summer tour schedule. They are coming to 1st Ave in July! Hallelujah!

After further discussion about who Iowa State could get as a coach, Nicole came and picked us up to get cotton candy!

The residence hall where she works was trying to get the students to leave their dorm rooms by serving cotton candy, popcorn and playing approved music. I don’t know how well it worked on the students, but it worked on Jackson, Faust and I.

On the way over to Minnesota State’s campus, Jackson flexed the golden pipes and wowed me by singing along word for word with the Justin Bieber CD playing on the stereo.

A portion of the day was following Jackson while he ran through the hallways of the dormitory.

Jackson has yet to develop his dad’s patented “Leaning Weiner” shot.

Now I’ve been able to school two generations of Fausts on the court. Plus Faust and I did relive some old Saturday Morning Basketball memories. Including how he felt that he owned The Salmon on the court. Hmmm… two friends that think they own The Salmon.

Jackson nailed somewhere between 3-5 shots depending on how he retells the story.

Faust manning the popcorn machine.

Jackson and his Mr. Freeze

Fronting for the Cyclones in Maverick Country

Faust Knocking Down Cotton Candy Goodness

Shortly after we got back to the Faust Estate my phone rang. It was Jesse.

“We just hired a new coach. Fred Hoiberg.”

I was instantly pissed. Are you kidding me? We just hired some guy because he is super popular with the fan base even though he has NO coaching experience on any level. Was this the cheapest publicity stunt ever?

Full disclosure: I’m not and never was a ravenous Fred Hoiberg fan. He was a solid player and a nice story. His teams were okay and they went to the tournament, but they were not my teams and I could not stand their style of play. They were soft. I was and always will be a Dedric Willoughby fan. He actually won a championship. I’m sure if Pollard would have announced that Willoughby was the new coach and he was filling out his staff with Jacy Holloway, Kenny Pratt and Shawn Bankhead I would have jumped for joy. Hoiberg doesn’t do it for me like he does it for the grand majority of Cyclone nation.

Jesse and I vented our anger. Then Faust and I vented our anger.

I sent text messages to Baier, Bill, Russell, Andree, Derrick and Schmidt.

Bill wrote back:

“Fred? As head coach?”

“Yep.”

“Does he have any coaching experience?”

“None. Not at all.”

“Not good at all”

Andree wrote back:

“I guess he didn’t even entertain the idea of hiring Larry back. Well, here’s hoping Hoiberg’s NBA connections can help with recruiting. Was Pollard expecting another Paul Rhoads or something? He’ll be fired next year. This is a cheap move by hiring Ames favorite son to get fans off his back. Idiot!”

“It might be a popular move. I guess we can hope this works out.”

“Popular or not Hoiberg has some cache in Ames. Maybe he can sell to future recruits: “I got all the GMs phone numbers. If you got the chops, they’ll take my call.”

Then I got a call from Baier. We vented. Then I got a call from Russell. We vented.

Then I got a text from Schmidt.

“They are reporting The Mayor as our next coach.”

“I feel that we are worse off now than we were on Sunday with McDermott as our coach.”

“Typical Chris response that I expected!”

“Maybe he is a quick study.”

“We won’t know for three years. Its the Hall of Fame coaching staff!”

Then Derrick called. Of everybody I talked to he seemed the most optimistic that this might work. Although he had just got off the phone with Shawn and Shawn was extremely negative about this hire. But we didn’t get a full conversation because some customer came into the store and he had to “work”.

Faust and I discussed this move for quite a bit longer. Then I headed backup to Eagan.

Nate and I went to Houlihan’s for supper and then we came back to the house. I watched Weeds with Becca until about 2 in the morning and then I went to bed.

Much of my anger over the Hoiberg hiring had subsided and I was able to go to sleep rather quickly

Day 4 of vacation was still pretty great, despite the surprise Hoiberg hiring!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Jill, Movies, Personal Photo Project

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 15

April 30, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Superstar

I think I indicated awhile back that I thought that it was a Gorshe family trait that they do something I really like in the test shots. I really like the picture below marked “outtake”.

Superstar Alternate

Superstar Outtake

I don’t usually explain titles, (until later in the comments section) but this time you may know that the title for this picture is a reference to one of Jill’s favorite movies Factory Girl.

Personal Photo Project, Portrait, Shannon

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 14

April 23, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

“I want to get a vending machine, with fun sized candy bars, and the glass in front is a magnifying glass. You’ll be mad, but it will be too late.”
-Mitch Hedberg

Amplification

A couple alternate versions of Amplification.

I should point out that the opening joke isn’t to imply that Shannon is a fun-sized candy bar that will disappoint you, even though she did her hair in a “fun style” for these pictures. It is just that I don’t get many chances to use magnifying glass humor, so I had to cash in when I got the chance.

Candid Portrait, Event, Jaycees, Music

A Benefit

April 21, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett

I was contacted a few weeks back by my old friend Kristine Langill about doing a little photography for a benefit she was helping run. The event was a Battle of the Bands, plus a date auction and a silent auction.

A few pictures from the event:

Strong Like Bear

The Door

The Other Door

Strong Like Bear

Date Auction

Bartenders

I can’t remember the name of this band…

Burnin’ Sensations

Dancing

Scott up for Auction

Bidding on Scott

Auctioneering

Scott Hoping he isn’t Bought by a Dude

Scott’s Buyer – A Dude

The Dance Machine(s) – Next Generation

Trouble No More

I forgot the name of this band as well, but this guy has an creepy resemblance to my neighbor.

I left shortly after the barfight left a decent sized puddle of blood on the floor. I missed the last band play, but I think the night was strangely productive enough.

Baseball/Softball, Basketball, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Faust, Formal Portrait, History, Jay, Jesse, Willy

Home Run Derby: The Next Generation

April 15, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

When me and my chums were in high school, we would spend a few choice nights of the Spring, Summer and Fall in my Mom’s backyard playing Homerun Derby with a big red bat and a plastic baseball.

Homerun Derby was a double elimination tournament that consisted of a series of 9 inning games between two opponents. Anything besides a homerun was an out.

While the other gladiators awaited their turn in the arena, they sat on my Mom’s deck munching on the goodness that is Casey’s pizza.

If memory serves me, I won the first Homerun Derby, but never again tasted the sweet nectar of victory.

While my booming blasts are the stuff of legend, (I’m certain that I once knocked a ball all the way to Carroll Street) Homerun Derby was more a game of precision.

There were numerous low hanging branches from the walnut tree and some of the neighbor’s trees that knocked down balls that were hit “too high”. Of course many a low line drive, that would have easily escaped the unfriendly confines of anywhere else in Bennett Field, were knocked harmlessly to the ground by the Green Monster in rightfield. Plus, towering above the Green Monster was a basketball backboard that knocked more than its fair share of dingers back into the outfield and turned the glory of going yard into just another out. Slightly more dramatic than a grounder back to the pitcher, but as far as the scoreboard was concerned, it was the same thing.

It was Willy’s sweet lefthanded stroke that usually won the night. His line drive swing seemed custom made to avoid the obstacles that brought many a hard hit shot harmlessly back to the ground inside the wooden fence that marked the playing field.

While it might seem like a juvenile enough activity, it was important enough to our ascent into manhood that when my Mom moved from the dilapidated structure on Greene Street to her current home on South Benton that we got as much of the old gang back together as we could and had a reunion Homerun Derby.

My legendary blasts were not enough for me to score a victory on my homefield. Willy’s sweet compact line drive swing failed him on this evening as well. Jay’s notoriously crafty pitching (that once earned him the moniker Dr. K) also couldn’t guide him to the winner’s circle. Jesse took home what might be the final Homerun Derby crown of our lives on that night.

It could even be said that Jesse’s performance in the ballpark, on that night, was in the ballpark of dominant. Bennett Field and Homerun Derby legend holds that you only get “Randy’s Meat” once a game, but on this night it seemed like Jesse was getting Randy’s Meat 10-12 times a game.

I don’t want you to leave this entry thinking that Homerun Derby wasn’t serious business. We even had our own set of trading cards, although I think only Jesse’s card survives. Although I just got a “great” idea for another Personal Photo Project.

IMAGE LOST
Apparently Jay’s thought Jesse should spell his name like a girl.

Recently Faust and Jackson came over to what I guess is the current incarnation of Bennett Field. Less like Fenway and more like Wrigley. I went into the magical green trunk of sports equipment and produced a big red bat and some plastic baseballs.

I don’t know if Jesse is officially retired from Homerun Derby, but if he isn’t, I think Jackson might be coming for his title.

I don’t know if it is because the old champ could hear the smack of the bat or smell the pine tar in the air, but a few minutes after the Fausts left he showed up to have his picture taken.

These shirts were given to the winner and loser of the Computer Mine NCAA Tournament Pool.

Winner

Loser

No word yet on whether there will be a special Jackson vs. Jesse exhibition match in the future. I say clear off a cornfield halfway between Boone and Mankato and lets get this thing going!

Becky, Dawn, Formal Portrait, Julie, Nader, Photoshop, Vest, WPC - Submissions, Writing

RWPE #14 – Symmetry and Patterns

April 12, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

The submissions for last week’s theme: Symmetry and Patterns.

IMAGE LOST
Becky Perkovich

Michael Vest

Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson

Dawn’s Weekly Poem

Symmetry and Patterns

See the parallels in our lives
Lines drawn in to the sands of time
Running forever side by side
Just like a perfect worded rhyme
From pain to sad to glad and joy
We’re all alike more than we think
Foundations in stone bind our hearts
Just open our minds to that link

The theme for this week is:

Long Exposure

I don’t know if there is a good way to define “long exposure”. This is how I’m going to define it and while it most likely isn’t technically correct, it is good enough for me. The human hand can only remain steady for 1/15 of a second. Therefore a long exposure could be defined as a picture with a shutter speed longer than 1/15 of second.

Of course you can define “Long Exposure” however you want. Maybe you have a pasty friend with a sunburn. Maybe you have a friend that keeps chili in the fridge well past a time when it should have been thrown away.

It will be interesting to see what people decided to do with this theme.

Black & White, Derrick, Formal Portrait, Jen, Personal Photo Project

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 12

April 9, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Perfectly Themselves I

Perfectly Themselves II

These pictures would end up in The Fail Trunk in my basement if they were any more than just digital images. However, because of the failure of these images, I have figured out the error of my ways and now know how to light Jen and Derrick so that I get the images that I want. Perhaps a re-shoot is in the future.

Black & White, Candid Portrait, Formal Portrait, Night, Sara

Lone Wolf Extras

April 7, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

Here are a few extra, bonus images from the Lone Wolf photo shoot with Sara.

Sara was full of creative ideas on this night and she helped improvise when I realized that I had left a key part of my tripod at home, making the tripod essentially useless and making the image I wanted to capture impossible.

Oh well, there will be other nights at Gray’s Lake. After all, The Summer of Fun will be kicking off very soon. Perhaps as early as May 8!

Black & White, Cousin Amy, Derrick, Formal Portrait, Jen, Personal Photo Project

Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 11

April 2, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

No. 1

This picture is the first in a 6 part photo series. I don’t know if this was the exact pose that I wanted, but it is kind of a Gorshe family trait where they do something I really like in the test shots. A point that I will make again in 4 weeks when I post a picture that involves Jill and a fog machine. I’m not certain that this was a test shot because my memory isn’t what it used to be, but either way this picture will be the picture used as the first picture in this series.

Here are a couple of other pictures from this photo shoot:

Yesterday was April Fool’s Day. Today is World Autism Awareness Day. Cousin Amy sent me a reminder that to show support for the cause I should wear blue today.

Sam and Cousin Amy

You can bet dollars to donuts that I am wearing blue today. The day is still young, so if you aren’t wearing blue now, you can go home and change before you go to your Supper Club or whatever it is that other people do on Friday nights.

Animals, Black & White, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Formal Portrait, Jay, Jen, Jesse, Jill, Movies, Music, Sara, Willy

The Story

April 1, 2010 Christopher D. Bennett 5 Comments

“You see the smile that’s on my mouth
It’s hiding the words that don’t come out
And all of my friends who think that I’m blessed
They don’t know my head is a mess.

No, they don’t know who I really am
And they don’t know what I’ve been through
like you do.”

-Brandi Carlile (The Story)

Most people know that I am a loner. I keep to myself mostly. Most nights I can be found sitting home alone working on my studies or my projects or watching my shows.

A couple of years ago Jay decided to give one of his friends the nickname “Lone Wolf”. I was quite shocked when this nickname did not come my way. Instead it was given to the social butterfly and vice-mayor William McAlpine.

I knew this was a dreaded mistake. If there was a member of the animal kingdom that best described Willy’s social agenda it was clearly the salmon. Chinook, steelhead, pink or sockeye. I’m not sure which one, but he is definitely a salmon.

However, I made peace with the slight because I don’t have a particular affinity for nicknames.

Then it happened. Jay came to his senses and stripped Willy of the nickname that he did not deserve and placed it squarely on my shoulders. The true loner.

Jay made me a mask and we had a small ceremony where the title was rightfully transferred to me.

I AM LONE WOLF!

However, something hasn’t sat right with me in the few weeks since I became Lone Wolf. I don’t doubt that I am the Lone Wolf. A quick perusal of my social calendar shows that I do little more than go to work and come home and sit on my couch, alone.

I don’t get many emails. I don’t write many emails. I don’t get many calls. I don’t make many calls. I don’t get many texts. I don’t send many texts.

I have 289 Facebook Friends. Not a single one of them can tell you my favorite color, my favorite movie, my favorite show or my favorite musician.

With apologies to Travis Bickle, “Loneliness has followed me my whole life. Everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There’s no escape. I’m God’s lonely man…”

I’ve learned to embrace this loneliness. In fact, Jill introduced me to a movie called World’s Greatest Dad. The core message of the movie is summed up near the end with the following voice over:

“I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.”

That is my philosophy. Or I should say, that is the philosophy of The Lone Wolf.

But even though I know without the foggiest doubt that I am the true Lone Wolf, it didn’t feel right. Jay unilaterally stripping Willy of his moniker and giving it away. That is a lot of power for one man to possess.

Therefore I am giving Willy a chance to win back his nickname. I have challenged the vice-mayor, the social butterfly, the salmon to a Lone-Wolf-Off!

The month of April will be a Lone-Wolf-Off between the true Lone Wolf and the Salmon. Winner gets the name! (But I keep the sweet mask either way!)

What is a Lone-Wolf-Off? For the entire month of April we will be tracking our social engagements. At the end of the month, an impartial panel (consisting of Jesse, Dawn and Faust) will determine who is the true Lone Wolf.

Therefore, I should point out that for the next 30 days, don’t be distressed if you don’t see me, if I don’t return your emails, phone calls or texts. I’m in full Lone Wolf mode. I will most likely return your correspondence on May 1 when I am celebrating International Worker’s Day!

Although I should point out that at some point in April many of you will be getting an invitation to my birthday barbecue in the mail. It is a well known fact that lone wolves like meat cooked over a fire and the antiquated feeling of using the United State Postal Service.

Last night I went to see Chloe and have dinner with Sara. Since it was my last social engagement for the next 30 days, we took a few pictures to celebrate my Lone Wolfness.

The Lone Wolf is a savage beast.

Insane Enough

But the Lone Wolf also knows how to keep it laid back.

The Lone Wolf – confident, but not cocky.

Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwl!!

On a sidenote, since this seems to be the year of nickname stripping, I also think that Willy is also in extreme danger of losing the nickname The Dance Machine.
Jen and Jill can assuredly attest to the following statement:
On Sunday, Derrick set my living room carpet on fire with the dance moves he busted off to the Norah Jones compact disc that was playing on my home stereo.

I would propose a Dance Machine Off between these two gents, but I think we all know that Willy doesn’t really dance. He just likes to pretend that he does.