Category Archives: Portrait

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Logan, State Fair, WPC - Alternate

Ghost in a Dream

June 11, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

In a sad, but necessary decision, the Iowa State Fair officially cancelled for this year yesterday. They sent out the following email:

The Iowa State Fair Board, the governing body who oversees the Iowa State Fair, today voted to postpone the 2020 Iowa State Fair until August 12-22, 2021, amid ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns. The decision was made to protect the health and safety of all Fairgoers.

After a thorough review of possible options, while carefully reviewing current health guidelines and examining operating limitations, it became clear that holding the 2020 Iowa State Fair, which attracts approximately one million people over 11 days, would not be responsible.

“The top priority of the Iowa State Fair has and always will be to protect the health and safety of Fairgoers. While the decision of the Iowa State Fair Board today will certainly come as a disappointment to many, the Board determined that holding a Fair in accordance with current health guidelines related to COVID-19 wasn’t feasible,” said Iowa State Fair Manager and CEO Gary Slater. “We appreciate the support of Fairgoers over the past few months as we’ve reviewed various options for the 2020 Iowa State Fair. We certainly look forward to welcoming over one million people back to the Fair in 2021.”

The Iowa State Fair had been scheduled for August 13-23, 2020. The Iowa State Fair Board delayed a decision as long as possible and believed it was important to make a decision on the Fair now in order to give concessionaires, vendors and Fairgoers planning a trip to the Fair ample notice.

Iowa State Fair staff and management have already begun the process of booking entertainment and planning for the 2021 Iowa State Fair scheduled for August 12-22.

I’m particularly sad because this was supposed to be the year that Jennie’s Grinders returned to the Fair. I am glad that I didn’t spend money or too much time on planning my Photography Salon entries.

I don’t think that the Boone County Fair has decided to cancel yet, but I would have to imagine that it is only a matter of time. Along with Pufferbilly Days.

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Back in March I took a series of pictures for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE with Logan for the theme FASHION at a roadside park near Grand Junction. I never got around to sharing the alternates until now:

Logan took this picture so he could get a taste of the Lensbaby.

Going out for lunch after church. Taking pictures of people. Seem like weird foreign concepts right now.

Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Event, Kio

Biscuits & Gravy

June 10, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

All the way back in early March, the Methodist Men held their annual Biscuits and Gravy Breakfast. This wasn’t the last time that we had a worship service at Boone First United Methodist Church, but had to be pretty close to the last. Maybe one more or two more worship services at most. Everything is such a blur.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

I have to admit that we are starting to get pretty low on Methodist Men for a wide variety of reasons. We might have to start making some women honorary members just to have enough people!

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Politics, Taylan

Senior Sunday – Taylan – Volume 6

June 7, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

A weird thing is happening in Boone tomorrow night. Boone is having a Black Lives Matter event. I have to say that I am pretty shocked. Boone isn’t exactly a bastion of diversity, but is has had an important place in other civil rights fights. Don’t forget that the first ever women’suffrage parade was in Boone.

Any way, even though I am supportive of the movement, I would place myself as kind of doubtful for going tomorrow night. There is still a virus hanging around that has killed over 110,000 Americans so far. Over 2 million Americans have now tested positive.

I might put on one of my face masks and go check it out from a healthy distance. Like a block away. We’ll see.

Here is the information:

Remember, I don’t think it was ever put better than this:

Boone isn’t the only small town in Iowa to hold an event. The following towns (and their population) in District 4 that have held an event:

Spencer 11,031
Orange City 6,107
Grundy Center 2,682
LeMars 9,996
Fort Dodge 24,098
Mason City 27,944
Jefferson 4,4148

and now…

Boone 12,470

Very cool!

(Source: J.D. Scholten)

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It is time for another round of Senior Sunday pictures with Taylan. Here are some of my favorites from this round of Taylan photos:

Another Senior Sunday in the books! There are 5 Senior Sundays left on the books!

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

2009-11-30

June 6, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures from the folder 2009-11-30 are from when I started a project I called THE PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT. That was a challenge of mine to get out the camera once a week and tackle photo ideas that had been percolating in my brain. I had found I was becoming more idea guy and less photo guy and needed a recalibration. I’m not sure when I stopped, but maybe I should start again.

The first two Personal Photo Projects involved Jill. The first was a foot photograph to go with a hand photograph that I had taken a few months earlier.

The second project was an homage to the darkroom scene from the Audrey Hepburn movie Funny Face. Here is a quick synopsis of the film I lifted from imdb.com:

Fashion photographer Dick Avery, in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shambles, much to salesgirl Jo Stockton’s dismay. Avery stays behind to help her clean up. Later, he examines the photos taken there and sees Jo in the background of one shot. He is intrigued by her unique appearance, as is Maggie Prescott, the editor of a leading fashion magazine. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome photographer.

In the scene Audrey Hepburn is fleeing from the fashion people and hides in a darkroom where Fred Astaire AKA the “handsome photographer” is developing a picture of her.

Here are some pictures from the folder:

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. 1
Personal Photo Project of the Week No. 2

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

Art, Black & White, Candid Portrait, Derrick, Evie, Formal Portrait, Jay, Jen, Jonah, Jorge, Layla, Michelle, Movies, Naima, Nature, Photoshop, Railroad, State Fair, WPC - Reminder

Suds, Dickcissel, and Lensbaby Redux

June 5, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Hey, I screwed up the schedule of posts and 2 posts accidentally posted at the same time yesterday. This one, that I took back down and re-posted and another one with daffodils. It is possible that you didn’t get the post about the daffodils yesterday. If that is the case, click on the link below:

My soul and pocketbook are glad to announce that I have finished THE CANVAS WALL PROJECT. 5 new canvases arrived on Monday and I was able to get them up that night. Here are the 5 final canvases:

Before the Swallow Dares – 2020

There is also an update on Naima and birthday wishes for Jorge in there.

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My soul and pocketbook are glad to announce that I have finished THE CANVAS WALL PROJECT. 5 new canvases arrived on Monday and I was able to get them up that night. Here are the 5 final canvases:

This is what the wall looks like:

Now, I realize that when there is furniture in place, not every picture is visible. That isn’t the important part. The important part is that they are there at all.

On to the next decorating project. Whatever that may be!
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I don’t consider pictures that were taken in the same calendar year in which we currently exist to be a backlog. However, if I did, this collection of images would be somewhat of a backlog. This clears out all images from January and February that had yet to be edited or curated.

Pictures from a trip to Dickcissel with Naima, some Lensbaby tests, and a picture of the Root Beer Symposium we had during movie night back in January.

We haven’t had Movie Night at The Union Street theater since February, so we haven’t been able to crown a root beer champion, but those pictures might give you the slightest indication of how messy my basement is right now. Although I would estimate that the big parts of the basement cleanup are about 30% done.

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

SIGNS

A SIGNS picture is just that, a picture of a SIGN or multiple SIGNS. Remember, there are more than one kind of SIGN(S).

Happy photo harvesting!

Birthdays, Candid Portrait, Flowers, Jesse, Jorge, Macro, Mom, Naima, Self-Portrait

Before the Swallow Dares – 2020

June 4, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Today is Jorge’s birthday! Happy birthday Jorge!

I hope your birthday is as wonderful as you hoped it would be!

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Here is a quick update on Naima. Her surgery went well. The mass they removed from under her shoulder was even bigger than expected, but Dr. Stephanie said that everything went well. They don’t think it is cancerous, but they sent it away to get tested anyways.

She was very excited to leave the vet.

She was pretty sore.

Naima napped mostly when she got home. But then around 8 PM, the doorbell rang. My neighbor Stan had stopped by to check on Naima. Stan is the guy in the picture with Naima from my submission for FRIENDS for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. She ran (as much as she could) out the front door to greet him and readily chomped down the snacks he had brought for her.

Then Naima refused to back inside the house. She begged for a car ride. She stood by her car door (the back driver’s side door) and refused to budge. This is the only door she will get in. So I opened the door and I helped her into the car.

We made a quick trip down to my Mom’s house. She is used to going down there several times a week. She went in and saw my Mom, Teresa, and Mocha. She drank all of Mocha’s water. Stood around for a bit. Then she was ready to go.

Naima will only go out the front door at my Mom’s house. So we went out the front door. I helped her down the steps. On her way to the car she sniffed out a ground squirrel and chased it up a rain spout.

For a minute or so she danced around the rain spout. Forgetting that she was sore and drugged up. Finally I had to pull her away, otherwise she surely would have knocked the rain spout off the house.

I brought her back home and she followed me around the yard as I watered the flowers. Then she came in and begged to go on a walk. I had to break her heart on this one. Maybe Thursday night she will be ready for a short walk. Maybe Friday night. We’ll see.

After that, she laid down and took it easy the rest of the night.

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Back in April I took a few pictures of my Mom’s daffodils. My daffodils didn’t bloom this year, but that is okay. Daffodils are not my favorite, but they are okay.

A long time ago, I decided to name pictures of certain flowers all the same name. Daffodils were going to be “Before the Swallow Dares”. I think I’m going to get back to that.

Black & White, Contests, Naima, Self-Portrait, State Fair

Be True

June 3, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

Today, a little after 8 AM, I dropped Naima off at the vet for surgery. She has a fatty deposit growing under her right shoulder that is getting pretty gigantic. Hopefully by the time this publishes, she will be out of surgery and I’ll be getting the phone call that she is awake and doing well. But I’m sure that call won’t be coming until this afternoon.

She will have to be fairly inactive for a few days while she recovers, which isn’t something she does all that well.

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Back in January, when I didn’t know that a horribly mismanaged global pandemic would completely alter our lives, I took some self-portraits while my beard was at its most fierce. The idea was to take a picture to use for the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon. As of now, the Iowa State Fair is still on, but I would be surprised if it goes off. Minnesota and Wisconsin have already cancelled their fairs.

Iowa is going to make an announcement on June 15 on what they are going to do. I imagine, that it will be to cancel it. However, I think there is a chance that they could still cancel the Fair and still have some of the competitions. I guess we’ll wait and see what is announced on June 15.

Until then, here are some self-portraits I took to potentially enter into the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon:

If you are interested, this is what the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon sent out on May 15:

To: Iowa State Fair Photography Entrants
From: Iowa State Fair Competitive Events Department
Re: Photography Entry Deadlines and Procedures

In light of the current and ongoing situation regarding the COVID-19 virus, adjustments are being made to this year’s Iowa State Fair
Photography entry process and dates.

• The preferred method of entry will be by mail.
Please do NOT mail before Monday, June 22. Entries by mail must be postmarked by midnight on Friday, July 3. To
enter by mail you must include your entry form, entry fee and photos in the same package. Make sure to wrap your
photos with plenty of packing materials to prevent them from being damaged during shipment. You can use either of
the two shipping addresses below.

Standard Mail: Iowa State Fair, Photography Salon, P.O. Box 57130, Des Moines, IA 50317.

UPS or FedEx: Iowa State Fair, Photography Salon, 3000 East Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50317

• The date for entering in person at the Iowa State Fair Cultural Center is moved back to July 11 & 12
Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12 from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at the Cultural Center.

To help reduce lines and allow for social distancing the process of dropping of entries will be different. Drop off tables
will be located at the north and west Cultural Center entrances. Photos need to be packaged with your entry form and
entry fee all together in a sack, envelope, etc. Please make sure you have the entry form complete, labels completed
and attached to the upper left-hand corner of each photo, and exact change for payment before you arrive. There will
not be an area available to finish putting entries together.

• To eliminate the handling of cash, we will ONLY be accepting payment by check or credit card.

• Entries will be accepted at the alternative dates and locations. Please refer to the above information to have photos
ready for drop off.

o University Photo – 7128 University Avenue, Windsor Heights, IA 50324
Monday- Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Call 515-223-5462 to confirm hours before delivery
Photos must be delivered by July 3.

o Iowa State Fair Administration Building Entry Department – 3000 East Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50317
Monday, July 7 thru Friday July, 10; 8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Entrance to the Entry Department is located on the east side of the Administration Building and down the
stairs. (Handicap access is available thru the Administration Building lobby)

• The Photography Salon book will not be available for pre-purchase. We are still determining if we will be able to
print the salon book this year due to the condensed entry calendar or what the alternatives may be.

• The Pre-Fair awards ceremony and reception will not be held. Award winners will be able to pick up their prizes
during a ceremony held during the Fair. If not present at the award ceremony prizes will be available during photo pick
up or mailed after the Fair if postage is provided.

• Updated Photography rules and entry forms can be found
here: https://www.iowastatefair.org/participate/competition/how-to-enter/#fine-art-photography

Please share these changes with anyone that may be interested. We appreciate your help in spreading the word.
It is our full intent and hope that the 2020 Iowa State Fair will occur. The environment and recommendations are constantly
changing and we understand additional changes may be necessary. We will continue to monitor and re-evaluate the situation
and make additional adjustments as needed, while continuing to do what is best for our exhibitors. We appreciate your
understanding during these unprecedented times and will do everything we can to make sure the show will go on.

A good weekend project, besides working on the basement, will be picking out some pictures to enter.

Boone FUMC, Formal Portrait, Logan, Video

Senior Sunday – Garrett – Volume 3

May 31, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

On our Sunday worship service (on KWBG) we honored our graduating seniors with a video that is a compilation of the the seniors discussing their future and their favorite aspects of Boone First United Methodist Church.

I acted as something of a clearinghouse for the video. I collected all the videos, but I outsourced its creation to Logan, because I’m not great at video editing. Every time I have to edit a video I have to spend hours re-learning the video editing program. Logan was able to do the video in probably minutes, compared to the hours it would’ve taken me.

Here is the video:

We have a great class of seniors this year!

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This is the final collection of senior pictures we took with Garrett. There might not be that many Senior Sundays left, but still several I’m sure:

It was lots of fun getting to know Garrett and his friends and getting a glimpse into the cycling subculture!

Alexis, Becca, Bethany, Billy, Birthdays, Candid Portrait, Carla, Dory, Elainie, Formal Portrait, Jason, Laura, Mom, Nate, Olympic Sports, Shorty, Teresa, Tim

2009-11-23

May 30, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start this post by wishing the happiest of birthdays to my bro Nate. Happy birthday Nate!

Truth is, I just hope Nate gets a good nap on his birthday!

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The pictures in the folder 2009-11-23 are from a trip I made with the family to Kansas City to watch Alexis compete in a cheerleading competition.

If you niece and nephew are going to compete in a sport, they can do worse than cheerleading. The routines last maybe a couple minutes. The you can leave. It isn’t a several hour commitment. Which is key, because I love my nieces and nephews dearly. But I care nothing about other people’s nieces and nephews. I don’t want to spend hours watching them compete, just to get to watch my niece and/or nephew compete. I want to watch my niece compete. Then I want to go get some tasty barbecue.

What I’m getting at is this, never, under any circumstances, agree to go to a gymnastics meet. There are multiple events and 10,000 kids. The worst part, they all use the same music for the floor exercise. Trust me, you don’t want to hear the same 30 second clip of some horrible song 10,000 times in one day. It will make you psychotic. Just saying…

One caveat though… cheerleading moms 100% live up to the stereotype.

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:

Be Aggressive

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve Jill and her foot.

Alexis, Bethany, Billy, Birthdays, Carla, Colleen, Dory, Elainie, Formal Portrait, J.T., Jason, Johnathan, Jonah, Kanoa, Kupono, Nate, Nora, Sabas

Elainie Homecoming Ch. 10

May 28, 2020 Christopher D. Bennett

I need to start by wishing my mother-in-law Colleen a happy birthday. Happy birthday Colleen!

I hope your birthday was amazing! All the best people were born in May!

Can you imagine being born in a different month?

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This is the final collection of images that were triggered by Elainie coming home back in September. Most of these pictures were taken on the High Trestle Trail Bridge.