Category Archives: Portrait

Andree, Angie, Baier, Basketball, Becky, Bill, Brandon, Cathie, Dawn, Derrick, Faust, Frank, Jesse, Laura, Linda, Lowell, Mark, Michelle, Micky, Nate, Portrait, Robert, Russell, Sara, Shannon, Tim, Toby, Willy

Roundball Oracles – Year 14

April 3, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

I hurt myself today
To see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
The only thing that’s real
The needle tears a hole
The old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away
But I remember everything
What have I become
My sweetest friend
Everyone I know
Goes away in the end
And you could have it all
My empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns
Upon my liars chair
Full of broken thoughts
I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time
The feelings disappear
You are someone else
I am still right here

It is done. College basketball is over for another season.

In 11 days Iowa State football will hold their Spring Game. After that, the only sports worth watching until college football kicks off in 5 months is the NBA Playoffs. I’m not sure what I’ll do with my spare time. Maybe I’ll clean my house. Now I’m really depressed.

Who isn’t depressed?

Paul Golden, that is who! For the second straight year, he is cutting down the nets for the Roundball Oracles. His name had been added to the List of Immortals:

The List of Immortals

2018 – Paul Golden
2017 – Paul Golden
2016 – Michelle Haupt
2015 – Derek Dohrman
2014 – Brandon Kahler
2013 – William McAlpine
2012 – Lowell Davis
2011 – Carrie Baier
2010 – Mark Wolfram
2009 – Mark Wolfram
2008 – Mark Wolfram
2007 – Tim Peterson
2006 – William McAlpine
2005 – William McAlpine

One more trophy and he will tie Willy and Mark for the most crowns ever!

I held onto Paul’s trophy from last year, when in became apparent he might win again, so I don’t have a picture of Paul with his trophy yet. But when I do, I’ll share it here.

I do however have a picture of last year’s The Sara winner:

Shannon with The Sara

However, Shannon did not have the guts to come back and defend her The Sara Title. Therefore, there is a new The Sara “Winner” this year.

“Congrats” to Robert Henning for being the last place adult, that tried to win. I have went over his bracket with a fine tooth comb and even though he picked Kansas to win it all, it would seem he was trying to win in good faith. He joins the List of Mortals:

The List of Mortals

2018 – Robert Henning
2017 – Shannon Bardole
2016 – Laura Priest
2015 – Derrick Gorshe
2015 – Sara Lockner

There were 35 entrants this year. A slight dip from past years, but that was to be expected with the lack of any local teams in the tournament. Most of us adopted Loyola as our team, since they were powered by former Cyclone Clayton Custer.

However, it was a clean, close competition. Michigan’s defeat of Loyola in the Final Four left it down to just Rachel and Paul battling it out for the trophy. Villanova’s complete shellacking of Kansas gave Paul the repeat.

But you didn’t come here to listen to any of that tommyrot. You want to see the final standings:

1 Paul Golden 248
2 Dawn Krause 243
3 Yours Truly 243
4 tim peterson 232
5 Michelle Haupt 232
6 Nate Miller 230
7 Jordan Toot 224
8 Corey Faust 223
9 Angie DeWaard 221
10 Rachel Johnson 219
11 Lowell Davis 215
12 Benjamin Baier 213
13 Derek Dohrman 205
14 Cathie Raley 204
15 Bill Wentworth 200
16 Sean G. 198
17 Linda Bennett 195
18 Jesse Howard 195
19 Olivia Baier 188
20 Toby Sebring 185
21 Russ Kennerly 184
22 Jackson Faust 182
23 Sean Clubine 173
24 Jason Baier 173
25 Micky Augustin 167
26 Brandon Kahler 166
27 Nader Parsaei 166
28 Andree Jauhari 165
29 Liz Nordeen 165
30 Carrie Baier 162
31 Laura Priest 158
32 FHMeiners 156
33 Becky Perky 152
34 Will Baier 148
35 Robert Henning 141

The good news is that next year is that the state of Iowa won’t be shutout of the NCAA Tournament. If nothing else, the first two “real” rounds will be held in Des Moines. Plus Iowa has a lot of young talent that will be back next year. Admittedly, they still have the same sub-par coach, but they should be good enough to go dancing for a short while.

Iowa State on the other hand will be one of the most interesting teams in the country. This year’s team was very young and was decimated by injuries. The only major loss from last year’s team is Donovan Jackson, which Kansas fans know, is a major loss. However, assuming Lindell Wigginton comes back (and almost everybody assumes he will), they return a future first round pick in Wigginton and fellow freshman stud Cam Lard. Plus you bring Babb and Solomon back from injuries. Bring back a big time contributor down the stretch in Zoran Talley. A much improved Terrence Lewis will fight for playing time with super impact transfer Marial Shayok and impact transfer Michael Jacobson. Then add stud freshman Talen Horton-Tucker to the mix. One guy you don’t want to sleep on is Zion Griffin. Plus they are adding Tyrese Halliburton and George Conditt. I don’t expect those 2 to contribute next year, but they will be huge in the coming years.

This will be the most talented roster since Iowa State had 5 NBA players on the roster a few years back. That team lost in the first round of the tourney. I expect much bigger things from the Cyclones next year. The future is bright in the Cyclone State!

Black & White, Nature, Self-Portrait, WPC - Alternate

Don’t Call Me A Sellout, That’s Something I’ve Never Been

March 6, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

The world wasn’t ready for these SHADOW pictures on Monday. I’m not sure they are ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer. Here are SHADOW alternates for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE:

These were all taken in various parts of the Photography 139 Studio.

You’re welcome world.

Bethany, Candid Portrait, Dae Hee, Nora, Road Trip

I Left You by the House of Fun

February 7, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

I went up to Minnesota for the Super Bowl. Well, not really for the Super Bowl, but more for the activities surrounding the Super Bowl. I can’t afford a ticket to the Super Bowl. I work at the Computer Mine, not Goldman Sachs or some other place populated by white collar criminals.

I thought I’d share a few pictures of Nora from the weekend:

She has the strange quality of getting cuter every time I see her.

I did experience a strange bit of luck on the way back from Minnesota on Monday morning. But the story starts several weeks back.

In early January I put my car in the ditch for the first time in my life. I was running late for my shift at the Computer Mine and was driving a little too fast and hit a slippery spot of road and that was all she wrote. At the time, I thought this was karma catching up to me for years of driving by cars in the ditch and pointing and laughing, but maybe that wasn’t it.

Maybe, just maybe, rather than being punished, I was being warned.

You see, ever since I put my car in the ditch, I’ve been driving slower in wintry conditions. Monday morning, I-35 was just such a set of conditions.

I left Burnsville and heading back to the Cyclone State at about 8:30 or 9 AM or so. The first hour or so out of the Twin Cities the roads weren’t bad and there wasn’t any weather to talk about. I was making good time and I figured that I’d make it back to Ames to starting swinging my pick by about 11:30 or so.

Then when I hit Iowa, the weather started to get a little sketch. The road was still in decent shape, but white out conditions would hit every few minutes. I stopped at the rest area in Dows to drain my bladder and grab a road trippers lunch. Gas station pizza.

I hit the road and the conditions got worse and worse. Due to the white out conditions I slowed way down. Soon I became the slowest car on the road.

When I hit the Story City area the roads got way worse. I was actually beginning to fantasize about not going to the mine at all. Just blowing by and going home. Calling it a day before my day even started.

Then I got to the 13th street exit in Ames. The roads got way worse. Then there was a complete white out. I slowed down to about 15 miles per hour. When I came out of the white out, I saw a scene that looked like the zombie apocalypse. There was about 20 cars in the ditches or the shoulder or facing the wrong way or clearly damaged and driving backwards on the shoulder. There was enough of an opening in the carnage that I was able to skate through and continue on to work.

Once there I saw news stories that the area I had skated through had went from 20 cars to a massive 70 car pile up.

Here is a screen capture from the DOT Camera:

Here is the video (you have to be on the website to watch the video):

The video starts about 5 minutes after I went through this area. You can’t quite make out where the beginning of this pileup starts.

I take from this, that I was very glad that put my car in the ditch a few weeks ago, because my Monday could have ended up being really bad.

Candid Portrait, Logan

LKWBG

February 1, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

I recently visited my nephew Logan at his internship at KWBG to check out his digs. Took a couple pictures too:

It is possible that some of these photos were staged. It is also possible that some of them aren’t. It is Schrodinger’s pictures, only it isn’t.

Black & White, Formal Portrait, Youth Group

Amber’s Family

January 17, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett 3 Comments

Every once in a while, a photographer gets to take important pictures. It is rare, but it does happen. I was given such an honor recently when Amber contacted me to take family pictures of her family before Christmas because her Grandpa was being put in hospice care.

Here are a few pictures from that day:

As of this writing Amber’s Grandpa is still at home under hospice care. The family hopes to keep him at home as long as possible. It was great getting to meet Amber’s grandparents. I can see why she turned out to be such an incredible human being.

Basketball, Derrick, Football, Holidays, Jay, Jesse, Michelle, Mom, Nader, Photoshop, Road Trip, Russell, Scottie D., Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Shannon, Tenderloining, Teresa, Video, Willy

The Selfie Project – Denouement

January 5, 2018 Christopher D. Bennett

It is over! The Selfie Project is over! But we should have a couple last looks at all that was “accomplished”!

Here are my favorite pictures from December:

December 2

December 4

December 6

December 7

December 9

December 11

December 12

December 13

December 16

December 17

December 18

December 20

December 21

December 22

December 23

December 24

December 28

December 29

December 30

January 1

Here is a photomosaic of the December 31 selfie:

This photomosaic consists of 3000 tiles. 1 images is used a maximum of 10 times. If you would like to see the image at full resolution, click on the link below to download:

FULL RESOLUTION PHOTO MOSAIC

I also made a video featuring all 367 images. You can watch it below:

Of course, if you subscribe to this blog via email or RSS Feed, you will have to physically go to this blog entry to view the video!

It was a good project and while at least Michelle is sad to see it go, it is time to put it to bed. Maybe I’ll bring it back in 2019.

Animals, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Flat Earth Joe, Formal Portrait, Jesse, Jorge, Michelle, Mom, Nader, Teresa, Vest, Work

Strap a Grenade to my Head, Pull Out the Pin, My Photography is Mind Blowing, Ain’t Nobody Do It Like I Do It

December 5, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

The world wasn’t ready for these PORTRAIT images on Monday. I’m not sure the world is ready for them now, but I can’t hold them back any longer:

Most of these PORTRAITs were taken around the computer mine. Some were taken during communion at my church. Others were taken in my back yard.

You’re welcome world!

Angie, Becky, Black & White, Boone FUMC, Candid Portrait, Cathie, Michelle, Mom, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – WEEK 116 – PORTRAIT

December 4, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

The theme PORTRAIT was the least popular theme for THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE in years. A bit surprising because usually I get quite a selection of pictures of children and grandchildren. A little disturbing to me that children have fallen so out of favor with this group of people. But I get it. Children. They are here to replace us. You have to watch them all the time!

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

Angie DeWaard

Becky Parmelee

Cathie Raley

Michelle Haupt

Christopher D. Bennett

Tamara Peterson

A solid week of submissions!

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:

WATER!

WATER! What a great theme! I don’t think I need to define WATER for you. It is literally everywhere. Granted most of it is polluted because one of the ingredients in the recipe to make humans is something like 30% stupidity. Higher in certain parts of the South and Nebraska. However, it is still there. For now!

As always, I look forward to your interpretations.

HOUSEKEEPING

A MESSAGE FROM THE PHOTOGRAPHY 139 RULES DIVISION

1. 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.

2. Your submission needs to be emailed to bennett@photography139.com by 11 AM on the Monday of the challenge. 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

Nothing new to report. I’ll try to do better next week.

Want your own Photography 139 email subscription? Call, email, or text me and I’ll get you the hook up.

**************************************

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 watery Monday!

Animals, Boone FUMC, Dae Hee, Derrick, Iowa State, Nader, Naima, Self-Portrait, Self-Portrait Project, Youth Group

Selfie Project – November

December 3, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett 4 Comments

I don’t know that I did much that was particularly interesting in November, but I do feel like I did get some interesting photos, even though it doesn’t feel like I did that much in November.

Here are my favorites from THE SELFIE PROJECT from the month of November:

November 3

November 4

November 5

November 6

November 7

November 9

November 10

November 11

November 12

November 13

November 15

November 16

November 19

November 20

November 22

November 23

November 24

November 25

November 26

November 28

November 30

There is 1 month and one day left in THE SELFIE PROJECT. I’m sure that my Instagram followers look forward to its conclusion. I don’t know if I will substitute with a different daily project or if I will just take some time to sit under my own vine and fig tree.

If you do want to keep up with THE SELFIE PROJECT on a daily basis and see what other things I Insta, you can follow me under the following handle

@christopherdbennett

You can also see all of THE SELFIE PROJECT images by clicking on the link below:

SELFIE PROJECT – 2017

I’ll try to finish up the last 30 or so THE SELFIE PROJECT images strong! But we’ll see.

9 Emotions Project, Angie, Black & White, Carla, Dae Hee, Jesse, Micky, Mom, Portrait, Vest, WPC - Reminder

WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE REMINDER – PORTRAIT

December 1, 2017 Christopher D. Bennett

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

PORTRAIT

Here is a good definition of PORTRAIT provide by the good folks at Wikipedia:

Portrait photography or portraiture in photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait picture might be artistic, or it might be clinical, as part of a medical study.

Seems simple enough! Here are a few examples:

Micky Augustin

Angie DeWaard

Carla Stensland

Mike Vest

Kim Barker

That collection ought to get your creative juices flowing!

Happy photo harvesting!