Category Archives: Self-Portrait

WEEK 245 THEME REVEAL

I need to start this post by pointing out that today is a very important day. Today is Stephanie’s birthday! Happy birthday Stephanie!


Stephanie Kim - 2009


I hope your birthday is safe and amazing!

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I’m going to be away from computers for much of today, so I won’t be able to reveal the RULE OF THIRDS submissions until some point tomorrow. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start working on this week’s theme right away:


WEEK 245 - SELF-PORTRAIT
SELF-PORTRAIT

A SELF-PORTRAIT picture is quite simply, a picture of yourself. Almost, but not quite as easy as RULE OF THIRDS.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations!

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I also recently added to THE CANVAS WALL PROJECT. I eight new 16×20 images to the wall. I’m almost done with the project. I have basically the bottom row to finish. Most of those pictures have been ordered too and should arrive sometime this week.

However, these are the eight 16×20 images that were most recently added to the wall:


Canvas No. 53

Canvas No. 54

Canvas No. 55

Canvas No. 56

Canvas No. 57

Canvas No. 58

Canvas No. 59

Canvas No. 60

After I get the pictures that should arrive on Wednesday in place, I believe I will only need 4 more pictures to finish this project off. But it could be more. I could also be less. But my initial calculations indicate 4 more.

But I’ve been wrong before. Don’t want to be wrong any more.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip Day 5 – Superman

The last day of the Camping World Bowl Road Trip consisted of leaving our hotel in Kentucky and driving home. We only really made a couple stops. One stop was in Metropolis to visit Superman. The other stop was at the Hen House for lunch.

It concluded a great trip that covered many miles in very few days. 3 dudes and a pregnant lady carrying twins.

Yeah, I didn’t mention that Jorge’s woman Randi made the entire trip while pregnant. We left for Orlando the day after Christmas. They found out a day or two before Christmas.

They didn’t know it was twins, but the amount of time that I saw Randi throwing up in a Walmart bag on this trip might have been a good indicator that twins were on the way. But that just might be an urban legend.

Either way, I don’t know how she made the entire trip. What a trooper! Perhaps the real superhero on this trip. Sorry Superman.


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5
Slurped down breakfast as fast as possible, to avoid listening to the banality of Fox & Friends.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 5

Here are my official Superman Power Rankings:

1. Christopher Reeve

That is it. There is only one Superman. Nobody played Superman before and nobody has played him after. Christopher Reeve is Superman.

At this point, it is a fairly safe bet that there won’t be a bowl road trip this year. That is because Iowa State will be playing in a bowl game that is played in 2021!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip Day 4

Day 4 of the road trip was a grind. We left Orlando and drove for like 15 hours to get back to Kuttawa, Kentucky.

The only real stop we made was a fancypants gas station in Georgia that sold pecans. I kinda thought the pecans down there would be cheaper and maybe they are, but they were still crazy expensive. But I’m not a pecan expert.


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
#wafflelife

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
The hotel we stayed at had a sweet aquarium.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
Attached to their phones. Worse than traveling with teenagers.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
Crane in the hotel parking lot.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
Bikers?

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
I got so many yard decorating ideas from this place!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
Damn right we hit another Zaxby’s!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 4
Good night from Kentucky.

This wasn’t my style of road trip. I like to be able to stop at random things and meander and photograph. I hope this year’s bowl trip is either closer (I already know it will be in a better city) or I’m able to space it out over a longer time frame. Otherwise, flying might be the way to go.

I would love to go back to Memphis, but there are a lot of people laying down some pretty high expectations for Iowa State this season. I think it will depend on how well the offensive line comes together though.

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



TREE

A TREE image is any image that involves a TREE or a TREE byproduct.

Happy photo harvesting!

The 2019 Howards – Subset Dos

One of the products of all this home times is that I have started up on THE CANVAS WALL PROJECT again. What started as the accent wall in my living room and then turned into the Friend Wall and then became the 9 Emotions Project wall, was turned into the Canvas Wall about 2 years ago. The ultimate goal is to cover at least 95% of the wall with canvas photos.

I recently added 7 more canvases to the wall. These are all smaller canvases that are meant to fill around the doorway that leads to my hallway.

Here are the 7 canvases that have recently been added:


Canvas No. 46

Canvas No. 47

Canvas No. 48

Canvas No. 49

Canvas No. 50

Canvas No. 51

Canvas No. 52

The pictures that have been selected for THE CANVAS WALL PROJECT are meant to be a combination of every day life pictures and my more artistic pictures.

I’m getting pretty close to the bottom of the wall now. The next collection of pictured added to the wall are definitely obstructed, but that is okay. It matter less that they can be seen, and more that they are there.

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Time to reveal a second collection pictures from the 2019 Howard Family Photo Shoot:


Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Still plenty more Howards to go!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip Day 3 – Alligators

After the game we went back to the hotel and took a nap. Well some of us took a nap. Some of us might have scrolled through Cyclone Twitter while everybody else napped.

Once the batteries were recharged, we went to a Brazilian Steakhouse that Jorge knew about. It was ridiculously cheap and made cheaper because Dre had found some coupons for it. It cost us like only $30 to eat there. Plus, I think it was the best Brazilian Steakhouse I’ve ever eaten at.

After the meal we parted ways with Andree and his brother and went out on my personal, very personal quest. We had been in Florida for about 24 hours and I still hadn’t seen an alligator.

There was a couple miniature golf courses that claimed to have alligators that we drove past on the way to supper. We drove back there, got some ice cream and checked them out.


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

The first miniature golf course alligators were kinda sad. They clearly weren’t well cared for and the water was filthy.

At the second miniature golf course we met Joshua and we got to hold an alligator. That place was awesome! It was clean and the gators were clearly loved. For a brief period of time I thought Orlando wasn’t so bad.

Just kidding! Orlando is the worst!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip Day 3 – The Game

Day 3 was the only day we spent entirely in Orlando. It was one full day too many. Orlando is flat out one of the worst cities I’ve ever visited. It is dirty. It is poorly laid out. There is no culture. There is no music. There is no historical significance. There are no beaches. There aren’t any parks. There isn’t much to do.

I would rank Orlando just above Omaha for worst cities I’ve ever visited. Frankly, if I never go back to Orlando again, that is just fine.

The Camping World Bowl Stadium is in the worst part of Orlando. Most of the businesses that surround it are liquor stores or bail bonds. There is also a high school.

There is hardly any parking around it. What is there is poorly organized.

The stadium itself is okay. It isn’t a festering dump that ought to be burned down like where Kansas plays. However it isn’t all that nice of a stadium either.

There was a great fear that we were going to be rained on all game. That didn’t happen. It rained for a little bit. But we thought we had won the jackpot because we were sitting under the ledge of the upper deck, so we were protected from the rain.

However, we actually lost that hand. We sat under a pipe that leaked on us the entire game. So instead of being protected from a rain that barely showed up. We were the only wet people in the stadium. It is a shame we weren’t on the Notre Dame side of the stadium. It was pretty much empty. We could have sat anywhere we wanted. Instead, we sat there getting dripped on.

Here are some pictures from the morning:


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
#wafflelife

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
I ate walnuts in tribute to my Grandpa Paris, the man that introduced me to Iowa State football.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
Lagoon behind our hotel.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
Yeah, they have these dicks in Florida too.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
I think this statue is a tribute to pedophiles that also play football.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
We met up with Dre and his bro before the game.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3
View from backside of the stadium.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 3

The game didn’t go the way we wanted. Iowa State finished the season decimated by injuries and it showed when they played one of the best teams in the country.

We left the stadium wet and down, but ready to see if this awful city called Orlando had anything to offer.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip Days 1 & 2

How many weeks of lockdown it has been has me really thinking about vacation. I have a ton of places I want to go, but I know none of them are smart. Instead, I’ve started curating the pictures from the Camping World Bowl Road Trip. Spoiler: there isn’t many of them.

The Camping World Bowl is in Orlando. Which is a forever drive from Iowa. But regardless of this fact, Jesse, Jorge, Randi, and I loaded up into a rented Cadillac and left for Orlando the day after Christmas.

On the first two days I took hardly any pictures because there it is a long, long drive. We stopped only for gas and food before we hit Kutatwa, Kentucky for the night.

Ernie hooked us up with a hotel room there and we met up with him for supper.

Here are the Day 1 pictures:


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1
Great sign. Smoking shouldn’t be allowed within 15 feet of anywhere!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1
Where we supped.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1
Ribs!

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 1

Day 2 was a ton more driving. From Kentucky to Tennessee to Georgia back to Tennessee back to Georgia and finally to Florida.

Here are some pictures from Day 2:


Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
Free continental breakfast, but the punishment is you have to listen to the morons from Fox & Friends

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
Day 1 Home

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
Gas Station in Georgia

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
My first ever trip to a Zaxby’s.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
2 happy Zaxby’s customers.

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2

Camping World Bowl Road Trip - Day 2
Stopping in Florida for gas.

We got to our hotel in Orlando pretty late, plus we lost an hour with the time change. I was ready for sleep that night. Ready for the Camping World Bowl the next day.

The 2019 Howards – Subset Uno

We’ve reached a point in the backlog where most of what is left is portraits. Editing portraits is the hardest for me for a variety of reasons. At least group portraits. The solo portrait isn’t such a big deal. Couples is no big deal. But groups. Woof! There is a ton of group portrait curating in my future.

The first up is the first collection of pictures from the Howard Photo Shoot. As is tradition with the Howard Photo Shoot, the lighting was brutal.

Here is the first collection:


Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Howards - 2019

Little T was sans boyfriend for this year’s photo shoot. She has since caught the eye of a new beau. I hear that he is photo shoot worthy, but I guess we won’t find out until next fall.

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


WEEK 241 - NOSE
NOSE

A NOSE photo is any picture that involves a NOSE.

Happy photo harvesting!

Minnesota State Fair – Pixel Pictures

This is the final collection of pictures from my trip to the Minnesota State Fair with Bethany, Becca, Jonah, and Shawn. These are the cruddy cell phone pictures.

One thing that I found disappointing when I went back and looked at these is that I didn’t take pictures of my food OR even the bucket of cookies. It is a genetic marker of being a Bennett to take pictures of your food. Bennetts invented hipsters, I fear.

The fact that I only took a picture of my delicious pineapple drink makes me worried that I might have been adopted, for the first time in my life.

The other thing you will learn from this collection of photos is how big of a Stan I am for British period television shows. I badly miss DOWNTON ABBEY. I grieved the recent end of POLDARK. I can’t wait for the next season of VICTORIA. All these are shows I watch with my Mom.

We started watching the DURRELLS IN CORFU, but it is only okay. I might have to look into BELGRAVIA, but I don’t have my hopes up.


Minnesota State Fair - 2019
Weird to see the globe Earth cover-up in person.

Minnesota State Fair - 2019
Teach them the globe lie young.

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

Minnesota State Fair - 2019

By the way, I know the Earth isn’t flat.

It looks like as of now, the Iowa State Fair is still a go. I got my information about the Photography Salon in the mail on Tuesday. I need to start thinking about getting my entries ready.