Category Archives: Still Life

Personal Photo Project of the Week #55



Valentine’s Day 2011

Last year I believe I republished the love letters that they were covering on Writer’s Almanac. This year I’ve decided just to quote my favorite line in my favorite love songs by my favorite musicians. The one notable exception being what I always consider to be the greatest love song ever written, Goofy’s Concern by the Butthole Surfers.

“Everything means nothing, if I ain’t got you.”

“’cause I’ve been in love before; And I found that love was more; than just holding hands.”

“I was born when I met you; Now I’m dying to forget you; And that is what I know.”

“Just like an angel off the page; You have appeared to my life; Feel like I’ll never be the same.”

“Ev’ry time that you’re near; All my cares disappear; Darling, you’re all that I’m living for.”

“Lately I’ve been running on faith; What else can a poor boy do? But my world will be right; When love comes over you.”

“He said, ‘Son why you got to sing that tune? Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon? Let an angel swing and make you swoon; Then you will see, you will see.'”

“Breathe out; So I could breathe you in; Hold you in.”

“She is everything I need that I never knew I wanted; She is everything that I want that I never knew I needed.”

“With every breath that I am worth; Here on Earth; I’m sending all my love to you.”

“I can’t direct the universe; I can’t pull off the road and take a rest; I can’t go on for evermore; I can’t refuse the weight of intellect; I can’t avoid the hands of time; I wish her touch was of a softer kind; and if the world decides to melt; there’s nothing I can do to change her mind.”

“We’ve all got our funny moods; I’ve got mine, woman you’ve got yours too; Just trust me like I trust in you.”

“I go out on a party; And look for a little fun; But I find a darkened corner; ‘Cause I still miss someone.”

“Tap on my window; knock on my door; I want to make you feel beautiful; I know I tend to get so insecure; It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I’ve been a lot of places all around the way; I’ve seen a lot of joy, and I’ve seen a lot of pain; But I don’t want to write a love song for the world; I just want to write a song about a boy and a girl.”

“When I saw the break of day; I wished that I could fly away; Instead of kneeling in the sand; Catching teardrops in my hand.”

“These arms of mine; They are lonely; Lonely and blue; These arms of mine; They are yearning; Yearning from wanting you.”

“I seem to recognize your face; Haunting, familiar, yet I can’t seem to place it; Cannot find the candle of thought to light your name.”

“Though your hurt is gone, mines hanging on, inside; And I know it’s eating me through every night and day; I’m just waiting on your sign.”

“I don’t know how to make lots of money; I don’t know all the right things to do; I can’t say where we’ll go, but the one thing I know; Is how to be a good man to you; Until I die that’s what I’ll do.”

“I hear in my mind all these voices; I hear in my mind all these words; I hear in my mind all this music; And it breaks my heart.”

“And now if I should see you; Or call you on the phone; I wonder who’s that person; I could never call my own; Although I kind of like you; I’ll never understand; Why I got so excited; Each time we held hands.”

“A fish was made to swim in the ocean; A boat was made to sail on the sea; As sure as there are stars above; I know, I know you were made for me.”

“Red letter day and I’m in a blue mood; Wishing that blue would just carry me away; I’ve been talking to God; Don’t know if it’s helping or not; But surely something has got to got to give; Cause I can’t keep waiting to live.”

“Orpheus melted the heart of Persephone, but I never had yours; I followed you back to the end of the path, but I never found the door.”

“People talk and people stare; Tell me I won’t really care; This is the place I should be; And if they think its really strange; For a girl like you to be in love with someone like me; I want to tell them all to go to hell; That we’re doing very well.”

“And if a double-decker bus crashes into us; To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die; And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us; To die by your side; Well, the pleasure – the privilege is mine.”

“I’m scratching at the surface now; And I’m trying hard to work it out; So much has gone misunderstood; This mystery only leads to doubt; And I didn’t understand; When you reached out to take my hand; And if you have something to say; You’d better say it now.”

“I wanna sit you down and talk; I wanna pull back the veils and find out what it is I’ve done wrong; I wanna tear these curtains down; I want you to meet me somewhere; Tonight in this old tourist town.”

“I don’t know you, but I want you; All the more for that; Words fall through me and always fool me; And I can’t react.”

“Hello; I’ve had you on my mind; For hours there’s no doubt; And there’s no use wasting time.”

“You have gone and made me such a fool; I’m so lost in you’re love; And oh, we belong together; Won’t you believe in my song.”

Feel free to leave some of your favorite lyrics in the comments section of this Journal entry.

RWPE #50 – Restaurants

Exactly the same number of people that love LOVE, loved RESTAURANTS. Here are the submissions:



Christopher D. Bennett


Shannon Bardole of Little White Lye Soap


Dawn Krause of Impassioned Versifier


Mike Vest of Waxen Media

This is it. Only 2 themes left. Somebody with a really good memory and a web browser could figure out the last remaining theme after the Random Theme Generator spit out an apropos theme for the week where Christians (like me) celebrate the birth of the savior.

Peace of Mind

I just want to throw out a reminder to anybody thinking of submitting a picture. The deadline is still noon on Monday. However, you don’t have to wait until Sunday night or Monday morning to submit.

I hope many of you find peace of mind this week. I know I will. Candlelight Service on Christmas Eve is my favorite church service of the year.

Also, the “Comments” section on my journal entries has been more active in the last week or so. This is something that I of course love, but the “comments notifier” plugin has went belly up. I’m actively working to solve the problem, but until I get fixed, you won’t be getting an email notifying you if I have responded to your comment. Or if somebody else has added a comment. So check back. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I suppose I could forward comments for the time being.

Also I would like to thank Kelly from The Colorado Grill for allowing me to take my RWPE photo this week. We had a lengthy conversation about the calendar during FNSC. It is always good to touch base with my fans.

RWPE #49 – Love

A few people had their imaginations lit by the concept of LOVE. There were 4 submissions. The male to female ration was 3:1. Proof positive that men are the truly romantic gender.



Mike Vest


Christopher D. Bennett


Jason Baier


Julie Johnson

Only 3 weeks left. The theme for this week might be a little tricky:

RESTAURANTS

I can imagine this will be a hard theme for some people. Especially with a busy holiday season, but I have hope. Maybe there are people that love restaurants more than they love love?

RWE #43 – Smoke Photography

Not so many submissions this week for last week’s theme SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY. I guess not as many people love fire as I thought loved fire.


WEEK 43 - SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

WEEK 43 - SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY - DAWN KRAUSE
Dawn Krause

WEEK 43 - SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

Dawn’s Poetry Submission:

Smoke

It’s all just smoke and mirrors
The way you disguise your fears
What you keep hidden from yourself
Keeps love unattainable atop a shelf

Your mind recalls it’s photograph
Of every time you made her laugh
Can you see clearly through your daze
While hiding behind that blackened haze

She caught you peeking in her soul
Wondering if she could make you whole
Instead of fanning that smoldering flame
You choose to hide in billowy shame

Take the chance and build a fire
Make it known your secret desire
She has faith in what you do
Clear the smoke and believe it too

Not many themes left. I fired up the Random Theme Generator. It spit out some smoke. Then it gave a great theme for this week:

HANDS

This is a theme that should bring out quite a few participants. After all, almost everybody has hands. Everybody knows somebody that has hands. Plus hands do so many wonderful and interesting things.

RWPE #25 – Still Life

The submissions for last week’s theme – STILL LIFE:


IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause

WEEK 25 - STILL LIFE - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

WEEK 25 - STILL LIFE - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest

IMAGE LOST
Becky Perkovich A

IMAGE LOST
Becky Perkovich B

Dawn’s Weekly Poem:

Still Life

In this still life
No one to understand
In this still life
No one to hold your hand

In this still life
We walk the road alone
In this still life
We walk to dust and bone

Our broken foundation
In this still life
Searching for salvation
In this still life

The Random Generator has been randomizing and randomizing and it spit out the theme for this week:

MARKET

Another interesting theme. Hopefully the upcoming holiday weekend doesn’t discourage too many contributors.

RWPE #24 – Colorful

COLORFUL did light the imaginations of several people. Here are this week’s submissions:


WEEK 24 - COLORFUL - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause of Impassioned Versifier

IMAGE LOST
Debra Krause

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson of The Joy is in the Journey

IMAGE LOST
Justin Whitaker of American Buddhist Perspective

WEEK 24 - COLORFUL - MIKE VEST
Mike Vest of Waxen Media

Dawn’s Poem

Colorful

Brighter thoughts fill the mind
Happiness feels sublime
Heartstrings begin to bind

Pink of admiration
Journey to destination
Welcome inspiration

Passion red fills the soul
Overflowing empty hole
Giving back what it stole

Yellow hope of sunshine
Making clouds worth our time
Every sunset feels fine

Blue of clear brighter sky
Natural love flying high
Take a deep breathe and sigh

Lavender enchantment
Whispers of contentment
Dancing with enthrallment

World becoming rainbow
Sets complexion aglow
As warmth and feeling flow

The Random Generator has been primed, fired up and it has spit out this week’s theme:

STILL LIFE

Now those of you that are observant will note that in the Photography 139 Artistic Gallery there is a Still Life Album. The truth is that by the strictest definition of the term, most of the stuff in there isn’t really STILL LIFE. It is mostly just stuff that is leftover that doesn’t belong in the albums: Flora, Fauna or Sapiens.

A good definition of STILL LIFE photography comes from Wikipedia:

Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects. Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as landscape or portraiture, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition. The still life photographer makes pictures rather than takes them.

I admit that last sentence sounds like it was written by a still life photographer, but you get the point.

Here are a few examples that fit the basic mold:

Piano Ruins

Toast 'Em

Hearts Beat High with Joy Alternate

Weekly Photo Challenge Plant Alternates

Of course, no reason to be too literal with the theme.

In an unrelated final note, there was some curiosity about the gargoyles in the Journal Entry Slice of Life Vol. 2. I have done a little bit of research into that house and I have posted that information in the Comments section of that journal entry:


Slice of Life Vol. 2

Good luck with STILL LIFE and I look forward to seeing the submissions!

RWPE #18 – Wild

Here are the submissions for last week’s theme – WILD:


IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause A

IMAGE LOST
Dawn Krause B


Michael Vest of Waxen Media

WEEK 18 - WILD - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT
Christopher D. Bennett

IMAGE LOST
Carla Stensland

IMAGE LOST
Julie Johnson of The Joy is in the Journey

There were a couple of late submissions for FEET. They can be seen on the FEET post:


FEET

The Random Theme Generator has been generating and this morning it spit out the following theme:

LEADING LINES

The best definition of LEADING LINES is a photo with very strong lines in the composition that lead the viewers eyes through the photograph. A simple example would be almost any picture of railroad tracks or of a highway. A viewer will naturally follow lines through a photography, so it is a powerful compositional tool to put your subject at the end of lines.

Below are a couple of examples of LEADING LINES:


2009 - Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominee

2009 - Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominee

Wild Goose Chase

2009 - Pufferbilly Days Photo Contest Nominee

ACTORS

Des Moines Regatta - 2009

Remember, the lines don’t have to be straight. An “S” Curve in an image is a very powerful compositional tool. Of course, as always, no reason to be too literal with the theme.

Vacation Day 3 – Guinea Pig Denial

I woke up early on Monday morning. I’m not sure if it was the excitement of the forthcoming trip or if the rumors of Greg McDermott’s departure were so exciting to me that I was like a little kid on Christmas anxiously awaiting the chance to rip the wrapping paper off of his new Omega Supreme!

As I prepared for the trip (as much as I always wish that I was a night before packer – I am definitely a 15 minutes before leaving packer) I listened to the local sports talking heads Deace and Miller discuss McDermott’s departure to Creighton. Only they weren’t using words like “potential” or “possible”.  They were talking about his departure as being a done deal.

I always liked McDermott.  I hoped that he was going to get it done. While almost all of my other Cyclone friends had left the McDermott sinking ship, I was certain that this past year was going to be his season. He had two future NBA players on his roster. A capable veteran point guard. A pair of sharpshooters. A serviceable center. A bench full of athletic underclassmen.

However, it all went downhill very fast. I remember the moment that I knew that McDermott wasn’t going to get it done. 

Jill and I had went over to Derrick and Jen’s to watch a movie.  Derrick had called me earlier in the day to make sure that we were a “unified front” on being able to watch the Cyclones demolish Northwestern before we watched a movie. Of course we were a unified front!

The only problem was that Iowa State didn’t demolish Northwestern.  In fact, they lost to a Northwestern team that was missing one of its best players.

This was a bad sign.

True many Floyd and Eustachy teams were terrible in the early part of the season, only to cohese and become a dominant force down the stretch.  After all, the Elite Eight team lost to a bad Drake team.

Only one of the warning signs that McDermott was in over his head at ISU was the disturbing fact that his teams did not become better as the season went along. In fact, they seemed to get worse.

Even though my head knew that this highly touted team was going nowhere fast, I think my heart forced my mouth to utter the phrase “wake-up call”.  Only this wasn’t a “wake-up call” for them. It was a wake-up call for me. 

The season went downhill fast. A loss at home to UNI. Barely beating Iowa’s intramural team. Barely beating Houston. Lucca leaving in the middle of the season. 4 conference wins.

Then moments after the season was over, Brackins goes pro. Buckley and Hamilton transfer. The NCAA punish Iowa State for being Iowa State and doesn’t grant Gilstrap another year of eligibility.

It seemed like there was blood in the water. The only question was how would Pollard come up with 2.5 million dollars to payoff McDermott?

Only instead of dropping the axe on McDermott like he did on Wayne Morgan (despite Wayne Morgan having 3 straight winning seasons) Pollard gave McDermott a vote of confidence.

Then a month went by and it got weird. Two assistant coaches left. Colvin left. Pollard sent out two enigmatic letters. One to a kid telling him that he understood his concerns about the direction of the ISU basketball team, but his records indicated that the kid didn’t donate money to the athletic department, so bugger off.  Then another letter where he blamed McDermott’s inability to keep players (including a finalist for Player of the Year honors that played for Syracuse this year – yeah that hurt to watch) not on McDermott, but on this generation of worthless kids. He started the letter by throwing Fennelly under the bus and ended it with some very fuzzy math.  He tried to make the argument that kids transferring is an epidemic, but if you actually do the math with the numbers he provides, the average Division 1 school lost .5 kids to transfer in the last two years. Iowa State has lost 6. Now 7 with the transfer of Boozer.

Then Christmas came. Oregon hired Dana Altman. Creighton wanted Greg McDermott to replace him!

Not only was Iowa State not going to continue its long descent into irrelevance, it wasn’t going to cost us 2.5 million to go in a new direction. In fact, Creighton is going to have to pay us $800,000 for the right to take our problem off of our hands.

The only problem was that I wasn’t going to be in the state to hear the news. I was going to be in Minnesota.

However, I’m a problem solver. After I gassed up the car and picked up some needed supplies for the trip (two bottles of water, a bag of beef jerky and two Whatchamacallits) I texted Baier, Jesse and Schmidt and asked them to let me know when it had become official that McDermott was heading to Nebraska! Then I hit the open road.

I arrived in Eagan at about 11:30. Nate was the only one home and awake.

I had assigned Nate the task of finding us interesting places to eat at during my two day stay in Minnesota.  He handed me a magazine with reviews of numerous Twin City restaurants. However, he noted that Bethany strongly favored eating at Chino Latino.

I found the review of Chino Latino. The review stated that Chino Latino served guinea pig!  I was in.

After deciding on the dining option for that evening we piled into the car and head to Five Guys for lunch.  We had a little bit of difficulty finding it, but when we did finally locate it, it was worth it.

Five Guys is a burger joint.  The menu is simple and the food is tasty. I will definitely be going back.


Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
They serve fresh cut potato fries. They put them in a cup, but they also fill the bottom of your bag with more fries.

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
A “hot mess” but in a good way, not in the Edie Sedgwick way.

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
It is usually busy enough that they serve you free peanuts while you wait in line.

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
They also let you know where your potatoes came from.

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
Simple menu and you get to add whatever toppings that you want!

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
Bags of Potatoes


Even though we were stuffed, Nate suggested that we visit a White Castle. I’ve always heard that their food is nasty, but I’ve never eaten at a White Castle and I’ve always wanted to try it.

To give our stomach time to process the goodness of Five Guys we headed from Edina to Apple Valley so that Nate could pickup and deposit his paycheck.

Nate banks where Bethany works, so I got to speak with her briefly. When her co-worker wasn’t butting in to tell me about his brother-in-law that used to play football for Iowa State. Only he can’t remember his name, but he rushed for 438 yards in one game. Some people you just have to let speak.

Next stop White Castle!


Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
White Castle

Our sojourn to White Castle wasn’t adventurous and nobody would make a movie about it. We each ordered two sliders.

The hype about White Castle was dead-on! The food is absolutely dreadful. I can’t believe this place stays in business.

We took the rest of the day to rest before Chino Latino.

Jesse called and gave me the fantastic news that it was official. Creighton had given our basketball program the gift of a fresh, new beginning!

Nate called Chino Latino and made a reservation, but found out the sad news that in order to get the guinea pig, Cuy, you had to order it 48 hours in advance.

DENIED!

Luckily Jill was sort of able to provide some recommendations to me. Sort of.

Later in the night Bethany came home and we went over to her significant other’s house to meet up before going to Uptown.

While we were waiting for some people to get ready, Bill called to ask if Creighton had really hired McDermott.

“Yes.”

“Do they know that he had 4 straight losing seasons at Iowa State despite having the greatest homecourt advantage in the nation?”

“They don’t make them very smart in Nebraska.”

“True that.”

7 of us met up at Chino Latino. Beth, John, Becca, Nate, John’s friend Ben and Bethany’s co-worker “V”.

Chino Latino serves equatorial food. That means that the food comes from countries that are on the equator.




Nate really wants to order Fidel’s Capitalist Pig Roast at some point. Which is a teenage pig, if you are the type of person that needs labels.

The food was excellent. Once I saw the $45 price tag, I didn’t feel so bad about the guinea pig denial.

I rode back to Eagan with Becca so that I could see her new car and the cowboy joint where she currently works.


Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
Near Chino Latino

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
Becca’s Favorite Store

Vacation Day 3 - Guinea Pig
This is kind of how it feels to be riding around with Becca.


Day 3 of vacation was an excellent day by almost all tangible measurement.