Tag Archives: featured

Andy, Angie, Becky, Bill, Carla, Cathie, Elizabeth, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Logan, Michelle, Sara, Shannon, State Fair, Tamara, Teresa, Vest, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 310 – FRIENDS

August 23, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I’m pretty sure that this is the most popular theme in the history of THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE. 30 submissions! Wow! I’m glad to see so many people have people they consider FRIENDS or could at least find a group of somebody else’s FRIENDS to photograph or found something that represented a FRIENDShip to them. Or maybe THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE is hitting new heights in popularity. Maybe every week there will be nearly 30 submissions. A guy can dream, right?

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

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Amy Peterson

Becky Parmelee

Christopher D. Bennett

Bill Wentworth

Tamara Peterson

Amy Peterson

Angie DeWaard

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Michelle Haupt

Andy Sharp

Sara Lockner

Teresa Kahler

Kio Dettman

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

Logan Kahler

Jen Ensley-Gorshe

Cathie Raley

Jesse Howard

Elizabeth Nordeen

Mike Vest

A great 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:

PEOPLE

PEOPLE! What a great theme! But what is a PEOPLE photo? Fortunately for you, people infest nearly every corner of this planet, so they are easy to find. All you have to do is find some PEOPLE or remnants or proof that PEOPLE were once there. This group of PEOPLE doesn’t have to have any connection. They don’t have to be friends or family. They just have to be homo sapiens. I suppose Neanderthals would work as well.

When you are thinking about the picture you want to make, you can consider this quote and I have no doubt you will make a great PEOPLE photo:

I love mankind… it’s people I can’t stand!!
-Charles M. Schulz

RULES

The picture has to be taken between 12:01 PM today and 11 AM next Monday. This isn’t a curate your photos project. This is a get your butt off the couch (unless you are taking your picture from the couch) and take pictures challenge.

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of PEOPLE in this place that is little more than my ineffective people trap next Monday.

Black & White, Contests, Drone, Formal Portrait, Mom, State Fair

2021 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon Personal Results

August 22, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

By the time this publishes, my entries in this year’s Iowa State Fair Photography Salon should be safely in my possession. It seems like a good time to share what pictures I entered and how they fared.

2021 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon -

Class 45: Planes, Trains & Automobiles – Honorable Mention

Class 22: Black & White People – Selected for Display

Class 17: Plants, Flowers & Trees – Honorable Mention

Class 13: USA Places & Landscapes – Not Selected for Display

I’m not going into the picture of my Mom that I entered, but probably will in a later post. I don’t think she would have liked to have a picture of her entered, but I also know she would have gotten over it pretty quickly.

I’ll just concentrate on the picture that didn’t get in. It was the one that I was most confident would get accepted for display, which meant it was doomed from the beginning. I entered it based mostly on the fact that it was the most commented on picture from the 2021 Photography 139 Calendar. I will never know why it wasn’t accepted for display, but I have a feeling it it because the highlights are overblown. Oh well, I guess it is time to start thinking on the 2022 Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.

Football, Iowa State, Music

2010-11-08

August 21, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The pictures in the folder 2010-11-08 are from the last time that Iowa State and Nebraska played each other in football. Nebraska, tired of being mediocre in the Big 12 and being pushed around by Texas off the field, left for the Big Ten. Their fans thought for sure that they would soon dominate a conference with weaker competition and no long have to be bossed around by Texas. Instead, Nebraska has gone from mediocre to awful and now they are bossed around by Ohio State. While I enjoy watching Nebraska suffer, I do miss playing Nebraska. I also miss playing Missouri and Colorado to a lesser degree. However, I do not miss Texas A&M at all. That school is a cult and the SEC is welcome to keep that freakshow all to themselves.

I don’t know that we’ll get to see Iowa State and Nebraska play football any time soon. The only way that would happen now is in a bowl game. Iowa State is now a top ten football program and Nebraska is struggling to get out of the cellar of the Big Ten West, the weakest division in Power 5 football.

If Nebraska somehow managed to squeak into a bowl game, it would be some garbage bowl that was nobody has heard of. While Iowa State will be playing in one of the most prestigious bowls in all the land.

I think this game might have marked the beginning of the end of the Paul Rhoads era. Iowa State lost 31-30. Iowa State scored a touchdown late in the game that would have tied it. But rather than going for one, Iowa State ran a fake PAT and while the receiver was wide open in the endzone for for the 2 point conversion, Iowa State’s holder threw a terrible pass and Nebraska escaped with a win.

That errant pass would cost Iowa State a bowl game. And Iowa State never had a winning record on Paul Rhoads after his first season.

Although his firing would lead to the hiring of Matt “Bullshit Programs Care About 6-6” Campbell. The rest has been history.

Here are some pictures from the game:

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:

End of an Era

RWPE #44 – HANDS

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve a flute, at the very least.

Animals, Evie, Jen, Kio, Layla, Pufferbilly Days, State Fair

Pufferbilly Days Pet Show – 2021

August 20, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

We are having some kind of sale at my Mom’s garage tonight and tomorrow morning.

The address is 111 South Benton Street. The sale tonight will start at 4 and end when people stop showing up. Tomorrow it will start at 7 and end when people stop showing up. Probably around 1.

The alley is a dead end, so don’t drive down it looking to park.

+++++++

I once again did the photography for the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show. It wasn’t a very good environment for photography because all the tables were crushed in together and there wasn’t a stage, so you really couldn’t see the animals that were on the ground.

There were 4 entries. All dogs. Despite the flyer having 2 cats and one dog… Just reporting the facts.

Here are some pictures from the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show:

I look forward to the 2022 Pufferbilly Days Pet Contest where there will be 6 dogs and no cats.

+++++++

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

FRIENDS

FRIENDS! What a great theme! But what is a FRIENDS photo? It is simply a picture of a group of FRIENDS or even just a picture of one of your FRIEND(S). Maybe it could even be a picture of an object that represents a FRIENDShip to you. The theme reveal picture shows Jen, Layla, and Evie. They are a family, but they are also my FRIENDS. They are also in many ways, my family. However, the lines between FRIENDS and FAMILY can blur in multiple directions. So don’t get too hung up on is this person FAMILY or a FRIEND(S)? If you have to ask the question, the answer is that they are both.

Happy photo harvesting.

Flowers, Macro, Mom

She’s Too Good To Be True

August 19, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

It is time for another collection of pictures from my Mom’s flowerbeds. This time the entire collection is of tulips. These pictures were taken on April 29, 2021.

I have many, many more flower pictures to share.

Art, Road Trip, Shannon, Town Sign Project

Town Sign Project: Warren County

August 18, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 2 Comments

A few Sundays back I cruised around Warren County with Shannon harvesting their town signs. Yes, the county that many people have wondered why I hadn’t wandered around has been harvested. I was waiting for Shannon to accompany me and assist me on harvesting their town signs as she lives in an unincorporated/ghost town in Warren County.

Here are some facts about Warren County:
+ Population is 50,076 (2019 estimate) making it the 11th most populous county in Iowa. Behind Dallas County and ahead of Clinton County.
+ The county seat and largest town (fully in Warren County) is Indianola.
+ Was formed in 1846.
+ Named after Revolutionary War figure Joseph Warren.
+ Home of Simpson College.
+ Home of the National Balloon Classic.
+ Major highways are I-35, US-65, US-69, IA-5, IA-28, IA-92, and IA-316.
+ Adjacent counties are Polk, Marion, Lucas, Clarke, and Madison.
+ Currently at peak population.

The Warren County Courthouse is currently under construction:

The Warren County Courthouse located in Indianola, Iowa.

The Warren County Freedom Rock is located in Norwalk, Iowa:

The Warren County Freedom Rock is the first Freedom Rock that I’ve noticed where the paint is in pretty bad shape. I don’t know if that is something that is maintained or eventually the Freedom Rocks will go back to just being rocks.

With Warren County conquered, this is the updated Photography 139 Conquest Map:

PURPLE=COMPLETED

32 counties completed. 32.3% of the Cyclone State conquered.

Here are the town signs of Warren County:

Des Moines, Iowa (Mostly in Polk County)
Population: 203,4333

Indianola, Iowa
Indianola
EST. 1849
Population: 14,782

Norwalk, Iowa (Also Polk County)
norwalk Welcomes You
Population: 8,945

Carlisle, Iowa (Also Polk County)
CARLISLE
THE NATURAL CHOICE
ESTABLISHED 1851
Population: 3,876

Milo, Iowa
WELCOME TO City of MILO
EST. 1880
Population: 775

Hartford, Iowa
HARTFORD
A GROWING COMMUNITY
ESTABLISHED 1849
Population: 771

New Virginia, Iowas
Welcome to NEW VIRGNINIA
est. 1855
Population: 489

Martensdale, Iowa
WELCOME TO MARTENSDALE
WATCH US GROW – EST. 1913
Population: 465

Lacona, Iowa
WELCOME TO LACONA
Population: 361

Cumming, Iowa
CITY OF CUMMING
Population: 351

St. Marys, Iowa
St. Marys
Est. 1870
“A little town with a big spirit”
Population: 127

Bevington, Iowa
BEVINGTON CITY HALL
PLATTED MARCH 1872
INCORPORATED MARCH 6TH, 1916
Population: 63

Ackworth, Iowa
ORIGINAL SITE OF ACKWORTH CITY WELL – 1855
Population: 83

Spring Hill, Iowa
City of Spring Hill
Population: 63

Sandyville, Iowa
ANDYVILLE COMUNITY CEER
Population: 51

Prole, Iowa – Unincorporated

Medora, Iowa – Unincorporated

Liberty Center, Iowa – Unincorporated

Churchville, Iowa – Unincorporated

Beech, Iowa – Unincorporated

Summerset, Iowa – Unincorporated

Shannon feels that Summerset should get a special “shout out” since she lives there. She loaned me a book on the history of Summerset. there is too much info in the book to get into, but here is a little info:

Summerset was settled by emigrants from the British Isles and name for a county in southwest England named Somerset. Although Pennsylvannia, Massachusetts, and Ohio have towns named Somerset, South Dakota is the only other state with a Summerset, a community north of Rapid City, established in 2005. Summerset was named sometime after July 2, 1849, the date Madison County commissioners selected “Winterset” as the name of their county seat.

I might get more into the history and remains of Summerset at a later date.

It would be hard to not give the worst town sign in Warren County to Sandyville. But having to use a mailbox to represent Spring Hill’s town sign is up there for sure. A town as big as Norwalk should really try harder with their town sign. Same goes for Indianola.

But what gets Best in Show for Warren County. I like Milo’s sign. I also like the simplicity of Lacona’s sign. St. Marys sign gets points as well. Martensdale gets points for being the hardest sign to read and the smallest, farthest from the road sign I’ve ever seen. I also like Hartford’s rustic rusty sign. However, I have to give Best in Show to New Virginia:

New Virginia – Best in Show – Warren County

There are a few alternate town signs in Warren County. Shannon would argue that New Virginia’s alternate town sign is better than their main sign. She might be right:

St. Marys – Alternate

Saint Marys – Alternate

New Virginia – Alternate

Milo – Alternate

Lacona – Alternate

Here is the current list of Best in Shows:

Best in Show – Adair County

Best in Show – Audubon County

Best in Show – Benton County

Best in Show – Boone County

Best in Show – Butler County

Best in Show – Calhoun County

Best in Show – Carroll County

Best in Show – Clarke County

Best in Show – Crawford County

Best in Show – Dallas County

Best in Show – Franklin County

Best in Show – Greene County

Best in Show – Grundy County

Best in Show – Guthrie County

Best in Show – Hamilton County

Best in Show – Hardin County

Best in Show – Humboldt County

Best in Show – Ida County

Best in Show – Jasper County

Best in Show – Lucas County

Best in Show – Madison County

Best in Show – Marion County

Best in Show – Marshall County

Best in Show – Polk County

Best in Show – Poweshiek County

Best in Show – Sac County

Best in Show – Story County

Best in Show – Tama County

Best in Show – Union County

Best in Show – Warren County

Best in Show – Webster County

Best in Show – Wright County

The next time we hit the dusty trail for THE TOWN SIGN PROJECT, we will visit Hancock County.

Pufferbilly Days, Running, Willy

Pufferbilly Days Race

August 17, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

On the Saturday of Pufferbilly Days I went up to watch Willy and some of his friends run in the 5K and/or 10K. I also took some photos, since it has been a long time since I photographed Willy running. I also saw quite a few other people I knew up there running.

Here are some of the pictures:

I also took some pictures of the Pufferbilly Days Pet Show (spoiler: no cats) that I will share at some point.

Andy, Bill, Carla, Elizabeth, Evie, Jen, Jesse, Kim, Kio, Layla, Logan, Michelle, Micky, State Fair, Tamara, WPC - Submissions

WPC – WEEK 309 – MOVEMENT

August 16, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

I want to start today by announcing that there will be some kind Estate/Garage/Tag/Rummage Sale at my Mom’s house on Friday evening and Saturday morning. I’m not really 100% sure of the hours, but the location is in the garage on the alley. The alley is a dead end, so don’t pull down there looking for a place to park. The address is 111 South Benton Street. It is hard to tell what is going to be for sale, but I’m sure it will involve lots of glassware and holiday decorations. When I have an idea of times, I will let you know.

+++++++

The theme MOVEMENT did cause many people to spring into action and capture an object displaying MOVEMENT of one kind or another.

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

Andy Sharp

Kim Barker

Michelle Haupt

Shannon Bardole-Foley

Tamara Peterson

Bill Wentworth

Christopher D. Bennett

Elizabeth Nordeen

Andy Sharp

Logan Kahler

Jesse Howard

Kim Barker

Micky Augustin

Carla Stensland

Kio Dettman

A great week of submissions!

FRIENDS

While you are thinking about your FRIENDS photo, think on this quote and you will no doubt create a photo as rare as the FRIENDShip you are trying to capture:

The only way to have a friend is to be one.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

RULES

You can send your images to either bennett@photography139.com OR you may text them to my Pixel 5.

That is all I got, so if the good Lord’s willin’ and the creek don’t rise, we will all be sharing our idea of FRIENDS in this place that is little more than a record of my FRIENDS next Monday.

Animals, Art, History, Road Trip, Ruins

Lucas County Auxiliary Images

August 15, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett 1 Comment

Shortly after I published the town signs of Lucas County I received a letter in the mail. I don’t get much mail from anybody other that the two State Farm agents in Ames that think by constantly sending me junk mail I’m somehow going to sign up for their terrible insurance that has treated more than one person in my life very poorly. Switch to State Farm, not on your life Scott Richardson or Pat Brown! American Family Insurance for life!

But I digress, the letter I got in the mail was from the Chairman of the Lucas County Veterans Memorial Park Committee thanking me for including their park in my blog:

I was blown away by the letter and was humbled to receive the letter and want to say thanks!

The day that I harvested the town signs of Lucas County I didn’t explore as much as I normally would. I had to get to Des Moines to drop off my entries for the Iowa State Fair. Then I had to get to Ames to a wedding. Therefore, I didn’t take a ton of pictures in Lucas County, but here are a few that I did take:

Lucas

Derby

Russell

Chariton

Williamson

While I didn’t get to spend much time in Lucas County, I do have plans to go there again in April. Red Haw State Park is supposed to be absolutely beautiful that time of year. I also want to visit the Frontier Trading Post. It looked like a fascinating place!

Art, Derrick, Evie, Football, Iowa State, Kalista, Music, Saydie, Taylan

2010-11-01

August 14, 2021 Christopher D. Bennett

The majority of the pictures in the folder 2010-11-01 are from when the Iowa State Cyclones bested the Kansas Jayhawks on the gridiron. I believe that was like 7 Kansas football coaches ago. Back then there coach was a guy who used to coach at Buffalo. Their current coach is a guy who used to coach at Buffalo.

The last Kansas coach was fired because he “tried to sexualize the staff of student workers in the football program by, for instance, allegedly demanding that he wanted blondes with big breasts, and ‘pretty girls.’” So that’s fun.

There are also pictures of a few trick-or-treaters I got on Halloween in 2010:

WEEK 43 - SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY - CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT

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:

Cyclones vs. Jayhawks

RWE #43 – SMOKE PHOTOGRAPHY

Next Saturday’s walk down memory lane will involve more Iowa State football.