I have been slow to share the results of the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon, which I learned about in early August. This year, I submitted a maximum of four photos, and I was pleased to have three selected for the Salon. Additionally, I was fortunate to receive two awards.
One of my photos, titled “Red Star Mill Fire,” won 2nd Place in the Iowa Places and Landscape class. I captured this image while on assignment with the Creston Fire Department when our ladder truck was called in for mutual aid at 3:10 a.m. on Friday, December 13, 2024. That morning, multiple fire departments, primarily composed of volunteers, arrived in 11-degree temperatures to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading to nearby structures.
I often find it awkward when someone says, “That photo is beautiful.” I know what they mean. There is a certain beauty in the destructive elements of fire, but more importantly, I view my role in fire photography as twofold: first, to chronicle the event, and second, to highlight the heroic efforts of those who respond.
On December 3, 2021, my late wife, Myra, and I visited Winterset with the intention of capturing some nighttime street scenes. As we were about to turn at the corner of the square and head home, the lighted red wall drew my attention. We stopped, and I captured a panoramic view of the businesses on the east side of the Town Square. I had this photo ready to enter for a few years, and it ultimately received an honorable mention in 2025. Personally, it holds special memories of an evening out with my wife, who was becoming more physically impaired with Parkinson’s Disease and was experiencing increasing memory loss. That loss caused her to believe there were “three Chucks” – Chuck the husband, Chuck the pastor, and Chuck the photographer. She knew which “Chuck” she was with that night.
The final photo displayed was part of a special theme class focused on Historical Buildings of Iowa (Color). It features Creston’s Restored Depot, built in 1899. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 following restoration efforts that allowed it to house Creston’s city offices. On a mid-January afternoon, I captured an image of the building with a sundog—an optical phenomenon caused by the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals in the atmosphere. After having just made a quick grocery run without my camera, I was able to use my iPhone to take the shot.
In total, photographers submitted 2,511 photos, with 833 exhibited (33%). Of the displayed submissions, 204 ribbons were awarded, representing 24% of the total number of displayed photos. It is always tough competition and a real honor to even be displayed at the Iowa State Fair Photography Salon.
Chuck Spindler Photography 