I have visited a variety of alleys over the years in Siouxland, most of which now sport some kind of decorative art to add a little ambiance and brighten otherwise drab alleyways in different communities. This time around I focused just on the painted art themselves using some camera filter settings to juice up the colors used for the work. Nothing fancy, just exploring settings and various formats as well as just enjoying a day out in a small Siouxland community.
Some feathered creatures have already visited Siouxland and more than likely have departed already as well as the region becomes more spring like, although winter has been hanging on dearly with recent overnight temps still in the high 20’s only a couple week ago. A number of geese settled for a short bit on a local park water area. taking in the sights, and refueling before taking flight again to continue their journey.
It seems amazing to find so many birds congregating in one place. Although I guess there is safety in numbers. I would think at the first sign of “trouble” they would just bolt and be off to another place that would be relatively safer. There is no hunting around this area, although I have seen duck and geese hunters looking along the edges of these areas. Just hoping this group made it home safely and maybe will pass by again down the road.
There are many days in Siouxland I hear my backyard neighbors laboring hard in Siouxland. Just making a go of it day in and day out. And sometimes I get to see them in action, although they remain a bit elusive and bashful. But am glad they can get their job done.
Sometime when photographing in and around Siouxland I find that making minor movements on my part will alter an image ever so slightly, or very much. On the grand scheme of things this doesn’t really matter much to most viewers. But some folk pick up on it and understand the intent. When shooting in black and white, what is seen becomes more intentional simply because the lack of color distills an image down to basics. Shapes, contrast, objects and whatever else a photographer might enlist to inform a viewer. Sometimes doing this is intentional and sometimes it is purely serendipitous. One of life’s unexpected occurrences.
Sometimes I am amused of what I find in Siouxland. Traveling about or closer to home. Recently the total eclipse was a non event in Siouxland as the skies were overcast and cloud shrouded, preventing anyone to see even a partial eclipse.
However, that didn’t stop a pair of amorous house sparrows making their own excitement in a bush even with other “neighbors” nearby. The thought of them “getting a room” didn’t cross their minds, and apparently seeing paparazzo nearby wasn’t a deterrent either. Ah springtime, when romance seems to fill the air.
Recently the season of brown in Siouxland has been slowly changing over as spring’s warmer temperatures creep into the area and some greening of the landscape begins to appear. Warm days, cold, overnight showers produce some clouds the following day which are just a joy to see.
I am an admitted “cloud slut”, seeing the formations over a rural landscape. And when the clouds appear I try to take advantage of seeing and photographing them and the landscape below them as the interest in the scene is more than less when faced with the dreaded “bald sky” that occurs more regularly.
And like many places, the more I drive these back roads the more I see and see a changing landscape depending on the time of year as seasons play a part along with agricultural plantings which transforms the area landscape from spring planting to fall harvest. A visual feast for the eyes. And, the occasional older, now fading barn that will at some point vanish from the rural American landscape, replaced with steel structures.
Sometimes while out and about in Siouxland I come across some interesting events. Recently there was a goat and lamb yoga class at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve, although I think they have been held previously there as well as many other places through out the U.S.
In photos I have come across online the animals interact a bit more than what I saw the day of this particular class. But I guess it all depends on the people attending and the animals themselves. There are those days where I like minimal contact with other folk myself, not often, but occasionally. And so for the most part the lambs stayed together wandering about looking for a finger or milk bottle, while Karen the goat and her “kids” checked out the attendees often offering encouragement, although it could have been more, “Hey, pay attention to me.”
But it did seem all enjoyed the time spent outdoors on a nice, warmer, spring day, when so many recently have been chilly and rainy. But then again, it’s spring, and how can one expect May flowers without those April showers.
I don’t always understand or know exactly why I am drawn to photograph some objects and not others. Sometimes I believe it’s just a visceral response to what I see before me. Shapes and angles and lines and contrast. Something simple, direct, with no hidden meaning, at least not by the photographer. Just a curiosity and an attempt to document something seen.
Spring is beginning to show itself in and around the Siouxland region. Trees are beginning to bud out and blossom and some flowers, like tulips and daffodils are beginning to show themselves in people’s gardens and yards.
But sometimes random snapshots of places visited can also inform a visitor and capture what was seen at the time and the enjoyment of just making an image, good or bad. It’s a nice way to spend a day outside enjoying nice weather and waiting for Mother Nature to settle down and hopefully regain its normal rhythm and pattern.
On a recent trip to Omaha, NE for a walk about outside of Siouxland proper, I encountered a scene about which I had a previous discussion with another photographer. It wasn’t this scene in particular of the horse statue, but whether one photographs subjects in black and white in camera, or color, and then convert it in post processing software.
The first image taken was using an in-camera vivid photo setting while the second image is using a “natural” setting. The third image was done in-camera using a monochrome setting. I came across an online post on a photography website where another photographer said a person should shoot black and images in-camera, intentionally seeing the images as black and white from start to finish. And I agree with that recommendation.
These photos show the horse is the subject of the color images, simply because the color draws one’s eye to the horse. In the black and white pic, I had to do some manoeuvring to get the image more focused on the background and the squares behind the statue than the horse statue itself as a subject.
The building itself becomes part of the design element of the black and white photo and the horse becomes secondary. I also think that a viewer might pay more attention to the statue of figures in the lower part of the frame than in the color photo.
I believe that some photos are made to be seen in color, whereas others in black and white. This particular example may not be the best when comparing the two but the horse statue screams take this in color, and in black and white it is just part of the scene, a selection of grey tones. When shooting in black and white one must focus on the elements of the image included in the scene and the grey tones that runs throughout it. Visual elements create the image and must be compelling enough to hold a viewer’s attention. That said, not all images hold a person’s attention, and these days a photographer must specifically change camera settings to acquire the tonality he/she wants. Color is not part of the image equation when images are done from the out set in black and white. And the tonality of color when changed to black and white can change dramatically. Different shades of blue can run from light to dark grey. Reds can be medium to dark grey to almost black. And when shooting and looking in black and white, a person sees that. And if the image doesn’t work in color, why should one think it will do any better when changing the tones to black and white. Each image should be done with purpose, thereby achieving the best image possible.
I live in the Siouxland area that encompasses a wide swatch of land in northwest Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota. The people that inhabit this area are generous folk and your basic honest, Midwestern people you like to have as neighbors. I explore the area and share observations, mostly photographic, sometimes through video, and and short text. All images and video are copyrighted material of the author.
Jerry Mennenga, Sioux City, Iowa
jerrylmennenga@yahoo.com
lostinsiouxland 