It’s always fun photographing in Siouxland to watch the “light play” that can occur depending on the time of year, day and whether or not Mother Nature grants a reprieve so the sun shines, and it’s also a clear day.
With the recent wacky weather seen this spring, the Siouxland weather also changes capriciously. And I was glad it was no hallucinations one day when I saw some Canada geese and other waterfowl swimming among diamonds on a pond that I check out from time to time. Rich in the moment of light, if not in wealth, the day just shone a bit brighter.
Sometimes while out photographing subject matter is not of any particular interest to me, but rather color or light and shadow. The object or place photographed might or might not be of any significance. But rather what is created by its and surrounding tonality. A snippet of space with no apparent past or future. It just is. A moment in time. Sometimes that is enough.
No matter where I might roam in and around Siouxland, there are always choices to be made when shooting photographs. And depending on the subject or location and other particulars like lighting, choosing to make black and white images or color can sometimes be a tough choice.
I like color for when it really work and is as much the subject as whatever the photographed subject is. But then, black and white could be a crutch when subjects are boring and the contrast between light and shadow creates some dynamics in the photo. But then, like color, it becomes the subject more than what is photographed.
And tonality in black and white is important. The top photo uses darker shades to set off the buildings and architectural elements while the next photo the middle grey doesn’t enhance the image, but doesn’t necessarily detract either. So then it’s incumbent upon the photographer to frame the subject so it will stand out from the surroundings if that is the intention of the photographer.
And color is just that, color. People see their surroundings in color and do not give most times a second thought what they are seeing. So is the image more banal because color becomes a default or the norm? Choices. Sometimes too many, sometimes not enough.
Sometimes when I am out photographing in various places around Siouxland, I look for images but its no real purpose or expectations of what I might find that will interest me. I do like going out and seeing what is there. In an urban setting my mindset will be focused a bit more on architectural elements as they happen more in a city than the rural countryside which I also like to peruse.
Other than the idea of light and shade, and photographing in black and white, the images I take may not be connected, thematically or otherwise. It’s kind of the joy of seeing and appreciating what is there and being able to pivot in what is photographed. Earlier on one particular day it was overcast, and foggy. I was hoping that might continue throughout the day and nearer sunset, but it didn’t. So my thoughts of wet reflections with a moody feel didn’t happen. But the strong sunshine and soon to be setting sun created some great shadow opportunities. And it was possible to exploit that in so far as having buildings and other objects help create some visual interest. But again, one man’s/woman’s ceiling is another’s floor.
When out photographing in and around Siouxland I sometimes make “artistic” esthetic decisions on the fly. Shooting with a digital camera one can “work” in black and white and then again in color. A lot of folk I know always, always shoot raw images and later decide what to do and state they then have plenty of image “space” to do as they believe an image should be represented, that is, their presentation of their artistic vision.
And that is good. Everyone sees differently. When teaching a photographic location class through a Lifelong Learning program at a local community college, the group would travel to 4 different locations that I would select. And these were vary and change with the seasons, indoors, out of doors, morning and evening. I wanted students to work in various conditions so if they happen to be traveling for vacation for other reason and wanted to photograph something, they could acquire a skill set and thought process that might help them navigate what it was they wanted to photograph and how to photograph it as well. Plus these sessions reinforced the basic photographic skills taught in another course about shooting manually, selecting appropriate white balance, or not, and picking an aperture and shutter speed while shooting in manual. It was all to get people comfortable in using their individual cameras and making informed choices when photographing rather than relying on the camera to make decisions for them. Aperture priority never takes into account low ISO settings and even slower shutter speeds while trying to achieve the desired depth of field for an image, and then the photographer realizes upon returning home that there is little usable from their most recent excursion.
A recent discussion by some local camera club folk revolved around in camera and software editing skills and not truly representing the scene photographed as it was. Press the shutter and no cropping and minimal toning and voila, a Henri Cartier-Bresson moment. But that may not be what the photographer intended. Ansel Adams photographed a lot of landscapes and always brought a vision of how he wanted the scene interpreted. From his selection of lenses, film, filters, processing (over or under) then the printing and the use of his zone system.
The world revolves diversity of thought and vision. Although recently some might question that. So open and thoughtful debate should always be a good thing. Respectfully done of course, but then again, there will always be a few zealots not in agreement or nice about how they respond to others. Sad really, to be stuck in time with no before or after.
On a recent outing in Siouxland the daylight hours ended with some strong sunlight after a very drab, grey and overcast start to the day. When shooting in black and white I am reminded of turn of the century photographs taken by various photographers, using light and shade to create images. Normally large cities produce better images of this type simply because of the buildings there. Even better when the buildings themselves have survived from early 20th century.
Many of the smaller communities I have visited in the past in and around Siouxland have some older buildings, since the state of Iowa became one in the mid 1800’s. Earlier communities all had some kind of structure that served as a courthouse, hotel, bank or maybe some kind of industrial facility. Now, many of these former buildings are seeing life as law firms (people with money to refurbish them), apartments or other non industrial kinds of businesses.
Photographing older brick buildings in black and white still gives them an austere look and demeanor that color can not achieve. The tonality created has a certain look that red brick or other kind of faded exterior color shade just doesn’t work. But used judiciously black and white achieves a desired affect that I think is timeless and and harkens back to an earlier time period.
Sometimes a person is limited only by their narrow imagination. And not from lack of such. I find exploring Siouxland on foot provides more opportunities in seeing. Although when driving back roads I do prefer four tires as it allows one to travel farther without becoming too tired. I have passed by many shadows as I walk about and may not always “see” the forest but for the trees. But not this time.
Winter maybe ending in Siouxland sometime this year, maybe in May, I sometimes find it hard to get motivated to get and photograph. And as much as I like photographing critters, there are times I want to pursue other interests. Finding opportunities of creating light and shadow photographs is a sometimes hit and miss adventure. It seems larger and somewhat older cities gives a person more chances of pursuing such interests.
Taller buildings, more of them, the light and shadow opportunities seem abundant. In smaller cities or towns with buildings spread out or nonexistent creates the challenge.
So a person needs to explore a bit and see what can be found. The day started out wet, overcast and a bit gloomy. Had it continued that way I had hoped to shoot early evening with reflected light in pools of water creating a smorgasbord of color. But it didn’t The sun appeared, streets dried up or hadn’t been sufficiently wet to begin with and it was necessary to take a different tack.
Sometimes objectives are not always possible to follow through on and a person must be open to seeing what is possible. So the “photo safari” wasn’t a total wash and even provided one opportunity for reflection, but that didn’t materialize either as as originally thought might happen. As the farmers used to say, and maybe some still do, “Make hay while the sun shines.”
Somedays the work isn’t done in Siouxland until it’s done. When I previously worked for various publications I never worked a constant or particular shift, but worked when it was needed. The hours might change week to week or month to month. That kind of change never bothered me as different types of photography assignments would happen during different times of the day or month or year. So it kept life interesting and one learned to just get the work done. I never had any regrets for the photography work I did for the publications as it was an opportunity to see life that some folk never saw up close and personal. It was not always glamorous and sometimes down right ugly depending on what one might be photographing. But it was never mundane.
I always find it fascinating to learn about the history of a place and the people when visiting small town festivals or museums. And I have visited the annual heritage festival a few times over the years. Many local and not local folk visit and reminisce about attending school, now museum, which houses many artifacts from previous decades and even a century or two.
Children visiting with parents and grandparents seem especially taken with technology they have never seen or heard of let alone used. And probably after a half day’s use might be very thankful for today’s version. And while it may be eavesdropping, hearing people talk about life in the old days is fascinating and telling, as most never say they went without when they didn’t know what they didn’t have to begin with. Although, most would agree, with all sorts of improved technology, the most favored seems to be the invention of air conditioning.
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 