Sometimes when I am out driving around Siouxland I have no set destination but am just looking. Looking at vistas or clouds if they happen to be in the sky that particular day. Clouds and light, and how the two interact. My mind kind of goes onto autopilot and I chase the light and the clouds and try as best as I can to combine the two. Some days are better than others, but each day is another day enjoying what is there to see.
I always find it interesting when visiting places in Siouxland or elsewhere how people interpret those visits. Especially doing so through photographs the viewer can take away a myriad of perceptions. And it all depends on what the photographer has in mind. Does he or she what people to see something in particular or take away a certain viewpoint of what they themselves encountered? One can only speculate. But a line from a Christmas movie kind of sums it up when the character said “Seeing is believing,” not believing is seeing.” And so too a photographer’s interpretation of what is seen.
A recent outing for a Summer Photo Safari class I teach through Western Iowa Tech’s Lifelong Learning program took us to the Henry Doorley Zoo in Omaha, NE. It also happened to be the opening day for the NCAA College World Series held in Omaha and one of the hotter days at that point in summer that it was an interesting day of shooting.
People enjoy zoos. As hard as it is sometimes to see the animals caged and pacing or simply ignoring the humans staring at them, people are still drawn to go and see the animals that only see in pictures in a book or magazine.
But the heat that day definitely made an impression and people took advantage of mist stations along the way to stay cool and have some fun at the same time.
But I think it’s not only the guests visiting the zoo that enjoy it as do the individuals who work with the animals and care for them and bond with them on a daily basis much like many of us do with our own pets. Sometimes visiting and seeing something exotic doesn’t necessarily have to take one to the other side of the world, but it is a nice first step in that direction.
Talking with friends and acquaintances everyone is agreed that winter is overstaying its welcome a bit too much. Another storm push with maybe 3-8 inches depending on where one lives could show up. On a walk at Bacon Creek Park recently I experimented a bit with a Holga plastic lens again. Personally, I am getting tired of the colors white and brown. But what can one say, just a day at a time.
Winter is hanging out much too long this year in Siouxland. And it’s not only in Siouxland, but sometimes being selfish, I only care that it is lingering too long here. There have been brief moments of sunshine, and actual sun shining, but those seem to be few. Recently there was another snow fall. And the sky is grey and hazy.
I began looking at images as black and white, trying to see the possibility of grey tones.
On a recent hike before the snow in Stone State Park the browns and greys of this past winter still loomed large and didn’t create any excitement on my part. And with hazy, grey and overcast skies it’s sometimes hard to create images that have any kind of spark to them.
But it was nice to get out of the house, go for a walk and breath some fresh air without the intake freezing one’s lungs, or walking, again, through snow drifts. I like winter, being outside and enjoying what it offers, but it’s time to move on, climb new hills and see what a reawakening or rebirth can is in the offering from spring. I just hope it shows up before summer is here, maybe in June.
Recently I attended a night hike to view a full moon in Siouxland, the Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center in Sioux City. It was a clear night, and even warmish, although with a recent warming trend, climbing up the hill to a viewing point, even with steps was dicey. I slipped a couple times, and you are doing this in the dark.
Helped along by those individuals who had planned ahead and brought flashlights with them. (Note to self, next time.) It was an nice short hike and because of the weather a number of people turned out to participate.
The center’s resource naturalist, Tyler Flammang, did a wonderful job of explaining how he determined this would be an optimal night for viewing, minus the trail conditions and injected a little humor into the “adventure” to make it more fun.
I think people were pleasantly surprised at the result and with more programs planned and better weather with spring coming, more people will get out of doors and enjoy some fun in their own backyard.
As winter inches toward spring in Siouxland, or at least it feels that way, nature occasionally teases us with what looks like a nice day. Sunshine, blue sky and only a little snow.
But looks can be deceiving. And on a walk out at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve I was heartened by a flock of geese flying overhead. There appeared to be too many for it to be a local grouping. And then later I saw more. If our fine feathered friends are on the move, I can only hope that winter is as well and these trails and grasslands will be greening up and moving into that next cycle of life.
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
