Enjoying Nature in Siouxland, Adams Homestead Nature Preserve, North Sioux City, SD

A Cooper’s Hawk around its nest at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday, April 9, 2020 (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Spending time outdoors in Siouxland that is devoid of people has been a bit of a blessing in that I am seeing, or rather, paying more attention to nature around me when I am out. Not in a hurry to be anywhere, I sit and watch and have been pleasantly surprised.

A Cooper’s Hawk sits atop its nest at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday, April 9, 2020 (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

I tend to go places early and generally during the week, avoiding crowds at nature preserves and parks for the most part, although sometimes it just doesn’t matter. When it’s all said and done, I hope people will appreciate what there is rather than what they no longer have or have missed. But knowing human nature, that’s unlikely. Animals use what they need and call it good. Humanity just isn’t built the same way.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A Cooper’s Hawk around its nest at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday, April 9, 2020 (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Learning to Share in Siouxland, Adams Homestead, North Sioux City, SD

Looking for a little space at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

These recent days and weeks I have spent a bit of time checking out parts of Siouxland that are relatively in my own backyard. A favorite is the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve a few miles away. Enough trails to tire a soul out and places to stop and “smell” the proverbial roses.

In doing so I have been watching nature’s creatures more closely and the antics or habits they have. And to this novice am surprised with some things I have seen, although to birders some of the actions I have witnessed are probably normal and occur time to time.

Looking for a little space at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Finding a vantage point at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

So one day I spied a couple geese sitting in a tree next to a small pond or lake and was struck that web footed creatures could also roost in trees. I guess I had never thought much about that. One of the two seemed to be looking for a little solitude, as sometimes couples will do with a mate and flew to another tree. A brief respite short lived. Even in nature.

 

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Looking for some space of its own another goose flies into a tree a friend occupies at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Looking for some space of its own another goose flies into a tree a friend occupies at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Looking for some space of its own another goose flies into a tree a friend occupies who then leaves at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Looking for some space of its own another goose flies into a tree a friend occupies who then leaves at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Wednesday, March 25, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Light and Shade in Siouxland, South Dakota and Nebraska

Shadows and lines in the Haymarket in Lincoln, NE Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Driving about Siouxland and parts near and farther, it’s not always the destination that I look to photograph or even the journey. Sometimes I am motivated simply because of the light, or lack thereof that draws my attention. Light and shade, it’s what makes images. Most times it’s the lighting of a subject or place or landscape a person is trying to share. But for me, it’s the interplay between the two and what transpires and the result.

Shadows and lines in the Haymarket in Lincoln, NE Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Sometimes it is not always as “clean” an image as I would like, but I still like the interplay that I see before me and try to capture and show what I saw at that moment in time.

Of course it helps to have objects that allow the interplay of light and shade to happen all around them, more easily done in urban settings, but sometimes it’s found more in nature, well, maybe where man had a hand in “shaping” nature.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Shadows and lines in the Haymarket in Lincoln, NE Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Light play through windows onto the floor of a former court room in the Old Courthouse Museum in Sioux Falls, SD Monday, Oct. 22 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Lights and shadows in a bird blind at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Friday Nov. 24, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)

Color or B&W in Siouxland, Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve

When I am out photographing in Siouxland my mind jumps back and forth between taking photos in color and B&W. People who attend my courses sometimes wonder about taking pictures in B&W and I firstly just encourage them to try it. Most cameras have a monochrome setting that allow users to take photos in B&W. This pics will not look like the black and white of yesterday, not without a bit of tweaking in a post processing software like Photoshop, Lightroom, Silver Efex Pro or Alien Skin.

I personally shoot with a Fuji X series camera that has excellent film simulation setting allowing me to shoot in a B&W setting.

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The question though that a person needs to ask is when is the appropriate time for using B&W. In the above example either color or B&W works as a medium since both has contrast within the image that makes either work. But mostly it comes down to whether or not a color photo or scene will render well in B&W. One has to think tonally in making that judgment call.

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The flowers on this plant stand out against the green foliage but get lost in the grey tonality of the second image. Sometimes color is a better choice. One needs to make certain the subject matter is “clean”, or able to stand out against a background. Leading lines, use of thirds and a host of other compositional techniques will also make a B&W photograph stronger just as it does in color, but one really needs to make certain the subject matter that might pop in color will stand out in B&W.

A little practice, a little perseverance and an eye detail will get a person started on the right track.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Does tonality affect the result of a photograph of a scene at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve Thursday June 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Winter wonderland in Siouxland, Adams Homestead and Nature Preserver

As March nears and winter, hopefully, begins receding in Siouxland, and with what little snowfall occurs, people are quick to get outside and enjoy themselves before the sunshine and warmer temps remove all the snow.

Cross country skiers getting in a morning’s workout at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, Iowa Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City grooms its trails over the winter time for people to cross country ski and hike. Recently I tried using my snowshoes but the snow was too compacted. Great for skiing, not so much for the shoes. But the trails are nice to traverse and enjoy the winter season.

The sun would occasionally appear from behind clouds casting shadows that was a welcomed sight even as the temperature was still cold at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, SD, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Except for the small birds that nest in trees, especially if they don’t fly south for the winter. Their nest laid bare in open branches until Mother Nature signals the cycle to continue and the sun warms the earth and green once again covers the area.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A naked bird’s nest getting buffeted by winter’s whims at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, SD, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Blue Winter Skies in Siouxland, Adams Homestead Nature Preserve, North Sioux City, SD

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.

A wintry blue sky day with chilly temperatures at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, Iowa Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

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.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

The sign of geese flying over the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, SD may be a sign that spring is nearing, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

A wintry blue sky day at the Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve in North Sioux City, Iowa Sunday, Feb. 18, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)