Revisiting Calliope Village in Siouxland, Hawarden

As I drive about Siouxland I have certain haunts I like to revisit if I am in the area, or out photographing with a friend to introduce them to a place and to also see how how I can create new or different images than previously done. The Calliope Village is one such place I like to revisit again and again. Memorial Day and Labor Day the village is open and people show up to check out the local history and listen to some entertainment if there is a local string band playing. But this year the village will not be hosting any events like many places. And to many organizations like the Hawarden Historical Society they miss that opportunity to showcase their local pride and joy and to share with people something of a community’s past they themselves enjoy and hope others will as well.

Taking a walk around the Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa on a spring day Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

So this particular day I work with some “art filters” that are part of an Olympus OMD E M1 II camera to see how I can change up what I photograph. This particular filter reminds me of my time photographing with a 4X5 view camera and using the tilts and swings to help focus a viewer’s attention on certain aspects of an image. When I previously photographed with Fujifilm’s XT-1 and 2 I used a similar filter to achieve a “look” that is similar to the Olympus’ filter.

Sometimes they can be a bit kitschy but if it works for me, why not. And as I tell students who take some photography courses I teach at a local community college, there are times when less is more.

Taking a walk around the Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa on a spring day Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

One wants the viewer to take in a scene and wonder a bit about it sometimes. Other times you want an image to hit them over the head and get the message right away. Journalism can be like that, but journalism can also portray subject matter in a way to get people to slow down and ponder.

Taking a walk around the Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa on a spring day Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

And maybe some people who see the photographs and are able will stop by and visit the place you share and take the time to see a bit of local history and understand what life was like a couple centuries ago and read short synopses and stories about those who originally settled the area. And it’s the latter I hope for sometimes for people to find and enjoy those gems in their own backyard.

 

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Taking a walk around the Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa on a spring day Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Seeing Shadows in Siouxland, Calliope Village in Hawarden

Light and shade at Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

For the most part life is pretty straight forward for most individuals, even in Siouxland, and the same could be said for photographs. What you see if what there is. But sometimes I wonder if there are exceptions in those perceptions of various individuals and how they respectively see the world compared to others witnessing the same scene.

I like working with light and shadow in photography. The dynamic between the two is pretty straight forward, utilizing one to focus a viewer’s point of view to another aspect of a photograph. But sometimes it’s not always so straight forward. When color is introduced to a photo of light and shade a viewer’s interest in in shapes is “colored” (pun intended) by whatever actual color is introduced into the image.

Light and shade at Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

When B&W images are used the starkness of light and shade without color allows a viewer to see “less” and respond to only those subjects or objects within the frame, not “shaded” (again, pun intended) or influenced by another element within the photograph.

Light and shade at Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The starkness of an image simplifies it for a viewer. The individual sees only two objects as it were, competing against one another for attention. And eyes generally are drawn to the light. But both are needed to make an image, and make it compelling.

Light and shade at Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

But depending on the subject matter and when more shades of grey are introduced into an image, it becomes a bit murkier, as with life, the shades of grey mute into one another at times without a stark contrast and an individual must begin discerning what about the image that is important and where along that light to dark spectrum does that person’s  interest lie and how is the individual affected in what is seen.

One could only wish images, like life, could be simple and straight forward. To some people it probably is. They like what they see or don’t like it, and already have minds made up and interpreted as to their own aesthetics. Not able to adjust or change or perceive anything else even when there are so many shades along the spectrum that to enjoy. B&W white only illuminates so much and much could be lost in the shadows when there is so little light.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Light and shade at Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa Friday, May 29, 2020 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Calliope Village in Siouxland, Hawarden

With Memorial Day nearing and the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, there are a number of travel destinations in the Siouxland region that is a short drive, fun to see, and educational at the same time. But that last part probably depends on your age and definition of summer fun. The replica of Calliope Village in Hawarden, Iowa, is regarded as the first community and first county seat of Sioux County, Iowa. A number of buildings, original or replicas are on display and open during the summer season for people to take a step back in time.

And if you get to talking with any of the docents who are on hand, many can help people understand what life was like during that time period in the late 1800’s. Even a little gossip about another Sioux County community who stole a safe and became the county seat because of it.

Summer is a nice time to get away, even if only for a day or two, and a chance to explore one’s surroundings and see what is there.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A look inside the Carlson House at the Calliope Village, Sunday May 25, 2014. The village is a historical setting for early Sioux County, Iowa, located in Hawarden, Iowa.(photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

A replica of the first Sioux County Courthouse in Calliope Village, a historical setting for the early Sioux County, Iowa, community in Hawarden, Iowa, May 25, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The cooking area inside the Jesse Akin Homestead, a simple two-room residence that originally had dirt floors at Calliope Village, Sunday May 25, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Lois Jean Dawson, a founding committee member for the restoration of the Calliope Village, talks about the replica historical setting for the early Sioux County, Iowa, residence in Hawarden, Iowa, May 25, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Visitors to Calliope Village, a historical setting for early Sioux County, Iowa, in Hawarden, Iowa, May 25, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

The old stage coach depot in Calliope Village, a historical setting for the early Sioux County, Iowa, community in Hawarden, Iowa, May 25, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Calliope Village, a replica village, was the first seat of government in Sioux County, Iowa, is located in Hawarden, Iowa, April 9, 2014. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)