During the Christmas holiday season many people put up Christmas light displays throughout the Siouxland region, as do others through the U.S. and the world. It’s fun to see the displays and enjoy the festive lights cheering up dark nights.
And sometimes those displays juxtapose themselves with nature that adds another dimension to the idea of a light display and makes a photographer feel lucky to capture such an image. During this time of year the blue hour is within a very short window of time. And trying to balance man-made lights with nature is not always easy. Seeing the moon rising brightly I was still a bit late in capturing it with a dark blue night sky. But I still enjoyed the light display and fun imagery it produced.
Some local areas in Siouxland have begun exhibiting a change of season as fall slowly makes its way into the area. Recently temperatures have been in the 60’s with forecasts of temps hitting the 80’s for a couple of days. And then with low overnight lows the leave change will accelerate ushering that fall look.
I immensely enjoy the fall season as many folk do. And will do my best in getting out photographing scenes in rural Siouxland much to the chagrin of many friends and probably readers of this blog. But, therein lies the joy of not having an editor look over one’s shoulder.
Many backroads, many early mornings to catch those rays of sun diagonally lighting up the landscape. And maybe some daytime runs with full sun lighting treetops from above. On a beautiful fall day, with a little jazz playing and some coffee on tap, what a better way to spend it.
Photographing in and around Siouxland for a couple of decades now I am always pleasantly surprised with some encounters I have with local residents. During a visit to the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s 156th Homecoming Celebration a young boy saw me photographing near the circle where the dancers were and unabashedly came up to take a closer look. During my newspaper days I have had such encounters with folk, sometimes very unfriendly folk, and my response has always been the same. Just keep photographing because one never knows how things will turn out.
One annual event I look forward to while traipsing around Siouxland is the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s Homecoming celebration which has been annually celebrated since the tribe’s Chief Little 7Priest and his warriors returned home from serving with the U.S. Calvary in the 1860’s. Since that time many of the tribe’s members have served and continue serving in the U.S. military. And the homecoming celebration honors those veterans current and past.
It is also a time when tribal members and other tribes can “show off” their regalia and dancing skills as many contest are held throughout the 4-day event which is a chance for non native individuals to meet and learn about their Native neighbors. And where members of the various tribes pass on their traditions to their younger children and relations always remembering the reason why they celebrate.
Every year for the last 156 years the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska has held a “Homecoming Celebration” that other folk know as a powwow that takes place in Siouxland. I have attended the homecoming over the years and besides the pageantry that does take place with various tribal members displaying their regalia while dancing for competitions or enjoying what is an intertribal dance, the main purpose of the homecoming is honoring the veterans of the tribe and veterans in general who have served the U.S. which began when Chief Little Priest and his warriors of of Company “A” Fort Omaha Scouts Nebraska Volunteers, who were scouts for the U.S. Calvary from 1863-66. Each day of the celebration flags are raised at dawn and the colors retired before sunset.
After an afternoon of dancing and displaying of regalia by the various tribes who attend and participate, the colors are retired, and for both posting and removing, all veterans are asked to attend and help out with respect for those who have served and fought in wars since the 1800’s to the present day.
I recently attended a few events in Siouxland in Winnebago, NE, the beginning of the homecoming celebration of Chief Little Priest for whom the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska celebrates each year. Plus it was an opportunity to again try out an Olympus OMD camera operation titled Live Composite, where after making a base exposure, the camera continues to record light bursts, the fireworks, until the photographer deems enough light has been captured. The beauty of it is that one can actually see this happening in real time and finish a photo and then try again. Sometimes technology can be very beneficial and for the most part, foolproof without the guess work I would have done in the film days or with other camera system brands.
Mother Nature decorated Siouxland and rural Nebraska recently with remnants of this year’s winter’s season, as some low lying fog areas created that winter wonderland look with hoarfrost decorating the surrounding countryside. This kind of frost never seems to last long. That short shelf life between freezing and sunshine allows the ethereal effect to disappear quickly. Letting one wonder if it was a dream or actually real. Something William Shakespeare make have written about in one of his plays that also took place in the countryside.
I always find it challenging in photographing in this type of environment. One needs enough contrast to bring out the delicate details of the frost, especially if one is attempting macro photography. Blue skies are ideal because of the contrast, but that means the frost will be disappearing soon as the temperatures begin to rise and the sunshine helps the frost “disappear”.
As I drove to this area to look about I that particular day I drove through some dense fog. But the temperature there was not cool enough to create the frost I found in rural Nebraska. And just miles apart. Sometimes one gets lucky and gets to witness Mother Nature in action. The hoarfrost being a kind of benign action as opposed to seeing storms and the destruction sometimes wrought after those have ended. This day though, I just wished I had brought a thermos of coffee with me as the sun rose higher in the sky and the landscape changed before the viewer’s eyes.
So I will wait another year here in Siouxland before enjoying the early morning jaunts looking for light traipsing through the rural landscape in and around Siouxland. Yes, there will be early morning light this winter, but it will be colder, and maybe less inviting without the warm fall colors adding to the scene. White is just that, white. Although there entails a challenge of maybe using trees and other object as a graphic element to create an image.
With early light this time of year most critters don’t seem to rouse to forage until the light is up along with warming up the temperature. I don’t blame them. Personally, staying under the covers in bed is a preferred winter’s morning destination for me, but that doesn’t actually accomplish the objective of photographing nature. Such a conundrum. But I will be patient and see what opportunities await this winter and see how much walking through the “tundra” I will do depending on that day’s temperature and the wind. Maybe I just need to bring a thermos of coffee along for those mornings out.
During the holiday season around Christmas it’s always a challenge to capture images of Christmas lights and decorations hoping to show them at their best and not in total darkness. Like taking photographs of people during the golden hour, the same somewhat applies to photographing the holiday decorations. And then one hopes that nature works in your favor and you get a nice sunset to help set off the holiday lights. Being prepared and ready to always good. But in these cases, being lucky isn’t a bad thing.
Sometimes when I see raptors and other large bird species flying or hovering overhead in Siouxland it gives new meaning to “flying the friendly skies” as these creatures look for their next meal. But it is fun to watch them soar, swoop and soar some more as they gracefully glide on the air stream looking for their next snack.
These birds contrasted with waterfowl as they make their way on a twice yearly migration and looking for stops in between to take a break from their trip. Seemingly never crossing paths and yet reaching whatever destination they are attempting.
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 