Sometimes when photographing in Siouxland my mind’s eye sees images that I consciously think won’t pass muster. But nothing ventured….
Simple images, few distractions, hopefully will help and not hurt. And maybe the spark of an idea will be fruitful, or something to file away for another attempt with another subject.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
I always enjoy watching light when I am out photographing in Siouxland and elsewhere. I should get out more this fall as recently a couple of nice sunsets materialized late afternoon within the last few days. But sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
But I enjoy watching how light interacts with its surroundings. And at times it is challenging to capture what I see and make it understood by a viewer.
And when doing this one hopes that the subject one is photographing isn’t going to bite the photographer. I found shooting the insects above that I needed to get into the shade out of the late afternoon sun for them to leave me alone. The too must sense fall’s waning warm days and cooler temperatures coming.
The subjects will still be there and creating interesting opportunities to photograph them. It just depends on whether or not I want to bundle up to do it. Time will tell.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
Light and shadows during a walk in downtown Sioux City, Iowa Thursday, March 12, 2020. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)
Sometimes simple is better. While out and about in Siouxland the obvious is almost always overlooked. Angles, shapes, light, dark, contrasts and colors. Can they all get along within a frame?
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
A ferris wheel at the Midwest Rides Carnival in the parking lot of the Southern Hills Mall is silhouetted by a setting sun, Friday, May 10, 2019 in Sioux City, Iowa. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)
Sometimes life can be good to you. I was working on a project recently in Siouxland and had finished and stopped by a grocery store on my way home. As I was coming out I saw the sky and the beautiful sunset that was occurring. There is also a carnival that comes to Sioux City every year and sets up nearby. It’s pretty compact squeezed into a parking lot area but I couldn’t have positioned the sun any better while trying to not include too many other carnival items in the frame. And simply worked the light and the ferris wheel until the sun disappeared, well, and my camera battery died.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
Early one evening I thought I would go out and look for images in Siouxland having seen too many beautiful sunsets a few days previous. The color in the sky, the fact that the cold, arctic air had not yet descended on Siouxland made it hard not to go. This time out though I didn’t find the beautiful setting I was hoping for to show the setting sun, but did find a spot in the Floyd Township Cemetery on a hill to see the moon rising.
An older grave marker from another century has seen the moon rising for decades from the Floyd Township Cemetery near Bronson, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
I don’t shoot with long lenses anymore. Not working for newspapers the glass was laying about gathering dust and these days I spend more time working with short primes and shooting a little more atmospheric as it were. Sometimes shooting tight meets the needs of telling a story by eliminating other elements surrounding a subject. Shooting with shorter lenses challenges one to do better.
The moonrise was pretty and the setting sun lent that somber feel to the resting place for earlier settlers who had come to this area to start a life. On a hill, peaceful in the country setting, a place to contemplate a life lived and what comes after and a change of one day into another.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
The rising moon becomes visible over the countryside near Bronson, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
The moon risES over the countryside and the Floyd Township Cemetery near Bronson, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
The late fall and winter seasons are times I really enjoy savoring light in Siouxland in the early morning and evening. With the change from daylight savings to standard time, the mornings are not so early and the evenings come earlier. So I can savor and still get some rest. The quality of this light is just really nice. On a recent drive out into rural Woodbury County the sun was beginning to set and the light was sweeping across the landscape. I thought it was just gorgeous. Another evening out the sunset glowed behind a hill as it set. I enjoy its beauty, though fleeting and the effect it has on the objects or landscape it surrounds and the peace that comes to me in watching it.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
A glow from the setting sun filters across rural Woodbury County, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
An afternoon sunlight glow filters across a farmland as the sun sets in rural Woodbury County, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
The sun glows over a hilltop in the countryside near Bronson, Iowa Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga)
When I am out walking about I always take a camera with me. Most days I shoot at least a few frames. Some days not. I don’t know if I am feeling compelled and it is just habit that I photograph. On a recent walk in Bacon Creek Park I was looking for images while still just enjoying the walk. I felt when I had finished my 3-mile excursion about the water I had photographed a few things of interest, but nothing really compelling and a bit disjointed when take in totality. I sometimes look for themes depending on the day and weather, especially if it is a place I visit often. I think at some times the need to be outside and taking in fresh air as well as some moderate exercise overrides my photography. But then, that may not be a bad thing.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
Some days when I am driving around Siouxland I try to have a destination in mind so I feel I have accomplished something on my excursion. I visit a place and record some images to share here.
And then, there are those days when even after I have visited some place and explored and recorded I become extremely jazzed when after a stormy evening and the weather is changing that clouds become amazing. Add to that the fact that there is still developing weather and then the light becomes amazing.
As clouds pass overhead the scene on the ground changes quickly. Unlike landscape photographers who “camp out” at a specific spot to capture the moment, I drive around the Siouxland area and sometimes am not able to safely pull over to photograph a scene so must sigh and continue on as the clouds continue moving across the sky.
But then, sometimes the “photography god” smiles and gives an image of two to make the day’s driving worthwhile.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
Grain bins sit on the outskirts of a small community in Lyon County, Iowa Thursday Aug. 3, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)
Horses graze in a field in Lyon County, Iowa Thursday Aug. 3, 2017. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)
The other day it was a not, muggy, miserable type of midwestern summer day in July that is probably best spent indoors if possible. But this was a continuation of a few days of hot, muggy and miserable days in Iowa and I needed to get outside and breathe some fresh air even if it was a bit unbearable. I visited Bacon Creek Park and walked its three mile loop. Thankfully there was a breeze and most of the loop passes through a forested area.
Because I chose mid-day to take my walk, not a bright idea on a hot, muggy and miserable kind of midwestern summer day, the light was vary garish. And so I started looking for scenes that would best use this type of light. I tell students you can photograph any time and anywhere. It’s just a matter of being observant. That doesn’t mean mid-day photos are more successful than a nice sunset or evening shot during the golden hour, but the possibilities are still there. And if you’re taking a walk on such a day, it pretty much reflects the experience, maybe.
Jerry Mennenga
Sioux City, Iowa
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