Take Me Out to the Ballgame in Siouxland, Omaha, NE

Creighton University plays University of Nebraska, Lincoln in baseball at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Recently a friend invited me and a couple others to take in a college baseball game featuring Creighton University and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, played in Omaha, Ne. It has been decades since I attended a college sporting event for fun. Since graduating college I only attended college athletic events when working for daily newspapers. And I must admit the trip to Omaha was on

 

a beautiful spring day and evening.

A beautiful day and then evening for the Creighton University versus University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Baseball fans attend the Creighton University against the University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

There was a good mix of blue and red fans supporting each school, with some Creighton students “dressing” up for the game and showing their colors.

Two Creighton student fans display their colors before the Creighton University and University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Sometimes when I get students in my Lifelong Learning photography classes I find some students want to acquire new gear, especially lenses so they can photograph their kids playing sports or in school plays or choir. Most of these folk have the kit lenses that came with their camera and sometimes a zoom telephoto. Both are generally variable zooms meaning the f-stops automatically changes as they zoom out to the telephoto end of the lens’ range. I tell them to learn to use the equipment they have and find those moments to photograph that will accomplish what they want to achieve before deciding on spending the big bucks to buy a fast f/2.8 lens. I used the Fuji X kit lens, 18-55 f/2.8-4 for these images of the game and surrounding atmospheric shots.

Creighton University’s mascot greets visitors to the game between Creighton University and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln at the baseball at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Creighton University players warm up for their game against the plays University of Nebraska, Lincoln in baseball at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Fans take a selfie of themselves during the Creighton University versus University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

It was a little tough trying to shoot action but it can be done. The head first sliding image was taken at f/4 because I was at the 55mm end of the lens and maybe 1/250th of a second shutter speed. But with the runner coming toward me I figured I would be safe in stopping action without much chance of blur. And it would have been too great a crop to produce a tighter image. Besides, I wasn’t covering the game but more interested in the ambiance of the experience. It makes a difference when as a photographer you know your end usage and what you are trying to achieve.

A Nebraska players makes it safely to third base during a Creighton University versus University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Creighton University plays University of Nebraska, Lincoln in baseball at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Even shooting an overall image of the playing field the movement is minimal during a game as the contest between these two teams revolved around their pitching staff and each team plowed through 4-5 pitchers with some achieving a better result than others during the nine inning game.

A good representation of both Creighton University and theUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln fans turn out for the rival baseball game at the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

And then it was time to go home and taking a photograph of the downtown “skyline” of Omaha from the park was easy with a slower shutter speed and a cement foundation to place the camera on to keep camera shake at a minimum. Baseball is a little like photography and life in that one enjoys those moments like a nice spring day when it happens and a free ticket and worry about the other stuff later.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

The skyline of Omaha, NE is seen outside the Ameritrade Park baseball stadium during the Creighton University versus University of Nebraska, Lincoln baseball game Tuesday, April 23, 2019. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Experiencing Museums Around Siouxland, Omaha, NE and Council Bluffs

An art installation hanging above the cafe area at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

It doesn’t need saying that museums of all stripes are wonderful places to spend time. Whether it’s paintings, sculptures or history, I enjoy how most utilize its art or aspects of telling a story to engage visitors. And around the Siouxland region there are plenty of these places to enjoy. The Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha has art work in a public eating space, so one can marvel while enjoying a snack at the same time. The Union Pacific Railroad museum has an interactive railway agent that talks with visitors through a projection set up.

An almost real life looking ticket teller projection gives some history about the railroad while trying to sell you a ticket for the next train out at the Union Pacific Museum in downtown Council Bluffs, Iowa Friday, Aug. 21, 2018. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

At the Durham Museum in Omaha there is a trolley display to show visitors what early transportation was like in the community. And a background mural was painted to put the trolly display into context, showing school children how these early day “buses” were used to transport city residents to other destinations. Sometimes it’s in the telling that also helps inform a viewer and put history into a context for understanding past events or experiences.

Replicating what an early days trolley car scene in Omaha appears like at the Durham Museum, formerly a Union Station, in Omaha, NE Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Understanding the past hopefully will make the future a better place for all of us and a little wiser in decisions going forward.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

 

Photographing in Siouxland, Durham Museum, Omaha, NE

Descending stairs at the Durham Museum, formerly a Union Station, in Omaha, NE Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Sometimes as one pursues his/hers photographic interests or various endeavors, clicking the shutter can be a leap of faith. Going somewhere while making images but not really certain where that somewhere will lead them.

I enjoy creating images with light and shade. The two work hand in hand to help create an image. To me at times the images can be intriguing and ambiguous, and at other times pretty straight forward.

But unless one clicks the shutter and captures a moment to share with others, one may never know. One foot in front of the other and one click of the shutter at a time. Following the light into the darkness and vice versa. And I guess it is as some folk say, it’s not the destination, but the journey.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Learning to See Around Siouxland, Joslyn Museum, Omaha, NE

Visiting students view a painting at the Joslyn Museum as a museum employee talks about the art work and the artist during a tour in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

I have made a few visits to the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE in the last couple of years. I enjoy its art collection and the general ambience of its facility. As a photographer I am always trying to see in a “new or different” way. Not always successfully, but I guess that is how one grows. The museum has host tour guides to take groups through and explain about the art work there, the artists and help put into perspective what a visitor sees and how it all fits together.

It’s wonderful to learn more about periods of art and the influences various artists had in either helping them produce the vision they acquired in making their art or in getting to somewhere in mind and place where they produced these works that now grace the walls of the Joslyn Museum and other museums throughout the world. But I like to challenge myself and see if in looking at works of art will help me expand my vision and embrace a different way of photographing subjects and places that I might not have thought of before. As always, what is produced and accepted is in the mind of the beholder. Some things work, some things don’t, but not trying is never an option.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Looking at a work of art juxtaposed with another display at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Looking at a work of art juxtaposed with another display at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Enjoying and Preserving Memories in Siouxland, Joslyn Museum, Omaha, NE

A couple of photographers capture their visit by photographing an indoor fountain at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

When we all visit places one time, or many, most people these days as before, take a photograph to help remember that trip and today more than ever, share with their friends. And what I find so fascinating is how we all have a different way of seeing such places and remembering them. Each an artist in their own right. Creating an image of what was encountered.

A visitor to the Joslyn Museum records a favorite piece of art while visiting in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

For myself I find it to incorporate all of what is seen within the camera’s frame and try to make it all work together using light and shadow and angles and lines and juxtaposing the various elements.

As well as just documenting what is going on.

A Joslyn Museum curator gives a guided tour to visitors so they may more appreciate the works of art seen in museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

A Joslyn Muaeum employee has her photograph taken next to a painting in the museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

We all take away those memories we enjoy and cherish and hopefully will relive by looking at the images we have taken and shared and maybe revisiting the place again. I find traveling to a place more than once becomes the challenge to come away with a different set of images which is possible depending on the time of year and time of day one visits a place. Indoors, things tend to stay the same, but that just proves more of a challenge to become more creative, see familiar objects in a different way and grow as a visual person.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Visitors document their visit to the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

Architectual aspects of the Joslyn Museum lend to various types of framing opportunities while visiting in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Enjoying a Day out of Siouxland, Joslyn Museum, Omaha, NE

One of the Joslyn Museum’s docents who keeps a roaming eye on exhibits almost seems like one himself while standing in a doorway at the in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

I always enjoy visiting art galleries, museums and other places around Siouxland where the visual arts is on display. Somedays it’s a struggle to leave my camera in the bag as I wonder about looking at various paintings and sculpted pieces, enjoying what’s before my eyes as opposed to making images. The Joslyn Museum is a very pleasant place to visit. Especially on a winter’s day when it’s more inviting to stay indoors.

This particular visit I couldn’t resist the draw to make images. I have visited the museum a number of times and am always inspired by what I see. Works of art dating from the 1600’s with their use of light and shadow to create significant scenes of a time and place that is really no longer in existence. As it once was. And it is through looking at this work that inspires me to create images utilizing light and shadow. Learning to see opportunity, and the museum’s use of lighting to highlight its treasures helps a photographer create his/her own images. This time I strove to do more than what I was seeing, but look a bit further.

A reflection of a sculpted piece of art on marble at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

 

A closer view of a fountain in the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Looking for details and the seen but not seen images that surrounds one. It’s tough because my eyes kept drifting back to the magnificent images hanging on the walls.

One of the Joslyn Museum’s docents who keeps a roaming eye on exhibits almost seems like one himself as he walks through the exhibit areas in the museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

And what a better way to spend a day than immersing oneself in art and all that it has to offer as well as staying out of the cold and snow. As spring gets closer, and hopefully warmer weather with it, I will be spending more time outside driving about Siouxland and exploring other areas I have not been to before. But I will always make time to go to a museum simply it’s always time well spent.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

A sculpted stag on display shot with an arrow by another sculpted piece not seen but across the room looks ready to jump away at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha, NE Wednesday, March 6, 2019. (photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Wistful Christmas Memories in Siouxland, Durham Museum, Omaha

Celebrating Christmas in a big way at the Durham Museum, formerly a Union Station, in Omaha, NE Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

Although spring will officially start soon here in Siouxland, winter still has its grip on the region with air temperatures hovering just above zero and for a few days below zero without any windchill. Which makes me a little wistful for the Christmas holiday season because it was relatively “warm”, all things considered at the moment. It’s hard when cabin fever sets in and one wants to get out and photograph, but that darn cold air somewhat takes the fun out of it.

When visiting the Durham Museum this past December there was a magnificent Christmas tree on display. And looking at a photograph doesn’t quite give it justice, unless of course there are people seen in the photo.

Perspective sometimes gives one pause, like seeing a giant Christmas Tree at the Durham Museum, formerly a Union Station, in Omaha, NE Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)

I enjoy the re-enacted scenes in bronze that grace various areas around the what was the grand hall or waiting room at the former Union Station in Omaha, NE. And enjoy it even more when serendipity allows one to capture life imitating art imitating life. Sometimes it’s just good to be lucky.

Jerry Mennenga

Sioux City, Iowa

Feeling at home with a display at the Durham Museum, formerly a Union Station, in Omaha, NE Monday, Dec. 10, 2018. (Photo by Jerry L Mennenga©)