This lovely farm and the daylilies that border the fence made a serene combination for this summer evening photo. I was also highly frustrated by the two horses who kept coming up to the fence blocking my view of the barns. They would stand with their back ends in my shot but not their heads. Every time the camera fired they would either become very attentive or just take off in a mad dash. I did miss a great silhouette shot of the one horse kicking his rear feet out to tell the other one to back off. I tried my best to horse whisper them into a good position but this is as close as I got.
This image captures one ladies love of color and gardening. I drove past here and was amazed at the sea of color flowing down from the porch to the sidewalk below and believe it or not it was much more impressive one week earlier but still very nice when I found time to shoot it. It is in a tough spot to capture with limited places to set up and shoot but I am satisfied with the result.
I recently did a photo to recognize a local scout who completed his Eagle Scout project. The young man laid a new paver path, made many improvements and fixed a variety of issues that time and the elements had affected at this place known as the Grotto. I honestly know very little about the Catholic faith or for that matter what exactly the purpose of the Grotto is? My impression is it’s a place to pray, find peace and practice your faith? This is located on Catholic Church property and is really off the beaten path. It is under heavy mature trees and believe me when the sun went down it got extremely dark real quick. My idea was to light the scene and create a kind of outward illumination emanating from the central figure of Mary? I do know that this young mans eagle scout project was greatly appreciated by many people.
I am certainly slowing down when it comes to shooting, but I still thoroughly enjoy capturing new images. This photograph was taken a few days ago in our local park which year after year never seems to disappoint in it’s display of autumn color. This park is very popular and I even played little league baseball here almost 50 years ago. Not sure if I ever told this story before but down the slope on the right is a pond and when I was in my early teens a bunch of my friends and I were sledding here. It was getting late and to be funny I pushed my friends sled toward the frozen pond so he would have to take a long walk to get it back! The entire pond was frozen except one 10 foot circle of open water at the edge where a spring fed in. Guess where the sled went? It went in and sank like a rock and I cannot remember how but my dad found out what happened the same day, so he loaded me up in the car to go retrieve the sled from the frozen pond! He stood there and ordered me to start walking in till I felt the sled! I think I was about waist deep and crying like a baby because all I could imagine was getting caught under the ice and dying. Needless to say we did not get the sled but my dad drove me to the store to buy a new one and deliver it to my friend’s front door the same night! I can tell you I never did that again!
This young Chauffeur might own his taxi but he could use a new hat complete with an actual brim. His little sister seems to be content with his driving even if he is not looking at the road ahead?
This old mill and farm house have been maintained as they were originally in the good old days and are open to anyone wishing to see history close up. I had the opportunity to photograph this old mill years ago and it contains some really cool old machinery. The caretaker shared with me that the entire mill operation would start up with the simple pull of one lever which would open the spillway and mother nature’s water power would get the process rolling. The garden incorporates flowers and plants that would be found here.
It’s not every day you see a golf cart full of Amish tearing up the field, but the only thing I could think of was they forgot the clubs back at the buggy and their tee time was only minutes away. They could also use new golf shoes in my opinion!
This was a gorgeous field of flowers that the family that lives here told me was clover? I missed the reason it was here but I thought they mentioned it was simply something planted between regular crops? Whatever the reason I am glad I happened upon it and got to capture it! The complementary blue sky rounds out the shot.
This adorable Amish boy complete with his colorful blue shirt and straw hat sits back and takes in the beauty of a slow meandering scooter ride while his Grandma keeps her eyes on the road ahead..
I was traversing the back roads when I glanced over and noticed this scene. It had a very calm feel to it which I can’t explain. Maybe it was the quietness of the cool spring morning, or the faint mist in the air or perhaps the fact the horses didn’t move an inch as I found my angle? Anyway it has a serene feel to it, at least for me.
This image is one I captured at an Amish roadside flower stand right here in Lancaster County. What you are looking at is a small wagon full of Mother’s day flowers and was shot with a wide angle to fill the foreground with color. The flowering trees and red barn helped to round out the composition. The one thing that puzzled me was when the mother came out to ask if I got a nice picture? She then proceeds to say my name and she actually remembered it from 15 years ago when I had shot tulips here!
The fog on this particular day was quite thick and made it very hard to see what was on the road ahead. I was capturing the trees and fence here when in the Distance I could hear the familiar clippity clop of an Amish horse and buggy approaching. I had to make a quick decision on how to frame the image and then wait for buggy to hit the spot I wanted him in.
As we inch closer to spring the weather can be a bit sporadic in nature. In the last two weeks we had a snow bomb cyclone that dropped several inches of snow, then two days later it’s 60 degrees and all melted, and just before all that we had some really thick fog that provided some photo ops such as this shot that witnesses the sun finally piercing through.
I managed to get myself motivated to go out for an hour or so after the dreaded bomb cyclone came through yesterday. This secluded home looks like it would be a great place to spend the day sitting by the fireplace just looking out at the beauty.
Today I turned 60 and am reminded how time flies. I went out shooting in the frigid weather and noticed these wheels and tires plastered by the driving snow.
I was heading to a photo last Thursday and as I was heading up a small mountain, all of a sudden I was in this winter wonderland. The entire top of the climb looked like this yet three quarters of a mile below it was totally bare.
Apologies for taking so long to post my Christmas shots from Lititz but here is the first. The top image is my main shot but then I started wondering if I could get any people involved? It’s funny how things come together and the couple in silhouette was going by and I asked if there was any chance they would volunteer? The young lady replied “oh my word, I stalked your house to buy a photo years ago”! We laughed, they posed and it all worked out.
For those who enjoy my stories, I have a longer one for you from Christmas eve. First let me say I have a reputation among my family of being someone who might skip an occasional family holiday party to just go out shooting photos instead. That was the case Christmas eve when we were invited to the usual in-law gathering and I basically felt like being alone which happens this time of year with depression. I had stopped here earlier in the week on business and wondered to myself if I could get a nice image sometime? Well Christmas eve came and off I headed to this church. I waited till the service got going and the stained glass started to glow as the ambient light dropped. Everyone was inside for the candle light service and I was scurrying around outside trying to put a shimmer on the road and get the nativity to be visible. I ended up shining a light behind the star on the display and guided the shadow where I wanted it to appear on the grass.
Almost the entire time I was shooting which was about an hour, I kept hearing firetrucks screaming down the road in the distance and figured something huge was going down, so I packed up to go find this huge fire! Turns out Santa was cruising the town on the Fire Truck which made me wonder why they aren’t at home with their families on Christmas eve, then a little voice whispered “and what about you”?
If you made it this far, keep going, it is the main part of the story. As I was heading home on the highway, in the distance I could see a vehicle with very faint 4 way flashers on the side of the road. There were dozens and dozens of cars whizzing by all seemingly oblivious to the vehicle and I too drove by to my exit about two miles away. It was then I wondered who the person was and what might happen to them, so I decided to get back on the highway and eventually cross where the Police usually sit. I managed to get back on as cars were going at least 70mph non stop and I finally got to the car with my high beams on it. Before we go any further I am fully aware of what possibilities are out there when stopping, so I do the best evaluation I can because my family needs me too. I got out, saw the plate was from Arizona and then I walked up to the window and it was an African American woman who appeared to be quite concerned about her situation.
I introduced myself, asked if she was really from Arizona, and she replied “we just moved to Maryland recently”. I am no mechanic but I asked how she ended up on the side of the road and her comment was “I think my engine blew up” I said open the hood, maybe its something obvious and folks, imagine opening your hood and then taking two buckets of the driest dirt you can find and just toss it in there because that is what it looked like and she said “all cars in Arizona look like that”? The car would not turn over, and there wasn’t a hint of oil on the dipstick, so I figured maybe her assessment was correct? By the way she said she was sitting there over an hour with not a single soul stopping? I told her since I have a rubber push bumper on my Jeep I could carefully push her the two miles to a Sheetz were she would be safe till she figured out her next move. She told me she had been at a mall shopping, had no clue where she currently was and no idea how she was getting home.
Wow, we are almost done! A few final tidbits. I told her to put it in neutral, and once I get you going to just coast and I will assist if needed. I specifically told her when you get to the exit ramp, if there is room to safely pull over,please do so! Ladies and gentleman, when we got to the ramp she was picking up speed and I was beeping for her to pull over? she stopped right under the red light and as I walk up, her eyes are like golf balls and she says “I had no brakes or power steering” This little detail got forgotten in all the mess but thank goodness she managed. I pushed her into Sheetz and you could see her relief. We said our goodbye and I headed home but all I could think was she is two hours from home on Christmas eve and most likely will sleep in her car overnight? I sat at home for a while asking myself why I didn’t offer her to stay at our place? It can get complicated when you have a wife and daughter to keep safe so I waited till they got home to ask. I got a solid “absolutely not” from the wife and our teenage daughter emphatically stated she is not having a complete stranger watch her open Christmas presents in the morning! Stopping is not for everyone, but I hope if my family ever needs help, there will be someone willing to help another human being! I never knew how it ended but two mechanic friends told me her alternator probably died and the car just shut off and I even had a jump box with me but never thought to try it.
Donald Reese Photography 