Sometimes you just need to be in the right spot at the right time of day to see the potential and although I have driven down this road several times in the past, I never saw the light quite as nice as it was this evening. I parked and set my tripod on the truck roof to get a better perspective of the road and linked up to my tablet and wi-fi to fire the camera from the driver’s seat. I sat here for the better part of an hour this evening as the light got dimmer and dimmer and getting a 500th of a second shutter speed was getting harder to achieve with every passing minute. I was getting close to packing it in when I saw the girl coming up the road with her horses and I could also here a buggy coming from behind me. I was hoping the two would be in my shot at the same time but as I saw the buggy coming in my rear view mirror, I noticed it had a pickup truck right behind it that was afraid to pass. I knew this might be my only buggy till dark so using a little creative manuevering,I poked my head out the window and flagged the pickup truck to stop and I asked if they knew what time it was? The passenger seat had an Amish guy sitting in it and he gave me the time and asked what I was shooting? I said that pretty red barn, and all the while we were talking I was pressing the remote to fire the camera on the roof above me and he certainly heard it but it did not really matter. As you can see I got the shot, and I plan to return to get something better yet if possible because I love the way the road leads up through to the barn.Sometimes you just have to think fast on your feet if you want to get a shot, and thankfully this time it all worked out.

A young Amish couple meanders down a dirt road on a cool sunday morning in Lancaster County.

I thought this dirt road with a fence might make a nice shot with a buggy passing by. While I am satisfied with the shot, I wish I had shot tight on the buggy because there are five kids looking out the back and it would have been a beauty up close.

A horse made of flowers gets ready to pull a wagon at the old general store.

The sun skims across the landscape,which includes a field of partially cut tobacco at this Lancaster county farm.

Billowing clouds are the perfect backdrop for this farm in the valley.

A wet area reflects the light from the windows as someone stays late at the mill.

I always get a kick out of seeing things in my photo that I had no idea were there when I shot them. In this shot I thought I captured a basic Amish family of five traveling together till I noticed the sixth head peeking out on the front left. Maybe she needed a nap and was laying under their feet up front.

Some folks have expressed they like to hear the back story on my images so I thought some might enjoy this bit of irony. I set up on the side of the road this past sunday at this farm I found because I like the way the road leads in,and I wanted to get a buggy going by within the scene. Camera is on a tripod on my truck roof pointed down the road and I use a remote to fire it and view said image on the tablet on my lap. Well after getting the top image, a half hour goes by with nothing and it is nearing sunset when the three Amish ladies walk toward me and one gets brave enough to ask what I am shooting? I quickly blurted out I was waiting for a hot air balloon to come over and they continued on their way and I thought to myself how absurd was that to think I could sit somewhere and wait for a balloon? Well I decided it was getting too dark for anything moving and the sunset was getting real nice so I headed up the road about a mile to the spot in the lower shot, and I was not there two minutes when a hot air balloon appeared over the field in the distance where I just was parked earlier. I stood there in utter amazement, and decided to rush back that way to see the balloon and get a shot. Well till I drove a mile it had already landed and was nearly fully deflated and guess where it landed? You got it, right in that field to the left of where I was parked for the last hour. The bottom photo shows the sunset after all the excitement and what was really frustrating was how beautiful it was and I had nothing to include with it where I was situated. When someone says painterly,this sky is what I think of.

An Amish wagon shuttles harvested corn to the farm as summer starts to wind down.

The first rays of the rising sun start to illuminate the fog in the valley. Today is the anniversary of the tragedy at the twin towers and I thought an image of peace and calm might be a good one as we remember those who were lost.

While this is no great shot,it did leave me cracking up till I was done shooting it. Lately around my area you have been hearing people make comments about safety on the farm and kids getting hurt and while I understand the well-meaning thoughts,I also think that it is none of anybody’s business how they choose to teach and raise their kids. Obviously there is nothing wrong with trying to insure kids stay safe, but people moving to the suburbs often have no clue about living the life the Amish choose. Getting back to the shot here, I must admit I cringe a little whenever I see barefoot Amish kids mowing as a team with the old-fashioned clipper mower,where one uses a rope to help pull from the front. I can tell you the little one fell down a couple of times but big brother seemed to be very careful about stopping. The hilarious part for me was they never knew I was taking their picture till the last shot shown here where he looks at me,and three steps into looking at me he runs smack into the metal wall and I hear a thud off the wall and he drops to the ground. They both laugh and then head in the barn for other chores. Just wish I had it on video.

This is one of those times were everything came together right in front of me to make a neat shot. I was looking for images and saw these youngsters in the top photo heading up the road alone with the stroller so I snapped a quick shot. Just beyond my car was a lane leading into a farm and no sooner had they passed me,a buggy came from the other way and stopped at the lane to get the mail, which is my favorite image here. As they stood there,a young woman was heading out the lane to get the mail on her scooter and that is what they are looking at. After she arrived out at the road, they all loaded up in the buggy and put the stroller and scooter in the back and headed back down the lane.

This little structure reminds me of something from the Hobbit movies and I was just waiting for Bilbo Baggins to emerge under the lantern. I really liked the result I achieved here using my flashlight to illuminate the front wall and the lantern as well,which was actually broken and non functioning. I waited till the ambient light level dropped to a low-level and then used my flashlight to cast a warm tone on the front while the cool of the night burned the edges a blue tone,creating the contrast of warm verses cold.

I captured this delightful little scene at a small landscaping company. It is part of a short tour around the property and although it is a private residence, the owner was kind enough to let me do this shot.

The light is on at the hobbit cottage.

This homemade arbor beckons you to walk through it on your way to the beautiful gazebo situated just down the hill.I shot this in infrared which has a nice effect with this subject.

A hot air balloon floats close to this farm on a calm morning flight. Somewhat lucky I even took this shot because I absolutely hate balloons covered in advertising.This one has four different companies on it.

This old structure sits along the rail trail and looks like a good spot for an ice cream shop.

Hard to tell from this small version but this little guy was giving me the nasty look as they approached. He yawned twice before he got close, so he must be late for a nap.

Evening begins to take over as the last light of the day still hits the clouds in the background. I barely got this image before the light totally faded.

This evening was filled with intense summer storms and I actually was running errands when the storm came in rather quickly. I happened to have a camera with me but not my usual setup,so I was stuck shooting handheld out the truck window. I pulled in here because lightning was happening behind the silos and getting closer but trying to shoot lightning in the daylight is very tough. It got to the point where lightning was firing right above the silos and with my window down I was getting a little nervous. I decided to fire several bursts of ten shots in a row and hoped I would get lucky, and on the second set of shots the lightning left loose in a series of 3 or 4 strong flickers right over the right silo. I was so excited that I captured it, but after reviewing the camera lcd, I was sadly disappointed to see no lightning? After I thought about it,I came to the conclusion that it was a bad choice to shoot at a 250th of a second and shooting more around a 30th of a second might have been slow enough to catch the flicker. the fast shutter speed was most likely capturing everything between the bursts. This image is one taken right before the rain left loose.

I lit this lovely gazebo using flash and was very impressed with the landscaping here.There was a sign welcoming visitors to a self guided tour around the property.I hope to shoot more here if possible.

Everyone who enjoys my photography knows I capture a lot of images of the Amish in my area. This photo taken recently shows a dad and his boys heading down the road where the Nickel Mines Tragedy occurred in October of 2006. The tree in the middle is the spot the school once stood and now it is simply a field. The Amish do not erect memorials,so the spot does not draw unwanted attention. I personally remember that day very clearly as I was out taking photos in the countryside and remember how gorgeous a fall day it was and hearing sirens in the distance, and then later seeing the news about this tragic event. In today’s world we hear shocking things practically everyday on the news but this was especially heart wrenching as it was done to the most innocent in our local plain community. I often wonder if I ever captured those who were lost that day but I have no way to know,and even though Amish frown on images of themselves,many will accept a photograph to be kept private to themselves. If you ever want to read an inspiring story, read the book written by the wife of the man who did this. Her name is Marie Monville and her book is titled “one light still shines”.

Cycles get wet outside this shop just beyond Intercourse ,Pa. Just a grab shot while passing by.

This Amish butcher shop was busy on a summer day.there were at least eight buggies here.

I noticed this large Amish family heading down the road and they turned into the bank just up the road. The bank had three exits, so I pulled in a space and took my chances and picked one exit I hoped they would use. Surprisingly enough they used that one and I snapped this shot of the girls checking out the receipt as they headed up the road. This is along a very busy road and it was somewhat of a miracle the shot was not only car free but I timed it to get the carriage in the background as well. Shots like this are not luck but more seeing the composition coming together ahead of time and being ready to capture the decisive moment. As it turns out, they also got lollipops which they opened further down the road and that was probably the highlight of the day.

I shot this in spring but only got it around to it now. A very inviting property.