When you are in the farming business, being efficient is a top priority and this farmer raking hay is a good example of that. The multiple wheels with teeth on the end progressively spin the crop to the center,making nice rows to be bundled later.

Seven Amish girls are packed like sardines into this little cart as they head down the farm lane. Now that’s just good country fun and no phone,tablet or internet needed.

The quaint little town of Intercourse,Pa is considered by many as ground zero for tourists visiting Lancaster county and wishing to get a glimpse of the local Amish community. I personally consider the area around Intercourse to be among my favorite local destinations when I want to photograph local scenes. This quilt shop is located right in the heart of town and has been on my mind to shoot for a little while. I was actually out chasing storms and having no luck with the skies, so as I headed through town here,I decided to swing in and see what it looked like. Almost instantly I noticed the slate sidewalk was all wet from the storm and was reflecting lovely color from the lights. The icing on the cake was the multiple windows with illumination inside and the warm feeling they provided. I think they must use the upstairs as a B&B because all the shops were closed and there was a lot of activity in the rooms.

We have a picket fence at our house and I always liked this fence and home in a town nearby so I stopped to try a shot this past weekend. The arched stained glass window provided a nice accent to the garden out front and a little added illumination from my flash helped things pop a bit.

Well it might not be the best seat but it is the most interesting one. Everyone was all decked out in blue on this Amish buggy and chips were the snack of the day. You don’t often see a wooden chair on a buggy but maybe she wanted an elevated view.

When you visit Lancaster county and you traverse the many quiet country roads, you usually don’t have to go too far till you get behind some piece of farm equipment heading to a field. This behemoth caught my eye because the cars looked like toys as they lined up behind it. Around here, this might be considered congestion.

I saw the two boys selling raspberries along the road and they were unaware of me at first,then all of a sudden a third head pops out from behind the wagon and sees me. I am not sure where the raspberries were,because all I could see were flowers.

These group of structures caught my eye due to their varied shapes and sizes and all topped with copper cupolas.

A toddler gets a front row seat on this Amish scooter.

This youngster appeared to be diagnosing engine trouble on this tractor as I drove by. Till I turned around to get a shot,he was already on the other side, so either he knew what he was doing or was playing the role perfectly. He had to be around 8-10 years old but already he was ready to fill pops shoes.

This shot is another good example of being in the right place at the right moment. I was driving around a while and not seeing much worth capturing and as I came down this back road, there was a large group of Amish playing volleyball. I usually have to make quick decisions on whether I am going to try a shot or not and in this instance a volleyball came bouncing across the road in front of me as I approached. I stopped my vehicle to let them retrieve the ball and in doing so all attention was on me in my truck. Needless to say I did not shoot the group staring at me, but as I pulled away I noticed the same property had a driveway up ahead and it looked like a couple of kids were riding something and heading up toward the road. I readied the camera and managed to focus and get a few frames off before they headed back down the drive. These Amish kids were riding the neatest little ponies on wheels and for all I know they were built by the parents. Had it not been for that volleyball crossing the road and me stopping,these kids would have been nowhere within range to get these images. The Amish are generally very private ,so I find it very rewarding to be able to find unique images and capture what I feel are little glimpses into their lives.

The youngest of the three brothers actually gave me a wave as they approached. Mom was at the reins, middle brother was sipping a cool drink, and the oldest brother was keeping a close eye on them all.

This country lane runs between farms and the sunset was fairly decent this evening.

Young Amish boys hang out on a sunday evening. Some go barefoot and some wear shoes.

One Amish girl looks back at me from across the road. I pulled up to a stop sign and they were sitting in the yard across the street talking on a sunday evening.

Was driving around taking pictures and saw these intense cloud formations off in the distance. Many times you have to find the right combination of foreground subject distance to the clouds in the background. A telephoto lens helped bring the two together for a dramatic result.

Heavy rains left huge puddles on Lancaster county roads recently.This horse and buggy handled the 8 inch puddle with hardly a splash.

This lane runs between two country roads and is a public access. I was heading through when I came across this group just talking on a sunday evening. After no movement to let me through,I leaned out the window to get a shot and that motivated them to clear the path.

This group of horses caught my eye as they almost seemed to be hiding behind this tree. As I pulled up,they slowly came out from behind to check me out.

This image was taken two minutes after I shot the photo of the Amish boys I posted yesterday. The Amish love their volleyball and many are actually quite good. I have played competitively in the past and I see their skills at setting, hitting, and passing and it is impressive. When I parked to get the teens on the road yesterday, others were playing volleyball about 75 yards away in a field. As the sun got lower on the horizon, it slowly started to lose intensity, which I was waiting for to get some shots. I noticed they just finished a game and were slapping hands after the game,so I snapped a quick shot as a test for exposure. As soon as they walked off the court,they took the net down and that was it. Thankfully I got this image.

I have always felt my photography has a guiding hand helping me because sometimes I just can’t believe what I am blessed to find on my travels. I headed out a week or so ago to shoot nasty storms and even though they never materialized, I was fortunate enough to find a few Amish teens on the back roads. The group shown here were standing along the road and when I passed the girls yelled something, so I figured they were in a good mood, so I continued up the road and parked and hoped they would eventually head my way. It was not long till the guys headed my way and as they got within range of my longer lens, they spontaneously put their arms around each other and seemed unfazed by my presence. My 400mm lens is rather slow and it was getting dark,so out of 8 shots,I thankfully had two keepers. I never noticed when I was shooting these but the guy in the white shirt is wearing a belt made of real daisy flowers. It was one of those evenings driving around that I will always remember and reminds me why I love Amish country and the gift of photography that I am blessed to have.

A group of Amish girls head to a volleyball game just up the road. They seemed slightly amused by the guy with a camera.

This foursome of Amish kids look like they are getting ready to play “Ring around the Rosie”. It was late in the evening when I captured this and although you can’t tell by this view,it was very dark.

Two Amish girls have some fun cruising through a large puddle. The water was at least 8 inches deep at the deepest spot, so I was a little surprised they actually went through it.

The evening I captured this image was the first time I had gone out photographing in quite a while and it far exceeded what I could have imagined I would get. This photo was one of about six images that I was very glad to have captured that evening and it was taken along a farm lane I was driving on.I was just meandering along when I saw these four Amish kids with lollipops running toward me in the distance. I slowed down,leaned out the window and snapped about 5 frames. I guess their mother never told them not to run with something in their mouth.