I happened upon this crew of youngsters out having fun on the family farm recently.I had to use a 400mm to reach them but I got a few despite the distance. I think the little horse might be the offspring of the other white horse because it hung pretty close most of the time. Not sure why the kid has his hands raised in victory but don’t try to figure kids out anyway.

Walking or riding in Lancaster county is a pleasant experience on a quiet afternoon.

Mature trees glow in infrared and provide pleasing framing on the old buildings.

The entrance to a golf course provides a nice subject in infrared.

Interior lights cast warm reflections across the rain-soaked road in this evening image.

A classic car cruises the back roads of Lancaster county and gets the attention of an Amish boy in the buggy.

Infrared photography lends itself to cemetery images due to its dreamy effect.I shot this image because the ornate wrought iron entrance caught me eye.

This is one corner of our garden and after the tree dropped all of its colorful flowers last week and blanketed the ground in pink petals,I decided to get the camera out and light the scene.The three gazing balls were placed into the bird bath and backlit to show their color and this shot was one of only one or two I took this spring.

This past thursday was Ascension day and the local Amish and Mennonite communities spend the day relaxing and socializing away from any work related activities. These two photos are of Amish children ascending the ladder on the slide at a local park. Ascension day commemorates Jesus ascension into Heaven and is celebrated 39 days after Easter.

Not my typical photo subject but since I made it,I Figured I would share it. We live beside a rail trail that is almost finished and after years of planning,debating,arguing and worrying,the trail has turned out pretty nice after all. Our property is at the top of this hillside and since we had this old stump sticking out on the hill,I figured I would build this little gnome home to give trail users something to visually enjoy. I made the roof,ladders,balcony and added some tiny benches,bikes,gnomes and railroad spikes to commemorate the old railroad that once ran here.So far everyone that sees it really has enjoyed looking at the little imaginary world where tree stumps are homes. I shot it at dusk and lit it with my spotlight.

This graceful magnolia tree was in full bloom recently and the owner left me venture into the yard to light the shots with my flash at dusk.

The young Amish girl in the cart lets out a hearty laugh as she becomes disconnected from the tricycle pulling her and plops down on the driveway. I was driving around looking for shots and this little scene unfolded just as I was passing. I guess they needed a young man to give them tips on hitch connecting.

A young Amish boy gets a lesson in plowing from his dad on this fine spring day.

A group of younger Amish boys hangs out near a game of mud sale volleyball. Many times the Amish youth set up multiple volleyball nets near the spring mud sales and this year they had to contend with snow-covered courts from the late season storm.

A small wagon load of red flowers is pulled behind this Amish buggy which includes three sisters dressed in blue.

Very strong storms were forecast to hit our area so I headed out to look for some vantage points. I decided on this farm and even though the storms never came,there was a long protracted series of flashes within the clouds that almost looked like heat lightning and I did get this one decent flicker as the skies were clearing. I hope to revisit this scene to get more dramatic storms this summer.

The majority of these Amish boys were enjoying trying to land the big one at the local fishing hole,but one young lad was immersed in a favorite book and seemed to be lost in another world as he ignored everything around him as he lay reading.

This baby goat was full of spunk as he ran around the pasture and occasionally jumped on moms back for a little extra fun.Baby goats are among the funniest newborns to watch as they head butt each other,kick wildly at a moments notice and generally have fun much of the time. Mom did not tolerate this for too long so I was glad to have captured it.

These three young owls are located in a tree in a local park and are quickly growing toward adulthood. They are in a spot that has drawn a lot of onlookers and thankfully there is a creek separating them from the curious.They say its unusual because there is rarely a hole this big in a tree to nest in and to see them so readily as well. I shot this with a 600mm.

An Amish family takes a lazy afternoon stroll near Strasburg,Pa and the two children enjoy being pulled along.

One Amish girl helps another work through deep mud at a recent mud sale.They had quite an adventure getting from one side of the puddle to the other.

This Amish family of five crammed into this little wagon to take an afternoon ride and when the buggy on the left got behind them,he figured it was time to drop the hammer and zip around them.It was around 70 degrees this day and riding in the wagon must have been great fun with the small pony pulling them around the back roads.

Spring planting in rural Pennsylvania creates this curving pattern in a freshly worked farm field.

I light painted this rural scene during the last snowfall of the season.

These Amish girls check out the selection of buggies at the mud sale. Amish customize their buggies in a variety of ways from carpeting to stereos to new led lights.I recently saw one going down the road with blue leds underneath and that’s something I thought I would never see.I also thought I would never see beer cans being thrown out of a buggy but I did a few years back as the youth were sowing their wild oats during whats referred to as rumspringa.