The Wagon Train
Not the greatest photo but an Amish man heads out to the fields with a long train of wagons ready to be loaded with the freshly cut crop.
Giddy Up Sis
A trip to the mailbox means an opportunity for a free ride from a sibling.Notice the reigns wrapped around her neck.
Passing Gear
Finally found something slower than our Amish buggies.A paving crew
Double Rainbow
This is the third rainbow image from a recent storm.Not sure what conditions create a double rainbow but it always seems to be lighter than the main one.
Working Near Home
Preferred Seating
Thanks to a willing older brother and an extra harness,these Amish kids can go for a make-believe buggy ride. I like the use of the wooden chairs for a more comfortable ride.
A Family Affair
A busy day harvesting hay features mom at the reins and dad on the wagon piling the hay bales.The children are off in the distance doing various chores.
Tail Wagging Fun
A young pup gets some fresh air in the crate on the back of this buggy.His tail was wagging quite a bit,so he must have been enjoying the ride.Two boys in the buggy ahead can be seen looking in amazement after the buggies went separate ways and they noticed the dog that was behind them.
Buggy or Bug?
This is something I have never seen before.An amish home with a buggy in the driveway and a VW Bug in the garage.Maybe the bug is there in case they are late for church? At least they kept it black as expected.
Hang On Grandma
An Amish grandma gets a back seat tour of the Lancaster county countryside in this tiny cart.Hopefully the young driver keeps it to a slow crawl or someone might be getting a swat on the hind quarters.
Amish Driving Lessons
This little scene turned out way different than I thought it would and here is why.As I drove past this farm lane I quickly glanced in and saw what I thought was 4 children ready to head out for a wagon ride,and all I saw was the kids all loaded and ready to lead the horse,so I decided to go a short ways up the road and wait for them to come by.After about three minutes,I became impatient and drove back to see what the hold up was,and that’s when it became clear that the horse was fake and it was a training session I had witnessed.By then all but one had gone somewhere else and it is one of those shots I will play over in my head that I should have gotten.
Storms Are Building
Very hot and humid weather has been creating the right conditions for afternoon storms recently.I photographed this set of storm clouds from the safety of my truck and used the tablet to fire the camera sitting on the tripod outside. There was only one lightning bolt,but it was to my right off camera. Amazingly,it never rained here,but came down in buckets just up the road.
A Day Made For Infrared
Trust Your Instincts
This was one of those nights I wish I had listened to my instincts and headed out to shoot earlier.I was doing yard work and noticed a transitioning sky and kept telling myself to head out but I kept stalling.By the time I saw the cool clouds forming,I found myself scrambling to get somewhere fast.Unfortunately this is the best I could find on short notice and the clouds to the left of my shot were much more dramatic,but it had no foreground interest that direction. Their was lightning as well but never where I had the camera pointed and I was a little nervous about getting out of the car to recompose.
Summer Flight
This hot air balloon finally got to a spot low enough that I could include some of the farm landscape below it.Hot air balloons can be a bit of a challenge to shoot,especially on an evening like this when it was slightly breezy, because they cover so much ground that keeping ahead of them and putting yourself in the right spot for a shot becomes tricky. The crew landed in a farm field shortly after this shot was taken.
Driving Lessons
This image caught my eye with the two young boys learning the nuances of handling the horses and equipment from their father.As I was working on the shot, I zoomed in and realized there were two more children in front of the father that I never even noticed. They are hard to see in this small version but the hats are there.
The Loner
I have always been drawn to lone trees for some reason.Maybe growing up as an only child makes me appreciate the solitude that trees such as this one seem to convey to me.This was shot in infrared and the effect is perfect on this image.
Looking Back
One thing I can tell you about the Amish and that is they are keenly aware of their surroundings. I was parked in a spot along the road to capture this family passing by and was using a long lens around 400mm to keep some distance, and I no sooner raised my camera and the dad immediately looked back.Their must be a young one up front because there is a car seat plopped in the back with the kids,unless the child is strapped in with the siblings watching.
Are We There Yet?
These three Amish sisters are enjoying a ride in the back of the buggy but the smallest one might be getting impatient and asking mom up front,are we there yet?
A Round The Hay Field
This field of round hay bales looked especially appealing in the late day light of an approaching storm. I was slightly concerned as I shot this because I was on my truck roof with my tripod extended and there were a few flickers of lightning in the distance.The lower image includes the machine that makes the bales and a load of bales ready to leave the field.That image was taken across the road in a second field that evening and I am pretty sure the large field got drenched before they were collected.
Scherenschnitte
A window along main street in Lititz,PA includes intricate scissor work called scherenschnitte. I have no idea how this is possible but its pretty cool.
The Gunslinger
Like a scene out of an old western,the young gunslinger stares down the stranger as a defeated opponent rides off into the sunset in the background.
Traffic Jam
This is a perfect example of being in the right place at the right time,and the only thing that was problematic was the low light and the resulting wide aperture and fast shutter speed needed to freeze any motion.The children seemed to be headed for a collision and the horse was definitely not happy as they got closer to each other.There is actually a wagon being pulled behind the horse cart as well.
There They Are
I spotted these four brothers enjoying a snack together on the rear of the buggy at a back road store.As I snapped this,the little one started pointing and he was telling his brothers to look at the tourist buggy that was going by and they all waved.Up until a few years ago,there was no such thing around here,but numerous places offer buggy rides that can be small buggies or large wagons that haul fifteen at once,and the big one is what he saw. The bottom image was taken the same day and features an Amish teen on his electric scooter as he passes the tourist wagon on the way to the same shoe shop the boys were at the top of this hill.
The Fun Of Youth
This bunch of friends enjoy a ride around the back roads of Lancaster county. When you are sitting in such close quarters,you cant help but have a great conversation about all the things that young minds ponder.
Primarily Amish
Working in RGB for my photography,I noticed these three Amish friends heading down the road in that exact color scheme. Now all I need is a group of four dressed in CMYK and things would get interesting.
Slow and Slower
The Original Porta-Potty
This set of outhouses were loaded on the wagon for transport and since its not something you see everyday,I thought I would snap a shot.I have seen numerous one room schools in my area working on their outhouses and my thought is that the government is imposing some new rules on them and that is why they are being worked on.
Exploding Umbrella
This was one of those images that just fell in my lap this past weekend.I was out in search of severe weather and the storms were approaching quickly.Suddenly the winds picked up significantly and at the same time these three Amish girls were heading up the road to visit friends.The umbrella blew inside out just as they past me,which had the three of them laughing and I managed to capture this shot as she wrestled the contraption.
Donald Reese Photography 