Zinnia Garden
Mailbox Accent
A backroad mailbox is almost completely hidden by this lovely flowering plant.
Fall Hay Harvest
Old Mill
Pick Your Own!
Local farm market.
Sunflowers by Barn
Rows, Rows, Everywhere a Row!
From rows of Sweet corn to freshly cut Rows of food crop, patterns are everywhere around here.
Lancaster County Limo Service
Big Brother takes the wheel to give his younger siblings a little summertime fun behind the zero turn.
Sister Talk
three sisters enjoy a pony cart ride and discussing the days plans.
Ladies Day Out
These sisters put on their matching pink dresses to go for a ride in the country, while their older brother in the back seat was told to sit down, shut up and hold on!
After the Storm
This is my hometown after a heavy storm passed through. I headed out hoping for a rainbow which did happen although somewhat mediocre, but as I drove through town I noticed the light hitting the church and buildings on this street. The doggone wires are quite obnoxious but the lighting is cool.
Suspense & Suspenders
A tense competition featuring an old Steam Tractor captivates the imagination of this group of Amish suspender wearers.
A Final Gesture?
The gentleman who owned this local farm had allowed me to photograph on his property a couple times over the years. He had some custom stonework he created which resembled Castle Spires, a wishing well and other nice accents around the property. He passed away this year and within the last month I happened to drive by and see this wonderful sunflower field on his property! While I cannot say for sure this was a farewell gesture to the community, it would not surprise me in the slightest if this was the case.
Teamwork
Another shot from Rough and Tumble and what you are looking at is two Steam Tractors working as a team to keep the metal shackle in the middle from touching the ground. They both move the same direction and then the opposite and this is no easy feat with the way these machines move at different rates. If you take note the rope holding the shackle is also tied around the waste of each driver. A contingent of Amish and Mennonite kids have front row seats for the action. One note worth mentioning is the fact these guys love to blast their steam whistles which are unbelievably loud, and Let me tell you when you are looking the opposite way standing ten feet from one of these, and they pull the cord, it almost makes you jump out of your shoes!
Rough and Tumble
Rough and Tumble is an organization comprised of folks who have a passion for old steam powered machines, tractors, etc. Once a year they hold what is known as the Thresherman’s reunion which is open to the public and you can see some really cool old equipment there. There are two small steam locomotives that carry passengers around the property and there are competitions to enjoy as well. This is a shot I did of a small section of tractors on display by a barn. This was a pain to do because I did not bring my normal remote setup with me, so I had to fire the flash in the middle of one second exposures and could only guess if I was aiming correctly without the aid of my tablet feedback. I pulled it off but it reminded me how modern tools assist the photographer to reach his creative vision. Just as I was framing the shot there was a group of ten Amish girls who walked right down the middle which I captured but they were blurry due to having everything set for longer exposures. You would never guess there are bleachers just to the left with several hundred people watching steam engines pulling a sled.
Waves of Color
This local home certainly enhances the neighborhood with its bountiful display of Petunias!
Fire Breather!
This is a shot I took at the Rough and Tumble Thresherman’s reunion held last week here in Lancaster county. This is an annual gathering of Steam equipment of all kinds. This particular photo is from what they refer to as the sparks demonstration. To accomplish this effect, they put wood chips into the furnace which then shoot out the chimney as hot glowing embers.
The Twilight Zone!
Have you ever been going somewhere in your car and you see a vehicle headed the other direction that for some reason catches your attention, then an hour later or so you pass the exact same vehicle going the opposite way and you realize it’s the same spot you first crossed paths? Well this has happened to me on more than one occasion and each time I think what are the chances that this would occur and I ponder if our paths are somehow intertwined? That’s a bizarre intro into today’s photo but its similar yet different. I recently had to run and get some things about ten miles from home and on the way I passed this buggy going the other way on a back road and it caught my eye but I had no time to turn around. As I kept driving, this buggy I had passed kept popping up in my mind as I replayed over and over the opportunity I missed. So I got to the store, got my things and decided to take another route back home just to look for anything interesting I might come across. As I am coming through the town of Lititz I see the exact same buggy and we cross paths at literally the best possible spot for me to capture a nice image. It is the entrance to the Lititz Springs park and traffic is very steady along this route, but in a moment of everything coming together, the buggy turned into the park right in front of the pretty train station, and Traffic was forced to stop for a flashing pedestrian crosswalk, so I had maybe 30 seconds to frame and capture this image before the crosswalk was clear and I was forced to proceed. Sometimes I experience these seemingly impossible circumstances that present themselves in the most amazing way. There is almost no other spot along this part of town I could have captured them where it would be nothing but cars, signs, businesses in the background etc etc, but I was blessed to have this opportunity presented to me. Oh and by the way There are exactly twelve children I could count in the buggy along with their father at the reigns. They were headed for a picnic in the shady park.
Relax and Enjoy the View
A Show Inside and Out
This is a shot I decided to capture this past weekend and it features the local Performing Arts Center. The darker flowers were more abundant toward the building but then from that vantage point I basically lost any decent view of the building! I had no idea when I headed out if they had a show or not this evening but thankfully they did and I was able to incorporate the warm interior and exterior lighting. When I first arrived the sunset was starting to get good but it was only lighting up the sky to the right outside my shot and this is the best it got,which was a bit disappointing. The other thing that threw a wrench in things was a street light to the left that caused minor issues. On the positive side the manager came out to talk to me to inquire what I was doing and approached me in a very courteous and friendly manner which made for a pleasant interaction.
Relax and Enjoy the View!
Azaleas provide a pleasing border for your walk to the gazebo where you can then relax and enjoy the view.
Spring Hues
My hometown park comes to life with various spring shades.
This Church is A-Okay
This church is somewhat unique with it’s A-frame design and the stained glass front is beautifully illuminated in this late evening image.
Barns and Flower Garden
This little scene is right along the road which is barely visible on the right side. I happened past at just the right time because a few days later the weather had beat them up pretty good. This is two separate properties but I got the owners blessing and the rest is history.
Speed Racer
He may be tiny but he is ready to run with the big boys!
Welcome Home
This photo is the result of not giving up when an opportunity seems lost. I was driving toward Intercourse, Pa which has a large Amish population in the surrounding area when I noticed these Amish kids walking this pony, but the trouble was they were way back off the road in their backyard. Scenes like this just make me yearn to capture them for the glimpse it offers into the Amish lifestyle. Directly beside the property was a local produce store so I proceeded to make a loop around to see if there was a spot to park with a view of the backyard? To my surprise there was one parking spot left which was in the shade and gave an unobstructed view of the interaction. I must say these Amish siblings were doting on this pony with such a caring and gentle way that it kind of surprised me! They walked him around the yard petting him and being very gentle with him. I feel like he is a new member of the family but that is just a guess.
Storm is Building
While this local Church is very pretty with the Parsonage located right beside and the flowering pink tree to the left, trust me when I say the hideous power lines that were in the original image which I painstakingly removed one by one made this lovely scene downright ugly.
Church and Purple Iris
I have always admired the beauty of this local old Church but the way the steeple is mounted almost hanging off the front has always baffled me. There has to be some logical reason why it wasn’t mounted ten feet back but other than it having ornate woodwork in the front, it is a mystery to me. The patch of purple iris shown here was almost too close to the church for a good shot including the church but I am satisfied with this result. An interesting observation I made is no matter where I moved the steeple on that roof it did not look as good as at the edge!
Pleasing to the Eye
This little patch of tulips makes an appearance every spring and it always pulls me in to get a shot. It is literally 3 feet beside a highway of super busy traffic on an Amish property.
Tornado Warning!
This was captured on Memorial day evening and features a nice red barn and house and the properties small pond located just below. The bottom photo caught my eye a week or so ago and I stopped to see if I could try to capture the sea of yellow. The owner was very friendly and said sure so I asked if I could return to try a pond shot sometime and he said sure whenever, even if we are not home which I appreciated. That brings us to Monday night when possible storms were forecast so I decided why not head out here. I was thinking maybe lightning reflected in the pond or whatever possibilities might develop! I arrived with a dark sky behind the barn and the occasional rumble but really no lightning to speak of. I set my tripod as low as it goes at the edge of the pond with my camera and then added a big golf umbrella I velcro fast to the tripod. I then add a small bag with about 30-40 pounds of weights in it to the tripod and umbrella to keep it from taking off!
After I have my composition locked and focused, I go back to my truck for added safety and remotely operate the camera. It was looking more and more like a flop with the storm just languishing in the distance and the chance for a good shot becoming less with each passing minute. I was a couple minutes from throwing in the hat when I noticed a beam of light below the storm where it was starting to light up. Well the light got better and better till the point I shot this frame and just like that my phone lit up with an emergency Tornado Warning and I could see the rain coming in so I made a beeline to grab my camera before everything let loose. It got pretty windy with heavy rain for a few minutes but thankfully no Tornado developed. All in all I was very happy with the result of this evening of opportunities.
Donald Reese Photography 