Fresh Air Arrival

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I wanted to share this image from last night because it struck me as the ultimate contrast in lifestyles. What you are seeing is an Amish family welcoming a child from the fresh air program to Lancaster county. As they made their way to their transportation home,which was the horse and buggy,I could only image the thoughts going through her mind. A young girl, used to the hustle and bustle of New York City,was now boarding a buggy to experience life in the slow lane.I assume she was a return guest because she did not bat an eye as she climbed aboard for her ride to her home away from home.Oh the stories she will tell when she gets home.

 

The Tiny Nibbler

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Little whitey is doing as young horses do and is antagonizing his meadow mate with a little nibble. Little brownie then cocked his one leg as a warning of an impending kick and the nibbling stopped for a moment. These two stand about 24 to 36 inches and are absolutely adorable miniature horses.

The Red Roof

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Some followers have mentioned they like hearing the stories behind my images,so I will share a slightly long story if you care to read. This Amish farm recently had a new roof put on and a red one at that,which immediately caught my eye. I decided to head out on a sunday morning and compose a shot that might include Amish buggies passing by,and this image is the result of waiting for the right moment with several buggies on the road. Tripod is on my truck roof and I am inside the truck with my laptop controlling the camera.

The memorable part of this day began with the actual Amish man who owns the farm stopping at my window as he drove by in his buggy,and asking whats up? I told him I was shooting the nice barn and left out the part about the buggies,and off he went. Three hours later I was down the road shooting buggies passing and much to my surprise,he pulls up to my window again and says,now seriously whats up?  I quickly came up with a viable possibility and He says he was wondering if I was filming for the Amish Mafia TV series?  This absolutely stunned me that he even knew such a show existed,but I assured him I hated the show and we talked a little while longer and off he went. I made him a 12×18 print of his farm and matted it for him and he was very happy with the gift.

One thing that puzzles me is about fifty percent of the horses that see my rooftop tripod have a slightly scared look as they see it, and one Amish guy told me horses don’t like things higher than their head. Why does my tripod appear any different to them than trees,telephone poles,etc? It is not moving at all and should be of no concern. Amazingly enough in the days since I composed this post, I witnessed a horse at a railroad crossing  who seemed terrified of the crossing sign support and took several cracks of the whip till he moved passed them,which seems to confirm this hypothesis.

Different Directions?

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This Lancaster county scene is one that is repeated each sunday morning as buggies head to church at rotating farms.Shots like this always involve a little bit of luck and I was pretty excited to see an open buggy heading up the hill and was very focused on capturing it at the right point in the frame,but when the other one came from behind,I was really excited. If you look closely there is one coming out the lane and one on the far hill. The one in the lane stopped and asked what I was shooting and I said the nice farm down there,which brought a slight smile. Every once in a while I run into a passing motorist who stops and wants to question me about what I am shooting and that happened this morning. A large van pulled up beside me,asked what I was shooting and when I said the farm down there,they said did you get permission?  I then asked if he was with the photography police?,to which he rolled up his window and drove away. The buggy heading down the hill was the one and only headed that direction,and that is one thing that is very hard to figure out. Everybody and their brother is heading north and this lone guy heads south?

A Great Evening

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I never post this many shots at once,but I wanted to show the different images I captured at one location on a stormy afternoon. I had been hanging out with friends one sunday afternoon and right near supper time these amazing clouds started moving in so I grabbed my gear and headed out. The top image is what I was after and I barely got the shot because the sky was changing so fast and the time between the first and second image is around ten minutes. After the storm blew over and poured down buckets of rain, I decided to try and get ahead of the storm and drove about twenty miles to get to the leading edge of the storm and gave up because I was getting into an area that was not very scenic. Next I turned around to head home and as sunset got closer,I decided to retrace my route and as I got back to the farm again,rain was stopping which left the road glistening and reflecting the colorful sky. The last shot was taken very close to the spot I shot the first image from, and all in all turned out to be a great afternoon of shooting.

Days End

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This image was the only one I got this evening after heading out in search of storms. Wicked weather had just left a trail of destruction about a half hour before I came into this area,so I just drove around watching thunderheads forming. I saw the setting sun lighting these clouds and this farm came to mind as being in the right position in the foreground,so I made a bee line to get here and just made it before the light faded.

Sleeping? Think Again

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I wanted to post this series to show some of the reactions I get sometimes. The top image was the one I was after and was shot at a good  distance, but as they got farther out in the field, I decided to move and get a rear view straight on. I was not totally watching the whole time and as I got in position I thought is he sleeping on the back?  Well photo 3 shows the answer to that question,and when I get something like this, I wonder what would dad think if he knew he was doing it?  Not sure what crop they are planting but I am leaning toward lettuce. There was about 2 seconds between photo 2 and 3.

Dusk in the Valley

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Admittedly for me, this type of shot is one I always struggle with when it comes to post processing and trying to make the image reflect the original scene. I was heading home after an evening of shooting and this scene across the valley caught my eye. A light fog had started to settle in and the farmer was doing late day chores,so the contrast of the cool evening and warm interior beckoned me to stop. I shot this with about 300-400mm and I was on my truck roof with shutter speeds ranging from half a second to 2 seconds. It was a lot darker than my image appears here but making it dark never seems to print right or look right to my eye. I am surprised the cows are so sharp.

The Deluge

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This heavy storm came through our area and in some local towns it just sat there and dumped buckets of rain.This shot is not the greatest foreground shot,but it was not pouring on me at this point,so I had to record the cloud formations where I was because they were changing moment to moment .

Thomas in Amish Country

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Thomas the tank engine made another appearance at Lancaster counties Strasburg Railroad recently and I was lucky enough to be driving by on a side road when I noticed this group of Amish boys waiting for the train to come. The entire crew of youngsters had just placed multiple pennies on the tracks as I was getting out of my car,and if you look closely at the boy in the pink shirt,you can see him looking at his penny on the tracks as Thomas approaches. I walked up behind them with my attention looking down the tracks so as to act uninterested and as the train got closer, I got into position to capture them enjoying the passing locomotive.

Amish Mafia?

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The rumored Amish Mafia might have been caught on camera by me as they prepared to launch a sneak attack on an unsuspecting tourist buggy. Tourists love to take these buggy rides through the countryside here, and I can’t blame them,but now that discovery channel has the show Amish mafia, folks are worried they might run into this gang of outlaws. Here they have what I can only guess is some sort of explosive device,and I believe they are trying to get close enough to take out a dozen tourists at once. If you read the above info and are stupid enough to believe any of it, please watch Amish Mafia for your fill of the most idiotic program on TV. Oh,by the way,they are really headed for a propane refill but if you live in a fantasy world and insist on believing there really is such a thing as an Amish mafia,that’s your choice.

Amish Essentials

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On a sunday evening out, there are a few things you want to have. The first is a bucket of pretzels,hanging on the right, a bag of goodies hanging on the left, the volleyball net,hanging underneath and of course your best man on your right. Have these things,and an evening of fun is just around the bend.

 

Ready Yourself

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Lately I have been keenly aware of a dramatic shift that seems to be taking place in the good old U.S. of A. This blog is supposed to be about photography, but each day the news brings something more bizarre that makes me wonder if we are perhaps approaching the point of no return? From random shootings to government surveillance of its citizens, to the fact that many people are hoarding food and weapons,something is definitely in the air. I have said many times that if our founding fathers were to be planted back here today,they would be in utter shock at how far we have slid. I come from a very conservative region,and have no intention of offending anyone who has different views, but from my vantage point I see a population of apathetic citizens who want to be led around like lambs to the slaughter, so ready yourself because a storm is on the horizon.

Dreamy Mansion

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Two views of the same Victorian home shot in infrared. The sky was stormy and the sun was barely out,so infrared was not as strong this evening. I like both images about the same. This home has the most gorgeous wrap around porch that has to be seen in person to be appreciated.

No Place Like Home

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This local home is one I have always considered to be a true masterpiece. It was built in 1905 by Benjamin Gonder and the architectural detailing is magnificent. I was driving by recently and noticed this patch of flowers along the driveway entrance. The blooms were calling out to me,so I bravely knocked at the door and was met by the owner who graciously allowed me on the property. I said I wanted to snap a few flower pictures and as usual I spent more than an hour at it.

Whenever you meet someone new like this,there is always a bit of uncertainty on their part about who this person is and are they legit. The owner came out after an hour because they wondered how long a snapshot takes? I reassured her that with me,it can be pretty involved to get it all right. She then offered to allow me to go take a peek out back and possibly shoot the rose garden,which was absolutely stunning and that will be a post for another day. For this image,I waited till dusk for the interior light to show,and then lit the plants with flash. As I recall, the owners referred to themselves as the caretakers,which I took to meaning that some homes are so special that they are really something unto themselves and are not owned but cared for, but I might have that all wrong too.

The Kings Palace?

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Is this the palace of an Arabian king, a temple along the Nile river, or the final resting place of some middle eastern ruler? Well none of the above,it is actually the home of Sight and Sound Theatres,which is the largest faith-based theatre in the country and it is in Lancaster county. Their live recreations of Biblical stories are unparalleled,and years ago I saw their production of Noah,which included countless live animals and a huge ark. Google it to see the stage. Shot both images in infrared and the sky in the top one is awesome in my opinion.

My Hero

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I am not sure exactly why the girl is crying,but seconds before, the horse-drawn cart behind them had stopped and it had a wagon behind it and a blanket covering it. Maybe it had a pet or something she wanted,but when it left,she started wailing. Just like that, big brother pulled up on his tricycle and took her hand.This all took about 10 seconds from start to finish.I was lucky enough to capture it. shot with an 80-400mm.

Toe to Toe

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This scene is one I have seen played out countless times over the years, but only recently did I decide to capture it. I never gave it much thought till I stopped and evaluated my image, and it is not too hard to imagine that this could potentially turn ugly if the puller in front slipped, and the pusher did not stop soon enough. Maybe its the way he is leaning to go up hill that made me pause,but she can’t be more than 4 feet in front,but she still has ten toes,so they have a system.

Personally I am getting more frustrated every day with the direction I see our country headed,but maybe old age is just making me more irritable.Here is one example in contrast to the Amish. Our local elementary school has now decided that they are removing all the swings sets because they are a liability issue. For over 200 years,children have been able to handle this dangerous item, but now we must protect them from this danger. Life is meant to be lived and taking responsibility for our choices and the results of those choices is all part of it.I say If you want to mow your grass in bare feet, have at it,because its your decision. these siblings really are going toe to toe in their chores together as they get a firm lesson in team work.