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It actually Happened!
Hello again, I finally captured a few new photos to share. I had a scheduled evening photo shoot at a township park here in Lancaster county and I had just completed the shoot. As I got to my vehicle, a van pulled in beside me and out climbed 6 exuberant young Amish girls who headed toward the back of the park. Now out pops the driver, who is an older gentleman carrying a camera headed where they were last seen. I can’t remember in all my time in Lancaster county ever seeing Amish having what appeared to be a photo session? I watched from a distance as they each posed for photos in several locations.
My wheels were turning wondering if it’s possible they may head to the opposite side of the park where there is a nice covered bridge? I decided I was going to go there and wait and see if I might get lucky. I had envisioned getting brave and asking them to walk holding hands through the bridge and perhaps do a simple silhouette of them if they ever came to the bridge? I grabbed my camera and went and sat on the concrete abutment at the entrance to the bridge. Fifteen minutes went by and I started thinking this isn’t happening when all of a sudden I hear voices from the other end of the bridge. They could not see me sitting there but Trust me this next part blew my mind! There was some giggling and chit chat when all of a sudden I hear one say “why don’t we hold hands and walk side by side to the other end? Tell me what the odds are that they literally spoke my idea into existence as I was sitting there? I made up my mind I was going to wait out of sight till they were in the middle of the bridge and then pop out and get the shot I wanted! Well of course my camera decided to miss focus and every single one was fuzzy!
So they hung around deciding what to do next so I said any chance you will repeat the walk? They hesitated but said sure and I got them walking, then they came back to the photographer and an impromptu piggy back session started which I also captured! The only thing I could think of was maybe it was Rumspringa time which as I understand it is a time of seeing what the world has to offer with little restraint from the elders. Years ago I watched beer cans get tossed by the dozens out of a buggy and that I know was Rumspringa time.
Lancaster County Traffic Jam!
Lancaster County has a long history of farming and a long list of producing savory fruits and vegetables. Driving the backroads one can come across a wide variety of scenes that play out on a regular basis. This particular day I was heading home and as I approached this S-curve in the road I pulled over to figure out what was coming up the road in the distance. As you can see it was an Amish buggy that was dictating the pace for this harvesting team consisting of a large tractor that was pulling a large grain bin and behind that was a Combine and they both were headed to their next job. I was hoping they were going to pass the buggy and I could get the small buggy right beside the massive machines but they were taking it easy, probably because they saw the camera ahead. Harvesting has certainly changed a bit around here and what used to be a family affair out on the wagons has switched to hiring these crews that come in and harvest huge fields in very little time compared to the old way.
Waiting Paid Off
This image started out with the goal of getting the sun setting behind these trees along with a cool sunset. Well I got the sun setting but it was very intense even up until it dropped below the horizon. Not too long after the sun went down my mind started wondering if there was any chance a buggy might come by to balance out the composition. The thought no sooner entered my mind and I suddenly heard a buggy not too far away. My camera was locked on the tripod pointing the opposite direction, so the bottom image shows all I could do to renegotiate before the buggy trotted by! So I had to ponder what my chances of a second buggy coming by were? I composed my shot with enough space on the right to fit a buggy and decided I would wait a maximum of forty five minutes. I think I had about ten minutes left when I heard the clip clop clip clop headed my way. I shoot manual most of the time so in a situation like this I would adjust exposure as the light level drops, so when the opportunity arises all I need to do is fire the shutter when the horse and buggy reaches the spot. For this image I probably blasted a series of maybe 14 shots starting when the buggy is almost past the tree until it leaves the frame. even doing that I had maybe three shots where the horse looked good and it was in the right spot. You can get an idea how intense the sun was, even while being partially blocked by the tree!
Painfully Beautiful
We finally received a measurable snow and with it came some rather bitter temperatures. What you are seeing here is not snow but Hoarfrost. Hoarfrost Needs certain conditions to develop and these include brutal cold down in the single digits, very little if any wind and water vapor to freeze on objects already cold. I headed out this morning before sunrise and as I started my Jeep the temperature read 14 degrees and I thought to myself that’s not as cold as they had predicted? A mile down the road it had dropped to 9 degrees and I realized 14 degrees was in my garage! So I traversed the back roads looking near creeks and streams and only found very light Hoarfrost. I kept driving and thinking about spots in low lying valleys and this location came to mind. It was 10 miles away but I decided to see if by chance it might and boy was I happy when I came down the hill and all around the creek was coated in a thick layer of hoarfrost and no wind at all to destroy the beauty! I crawled under an electric fence and was waiting for the Amish farmer to yell at me to get out of his pasture but I think he knew I was just trying to capture this unique opportunity plus I kept shaking my frozen hands trying not to scream at the intense pain I was in, so he may have been enjoying my misery from his warm living room. I plan to give them a large print for being understanding. Oh and by the way when I got back in my Jeep I noticed two things, one the temperature was now minus 7 and when I went to put the vehicle in drive, it was already in drive! In my excitement I had pulled off the road, left the Jeep running for the heat when I was done and I never put it in park! Thank goodness I had pulled into a small pile of snow which held everything in place while I was preoccupied shooting for at least a half hour! The crazy thing is if it would have started rolling it was pointed directly at the creek embankment which dropped off 20-30 feet to the creek below.
Leftover Pumpkins
This Amish farm had hundreds of large pumpkins leftover in the field after the fall decorating season wound down. Seems to me they would rather make money selling some at a higher price than move all of them out at a bargain price which is no shock really.
Explore Your Options
Every once in a while I offer some insights on how I end up with the images I share here and this post is one of those times. I used to drive around for hours looking for subjects, but these days I find it harder to allot time to just look. So this particular day I was hoping to get a couple fall foliage shots and was driving the area when I noticed this tree lined farm lane with maple trees just past prime but still very colorful. I pulled off the road so I could walk over to the entrance to the lane and get a tree framed view of the barns. I snapped a couple angles and was walking back to the car when I saw a buggy coming. I thought this will be awesome with my original composition plus a buggy added to the equation! So I sat in the car camera pre-focused, exposure set, ready to blast a series of shots and the top image is the best result of that series. This is not the first time I have found my calculations for a shot turned out to be way off. First the shots I got with the full buggy showing literally blocks the entire farm scene, and even with a fast shutter speed the buggy moving right to left in front of me had some motion blur.
So as I evaluated my error and considered the lay of the land around me I decided to climb a hill behind me. As I got up the hill I noticed that bright area of fallen leaves to the left of the tree and thought if I could get one more buggy passing, I could get what I was after! I waited maybe five minutes and not only did a buggy come but he actually turned into the farm lane which made him stand out clearly against the fallen leaves giving me more than I had hoped for. Surprisingly this is one of my favorites from this fall season because of several points. First I feel the composition is perfectly balanced, it gives you a feeling of going home, the yellow maples, two red barns and two red maples just make a pleasing autumn scene and the horses eating in the pasture add a nice touch! So explore the options wherever your journey takes you!
Zinnia Garden
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!
Suspense & Suspenders
A tense competition featuring an old Steam Tractor captivates the imagination of this group of Amish suspender wearers.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Sun Sets on Summer
Recently I shared the story of the Mennonite boy I crossed paths with riding home from school. Well this is where he lives and where his parents allowed me to shoot their flower garden. The sun setting on the left was pure luck but I am pleased with my result as it balances nicely composition wise. This was just on the edge of getting hit by frost and a week later they were toast!
Simpler Times
The inside of one of Lancaster Counties numerous covered bridges and on the outside some colorful fall foliage around a small old building awaits anyone strolling through! This was shot on a tripod with one exposure capturing the dark interior and a second exposure capturing the bright exterior. An overcast day would possibly allow a single shot to capture the dynamic range of both inside and out but there usually is some part that just falls apart in deep shadows or bright highlights. As a side note, I actually got permission like 10 or 15 years ago to string Christmas lights up on the exterior roof edge, but that was when I was young and nimble. It drew a lot of people to see the lit bridge. I still have huge totes full of icicle lights I purchased to do that. Just another fond memory of my many endeavors to do something special with my photography. I should write a book detailing my adventures including a few times I almost paid the price for what I will call my momentary loss of common sense..
Last Wagon Train out of Town
This is a rather unique sight for Lancaster County and reminded me of the Budweiser Clydesdale team. The group was very friendly and waved as they passed by. One thing I could not figure out was they had a lone car tire hanging off the back?
Round the Bend
A couple friendly waves for the photographer!
Less than Happy!
This giant harvester is on the move on the back roads of Lancaster county and the horse pulling the buggy is not exactly happy with having to share the road!
Cruising the Countryside
Family Harvest
These freshly loaded round bales are heading to the barn for storage. Dad is at the wheel while his two young sons are to the right on the fender learning the ropes. The harvester in the background was not a luck thing because I put myself in the right spot and waited for the two to converge in one shot. Farm kids learn early on about having a good work ethic and I never question the parents personal decisions on safety related activities, but if one of those boys slides off, that steel wheel tractor ain’t stopping in time! We have had several kids here in Lancaster county this year crushed under wagon wheels and they did not survive!
Some Autumn Fun
Heading out to play a little baseball.
A Cup of Inspiration!
Some creative messaging from some one room school students using plastic cups!
Perfectly Synchronized
This crew of Amish kids were headed out for a day of fishing, but I thought it was interesting how the two runners are in the exact same position!
The Rumspringa Express!
I mentioned previously that after the Amish girl Linda Stoltzfoos was abducted and murdered that I found I was affected by it so much I had no desire to go out shooting. Well I still do not shoot like I used too but I still enjoy documenting Lancaster county Amish life and our agricultural landscape. In case you don’t know the term Rumspringa , my understanding is it is a period in Amish teen years were they kind of are allowed to experience the trappings of the world with little repercussions from the elders. Beer drinking, parties etc are common events during this time. I am not sure you would say this shot represents Rumspringa but it’s not every day I get the finger from a wagon full of Amish teens, much less the one on the right giving me the loser salute! I remember years ago a Police officer told me he got a call from someone complaining about loud partying at a farm next door and the officer told me as he drove down the lane he noticed movement on the barn roof and upon shining his spotlight he witnessed half a dozen Amish girls without a stitch of clothing on. Now that is some serious Rumspringa right there.
My Hunch Paid Off!
This is an Amish farm stand that has pick your own flowers but you can barely see them from the two roads that run behind the barn. I got a small glimpse and made up my mind I would ask permission to walk down here. The Amish can be quite reserved at times so you never know what answer you may get but to my surprise they were more than happy to let me wander. Even though the barn is not going to win any barn competitions, the flowers made it worth the effort! In the end I gave them a large matted and framed print and it was like they hit the lottery when they saw it.
Donald Reese Photography 