Tag Archives: Amish

Dial-1-800 Sweet Tooth

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I photographed this group of young Amish girls and guys at the mud sale last week, and they were quite interested in this cell phone candy holder that was being sold at the sale food stands. It was a plastic case that resembled a cell phone ,but only held candy inside. I saw several groups of Amish kids acting like they were making calls throughout the day, and the item was a big hit with them. These girls wearing their colorful bonnets were immersed in looking at this interesting item. I added the boy using his candy filled cell phone at the last-minute so viewers can see it better.

Spring fishing excursion

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I thought I would share this image from the past, which is also included in my gallery section here, because now is the time of year when you see fisherman on the banks of the local streams around our area.These Amish boys heading to their favorite fishing hole is one of those images that I look back at and can recall the entire scene as if it were yesterday, even though it goes back to my black and white film days. I had been driving around looking for images when I passed this crew slowly walking down a back road, and I immediately knew it was something I wanted to record for posterity. I drove a ways up the road to a dirt lane, parked and probably said a small prayer as I waited, to let them come by me. One thing I will say about my experience with the Amish is they are keenly aware of their surroundings and these boys were no different.They were looking at my car the whole time they approached and when I finally brought the camera up for a shot, the oldest boy kicked it into second gear as he made things difficult for me to focus and frame the shot, but thankfully I got this image with him in mid stride as he pulled what I assume are his brothers and their gear. I think I was shooting with a Nikon f3 at the time and maybe got three shots off, and this was the winner. I am sure they forgot me as soon as they got up the road,but I remember them like it was yesterday. Back in those days, I would have to drive home, develop the film, hope I nailed the exposure, make contact prints and check for focus before being able to get excited about a shot. Oh the good old days of photography, which by the way I would never want to return to.

Amish Crescendo

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A few days ago I mentioned wanting to share an image of some Amish girls that I photographed at the mud sale, and todays post includes three of several from a series including these young ladies. Let me start by explaining how these images came to be and why I chose the title. I had been wandering the auction grounds looking for possible photos when I noticed that there were some Amish teens starting to play volleyball in the field adjoining the auction, so I walked in the general direction to check it out. Upon getting closer, I noticed guys playing volleyball and girls in multi colored dresses nearby watching the boys. As I stood there taking in the culture, I noticed four old tractors at the end of the field that were going to be auctioned later in the day. I thought to myself, it would be so cool if one or two of these Amish teens would venture over to the tractors and check them out.

Well no sooner did I think that, when I notice a small group of Amish girls get up and head in that general direction. I immediately began moving behind a row of parked cars in the direction of the tractors in the hopes of getting one good shot before they noticed me. I stayed below the radar for a few minutes watching to see where they were going and to my delight,it was the tractors. As the group reached the tractors, two by two,they paired up on their own tractor and began goofing around, and having a good time with each other. They acted like they were plowing, driving, racing and even made putt putt sounds at one point. I quickly snapped a shot, and thought to myself, this is one of those moments that I cherish as a photographer and was so grateful to be there in that moment.

I figured I would snap a few shots and they would stop doing what they were doing after they saw me, but to my surprise they seemed to be totally unfazed by my snapping photos, and it almost seemed as if they were savoring the moment in front of the camera in a way, because as each moment ticked by, the image got better and better as they moved together onto one tractor to make small talk and have fun. Granted I was using a 400mm at a distance, but we made eye contact multiple times as we each laughed to ourselves in the moment. Experiences like this are forever etched in my mind, and provide me with memories of a culture and lifestyle that I find very special and worthy of respect. One thing I have seen countless times with the Amish,is the fact that they are more satisfied with simplicity than we are with every gimmicky gadget that occupies our time. After I left the spot, I kept thinking I would have loved to talk with them, listened to their perspective on things and even offer them prints, but I realize we come from two different worlds and even though they tolerated me, that was only because we were in a public venue that day.

The crescendo part of my title is because I literally felt like the time with these girls kept building to a visual peak as I snapped away. The multi colored dresses, the pleasant atmosphere, and a great group of Amish friends, all came together is this brief moment in time, which I was lucky enough to be witness too. It is definitely one moment on my photographic journey that I will not soon forget.These images are totally un-choreographed and ones I could not have planned out any better if I was given the chance.

The Wise Elder

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I photographed this intimate scene during the mud sale this past weekend, and one can only imagine what the conversation included. It could have been about the warm weather arriving so early this spring, items up for sale at the auction, or possibly they were pondering the possibility of using the cane to beat some sense into the guy with the camera. I captured several images over a couple of hours at the sale that made me glad I went, and this was one of those images. I shot this using a longer lens approaching 400mm, so I was a decent distance from them. I rarely shoot on anything but manual, so typically I have the exposure pre-set, so when I raise the camera I only need to frame and focus in an instant, and need not be concerned with trying to tweak exposure. This can be helpful with subjects wearing black, which can throw meters off.

The Pied Piper lives

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The barnyard debacle yesterday was shot at the same location that I shot this image. This lady came out from the nearby barn carrying this bucket, and the chickens quickly got to stepping as they anticipated an easy meal. I had said hi to this lady a few minutes before and made some small talk about the goats, so I was a little hesitant to shoot this image, but I could not resist the temptation when I saw the scene beginning to take shape.

Auction Day

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This past weekend, I did a short stint shooting at a local mud sale. Sunny skies proved to be a real challenge in this situation, because using fill flash is not something I feel comfortable using with such conservative subjects. I used longer lenses from 300mm-400mm range for most shots,so I need not be right in their face to get a few images of this culture. I must say I did see some rather unique haircuts throughout the day. It would take me twenty years to grow a beard this thick, and I commented to my buddy that I have never seen an Amish man or woman bundled up for really cold weather. Perhaps they use layers or are just tougher than the average joe. Looking at these shots,you can see they are not wearing heavy coats, while I was wearing 2 sweatshirts and a coat,long underwear,gloves with hand warmers and a wool hat. The man in the bottom photo was very serious most of the time, except this light-hearted moment, and something about his look reminded me of Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter.

The Makeover

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This weekends mud sale was less than ideal due to bright sun, which is terrible when you consider that most subjects are dressed in black and are wearing hats casting hard shadows. Myself and a friend did shoot a few shots,but we are hoping for overcast at an upcoming mud sale. I took this grab shot of several plain girls who suddenly stopped to work on this one young ladies hair and scarf. The recipient of all the attention seemingly enjoyed the help, but I am not sure if they were sisters or friends.

Mud Sale Season

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Spring is rapidly approaching, and in Amish country, that means it is mud sale season. For those who have never heard of the mud sale, it is basically an auction held by numerous fire companies in the spring, and is held in the farm fields, which are usually a sloppy mess from spring rains. This weekend I hope to attend one to shoot a few Amish images, as they attend in large numbers and come with the understanding that cameras will be around, and tend to not be particularly irritated by that. I still try to stay low-key, shooting with longer lenses , and tend to snap a shot and move on, as to not over stay my welcome, so to speak. Each weekend or so in the coming weeks, a different fire co holds their own sale across the region, and items range from buggies to bird houses to horses and everything in between.I have included 3 shots from last years mud sale season. The two boys shown were truly stuck in the mud and were giving it their all to get loose during an extremely muddy sale.

Dramatic Skies

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My image today features intense cloud formations that were blowing through the area, and lasted just long enough to allow me to run and get my infrared camera/filter combination. I actually think the clouds were more intense when I first saw them, but I am quite happy with what I got here. The shot was done using my old Nikon D70, which was excellent for capturing infrared images when used in conjunction with a Hoya r72 infrared filter. The downside is the fact that you can barely see through the filter,so essentially you focus the shot on your tripod and then add the filter on the lens before shooting. Exposures usually run from 1 second to 8 seconds at f16 in most situations,and you must remove the filter every time you do a new image. As things soon turn greener, Infrared effects will get even better.

Hats off to the simple life

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I have always had a great respect for the Amish and their way of life, and even though they are not big fans of being photographed, I continue to capture the images that present themselves. I have seen so many things in the Amish community over the years,and I have countless memories of those experiences. The Amish have problems just like the rest of the world, and they have some very friendly characters and some unfriendly ones as well. I have watched younger kids get the greatest joy out of the simplest things, and know they are usually more content with an old tattered item than the person who has every electronic gadget. I have been invited onto hay wagons to shoot at harvest time, as long as faces are not shown, and have seen empty beer bottles flying out of buggies while a boom box blares inside. Hopefully I can share more stories and images of my experiences in the future. This buggy/ hat rack was captured a while ago on a sunday drive in the country, shortly after the men headed inside the barn to begin worship. I took this with a long lens from the road, but the day I took this, a tourist with a little point and shoot pulled up, got out and was on his way to the barn door when I basically told him to get the heck off the property. He must have figured it was some sort of scene that was staged for tourists. This was really the only buggy that everyone seemed to pick to place his hat, and looking at the shot now, I counted 32 hats scattered about.

A light Dusting

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Yesterday we got a light dusting of snow and once again it was nothing to get excited about. For some reason I woke up a little early this morning, and took a peek out the front window, and I saw a nice pastel sky with an near full moon getting lower to the horizon. I hurriedly threw on some clothes, while my mind raced to think of any possible locations to shoot. Nothing came to me, so I just drove around and ended up with these two so-so images. Hopefully some significant snowstorms are still coming this year yet, so I can get some real snow scenes.The windows in the house are illuminated by the rapidly approaching sunrise behind me.

The Gathering Place

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Winter weather can often include interesting skies and nice billowy clouds. This scene features a group of Amish buggies attending a sale at the farm. This shot was taken from the roof of my truck to give a little better perspective on the line of buggies. Sometimes I get strange looks when I have my tripod set up on my vehicle roof, but you would be amazed how much an extra six feet off the ground can help. . The only thing you must be aware of is not shifting your weight if you are using long exposures, but this was a fairly fast exposure, so that was not an issue. this was shot in infrared.

A Fleeting Moment

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I was hoping to sleep in this morning, but I woke up early thinking about several photo projects I am planning, so I bundled up and headed out for a potential sunrise. Temperatures were right at 20 degrees,which is not that cold, but when the sunrise is a bust, it seems colder as you wish you were home in a warm bed instead. After conceding the sunrise was not happening, I headed home and suddenly the rays broke through the clouds and side lit the plowed snow along this country road. It only lasted a minute or two, but I had my gear on the seat and captured the fleeting moment.

Full Moon Rising

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Today was full moon, and It reminded me of a shot I took last month during full moon. As a photographer, I make every effort to plan ahead as much as possible, and by using a free program called – The Photographers Ephemeris, which uses google earth to show you sun/moon locations, I previewed a few potential places I wanted to shoot to see if the full moon would be in the right spot. This farm, complete with a flooded field yielded the perfect opportunity. The key to capturing such an image is to shoot when moonrise happens right at sunset, so exposure can retain detail in the moon and the landscape. It’s a fleeting few minutes.The glow on the water is all real, and a slight breeze almost ruined my shot. Instead of rushing around back roads, I arrived, set up my tripod, aimed exactly where the program said the moon would rise and simply waited for it to appear.The accompanying buggy shot is taken from the same location a few days later. The water just sits here from the summer floods and has covered the road numerous times. I made over two dozen trips to this spot, which is approx 15 miles away to capture this unique double horse-drawn buggy image. A link to the Sun/Moon tool is in my blogroll. Try it on your home address to see its accuracy.