If I didn’t know better,I would think this father wanted me to take a picture of his boys working in the field. I was a good distance away at the side of the road and as they got closer,dad loaded all the boys on the horses and kept coming forward and he actually has a smile in this shot. Hard to say if the scenario I described was real or imagined but it sure seemed to be the case. Still I really like the unique image I got here.
I came upon these Amish girls scooting along a country road and noticed there was a patch of flowers ahead,so I made my way up the road and waited till they passed that spot.The dresses were colorful and so were the scooters and the whole scene was very summer like. My only regret is that I did not turn and get a shot of them approaching because you could have seen the little girl in front of the oldest girl as they rode the scooter together.
A bunch of Amish friends enjoy a horse-drawn wagon ride on a warm summer day.
This Lancaster county homestead is a real gem, complete with a star on the barn and candle light in each window. I was on my way to shoot a sunrise when I passed this spot and saw the reflection in the stream.Needless to say this became my sunrise shot, and the full moon was an added bonus as it headed for the horizon.I wish the moon would have shown up in the reflection but when it did,the moon in the sky was behind the house,which was a bit puzzling to me.I had to sink my tripod into a muddy stream bank to get the low angle but it was worth the effort.
Dad gives his five boys a lesson in tractor driving at the rough and tumble tractor event.
This young Amish girl tugs on mammas apron as they walk down a back road.
Just when I think I have seen just about every crazy sight in Amish country, along comes someone doing something even more interesting than the last. This road is a well-traveled thoroughfare with cars coming at a pretty regular pace,so imagine my surprise when I am coming up the road and I see what appears to be an Amish man moving a large shed with a tow motor? He was along the side of the road but he was having difficulty and kept getting off the tow motor and walking to the other end,which I could not see. I pulled over to watch because it seemed like it was a disaster in the making, and at one point he got it going again and was now in the lane of travel. All of a sudden it starts to rotate and suddenly I see a second tow motor on the other end. Imagine trying to move something where you can’t see the other end, or what the other guy is doing. They had no walkie talkies,no yelling,no nothing but fly by the seat of your pants and cross your fingers.The photo shows them blocking both lanes and amazingly no one came during the time they were doing this manuever. They got it into a narrow driveway on the first try which really amazed me.I was waiting for the whole shed to roll over and block the entire road, but they pulled it off.
The boy in front has a gallon of milk,but the girl in back looks like she has a bottle of brew but I am pretty sure its meadow tea or something similar.She was driving the scooter straight so everything is on the up and up.
A group of Amish spectators watch an old steam engine competition at the Rough and Tumble reunion. This event featured the tractor team navigating an obstacle course,and just a few feet ahead they stopped and blind folded the driver and the guy sitting on the back got off and connected ropes to the drivers arms and controlled the tractor direction by tugging on the ropes much like controlling a horse.
A young Amish couple cruises the back roads of Lancaster county.
An Amish girl gives the buggy a quick washing on a lovely summer day.
Amish boys bring their wagons to the mud sales and offer assistance to buyers who need to get purchases to their cars from the auction site.The popularity of the mud sales means parking is hard to come by and walking a half mile or more is not unheard of. For me,I get there around 530 in the morning,get the best parking available and then sleep till the sun comes up. The boys make a few dollars off each patron and the english as they are referred too, love to have the boys help, and for many it is their closest interaction with the Amish. Each worker tries to stand out, and customizing their wagons with signs is all part of the fun as shown in the middle image.The bottom photo shows how muddy it usually is and shows the boys hauling practically anything.
Yesterday I posted the six boys looking the same direction and after reviewing my images from that day,I realized I had another image of them earlier in the day. This shot stands out in my memory because of the shot I missed right after this one. Whenever I attend events like this were Amish will be attending, I try and lay low below the radar and I try to capture spontaneous moments using long lenses. I snapped this image and immediately looked away to not draw attention to myself but as I glanced back at them I saw the smallest boy had both his thumbs against his cheeks with his hands stretched open and his tongue out as he made the funny face at whoever they were looking at.I no sooner started to lift my camera and he was finished with the show,and I can only imagine the unique shot I would have gotten. The Amish are generally conservative but I do occasionally see glimpses of things that reflect what the rest of the world does and these were just boys being boys.
This is one of those fleeting moments that lasts just long enough to get one shot and then its gone.These six Amish boys were intently looking at an auction item that was being bid on at the mud sale and I had enough time to see the moment,raise the camera and snap one frame till they all lost interest and their attention went all over the place.
flood waters provide an opportunity to catch this reflective scene right around sunset when the evenings chores are getting underway at this Amish farm in Lancaster county,Pa.
These Amish youngsters checks out kids motorcycles at the local mud sales. The boy in the upper photo tried the throttle and nothing happened but his imagination was wondering what it might be like to ride this pint-sized Harley, and the boys in the lower photo seem to have a need for speed as the check a kids road bike.Both cycles are kind of unique at a mud sale but you will see all kinds of stuff there.
This family heads to the mud sale amidst pouring rain and is doing their best to stay dry.
This Amish family arrives at the local mud sale in the rain and everyone quickly gets out so dad can go park the buggy.Pouring rain made this a miserable day but I shot this from the comfort of my truck up the road with a long lens.
These two Amish men talk about the goings on at this years mud sale while they try to stay as dry as possible.
It was so wet at this mud sale these corn shock horses were even wearing rain gear,which made these Amish boys stop and take a look.
This Amish man has a long beard which is worn by many Amish in my area. He was at the mud sale bidding on items.It would take me decades to grow a beard like this.
This is one of many images that I will be sharing from recent mud sales in my area. The first mud sale I went to was of epic proportions this year as rain fell most of the day on an already soaked ground from winter snow melt. The mud was up to a foot deep in some places and I saw more than one Amish gentleman walk right out of his muck boots as they stuck fast. These two guys are moving a purchased buggy through the mud and it appears if they wonder if the other guy is helping? A mud sale is an auction held in spring and is usually muddy because of spring weather.
A few days ago I commented about wanting some more snow this year yet, and lo and behold we got a significant storm that left the region in a glorious coat of white. I shot more beautiful snow scenes in the last two days than all winter before that point. The night it snowed I was out shooting till almost ten at night in a landscape with literally no cars out and about, and then before and after work hoping to get as much captured before it melts. The scene shown here was yesterday morning when the temperature in my truck displayed -6 as I left at 5am to seek out images. The image above was shot later in the morning when it warmed slightly and this shot was captured as I was ready to give up for the morning.
I found this sweeping vista with the road curving into the distance and I had seen a lot of buggies heading to the seasons first mud sale, which is basically an auction held in the spring by various fire companies and the local Amish attend in large numbers. It is called a mud sale because the ground is usually a sloppy mess when they are held,so anyway back to the photo.I set up here with the hope a buggy would pass by and because this location is many miles from the sale I had no idea if a buggy would even be on this road? After 20 minutes of standing in the snow,I gave myself a three-minute countdown to leave and just as I did that I heard the clip clop sound in the distance. I basically looked through the lens and waited for the buggies arrival in the scene and was really excited when I saw the young lad being pulled behind on his wagon. He was probably going to be a runner at the sale and runners help the buyers haul their goodies to their cars which often times are a mile or more away from the sale site due to parking craziness in the country. He seemed to not mind the bitter cold ride and if you look closely you can see someone inside the buggy peeking out the back to either look at me or talk to him. Hopefully I can get to the new images to share before the tulips are blooming,so stay tuned.
This gorgeous location is situated right in the back yard of a lovely Lancaster county property and overlooks a creek and Amish farm country.I had the privilege of being allowed to photograph here last winter and recently noticed the fall foliage from a distance away while driving in the area.I decided to stop and see what things looked like and was rewarded with this glorious scene featuring fall foliage,several farms and a lovely sky at dusk.This property features numerous old trees that are full of character and I hope to capture their grandeur this winter.
I never knew the Amish held scooter training sessions but this appears to be just that taking place.The three wheeled scooter helps the youngster get the feel of using the foot to push and then maintain balance as you cruise.Mom kept a keen eye on the youngster and helped offer pointers on technique as they moved down the road.
This family literally came walking right out of a cornfield that was right beside me on a back road as I was photographing a one room school. I waited till they were a little farther away to snap a few images but the little guy in the wagon still noticed my camera. This was a sunday morning and they were headed to a local farm up the road for worship services.
Instead of driving around and looking for photo opportunities,I occasionally pick a spot on a back road and wait for potential subjects to come to me. This pair of buggies caught my eye because the one had the two horse setup and both were open buggies. For this particular shot,I had mounted my camera on a window mount and had it wrapped in a brown blanket to hide the camera and keep it low key.You could barely even see the lens,but the guy in the second buggy let out a loud laugh and I heard him say “there is a camera in there” as they passed. They nodded to me sitting in the truck and surely had a story to tell their friends.
Wash day in Amish country can be a rainbow of color.This is one of many aspects about the Amish that I have no clue about.They are very reserved in general,but they seem to like colorful things as well,which to me seems ironic,but I have many things I do not totally understand about them,but that is fine.
This buggy load of local residents enjoy a cool summer ride with temperatures near seventy-two degrees.The young lad on the back is adjusting the reflector and was oblivious to my snapping the photo.I like the colors they wear,but wonder if they have any significance?
An early autumn scene in rural Lancaster county Pennsylvania includes an Amish man guiding a load of harvested corn back to the barn. The flowers on the right add a touch of color to brighten the day.
Donald Reese Photography 