A hot air balloon takes tourists for a breath-taking ride over the many Amish farms that dot the landscape.
Tag Archives: Farm
The Rural Landscape
A hilltop vista includes a one room school in the foreground and several farms dotting the landscape. A telephoto compresses the distance between each. Corn crops are ready to be harvested.
One Room School Dawn
Dawn breaks at a one room school,which will be active with Amish children in a few hours.A farm in the background and an outhouse on the right,round out the composition.
Foggy Morning Travels
A morning dominated by fog and low light created a tough set of circumstances for shooting anything that was moving. I had been searching for something to shoot on this sunday morning and had no luck,so I decided I was just going to compose a shot and hope something would come by to finish off the image. The Amish head to church at each others farms on sunday mornings from about 7am up till just before 9am,when the service seems to start,so after 9am there is no more activity on the roads. I set up on this back road at 815 and decided at exactly 9am I would call it a wrap.For 45 minutes there was not one single car,buggy or anything else on this road,and I was sure it was one of those mornings that nothing was going to pan out. I was watching the laptop clock and 3 minutes before pack up,I heard the sound of horse hooves coming. Buggies never travel this late in the morning,but here came two late ones,which allowed me one chance to get this shot,which thankfully I did. I think there was a little set of eyes peeking out the back as a hand pulls the canvas back a bit.Shot from my truck roof and connected to the laptop.
Colonel Sanders express
This Amish version of the pickup truck makes it way down the road with a load of chickens. It almost appears they were too loaded down by the bowing buggy wheels in the back.
No More Room
There is not even one more spot available for another passenger as these Amish girls enjoy an afternoon ride in a horse-drawn cart. Looking like a rainbow on wheels,these close friends were having a grand time on an early autumn day.
Harvest Time at the Mill
If you think farmers are busy this time of year,you should try working at the local feed mill where many of the harvested items arrive for processing. This telephoto shot includes two tractor trailers dumping their loads,while two feed trucks head out to service customers.
Mobile Hammer Mill
This is yet another image of the mill as work goes on throughout the day. I was told the truck on the left is called a hammer mill, which as I understand things,mixes the various feed components on site for farmers. The sun came out briefly to illuminate the trucks while the grain silos remain in shade.
Feed Mill Pelletizer
Once again I was trying my light painting technique in the old feed mill. This time I was photographing what I think is called a pelletizer, which makes feed pellets and the two images show the machine in a closed, and then open position.The bottom photo shows the machines main part,which has a series of holes that form the hardened pellets. The room was very warm so I assume some heat process is involved as well. To do the two images,I first completed the scene with it closed and then simply opened the door for the next part of the shoot. Then I brought that image on top of the first and blended them.
Sunrise Balloon Launch
A hot air balloon festival was held locally this past weekend. This was the dawn liftoff at sunrise sunday,which was an absolutely gorgeous morning.
Till The Cows Come Home
This is a little different from the type of image I usually post,but something about all these cows spread all over the hillside caught my attention. My wife knows when I go out shooting,I might be out till the cows come home, which if you have never heard that phrase before,it basically means, for a long but indefinite time.
Tractor Drag Races
This is the time of year when the annual tractor drag race finals come to farm country. Actually,this is corn harvesting in progress and the red tractor is ready to move in when the wagon being pulled by the green tractor is full.
Full Steam Ahead
Another old piece of equipment from the past chugs along at rough and tumbles annual event.
The Iron Age
Another image from the rough and tumble gathering held recently. Obviously these machines were made in an era when things were built to last,unlike todays throw away society.
Arriving at the destination
A trio of Amish girls arrive for sunday worship as buggies make their way up the drive.
Morning Chores Begin
A new day begins on an Amish farm as the sky overhead begins to light up from the rising sun. A light in the barn signals the beginning of the first cow milking session,which must be done more than once a day.The field in the foreground was filled with corn last week,but as fall approaches,the harvesting becomes more frequent across the landscape.
Fun with Friends
When the temperatures turn cooler and you have your best friends around, can you think of anything better than a ride in your custom horse-drawn wagon? Complete with springs on the seats,a flag and four hoof drive, this is a sure-fire good time, and can you believe it,they are having fun without a cell phone or the need for text messaging.
The Blue Moon
This is last evenings blue moon as it began to rise behind this local farm. From what I understand the term refers to the second full moon in the same month. I decided on this location after conferring with the photographers ephemeris, which shows sun/moon rise and set for photographers planning shoot locations. By moving to camera right about 40 feet,the moon was coming up right between the house and barn,but the tree on the right was blocking the barn,so I had to go with this instead.Shot from my truck roof,which had the Amish wondering who this nut was on top of his truck.
The Food Chain
Have you ever seen so many cobwebs,you thought you were on the set of some science fiction thriller? Well this was the case as both myself and a fellow photographer spent an evening shooting in a local feed mill. I walked around looking for a shot and came across this corner of the mill that seemed lost in time. It’s no wonder spiders have laid claim to this place as flies were a real nuisance while we shot. I light painted this with an off camera flash trying to bring out the webs and dust and dirt as best I could. At least no mice ran by me on this visit. I have no idea what the machine does but it must not get used very often.
Tobacco Rows
Went out sunday morning because the weather was unsettled and I was hoping to find something interesting. After a bit of driving,I came upon this partially harvested tobacco field which had nice curved lines leading your eye to the farm. Started out at ground level but decided the higher perspective from my truck roof might be beneficial,and in fact it was.The sun popped out briefly,adding a touch of sidelight to the scene as an added bonus.The green area on the left is uncut tobacco
A Breezy ride
A windy day along the back roads requires a little hand holding if you want to keep the hat on your head. Grandpa and grandson both were battling the breeze on this day, and hopefully someone had a hand on the reigns.
Beyond Thunderdome
Call me crazy, but this reminds me of some wild set of wheels from the movie Thunderdome. If you look closely in the middle underneath you can see a machine gun mounted,or maybe its just a muffler? Put some muscle-bound maniac on top going down the road at 100 mph and you have your own futuristic movie in the making. Shot this at the rough and tumble event, which showcased old farm equipment.
Tobacco Harvest
The end of summer is rapidly approaching and farmers are busy beginning to harvest everything from corn to tobacco. This Amish family was busy putting freshly cut tobacco onto lathe, which then gets hung on the wagon and then it will move to the barn for drying. This scene includes at least three generations carrying on the tradition.
Layered Farms
A hilltop vantage point provides a chance to see layer upon layer of Amish farms as the day draws to a close.
Storms are Brewing
Another evening of possible stormy weather as thunder heads begin to build.
The Bow Tie
This trio of youngsters were playing near the barn as I was driving by. I was forced to stop because there were two buggies in the middle of the road talking to each other and they seemed in no hurry to let me pass,so I turned around and snapped this quick image as I drove away.The gladiolas add a nice touch in the background.
The hilltop vista
This hilltop vista allows one to see farm after farm stacked behind one another, and the farmer working the land was the icing on the cake for this image. Wish I lived at this spot so I could get lightning flickering across the landscape during storms.
Farm country flight
A peaceful morning flight over farm country includes some tree top hovering.
Thunderheads forming
Another evening of amazing clouds rolling across the farm land. I used a polarizer to bring out the contrast between blue sky and the clouds. I had to wait about twenty minutes till the clouds were across the whole farm.
Arriving by wagon
This image is one of those special moments that make being a photographer so rewarding for me. The young girls were riding on this miniature cart and were making their way to sunday church service at a local farm when they passed me at a covered bridge I was photographing with a friend. They headed on their way up the road and I decided to get in my truck and try and get one more photo of something I have never seen before, and figured never would again. They turned down this farm lane with others who were arriving on foot and I took this image through my open car window pretty quickly. Although I am extremely thrilled with the photo, For some reason I have this bad habit of tilting my head and consequently my camera when I shoot handheld,and the image was slightly tilted.My framing was less than ideal in this hurried moment so the image has a touch of tilt yet.
Something I missed was a shot from the front showing the miniature horse that was pulling them,and he must have been a little powerhouse to pull five youngsters. The other thing I really like about this image are the colors the people are wearing,and admittedly I am no expert on Amish ways and I have always wondered how or why they pick certain colors. they are usually very lovely hues and I have seen families dressed in the same color palette on more than one occasion.
Donald Reese Photography 