Tag Archives: lancaster county

Thomas in Amish Country

Posted by reesephoto on

amish-watch-thomas

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.

Dutch Country Corn Harvest

Posted by reesephoto on

The Amish farmers have been busy in the last month harvesting thousands of acres of corn. Wet weather has delayed the work slightly,but it doesn’t take them long once they get going. I usually like to find a nice farm in the background,so the viewer can see the whole setting,instead of just the wagons.

Theodore Burr Arch Truss

Posted by reesephoto on

This is the interior of a local covered bridge that has been closed for over a year due to damage from tropical storm Lee last year. Not sure exactly what the problem is,but if you look at the exterior,the bridge has a slight bow to it. This bridge sits approximately eighteen feet above the creek,but last years flood was an extreme one that hopefully wont be seen for another hundred years.I used flash to light the interior in an attempt to show the intricate construction that goes into these beautiful structures. This bridge was built in 1867 at a whopping cost of $4,500 dollars. The arch design is credited to inventor Theodore burr,who lived around the early 1800s and was a cousin to Vice President Aaron Burr.

Heritage days celebration

Posted by reesephoto on

This is not something you see in Amish country very often, but this past weekend was heritage days in a small town named Intercourse. How the town came to be named as such is not exactly known, but there are several possible suggestions if one searches the net. The Fireworks display ended a day long celebration of the areas heritage, and featured live music,volleyball,good food and much more. This image was captured from a vista across the fields with about a 200mm lens and my first or base image was captured while it was still light enough to see the farms,and then after it was pitch black, I recorded the fireworks explosions from the same tripod mounted angle, and then simply brought those layers on top of the first, and put them on lighten mode, which allows the fireworks to show up against my blue sky instead of black nothingness. When I first set up, there was an Amish family having a picnic across the street, I asked what time the fireworks launch, and he says sometime between 9 and midnight. Did not expect the bit of humor but with fireworks you never quite know.

I never do this, but I am adding the two smaller pictures of some kids getting a wagon ride. Not sure if the Amish guy is a neighbor or what,but the riders were dressed in regular clothing. they might have been going to heritage days up the road. neither shot is super sharp, which irritates me.Hope they dont have to stop fast, because they are all bare foot.