LANCASTER COUNTY, PA • EXPLORING THE AMISH CULTURE AND COUNTRYSIDE

“It’s in those quiet little towns, at the edge of the world,

that you will find the salt of the earth people who make you feel right at home.” 

– Aaron Lauritsen

Today’s destination is Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania, a very small town that boasts a population of under 600 people. Located just 6 miles east of Lancaster, PA, Bird-In-Hand is home to a large Amish and Mennonite population. Residing in Bird-In-Hand for the summer is my dear friend, Ken Sklute, a renowned photographer, photographic educator and veteran hot air balloon pilot who resides in the Phoenix, Arizona area after relocating, many years ago, from Long Island, NY.  He is spending the summer in this quaint Keystone State community pursuing two of his life’s greatest passions…photography and flying a hot air balloon.

The traffic Gods have smiled upon me this morning and I motored through the metropolitan New York area without even the slightest of delays.  I do a quick burn down the New Jersey turnpike to put the concrete jungle in my rear view mirror before turning west into rural Pennsylvania. The roads are sparsely travelled early this Saturday morning as I take in the beautiful landscape of emerging crops on thousands upon thousands of acres of surrounding farmland.  The freshly planted corn is barely six inches tall and it’s hard to believe that these tiny sprouts will be eight feet high and ready for harvest in three months time.

In short order I arrive at the door of my friend’s temporary summer residence and we head out for lunch at a local gem, Agapē Cafe & Grill, located at 366 Hartman Bridge Road, Ronks, PA.  I wholeheartedly endorse this wonderful eatery.  For lunch or dinner try their signature Sweet & Spicy burger which is dressed with carmelized bacon, sharp cheese, tomato jam and garlic aioli.  Yummm!  Breakfast is served daily until noon and features omelettes that, according to the menu “are made with approximately 5 eggs” and served with bread choices that include sourdough, garlic cheddar cheese and apple cinnamon as well as the usual white, wheat and rye offerings.  Indoor and outdoor seating is available.  Take note that this establishment is closed on Sunday and Monday.

After lunch we grab our photography gear and head out into the Lancaster County countryside.  Ken has been interacting with, and photographing, the Amish culture for more than four decades. This is an activity that must be approached discreetly with the utmost respect and sensitivity.  Forget anything you ever heard about the Amish people being superstitious about being photographed.  It’s not about that.  Their reluctance has been explained in excellent fashion on the Discover Landcaster web site which informs that “The Amish hold humility as a highly-cherished value and view pride as a threat to community harmony. Because items such as personal photographs can accentuate individuality and call attention to one’s self, they are prohibited from the home. They want to be remembered by the lives they lived and the examples they left, not by physical appearance.”  As a photographer, this was going to be a tough pill for me to swallow over the next couple of days.  The natural beauty of the Amish countryside and the inner beauty of the Amish people just begs to be captured by the camera.

Creating interesting images of the Amish in their rural surroundings requires a bit of planning and an abundance of patience.  These hardworking folk seem to be on the move constantly and often the best chance of recording an interesting shot is to just wait for it to come to you.  Most tourists try to chase down moving buggies to get out in front of them and grab a shot.  In most cases these images fail as you wind up settling for whatever background exists when you release the shutter.   Often that background will contain an automobile moving through the scene, an offensive road sign, a less-than-attractive building or some other object that compromises the beauty of your image.  It’s far better to stake out an interesting looking stretch of road with a pleasing background and wait for a buggy to come your way.  Patience is paramount.

The same method works for capturing images of the Amish farmers hard at work in their fields…an activity they often engage in from sunrise until sunset every day.  It is best to use long focal length telephoto lenses for a number of reasons.  First and foremost I wish to be respectful and discreet; and keeping my distance is the best way to achieve that objective.  Secondly, using a long lens with a narrow angle of view enables one to carefully choose what elements will be visible in the area behind your subject; thereby putting the concentration on your subject while eliminating any unwanted background distractions.

When photographing the iconic horse-drawn buggies that serve as the Amish people’s primary mode of transportation special care must be given to not getting too close.  This has nothing to do with the Amish people, but everything to do with their horses.  These service animals have become well trained and perfectly adapted to sharing the road with cars, trucks and motorized agricultural vehicles; but some of them can become easily spooked by pedestrians standing near the edge of the road they are traversing.  Again, a long telephoto lens deployed from a distance alleviates this serious concern.

My favorite images of the traditional Amish horse drawn buggies tend to focus not just on the buggy itself, but on the story going on concurrently; be that a threatening summer rain storm, a rainbow that could materialize following said storm, or even the appearance of a hot air balloon in flight over the surrounding countryside.  On a future visit to Bird-In-Hand, PA I will have the amazing experience of enjoying such a flight and a separate post will be devoted to that adventure.

There are some things you can do to increase your chances of capturing  great images of the Amish culture.  My first suggestion would be to make Sunday the day to pursue those great shots of buggies moving through the countryside.  The simple reason is that Sunday is church day and in the hours surrounding 9:00AM and 1:00PM you will find an abundance of buggies on the back roads heading to and from church services.  Conversely, no labor transpires on an Amish farm on Sunday, so forget about getting any shots of farmers working the land on The Lord’s Day.

Just five miles south of Bird-In-Hand you will find the home of The Strasburg Rail Road, the oldest continuously operating railroad in the western hemisphere.  The attraction offers rides through the Amish countryside on trains which are pulled by vintage steam locomotives.  Though the 45 minute round trip is fairly mundane, the train’s presence in the landscape offers great imaging opportunities for photographers who wish to capture these incredible machines in action.  On any given day you might see a different locomotive at the head of the train; including those that permanently reside here in Strasburg, or perhaps one that is making a limited temporary appearance in the Pennsylvania farmlands.  Head east from the attraction’s terminal and stake out a spot along the tracks at any one of the number of railroad crossings you will find.  Another piece of information you’ll want to know:  The locomotives push the trains eastbound and pull the trains westbound on their return trip.  You’ll want to capture the train as it heads westbound, with the locomotive out in front.

Across the street from the railroad’s main terminal you will find The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.  Drop a few bucks on the admission fee and peruse the collection of  more than 100 fully-restored historic locomotives and railroad cars from the golden age of railroading.  It is like taking a step back in time…well worth the visit.

Photographers that deploy drones in their imaging will find unlimited landscapes to capture in the Bird-In-Hand area.  The patterns of planted crops on the farmlands take on a whole different visual dimension when viewed from high above the ground.  The majority of the immediate area is Class G uncontrolled airspace with only a small, local airport (Smoketown Airport) to be concerned with.  I pulled off to the side of the road and went flying on numerous occasions without ever drawing any attention whatsoever.

The Amish countryside can offer some limited opportunities for astro-photographers to practice their craft.  Though the Bird-In-Hand area is fairly close to the densely-populated cities of Lancaster and Philadelphia you can find dark, remote spots that make viewing and photographing the Milky Way possible.  Though not as perfect a scenario as say the desert southwest or The Great Smoky Mountains; picking the right night (the night of the new moon is ideal) with clear skies can yield some pleasing imagery.

In all I made three visits to the Pennsylvania Dutch region in 2021 and will certainly be returning again in 2022.  I stayed at The Bird-In-Hand Family Inn on all three occasions and found no reason whatsoever to consider another property.  The people that run the operation are friendly and accommodating, the rooms were clean, the WiFi service was great and the gift shop offers a wide variety of snacks and beverages as well as any sundries you may have inadvertantly left at home.  There is a restaurant, a bakery and a comedy club right on the property; along with a miniature golf course for those that might be traveling with the little ones.

Motorcycling through the Amish region is a wonderful experience.  Though the roads tend to be very straight, historically having served as the boundaries between adjacent farms.  They are lightly traveled, wonderfully scenic and offer gentle rolling hills.  Watch out for a prominent local hazard: the “droppings” from the horses that you share the roads with are plentiful…and slippery.  Especially when wet.

 

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