I began making small trips to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, in 2020. The idyllic farm landscapes and rural lifestyle drew me in. The Amish and Mennonite communities have lived here since 1710. The Amish shun the use of electricity and run around in horse-drawn buggies. My driving averaged around 80 miles per day, photographing farms, landscapes, and people going about their everyday lives. I was an observer documenting whatever I happened upon at any given time. I did not interfere with the Amish or Mennonites and did not go onto their properties. Occasionally, I would ask permission to photograph barns, hay bales and animals on their property. I have always been a collector of things since I was a little boy. I began putting my 8x10 Lancaster County prints into loose-leaf binders. Eventually, I had 10 binders of pictures comprising over 250 images. I printed through over 1500 sheets of Epson Exhibition fine art paper for the book project. Many of the best images were made into 17x22-inch exhibition prints. The book has not gone to print yet.

During the 5 years of journeys through Amish and Mennonite country, I was never approached by any of them in a negative manner. Many would smile as I passed by, especially the women. Some would hide their faces or turn away depending on where and what I was photographing. I was approached several times by the local people, who wanted to know what I was doing. I informed them I was taking photographs on public lands and that usually diffused the situation. When taking the pictures out in the field, you have to be assertive and strong because meekness shows weakness.

I began seeing new housing developments springing up around major cities like Lititz, Manheim, and Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Lancaster County loses 1200 to 3000 acres a year to housing developments, shopping centers, and business complexes. That is 3 acres per day. Farmland sells for 40,000 to 90,000 per acre. Many younger Amish are migrating to central western Pennsylvania and Maryland. I rented a helicopter to photograph the new rapid development. Seeing rows of bulldozers lined up on cleared land, and a sign advertising a new development was sad and sobering to see. On a rainy day, the bulldozers and earth-moving equipment sit in a sea of mud. Sometimes an Amish horse-drawn buggy passes these new developments, and it looks out of place. Unfortunately, this destruction of the environment is happening every day worldwide. All the new developments added a new dimension. Three deer ran through a new housing development under construction. I felt sorry for their shrinking habitat.

The Amish are more sequestered away from society and how they live. Many farms have their own one-room schoolhouses on their property. At age 16, Amish children can stay and be baptized or leave for the outside world. Most choose to shun the outside world and stay. They value connection over social isolation. They rely on potlucks, raising barns, and helping neighbors. Many use cell phones and some own thriving modern business-like furniture stores, bakeries, and construction companies. I did talk to a few Amish farmers personally, and they were quite friendly. One of them told me he would sell his farm, but only to a family member. They seem more connected to each other than many in the outside world, who are isolated in their homes.

As I was not pressed for time or working with a journalist, my work was more documentary. It was visual storytelling, capturing real life events, environments, and people in an honest, straightforward manner. I did not stage any events and acted as an independent observer.

Black and White images strip away distracting hues, allowing you to focus on shapes, textures, emotions, and core narrative. By removing the color, these images achieve a timeless universal quality of light and shadow. In addition, the main body of my life’s work has been black and white imagery. For years, I made black and white exhibition film photographs in my darkroom. This project was produced using several Nikon D-850 digital cameras, a Nikon infrared converted camera, and numerous Nikon Lenses. Early in my career, I was offered a job as a staff newspaper photographer. I quickly became used to photographing people in all situations. Many of my Amish and Mennonite photos were taken as I happened upon different situations while driving around. Some were taken from my car window. In the case of my award-winning Amish Softball image, I approached the small one-room schoolhouse on foot with a Nikon D-850 and a Nikon 70-200mm 2.8 lens. The game began, and I made some action shots of children running and playing baseball. With all the tourists that pass through this way annually, they are used to seeing people with cameras. Over the years, my approach hasn’t changed. I record what I see and wait for peak moments of emotion and expression. Over the years, other photographers have done books on the Amish. George Tice from New Jersey wrote a photographic book entitled “Fields of Peace.” Sometimes I felt some apprehension as I made some images. Women were easier to photograph than the men.