Old Farming Methods

[Ken Curtis]

Last week, my wife and I drove around the farms just north of Lancaster, PA, where the farmers are Amish or Mennonite. They still cling to many of the old ways such as horse and buggy, plowing with horses, riding bicycles and using human powered, push lawn mowers. But I also saw many with cell phones, tractors and other modern conveniences.

It was the middle of the day when we were there so I had to cope with the light as it was then.

Comments and suggestions are always appreciated.

[ggt]

Ken!

I love the wash hanging on the line to dry! I'm glad you got it in the shot, it adds to the authenticity of the view. The colors in the foreground are nice too! There is a lot going on in this shot. I think the composition is balanced in such a way to NOT make it overpowering. I like this.

gretchen

[Ken Curtis]

Thank you, Gretchen. I too thought the laundry was important and was glad to have gotten it in the photo. I waited until the horse and plow moved to position where they would show against the background. It was a fun day.

[Geoff F]

That shot nicely shows the overall scene. Did you manage any close ups of the horses and equipment as well?

[Digital]

Ken, this is a very nice photograph. Makes me want to visit in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Bruce

[Ken Curtis]

That shot nicely shows the overall scene. Did you manage any close ups of the horses and equipment as well?

Geoff, yes I did. I also got some far away shots. The first image is the closeup. The second shows the farmer using a coal-fired boiler to power his tractor. I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought these machines were obsolete and no longer in use.

(Sorry, but had to add copyright notice because I may end up doing something more with the first photo than posting it here.)

[John 2]

You saved the best till last Ken. The image of the horses is a classic. We have a few steam traction engines in the UK but they are mainly used for display at rallies etc. I don't know of any that are still worked like this one. Interesting stuff and good work.

[Geoff F]

Yes, excellent photos.

[Donald]

You saved the best till last Ken.

I agree. I'd love to see that at a much larger size. Ken - Are you able to post up a version at, say, 1500 or 1600 pixels wide?

[Ken Curtis]

I agree. I'd love to see that at a much larger size. Ken - Are you able to post up a version at, say, 1500 or 1600 pixels wide?

Yes, I can Donald. My fear is the larger I make the shot, the more susceptible I am to someone downloading (or screen copying) the image for their own use. Any comments?

I'll take a chance and post it. View full size. Comments and suggestions are welcome.

[Donald]

Yes, I can Donald. My fear is the larger I make the shot, the more susceptible I am to someone downloading (or screen copying) the image for their own use. Any comments?

It is a discussion that emerges fairly regularly and, like most things, there is divided opinion.

On one hand, if anyone did think of doing that it is a disgraceful and contemptible disrespect for the work of a colleague and flouts the notion of copyright.

On the other hand, what are you going to lose? Anyone who would want to legitimately purchase and use your image, is going to do so from you (they know that you'd have legal redress if you saw it and took action).

Personally, I have no knowledge of anyone ever trying to do anything with one of my images (probably because they're not good enough) and the fact is that if they have and I don't know about it, then I haven't actually lost anything.

As for the image - When I wrote I was referring to the one after this one; i.e. featuring the steam tractor. However, seeing this one at the larger size just lifts it into a different league in my opinion. It, too, is a super image.

[Digital]

Donald, your images are good enough. Do not knock your photographic skills.

Bruce

[Karm Redland]

Hi Ken, nice image. Your whole series is quite good.

karm

[Ken Curtis]

Thanks for compliments from everyone.

As for the image - When I wrote I was referring to the one after this one; i.e. featuring the steam tractor.

OK, I uploaded the second image in a larger size. View full size. I am not happy with the details in the grasses. I have to admit that I was so excited when I saw this image, that I forgot to check camera settings, and the image was overexposed. After some significant post processing, this was what I was able to achieve. The tractor was quite far away and to get the original, had to crop more than half the image. Oh well. I tried.

Special note to Donald: Don't be so hard on yourself. Your images are terrific.

[Donald]

Personally, I have no knowledge of anyone ever trying to do anything with one of my images (probably because they're not good enough)

There must be some external force out there looking down on CiC.

Just a few minutes after writing the above, Jon (plumcrak) PM'd me to say that someone with whom he has contact had taken one of my images off Facebook and used it as their own profile picture on their Facebook page. Thanks to Jon, I have been able to e-mail the person pointing out that they could have asked my permission and credited me with the image. Haven't yet had a reply.

[Nat]

These are all really good. I especially love the horses in a row.... I bought my boxer from an Amish family, second one from the same family, and I always love to drive through the Pennsylvania Dutch area....so many old barns, old houses...horses and buggies! Most of the farms have vegetable stands to sell what they grow, produce, sew, etc....Great cheeses, baked goods, and honey... and home-made wooden products....Thanks for sharing these, Ken.....I'm going to have to take a trip there sometime...it's only about 4 hours from me...

[Plumcrak]

Ken, the horses in a row is wonderful. We have a very large Amish population in Northern Indiana but I have never seen any of them use a coal fired tractor...that is a keeper. It surprises me that the Amish will let you photograph them, you won't find an Amish person around here that will let you take their photograph.

Cheers