City - Lancaster County State - PENNSYLVANIA Country - United States
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...and who can blame this young Amishman for looking at me with patient tolerance? 2000th/sec f4.5 70mm.
I thought I should add the following which I posted in reply to a Usefilmer:
Thank you very much for your comments Margaret. The Amish society has a BIG problem with images of any kind (they do not own cameras of course, and do not hang any kind of picture in their dwellings, except for calendars). I therefore had two choices: to ignore them completely in terms of pics, or to rationalise it according to my own morality. I still feel rather uncomfortable that I chose the latter course. I am told that children do not mind as much as adults, and that the Amish are philosophical about the vulgarities of tourists poking cameras at them. Still, I'd rather inflict benign photography on them than exploit their culture in the obnoxiously UGLY way that characterises the tourist industry in Lancaster County.
Dear Gabriela, I know what you meant. However, the Amishman here is in total control of his magnificent horses; they do his bidding and he and his family have over generations made these horses thus. In Amish society, horses in particular are treated as family. And there is nothing "wild" about it; horsemanship is carefully controlled in a disciplined way. The appearance is deceptive in its apparent simplicity, and is therefore the more potent. You are a very thoughtful person Gabriela, and I hope you do not mind my explaining things.
Dear Anthony, THIS ONE is amazingly beautiful!!! This is about horses, not about the Amish young man! What a display of wild beauty and force!!!Their movement is magnificently caught!You should make a poster or at least an A3 photo and put it on the wall! A big hug to you for this photo, my Friend! Gabriela
Hey Ina, cheers for your comments. I, too, think this is the best of my Amish series, so far haha! And like you, I am puzzled by the lack of interest. As for ratings, I didn't know how to turn it off and then someone said I shouldn't because it's a crude rule of thumb. I hope your dinner party went well. I'm still rather unsettled by the coincidence we encountered earlier.
Many thanks Maureen. Despite the inevitable temptation to regard Amish society in perhaps negative ways, to judge them according to "modern" standards, there's no doubting their absolute trust in being reluctant to "change" unless it can be shown to be a positive thing. We "English" (for that is what the Amish choose to name us) are obsessed with "change" and regard it as a virtue, especially in the commercial world. There is much food for thought here. For myself, I have been affected by the Amish outlook and values: I have never seen children as happy and as content, except in the Third World. There is no cynicism here.
Hi Ant, this is one of my favorite pictures of yours, it's in my opinion, the most powerful image your visit to the Amish country has produced. I'm surprised you didn't get more comments? I find it extremely beautiful, the horses, the man, the composition, the colors, the dust, everything is as great as a classical painting. And since you didn't turn off the ratings, here's my full seven! Ina
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