Lancaster County Amish Photos

I’m no pro when it comes to photos.

In fact, I’m a big believer in the volume school of photography.  Maybe you know it?  It’s only become possible thanks to digital cameras.

Volume school photographers know that the more photos you take, the higher the chances a few will come out alright.  So I try to snap a bunch.

Of course, it helps if you have something nice to shoot, and Lancaster County is one of the most picturesque places there is.

So here are 10 of the least-bad shots I took on a recent windswept morning in Lancaster County.

Which do you think came out best?  I have a couple favorites, but won’t say which just yet.

Lancaster locals, or people familiar with the County may even recognize a few of these places.

amish parking

lancaster county farms

lancaster rumspringa buggy

amish laundry

lancaster county field

lancaster amish drive thru

lancaster county amish woman

amish school lancaster county

lancaster county raw milk

lancaster county buggy

If you’re curious: a bit about Amish attitudes to photography.

And–more photo collections:

Lancaster County 50 years ago

Holmes County photos (#1)

Holmes County photos (#2)

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    56 Comments

    1. Richard

      I thought these pictures came out just fine Erik.The buggy going through the bank is something ive seen here a few times, always get a kick out of that.Did you ever see a small sign on rt 340 in the bird-in-hand area selling homemade root beer,bread,pies and a few other things. You need to drive up that long driveway and try it, a nice Amish family selling their homemade goods. Richard. Penn

    2. Alice Aber

      Erik, I love them all!! I get a kick out of the buggy going through the bank drive thru. The one of the farms is awesome and so beautiful. I think if I had to pick just one though as a favorite, it would be tough but I love the clothes drying on the line and blowing in the wind. It conjures so many thoughts for me, all good ones!! But I do love them all. You did more than just fine, they are awesome!!

      Blessings, Alice

    3. I will choose the corn shocks or the last one. The last one speaks of wanting to know what is over the next hill…

    4. For artistic value, the schoolhouse (the lines lead the eye quickly to the bell) or the last one has the most value.

    5. Robin Miller

      Beautiful! I’m “homesick” and we haven’t even moved there yet … some day when we retire!

    6. Nadege Armour

      All beautiful pictures – I love the clothes drying and the horse going through the drive-thru ATM.

    7. Beth shriver

      Great pics, Erik! The horse going through the bank is a winner. Shows the old ways with the new. Send more and often.

    8. Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I was lucky to have bright sunny skies that day.

      Richard–on root beer–I do know the sign you are talking about but haven’t been down that specific root beer lane. I have had some Amish root beer at another place not far from there though. I am actually not a big fan of it, at least the kind I had. Root beer itself I actually like, but that particular bottle just didn’t hit the spot.

    9. Robin Miller

      Amish root beer is really strong. Not a fan either. I like the commercial birch beer. I remember seeing that sign too along Rt. 340. Now Erik, your next assignment is to find a buggy going through a McDonalds drive-thru. 🙂

      1. Carolyn B

        10 photos of Lancaster County

        Dear Robin & Erik, Seymour, MO (Webster Co.) McDonald’s has a hitching post right by the disabled parking. I get to use disabled parking because of my wheelchair so I really enjoy the opportunity to smile & gawk a little if a buggy pulls up.

    10. I like the blue post with the buggy parking only sign; the shooked corn (don’t see that very often), and the woman walking up to the house – reminds me of places I’ve lived.

    11. I thought they were all good photos, although I think I liked the solitude of the final photo best. You captured the brilliant blue sky well…BTW, I have been to that root beer place that Richard talks about…definitely not the same as, like, A & W root beer…takes some getting used to…i think my wife liked it better than I did (although come to think of it, I am not really a root beer fan period)

    12. Bob Rosier

      Good photos Erik and yes, most professionals say they are happy to get a few good shots out 100 pictures.

      Although I liked the farm picture (I have some of that same farm), I really like the bank drive through because I have tried 3 times to get such a picture….each time the buggy was gone before I could get the camera ready.

    13. Dena

      they all turned out well!

      I like the horse & buggy in the drive thru and the girl walking across the field toward the house.

    14. Gordon Bjorkman

      Hi Erik, I, too, as Katie Troyer,like the corn shocks, as
      well as the last picture. They are all very good though, I
      must say!
      Well done!
      Gordon

    15. tania smith

      HAHAHAhahahaha, Robin, that would be awesome! I am a McDonald’s fan regardless of the fat. I once read on a friend’s facebook wall: God loves us so much that he gave us McDonald’s so He could meet us sooner.

      Erik,
      Those photos are excellent. I like the one with the woman crossing the field. I wish I was walking with her, discussing the next quiltin’. I took an online quilt class and am amazed at what goes into each quilt. Sorry, off topic. So, it takes 2 large propane tanks to run a homestead in general?

    16. Marilyn in New York

      I love all the pictures, also. The one I like the best of all is the bank drive thru. As as a postcard collecter, I have a postcard like that and I laugh everytime I look at it. They are all beautiful pictures.
      Marilyn

    17. Karen Pollard

      Lovely pictures of real life. I’d much rather see random snaps than posed pictures. You’ve captured the charm of the countryside.

      The only thing missing, which was impossible due to the season, is the beauty of Amish gardens. I’m always delighted to see the gorgeous flowers, vegetables gardens and manicured yards in the Amish landscape. Their gardens are always freshly tilled and weeded with plants bursting with energy. I’m sure they use manure to fertilize and there’s nothing better as long as you know how to use it sparingly. It will flat burn up a plant if not used correctly.

      I love to see the laundry hanging on the line; flapping in the breeze, children outside playing and buggies trotting down the roadside. So picturesque. Seems like a calm relaxed life, yet I know they have their troubles and woes just as we do.

    18. Alice Mary

      Erik,
      I see we went to the same “school of photography”! (At least we don’t have to worry about them piling up in shoeboxes, huh?)

      Like Magdalena, I like the first photo, the “parking” sign (not “NO parking, but “Sure, you can park here, as long as you drive a buggy.”). I really liked the “Thank you”, so subtle, on the bottom. How often do you see those words on a “parking” sign? There’s beautiful farmland even around here, that could be taken as Amish, but the sign is like a “signature” of the area you’re in.

      Keep posting your photos, Erik. I’ll bet even some of the “bad” ones are wonderful (let us be the judges—although I doubt anyone would criticize you for taking them)!

      Alice Mary

    19. Hi Robin, not sure what birch beer is…a birchier, barkier form of root beer maybe? 🙂 I feel like I should know it but can’t place it.

      Kevin I really lucked out with the sky–it truly was a glorious day.

    20. Bob, the key on getting a bank photo is you have to use the car to block the exit lane.

      Just kidding 😉 (hope I didn’t have to say that)

    21. Tania, this made me laugh:

      God loves us so much that he gave us McDonald’s so He could meet us sooner.

      On McD’s, I don’t have a buggy drive thru photo, but I do have this (see bottom of photo): https://amishamerica.com/do-amish-eat-at-mcdonalds/

      I believe you can get by on one propane tank, am not sure but this may have been for a couple of households though.

    22. Marilyn, one of my favorite Amish postcards is of a buggy going down the road with a happy-looking border collie sitting on top.

      It actually almost looks doctored but I don’t think it is. A fun shot.

    23. Karen I agree on the gardens. I tromped around in my Amish friend’s garden while in Lancaster but couldn’t find a single growing thing 🙂 the plant I like the most which Amish often grow is the reddish-purple cockscomb.

    24. Alice, great analysis of the buggy sign. I think you captured why I liked that one enough to put it first!

    25. Gordon, Katie, Magdalena, I have a few other nice shots of shocks I took when in Big Valley. I’ll have to post those sometime soon. I am partial to the shocks myself.

    26. I think if I had to choose my favorite 3, they’d be:

      1. Laundry-captures what the blustery day was like so well
      2. Woman in the field-I like how the lines lined up on that one
      3. Red barns-it kind of reminds me of a “country” city skyline

    27. Robin Miller

      Erik, birch beer tastes somewhat like root beer, however it’s a redish color. It’s available in PA and MD … I stock up on a couple cases when I’m up that way. It comes in a diet variety, thank goodness!

    28. edutchie

      I choose the last picture with the buggy, it has an interesting, uncluttered feel along with a pleasing composition.
      @Tania, there is no propane in those two tanks, they are for compressed air used to pump water and run washing machines, and possibly shop equipment. You can’t have large propane tanks that close to buildings.
      You should have be around sometime when I take our 16 foot canoe out on top of our buggy. That always has people diving for their cameras! btw I am Amish..

    29. Richard

      Hey Erik… i was just in Lancaster today, and i stopped in to buy some root-beer at that place that i mentioned on here in the morning. those Amish folks have moved their operation inside now, instead of the little outside stand .I brought my camera with me so i got alot of pictures myself, and some of the inside of their new operation.I thought while i was there i might as well buy some root-beer, i drank one before walking out the door,lol.Ill try and stop over there again at some point and see if i can get them to let me take some pictures of their root beer operation.I was going to try today, but they seemed pretty busy with house chores. Richard.Penn

    30. Richard

      Almost forgot, that sign for the potatos is still there, this time its standing up straight. Not too much wind today here in Lancaster. Snow is pretty much all gone after all the rain we had, and the warming temps.And dont sell yourself short, you take pretty good pictures Erik.I also talked with a Amish fellow who has a mobile horse shoeing business, i talked with him for awhile today and learned alittle about what he does. It was a pretty interesting day. Richard.Penn.

    31. Marilyn in New York

      Hi Erik,
      I would love to see that postcard with the border collie on the top of a buggy. In fact, I would even like to have one for my collection.
      Marilyn

    32. Marilyn I think I got it somewhere in Intercourse in Lancaster, but can’t recall exactly where.

      Edutchie thanks on the tanks, I wasn’t aware…do you know is a certain distance required in building code? BTW I am guessing you tie your canoe longways and not sideways 😉

      Robin now that you describe it I think I’ve probably tried birch beer once. I am a pretty conventional soda drinker though, coke or sprite if I do indulge 🙂

    33. Richard thanks for the info on the root beer. The morning I took these shots most loose signs were levitating horizontally, as was any laundry out. I do admire the guys that do horse shoes. Anytime I’ve happened across one you can tell they are earning their pay.

    34. Christina

      Very nice pictures 🙂

      My favorites are:
      the one with the woman walking across the field, because it gives a feel for wide open spaces and I also like the stark, wintery feel…

      the school house because of the point of view and also I like the plain neatness of the building and fence…

      and the last picture with the buggy because you get a feel for the wide open spaces and vast expansive pastures.

      But then again, some of my favorite scenery is prairie where one can see for miles so I guess it makes sense that I would like those particular pictures.

      p.s. yay on the grass-fed raw Jersey milk–I would totally be getting my milk from them!

    35. Monica

      Nice pictures for shooting during a tough time of year in the county. Let’s face it, no corn stalks, no pumpkin fields, and you got lucky with the nice blue sky that day. So well done for a tough assignment. And my faves are 2, 5, and the final one. The woman walking in the field gets and honorable mention.

    36. Thanks for your votes Monica and Christina. I haven’t done any scientific tallies but it seems like the buggy might be pulling ahead.

    37. And Monica you are right about the tough time of year for photos–no snow either to make everything “purty” as we say down South.

    38. George

      Hi Erik,
      Thanks so much for sharing the photos with us. I enjoyed viewing all your photos.
      Keep up the great photography!

    39. Slightly-handled-Order-man

      I like the one with the woman in the field and the one where the buggy is heading toward the building with the hill in the distance (the last one). I scrolled through the other galleries and saw a picture of a cow, which reminds me of a childhood memory involving a cow in the back of a farmer’s store (the store was in a barn and the cow was in a pen in sort of a petting zoo setting, though near by the owners had set up a climbing and slide set for us kids to play near were we could hear the old cow mooing). I talked to my dad about it and he says he thinks the cow was something called a Shetland Cattle, I think. I remember most the straw like hair, “they’re really hairy cows” my father noted.

      By the way, the view of the buggy heading toward the building and the hill in the background, is that the same building as the schoolhouse that is it’s own up-close picture?

    40. kristin jager

      HaHaHa LOL, I love it Erik, the Volume School of Photography. I guess I am right there with you. I love to take lots of photos , hoping at least a couple will come out just fine. And, what better place in the world to take photos? You are right ….Lancaster!!! I just love it there.
      My favorite pics are the horse and buggy drive through (really a great photo Erik!!) and the Lancaster County Amish Woman (one walking in the field). However, I enjoyed viewing all of the photos you posted. So glad you are sharing them with us!!! Blessings, Kristin

    41. Kevin Lindsey

      I like all the pictures, thanks for posting them. If I had to chose my favorites, I think I would pick the parking only sign, the woman walking through the field, and the buggy at the bank.

    42. George, Kevin, I do appreciate it.

      Shom, that actually is the same school, very observant of you to catch that.

      Kristin, glad to hear you are a Volume Schooler too!

    43. Lindsay

      Nice photos! I’m a terrible photographer myself…I lack the patience to get a good shot.

      I just got back from a trip to Toronto and on the way home my husband and I drove up to Elmira, which I had read about on this blog. I got some photos of open top buggy signs (I’m thinking that Elmira has more of an Old Order Mennonite population?) and a buggy parking sign at the local pancake house. It was Sunday so I didn’t see many Amish/OOM out and about except for one buggy that caused quite a commotion. I was eating my brunch when a bunch of people outside the diner window started milling around while a horse started getting skittish in the middle of the street…and the occupants of the buggy having a very hard time controlling the horse. We realized a few minutes later a snow plow was coming down the street and was freaking out the horse. I wish I had more time to spend there but we had to get home…but I think we’re going to return and spend a night in October.

    44. Mona

      Nice job on the pictures Erik….#7 was my favorite, hope to see more on here…..wish I could think of the questions I had for you LOL…..maybe later 🙂
      Oh, one was did you stay with any of the Amish when you were there and did you happen to get us any recipes LOL…..

    45. Dave

      Erik, Great pictures. Natural.

    46. Mona, a late response, when I visit I typically stay with one of 3 Amish families in Lancaster…or actually it’s more like a rotation! I did not bring any recipes back, I am best at the final stage of the cooking process 🙂

      Dave, thanks much.

      Lindsay you are right, Elmira is known to have an Old Order Mennonite population.

    47. Simplymari

      Pix of Lancaster County/Staying with Amish Families

      Erik/Amish America
      I loved all your pictures of Lancaster! The “Eby Rd” and the “bank” pictures are very familiar. Your chose of subjects and photographic point of view are excellent. I loved the Juniata County pictures also. I have never been but the mountainous scenery is really idyllic.
      I am jealous to hear you stay with Amish families. Do they rent rooms to anyone or just people they know? I now have to visit Lancaster alone. The thought of staying with an Amish family instead of a hotel room would be a dream.
      If they do rent to “old-lady tourists”, would you let me know how to contact them?
      Are you a photographer? An author? My computer time is limited and I have not been able to explore your whole website. Mari

    48. Staying with Lancaster Amish

      Mari thank you very much…these are some of my very favorite shots. I am not a photographer (I write this blog and also write books on the Amish.), just take a lot of photos–and usually some come out ok!

      I stay with Amish friends when I visit PA, there are a few that I’ve heard of that might have a bed and breakfast type thing, but it’s not common. The best thing I always tell people is to make friends!

      Here is a piece I did on this topic that might be of help:

      https://amishamerica.com/how-can-i-stay-with-an-amish-family/

      Thanks for your note and hope to hear from you again!

    49. lisa kuhn

      erik's photos

      hi erik, i think what is nice about the photos is that they are a GROUP of photos, so i couldn’t pick just one! they evoke something interesting as an ensemble and tell a story. the other thing i like about them is…that you know how to post them, lol! i actually take nice photos,but don’t know how to download or upload or whatever one does to share them!

      1. Thanks Lisa. This was probably one of my favorite days ever in Lancaster County. Windy, crisp air, bright and sunny. Not bad for the middle of February.

    50. Margaret

      Erik,
      I practice the volume approach to picture taking too! :0) Glad to know I have company!

      My favorites were the woman walking across the field to the house and the last one of the buggy. Solitude always wins with me!

      Thanks for sharing these again with us!