After 8,000+ Amish Photos In 17 Years, These Are My 10 Favorites
Don Burke has contributed many wonderful images of Amish life here throughout the years. Don has kindly selected some of his favorites to share with us today – and a little bit of the story behind each one.Â
To ask a photographer to pick the favorite picture he has taken is on par with asking a parent which of their children is their favorite. But even so, over time certain images do tend to rise to the top in our esteem…and that is what this post is about.
After recently revisiting all of my 8,000+ Amish-related images taken over nearly 17 years, here are the pics I pick (in no particular order) as my favorites – and the stories behind them.
Please note that in the various outings described below, some I undertook alone while others were with my wife – and thus, the intermixed use of “I” versus “we” in the narratives.
1. Child Looking Out the Back Window of an Amish Buggy (Charm, OH – 2010)
Less than 24 hours into our very first adventure into Amish Country, we were out cruising the countryside and taking in the various sights and sounds of Holmes Co. Driving along we pull up behind a buggy with this youngster looking out the back window. You just don’t get a better “take this picture” invitation than that!
2. Shocks of Grain (Holmes Co., OH – 2010)
Another picture from our first trip to Amish Country. I grew up in rural Arkansas with a tractor-mechanic dad, so I was familiar with a lot of things related to life on a farm. But this was the first time I had seen grain tied together into shocks – which was pretty cool in my book.
3. Driveway into an Amish Farm (Lancaster Co., PA – 2010)
Our first stay in Lancaster Co. included a Sunday, and being a Baptist pastor I was curious about attending an Amish church service. Arrangements were made and we were told the address where the service would be held. The day before service we decided to find the place so we wouldn’t be as apt to get lost the next morning. This is the driveway into the farm where the Sunday morning service we attended was held.
4. Amish Girl at Strawberry Festival (Arthur, IL – 2013)
We made a passing visit to Arthur, but were able to stay only part of one evening and the following morning. That June morning was the town’s local Strawberry Festival, with a small group of locals gathered around a centralized spot in town for some festival activities. And in amongst that group was this little Amish girl watching all the goings-on.
5. The Family’s Men-Folk Threshing the Recent Harvest (Ethridge, TN – 2016)
In June 2016, we joined up with another couple we were visiting in Tennessee, because they wanted to show us around the Ethridge settlement. Ken drove the minivan, I rode shotgun with camera in hand, and the two women-folk sat in the back. We noticed some movement beside a barn on the side of the road and when Ken pulled over we had the opportunity to see all the older boys and adult men working the thresher as the younger boys looked on.
6. Uncle Zuck’s White-topped Buggy (Andover/Richmond, OH – 2016)
We were on a trip that took us up the northeastern part of Ohio. While going through Andover we passed a barn on the left side of the road, and all of a sudden there was the very first white-top Amish buggy I have ever seen! This was such a real treasure to add to my collection.
After getting home and excitedly working some of my images through the editing process, I shared this picture on social media. Within a very few hours some random commenter replied, “Look! It’s Uncle Zuck’s buggy!”
7. Amish in the Snow (Jamesport, MO – 2013)
This was from my first trip to Jamesport, where I hoped to catch some Amish-in-the-Snow pictures. I was carefully walking down the snow-covered sidewalks of downtown, and an Amish buggy came through and helped to fulfill my wish.
8. Amish School Children Outside Singing (Jamesport, MO – 2014)
While cruising the Amish countryside one Friday morning in mid-April a friend and I came upon one of the local Amish schools. But on this morning the children were congregated outdoors and were singing.
9. Amish “Ghost Town” School (Rector, AR – 2014)
Being from Arkansas, as I was first exploring the Amish world I was naturally curious to visit the (then-two) communities listed as in the Natural State. I was more than a bit surprised when I got to one of them (in Rector) to discover the school and the various Amish homes had been vacated.
10. An “Amish-ish” Wedding (Jamesport, MO – 2017)
While technically not so much a favorite single picture but rather more like a favorite photo set of a favorite single event. And technically the main characters were not so much Amish as once-Amish (although many still-Amish folks were present). Nevertheless this still makes my list as a high point in my experience of picturing the Amish-related culture.
Honorable Mentions
1. Draft Horses in the Snow (Jamesport, MO – 2013)
Another picture from my first visit to Jamesport. Amish draft horses in a pasture beside the road – not bothered by the snow in the least.
2. On the Way to Church on a Snowy Sabbath (Jamesport, MO – 2015)
I went out one snowy Sunday morning before church to catch the Amish on their way to their service.
3. Steaming Horses on a Cold February Morning (Jamesport, MO – 2015)
A team of horses brought in a load to sell at the “plug (seedling) sale” – the first auctions of the year at Jamesport’s produce auction. With temps down near zero the horses were steaming as the cold air interacted with the warmth they worked up pulling the wagon.
More from Don
- Picturing The Amish – Q&A with Photographer Don Burke (Part 1)
- Picturing The Amish – Q&A with Photographer Don Burke (Part 2)
- A First Visit To Amish Ohio (24 Photos)
- A First Visit To The Amish: Attending Amish Church (9 Photos)
- A Visit to the Amish of Ethridge, Tennessee (29 Photos)
- A Visit to an Amish “Ghost Town” (12 Photos)
- An Amish-ish Wedding (Part 1 – 17 Photos)
- Sunday Morning: Traveling to Church (16 Photos)
- The Amish-Run North Missouri Produce Auction (30 Photos)
- A Snowy Visit To Amish Country in Missouri (16 Photos)
