During my recent trip to Cleveland I had the opportunity to drive to the Amish country, a short distance away. When I stopped to photograph 5 kittens peaking out of a barn opening I discovered, I had the unexpected pleasure of meeting an Amish woman who ran an Amish bakery and craft store on her farm in Middlefield, Ohio. Not only did she encourage me to take photographs (and later bought photo cards I made from those images to sell in her store), she also art-directed me! (placing her push mower on her lawn so people could see how they mow their lawns, removing equipment from the barn conveyer belt etc.). I had always been reticent of photographing the Amish, but this woman explained that as long as the photograph is taken from a distance and/or their back is facing the camera, they are okay with being photographed.

I am drawn to the simplicity of their culture and I am amazed at how the Amish are able to live such different lives from their surrounding neighbors/the majority of the world. No cell phones, computers, or video games, let alone no electricity and all the other appliances and equipment connected to it. The contrast is visible in the last photo at the area Walmart behind which are stalls where the Amish park their horses and buggies. The same era, an entirely different way of life.