My in-laws live in an area in Central Pennsylvania called
Big Valley which is a predominately Amish community. Now that I finally have some time to spend with them in the area, I got to witness a small barn raising.
The setup for the shoot was difficult for a couple reasons. First and foremost is the Amish do not like their picture taken so being respectful of this, I had to shoot from a distance that would not bother anyone. Next, because of some obstacles, I found only one position to shoot from that was a little more than 100 yards away across a field. Also I shoot hand held from inside my truck so I wouldn't bring any concern with a tripod. With all these restrictions, I did the best with what I had available. Some of the shots at the end of the sequence I got some close ups as I was leaving the area - jumped out of the truck on the road and fired off some quick shots.
I was hoping my photos would convey the massiveness of this project which is done entirely by hand from the hewing and notching the beams to the actual erection on this day. These projects take over 3 months from the start planning and preparing everything for the big day.
Not the best viewpoint for sure, plus in my image sorting I tried my best to not show any faces in respect for them. Also at the end of the sequence is a heavy/dirty crop where I am trying to show the actual size of the beams that make of the framing sections.
And an important note - this sequence of raising these main beams took
45 minutes!
Here are a few samples - the sorted set is in my
Photo Gallery.