Lee Rentz Photography
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A compelling photograph is an insight into the soul of planet Earth, with a power to renew the sense of wonder and intensify the thrill of being alive.
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THE AMISH IN WINTER

The Amish live close to the land, necessarily incorporating seasonal rhythms into their lives. After all the plowing and planting and nurturing and harvesting, the landscape breathes a sigh of relief as the world enters winter dormancy.

But not the Amish. Their lives are still busy with the daily rhythms of farm life. The horses and chickens must be fed. The children must walk to their one-room schools. Ice must be harvested. Laundry must be washed and then dried out on the line. The sawmills continue operating. Wood must be cut for warmth. Barns are built. Quilts are sewn. Sunday worship is not to be missed, as the believers gather in one home, converging from nearby homes by foot and by buggy. 

It is a life apart, and that’s what those of us viewing from the outside find enchanting and ultimately unknowable, because we can only view the surface. 

The photographs here represent six winters of quietly and respectfully observing these families at an undisclosed location in central Michigan.

Girls and boys walking home from school in a blizzard
Girls and boys walking home from school in a blizzard
Deep snow passage
Deep snow passage
Mother and child in an Amish barn
Mother and child in an Amish barn
Barn raising in an Amish community
Barn raising in an Amish community
Corn shocks in a blizzard
Corn shocks in a blizzard
Turning toward home at the end of a snowy day
Turning toward home at the end of a snowy day
Gathering for Sunday services
Gathering for Sunday services
Amish one-room schoolhouse
Amish one-room schoolhouse
Towels flapping in the breeze on a winter day
Towels flapping in the breeze on a winter day
Taking home the ice harvest from a community ice pond
Taking home the ice harvest from a community ice pond
Affection among Amish work horses
Affection among Amish work horses
Amish buggy tracks after a light snowfall
Amish buggy tracks after a light snowfall
Three sheep and Amish greenhouses
Three sheep and Amish greenhouses
Buggy ready for departure
Buggy ready for departure
Two buggy horses in a blizzard
Two buggy horses in a blizzard
Amish laundry, black and white
Amish laundry, black and white
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