Old Order Mennonite Boy - St Jacobs, Canada

[Manfred M]

There are significant numbers of Old Order Mennonites that live in Woolwich Township, in Ontario, Canada. They still use horse and buggies and avoid modern amenities that rely on electricity in their homes. This is a largely rural area and these Mennonites live on their farms.

Woolwich is literally right beside the Canadian city of Waterloo, with all its high tech companies. Start contrast here. There are so many Old Order Mennonite families in the area that the local Walmart has a small barn for customers arriving with horse & buggy. The plain utilitarian clothing and hats are typical dress for males.

Much of what they produced is sold at the St Jacobs Market. That is where I photographed this boy, working at the family stand selling maple syrup.






This is another image I have reprocessed recently and will likely end up printing it after I have sat on it for a few days and likely do a few more tweaks.

[FootLoose]

Interesting subject, Manfred. His forlorn expression reminds me of photos of people taken during depression era.

Given that communiy's aversion to modernity, do they mind having their photo taken by strangers?

[Manfred M]

Given that communiy's aversion to modernity, do they mind having their photo taken by strangers?

Being at the market, I'm sure they get their pictures taken every so often, but you are right, they do turn away from the camera when they notice it. That being said, yes, I was operating in "stealth mode"; long lens at a distance in order to sneak this shot in.

[DanK]

A very good candid portrait, and (as usual) very well processed.

[rpcrowe]

Shows what I know... I thought that zipper closures were not allowed for Old Order Mennonite clothing...

[Manfred M]

Shows what I know... I thought that zipper closures were not allowed for Old Order Mennonite clothing...

I wouldn't know, but I remember heading to the Town or Elmira, which is just a few km / miles north of St Jacobs. It's a very touristy place with visitors from all over the world.

I was standing just outside a shop when three or four Old Order Mennonite boys in their late teens walked by. They were stopped by a couple of Japanese tourists who asked one of them to take their picture. He just took the tourist's cell phone and took a couple of snaps and gave it back to them.

Certainly not something I had expected, but on the other hand, why should they not be aware of what is going on in the world around them?

I seem to remember that both the Mennonites and Amish came from the same Anabaptist background. The Amish split from what would become the Mennonites because they found them to be too liberal.

[pschlute]

That is a smashing portrait Manfred.

[lovelife65]

Interesting subject, Manfred. His forlorn expression reminds me of photos of people taken during depression era.

Given that communiy's aversion to modernity, do they mind having their photo taken by strangers?

Very nice photo Manfred. I know of many of these communities still in the States as well. Additionally, there are many Amish Communities still around, in the Midwest and South in particular. In terms of the question posed, I don't know about Menonites, but I know the Amish deplore their photographs taken, and will even get quite angry if you try. They don't want to be tourist attractions, it's insulting to them.

[RBSinTo]

Manfred,
Nice portrait. Well composed. A suggestion: crop out the jugs with labels from our right side of shot. They are bright, distracting and compete for the viewer's eye with the subject.
Robert

[Manfred M]

Manfred,
Nice portrait. Well composed. A suggestion: crop out the jugs with labels from our right side of shot. They are bright, distracting and compete for the viewer's eye with the subject.
Robert

Thanks Robert. The image I posted had some more post-processing work done on it before I printed. I burned down the labels and the bottle tops more than is shown here and that gives a better balance.

I had a version without any labels and that did not work all that well either. Ultimately it was a trade off between the distraction and the overall balance in the shot. I'm still sitting on it and might go just a touch more aggressively with my burning. If the label goes too gray, it draws too much attention by looking strange.

[pnodrog]

Thanks Robert. The image I posted had some more post-processing work done on it before I printed. I burned down the labels and the bottle tops more than is shown here and that gives a better balance.

I had a version without any labels and that did not work all that well either. Ultimately it was a trade off between the distraction and the overall balance in the shot. I'm still sitting on it and might go just a touch more aggressively with my burning. If the label goes too gray, it draws too much attention by looking strange.

I'm glad I read down to here. I like the photo but was going suggest you knock the whites back a bit but no need to do it now...