Tuesday, November 13, 2007 12:09 AM CST
Gallery features photos of Amish lifestyle
By AMBER WILLIAMS, Staff Writer
awilliams@jg-tc.com
ARCOLA — Having been a relative and a neighbor to the Amish for many years makes it both easier and more difficult for Richard Herschberger to produce artistic photographs of the Amish lifestyle.
On the one hand, Herschberger is familiar with the culture and customs of the Amish, and can converse with them somewhat in their Pennsylvania Dutch language. The Amish community feels more comfortable around Herschberger because they know him.
“They know me, they know I understand their desires and their ways,” Herschberger said.
However, with this trust Herschberger has gained from the Amish community also comes a responsibility in his mind not to offend any of them with a photograph he takes.
Having done some kind of photography for the last approximately 25 years, Herschberger recently opened his own photo gallery in downtown Arcola called Herschberger Galerie. The gallery displays many of the photos Herschberger has taken of the Amish over the years, as well as scenic photos and florals.
Herschberger began photographing the Amish in their own element mostly because people are interested in the Amish lifestyle and would inquire to him about having photos of the Amish. As Herschberger began thinking about the possibility of taking photos of the Amish way of life, he realized that he too would like Amish photographs, as they were a connection to his own heritage.
Herschberger’s parents left the Amish community before he was born, but he was raised in the Arthur area and still has a majority of relatives who are Amish.
Being acquainted with the Amish culture, Herschberger knows that the Amish do not like being photographed head-on. It is a part of their beliefs that they would not pose for a photo, he said.
Although the Amish may know that with tourists coming through the area, it is a reality that some of them will stop to take their picture, but when someone does, the Amish person will typically turn their head to the side, so as not to be posing.
When Herschberger wants to take a photo of an Amish scene, he tries to intrude as little as possible, and take the photo from a position where the person’s face is not easily identifiable.
Some of Herschberger’s photos that are displayed at the gallery depict such scenes as an Amish man helping children move from one trailer full of hay to another, an Amish man steering a cart lead by horses with a companion dog by his side, and an Amish man traveling home on an open horse and buggy during a rainstorm.
“It is a statement of what the Amish life is like,” Herschberger said.
Prior to opening the photo gallery, Herschberger has done a lot of commercial photography work, like portraits, weddings, and advertising photos, but taking artistic photographs is his first love.
“My greatest enjoyment comes from art photography,” Herschberger said.
Herschberger’s sole purpose in opening the gallery wasn’t to profit from his photography, but to have a place to display photos he is proud of and share them with others. Herschberger has a number of different prints available for purchase at the gallery, and he said they can be made into about any size the purchaser desires, from a small framed print that would sit on a desk to a large piece of wall art.
The Herschberger Galerie is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The gallery can be reached at 268-4400 and examples of Herschberger’s photography work is available at www.herschbergergalerie.net.
Contact Amber Williams at awilliams@jg-tc.com or 238-6858.
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