After reading my first few blog posts, by now you should be familiar with my style of photography. I tend to look for the most natural shots in a sort of rustic environment. I enjoy places and settings that have a historic feel. In this particular post I thought it would be fun to talk about my favorite places to photograph in Southern PA. If you didn’t already know, Southern PA is full of history.
One of my favorite places to photograph is downtown, historic Lancaster. There are tons of old factory buildings and unique church’s lining the streets. Plus, there are quite a few buildings that were once pharmacies and now they have been transformed into coffee shops and local breweries. The reason why I love this town so much is because the people have done a nice job of keeping these old buildings up to par with a modern new look. The town is full of old brick buildings, crawling with vines and rusted outdoor stairways. Lancaster is also known as “Amish Country,” so all you have to do is travel about five minutes outside of the city and you hit miles of farm land with the constant sighting of horse and buggies.
Gettysburg is another great spot to do some free lance photography. This is where the Battle of Gettysburg took place in 1863, which is considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. I have actually met people in Gettysburg before who had traveled all the way from Australia to experience this historic place. It’s not just the history though that really pulls me in, but the beauty of the land that surrounds the town. There are some beautiful vineyards that rest on the hills of Gettysburg, and whenever I get the chance to do some photography out there, I feel as if I’m getting a little taste of Italy. I encourage everyone to get out there at least once in your lifetime!
The last place on my list of favorites is a small town called Red Lion. This is the town where I grew up and currently am living. Red lion was also one of the largest cigar producing towns in this country during the mid 19th century, just a fun historic fact! Now, it’s not really the center of the town that I’m drawn to, but what’s just a few miles down the road. Just by taking a couple of back roads through the town, you’ll suddenly find yourself in the middle of a beautiful field full of wild flowers, with nothing but an old barn in the distance. Another couple streets down there are rows of old, abandoned factories and silos. Even though they are decades old, bold colors still remain throughout their exterior.
I hope after reading this you can really get a feel for why I adore these places. It’s always good to get out there and travel through some of the towns around you because there might be something out there you never knew existed. Now get out there and go explore!