Michael Dvorak

In a world consumed by technology, the Schwartzentruber Amish in SE Minnesota and Southern Iowa live as far removed from it as possible, though sometimes not as far as is expected.

Schwartzentruber Amish are the most conservative order in the broad range of Amish orders across the United States today.  This community migrated form Ohio to SE Minnesota in 1974.  They were drawn by the fertile soil and relative secluded nature of the land.  SE Minnesota is a land of rolling hills, hard wood forests and trout filled spring creeks.  It is a land that one could imagine Grimm's fairy tales were based on loose reality.

I am attracted to the simplicity of the Amish life. Yet I am not so naive to believe their life is simple. This project is a work in progress, it has taken me a year and a half to get to this point.  I have only recently been allowed to photograph certain members of the family.  My hope is that my photographs will become more intimate as time goes by and as I gain more trust within the community.

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