Hunt’s Photo Walk: Hancock Shaker Village

Join Hunt’s Photo Education for a photo walk at the historic Canterbury Shaker Village. During the walk, we will discuss subject development, image composition, black and white, and architectural photography. Photographers of all skill levels are encouraged to attend.

Shakers were a religious group formed in England in the 1700s from a variety of religions, including English Quakers and Methodists. (Shakers were named based on their ecstatic dance, initially known as “Shaking Quakers”.) Shaker communities sprouted throughout Northeastern Colonial America, eventually heading westward. Due to the celibate nature of the communities, the Shaker communities dwindled into the 20th century, including the Hancock Shaker Village, which was closed by the Shakers in the early 1960s.
Opened in 1961, the Hancock Shaker Village preserves the heritage of the Hancock Shaker Community from the past two centuries. The settlement is complete with 20 Shaker buildings, a working farm and significant collections of Shaker furniture and artifacts.
On this walk, we will photograph the living spaces of this historic sect’s wholly simple (and simply holy) lives. We will attempt to tell the story of the Shakers through what they left behind. This will include an emphasis on Composition and discussing Black & White, architecture, and close-up photography. Come photograph a fascinating historical lifestyle!