Photography: Anabaptist in America

“Ever since I was little, my dad and I would have photographic expeditions, and we'd drive out to the beautiful farmland and go take pictures,” photographer Bella Newman recalls of her early exposure to the Mennonite communities not far from her family's home in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania. “For me, the fascination was discovering that I was so close to this culture: I can drive past them in my automobile, and they're waving at me from their horse and buggy,” Newman says. “It's like a time machine.” At first glance, Newman—an 18-year-old high school senior already making waves in photography circles for her intimate portraits—has little in common with the bonnet-wearing women on the other side of the road. The very act of posing for a picture tests the limits of piety and modesty for certain Mennonites (as well as their fellow Anabaptists, the Amish), who point to Exodus 20:4, against “any graven image.” It's a far pendulum swing from a society accustomed to selfies and self-promotion, where “it's a constant struggle to be interesting or to feel cool,” admits Newman, speaking for her generation.