Darkroom Prints: The Mennonites, Ontario, 1990

Larry Towell first encountered the Mennonites in the fields close to his home in Ontario, Canada, and gained unique access to their lives, which were otherwise cut off from the rest of society and its technological advances. He documented life in their communities between 1990 and 1999, photographing a total of 23 Old Colony sects across rural Canada and Mexico. The Ontario Mennonite population was around 30,000 at the time. Towell’s book The Mennonites was originally published in 2000. Pictured here, a group of girls bow their heads in front of a Lambton County cornfield in 1990.