Saturday, March 30, 2013

Ahhhh, Spring has Sprung....

Maine Maple Sunday has come and gone. A sure sign that spring will follow in a short while. The day was fairly clear, with a chilly wind blowing. There were crowds at every sugar house I went to, from Mitchell & Savage in Bowdoin, and ending at Cabane a Sucre Bergeron in Hebron, Maine. There is just something about the sweet smell of sap being boiled down to eventually become Maple Syrup. It takes approximately 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup. 

Boiling the Sap at Cabane a Sucre Bergeron, Hebron, Maine

It is always a pleasure to photograph a few sugar houses. The excitement of the people, especially the children, is inspiring. It is sometimes a challenge to shoot inside with natural light. I have tried using flash, and have not had good results. The confined space often causes too much light and reflections. I suggest opening your ISO to 400, or even 800. Modern cameras can handle ISO 800 without much worry of too much noise. The shutter speed needs to be fast enough to hand hold with causing blur. Check your histogram and adjust your aperture or shutter speed accordingly.

Mitchell & Savage Sugar House, Bowdoin, Maine

The sign at the drive-in to Mitchell & Savage warned it was "Mud Season", please park on the road and walk in. That is to be expected this time of year in Maine, but it was about a 1/2 mile to the Sugar House and farm house. Nothing like getting my exercise right off, but the sweet syrup at the end of the walk made it all worthwhile.

Keeping the Fire Stoked at Cabane A Sucre Bergeron, Hebron, Maine

I would also suggest you shoot in RAW, if your camera supports it. With ever changing light conditions, you can easily adjust the white balance in RAW, you can not change it if you shoot .jpg.
 
Cabane A Sucre Bergeron, Hebron, Maine

Thanks for reading this short account of a wonderful day. I hope your spring unfolds to a beautiful start. See you next time....


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