The photographer is looking for generalized feedback about the aesthetic and technical qualities of their image.
Description
My mind went in a different direction when reading this week’s photo challenge. This is a photo of a maple sap droplet from an old-fashioned maple tree tap. The sap is used to make really tasty maple syrup. March is Maple Sugar House month in NH, and as such we can go to the sugar houses and watch the process of making maple syrup and do some tasting. I spent some time photographing the sap dripping from a tapped maple tree, looking for that perfect drop with a reflection of the surrounding maple trees. It was fun!
Technical Details
Canon R6, EF 24-70 lens with adapter, 70mm, 1/640 sec., f/4.5
I used LR and some Photoshop (still learning)
Interesting subject. I’ve never seen this done. At first I thought it was water. Monotone color palette is nice, as is the blurred background. My thought is that the focus is off (but who am I to talk about focus ;- ) Obviously the droplet is the subject of the image, but the point of sharpest focus is on the metal part above the drop. It’s so hard to the focus exactly right this close.
Hi Mary. I really like the composition, but I had the same issue Chris did. If you can get out next February, you might try a bit larger depth of field. I like the selective focus, so I don’t think you want to get carried away, but enough to get the end of the tap and the drop in nice focus would be really cool.
Hi Mary, this is a very unique and fun image you’ve captured. Love the wooden spigot, which I’ve never seen. I do like your comp, with the BG gradually fading away. Not sure what metal Chris was referring to, but your camera should allow you to change the size of your focus points so you concentrate on one small, specific spot, then you may have to adjust your aperture, depending on how much you want to be in focus.
Hi Jim, thank you for your kind words. That tap is actually a brown metal tap that they hammer into the tree. This is more of an old fashioned way to collect the sap, it’s more streamlined and efficient now. The sap does not flow like water, the drops are very inconsistent, hence the fun and challenge of the shot for me. It was handheld, with me hanging over the sap bucket. I have a 100-400 lens now that I can go back with and try again from a less awkward position .
Wow, it sure looked wooden to me, but that wouldn’t make sense anyway, lol. I’ve seen both kinds of operations…with the taps connected to tubing, which eventually flows into tanks, and also the smaller operations using buckets that are hand carried to the sugar house. Fun to watch, and it takes sooo much sap to make a little syrup.
