Maple syrup festivals: Hit one now through May

by Jamie Rhein on

Depending upon where you live, when the temperatures are just right, it’s maple syrup time. In Ohio, maple syrup events are scattered across the state from the beginning of March until May. In Canada and elsewhere, there are maple events a plenty. Each offers something different, although syrup and syrup making is the main highlight. I’ve been to four of them. Each time I go to one of these festivals, thoughts of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Little House in the Big Woods come to mind.

The last festival I went to was last Saturday when we headed to Malabar Farms, former home of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and environmentalist Louis Bromfield. There we found a draft horse drawn wagon ride up a maple tree-lined-road to the sugar shack and a taste of the good stuff. On the way up the dirt road to Pugh Cabin, the site of the festival, we passed by metal bucket after metal bucket hung from the trees collecting sap–a sign of the season.

The farm, now a state park, is an easy drive about halfway between Cleveland and Cincinnati. This particular festival ties in the history of maple syrup making from Native Americans to modern day. While inside the sugar shack syrup is made with a more modern approach, nearby, set back in the woods along a trail, the sap is cooked down in a hollowed out log by hot rocks continually transferred from a fire to the sap like the Native Americans first cooked it. Down the trail from that station, there’s the pioneer version of maple syrup making using huge cast iron kettles hung over the flames. Wooden signs affixed to trees tell about the history of syrup and provide various facts.

This festival includes a tractor ride to where the draft horses head up the road. For anyone who wants to take maple products home, there’s a shop near the sugar shack, and also in the visitor’s center where other Malabar Farm products are sold and the hop on the tractor location..

We made a feast of the day by eating lunch at the Malabar Farm Restaurant that features food made from the farm’s produce and meats whenever possible. In an ode to maple syrup, I ate the maple syrup crème brûlée for dessert and enjoyed the crunch of the hardened syrup that formed a crust over the creaminess.

Although, most of the maple sap gathering process is explained through signage at Malabar Farms, at Slate Run MetroPark and Slate Run farm near Canal Winchester, Ohio, about thirty minutes from Columbus, park employees dressed in period garb take visitors on a walk through the sugar bush tour to see how a tree is actually tapped.

After the sugar bush, the next stop is Slate Run Farm, a living history working farm set in the 1880s where during maple syrup season, sap is cooked over a fire the way Ohio settlers did it. Inside the kitchen, women dressed in period attire lead visitors–mostly children, through a baking experience where they can taste maple products and be part of making food themselves.

In the southern part of Ohio at Hueston Woods, another Ohio State Park, the Maple Syrup Festival is also happening this weekend. This is a lovely area for hiking as well.

In the northern part of Ohio, Geauga County is one place that goes all out for maple syrup season. In Burton, there’s the pancake breakfast each Saturday in March. The finale is the Maple Festival April 30–May 3. Starting this weekend, there’s the March Maple Madness Driving Tour in Northeast Ohio, a self-driving venture that swings by twenty maple syrup producers in seven counties.

Along with Malabar Farms, there are other Ohio Department of Natural Resources maple festival events.

Here are 10 other maple syrup festivals and maple syrup production sites in other parts of the U.S. and Canada.

Will secretary Clinton help or hinder travel to Russia?

by Grant Martin on

Travelers around the world are waiting for the day when the borders to Russia open wider to visitors. Although the formerly Communist country does and will accept tourists, the application process is long and expensive — you don’t just wander up to the border to Russia, get your passport stamped and mosey down to Red Square, no, before visitors to the Red State are even allowed to apply for a visa they need to be sponsored, a process that isn’t difficult but one that takes time, money and most of all, patience.

Now that the Obama administration has the reigns, however, many have high hopes for better relations between the United States and some of her formerly cold neighbors. Cuba, for example, has recently been hinting at welcoming American citizens back into the island nation and kick starting its economy.

Such is the message that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is taking with her as she circles the globe: Give us some time and space to figure things out and rebuild bridges — we’re not here to fight.

Or at least that’s what she thought she was saying to Sergi Lavrov, Russia’s Secretary of State and a prominent official with whom she met last week. In an attempt to get relations started off on the right foot, Mrs. Clinton presented Lavrov with a gag “reset button” that was meant to symbolize the resetting of relations between the former Cold War foes.

On the bottom was written RESET, in English, while the top said PEREGRUZKA, in Russian. Which does not mean “reset.” It means “OVERLOAD.”

Thankfully, Mr. Lavrov took the gaff in stride and the meeting still went well. And with any luck, relations between the east and west will soon become even warmer, making we American tourists one step closer to easy weekend caviar and vodka trips to Moscow.

The first 24 hours in Nicaragua

by Brenda Yun on

Just how cold is the water in Nicaragua, I say to myself as I scuttle up to the lapping ocean’s edge.

Mike had told me it was going to be colder than I would normally think.

I dip my toes in, and quickly realize what Mike was talking about. Despite my assumption that everything about Central America is hot, the water is chilly at best – cold to be generous.

“Aw, heck,” I shriek before running full throttle, throwing my borrowed surfboard in front of me, and paddling as quickly as possible to the lineup.

Rob, too, the owner of the Hotel Brio where I am staying for a week, jogs into the water and informs us this is the coldest it’s been in his recollection. He’s been surfing these waters for over five years, so that’s saying something
Dusk is settling in, and the hot Nicaraguan sun is quickly fading, bringing with it forceful offshore winds. It’s feeding time for the frigate birds, who are scouring the sea out on the horizon. It’s just the three of us in the water, a perfect closing to my first full day in this largely misunderstood country.

For those of you who are afraid of traveling to Latin America because you think it’s too dangerous: don’t be. Having been to some of the lesser traveled countries such as Colombia, I too was afraid of hostility and violence. Like Mexico, there are clearly places you should go and places you should avoid.

I’ve now spent just 24 hours in this blessed country, which is in the middle of its dry season. I decided to come here before Nicaragua becomes an expensive travel destination and/or explodes as a surf destination. On the plane ride from Houston to Managua, I happened to sit next to Rob, who invited me to his hotel near the Tola coast in south. After many serendipitous moments like this, I’ve become a firm believer in trusting that things and people happen for a reason.

Therefore, might I suggest that you just buy the ticket you’ve been anxious about purchasing. Just go for it. Beyond that, you might want to book your first night’s stay somewhere, but let the other events just unfold before you naturally. There’s something utterly comforting about being in a third-world country and seeing it develop before your eyes.

Specifically, the people here are awfully helpful. No matter their dire financial or living situations, the locals I’ve met are particularly resilient. The hotel cook Nestor, for instance, taught himself English and taught himself how to cook the most delectable meals this side of Central America. Rob told us that previous guests at the Brio contact him specifically to rave about Nestor’s amazing dishes. Not only this, Nestor is the friendliest Nicaraguan I have yet to meet – and this is not to say that the people are not friendly because they are.

Speaking of Nestor, it’s time for dinner. An enticing plate of garlic red snapper fillet, freshly purchased from a local fisherman, awaits me. The side of mashed potatoes could feed five starving children in the beachside village just down the road. Parrots are chirping goodnight from the trees outside, and the sun is quickly turning midnight blue.

So for now, I will say buenos noches, but tell you I’ve only just begun to explore this small country packed to the brim with vibrancy and culture. You will certainly hear more from me soon, but I implore you to come and see it for yourself.

Bury a sardine for Lent: A tradition across Spain

by Jamie Rhein on

Before today, I knew of only one other celebration centered on a fish. During the Walleye Drop on New Year’s Eve in Port Clinton, Ohio, townsfolk drop a walleye. Not a real walleye–one made out of some sort of fiberglass material. Here’s another case of fish frivolity. This Mad Culture video depicts the Burial of the Sardine in Madrid. The celebration, attended by folks of all ages, is connected to the end of Mardi Gras. The mood is fun and festive complete with people dressed in costumes, some carrying images of sardines.


Burial Of The Sardine Madrid from Phillip Stark, Ben Dornan, Justin Metz, and Karina Stenquist of RedHill Media (a new production house in Madrid, Spain specializing in travel videos) on Vimeo.

The sardine burying tradition, according to what I found out here, came about in 19th century when some students in Madrid wanted to recreate a pagan holiday connected to the allegorical characters Don Carnal and Doña Cuaresma. The symbolism has something to do with carnal pleasures over moderation. The festival has since spread throughout Spain, and does indeed involve burying a sardine. The video explains it all.

Through the Gadling Lens: try not to focus

by Karen Walrond on

There can be no doubt that a really lovely, crisp image with a sharp focus can make a shot — and in truth, focus can be one of the easiest technical aspects of a photograph that can be learned and controlled. But just this past week, I was instant-messaging a photographer friend of mine:

Me: Hey, have you ever taken a photograph, and you can’t tell whether the result is really crappy or really cool?

Josh: All the damned time.

Me: I just took one. I can’t tell. There’s no part of this image that is in sharp focus. But I think I like it anyway.

Josh: Meh. Focus is overrated.

I’ve thought about this conversation a lot since then, and I have to say, I agree with him: sometimes, focus is overrated. So this week, I thought I’d share some of the photographs in the Gadling Flickr pool which are great illustrations of how sometimes ignoring focus (or manipulating it, at least) can result in a great shot.

1. Shallow depths of field. One of the most fun ways to play with focus is to manipulate the “depth of field” — the amount of photograph which is actually in focus, as compared to the rest of the photograph. When you look at a photograph with a large depth of field, almost every portion of the photograph will be in focus. Conversely, if you look at a photograph with a shallow or small depth of field, only one portion of the photograph will be in focus, while the rest of it will be in “bokeh,” or fade smoothly out of focus.

Subjects in photographs with very shallow depths of field don’t look like the subject does in real life; however, it does add a lot of interest to the photograph, in that they help direct the viewer to a single point on the image. The easiest way of manipulating the depth of field is to play with a lens’ aperture — the smaller the aperature number, the shallower the depth of field (more on aperture can be found here). Simply set your camera to “aperture priority” (or just put the camera in full-on manual mode, if you wish), and set the aperature to a low number.

Some beautiful examples of shallow depth of field:

This great shot shared by (flicts) in the Gadling Flickr pool is a classic example of shallow depth of field. Notice how just the small barb of the fence is in focus, where the rest of the shot isn’t. You can still tell exactly what the image is — a verdent green field in the country — but the shallow depth of field directs your attention exactly where (flicts) wants it to go, on the tiny detail of the fence. Taking this photograph with a large depth of field would have resulted in a rather ordinary shot; instead, the depth of field makes the shot. Really spectacular.

Flowers are wonderful subjects for playing with depth of field, primarily because they generally have so much detail going on, the number of areas you can choose to have in focus are general endless. In this great shot shared by dog blue in the flickr pool, the very tips of the petals are in focus, while the rest of the flower (and its neighbours) rapidly fall into bokeh. Again, this would’ve been an ordinary shot if there was a large depth of field; but it makes for a great image when the depth of field is restricted. Lovely work.

2. Capture movement through blur. Oftentimes, when taking a photograph of a rapidly moving object — a car driving quickly, perhaps, or a child on a swing, for example — the natural tendency is to move the camera along with the moving object, in order to minimize blur. Instead, consider trying to capture the blur itself — forget about trying to get the moving object in focus, and instead, go with the flow: let the object whiz by, and capture the speed of the object

A few tips as you try to capture blur: consider placing an inanimate object (or an immobile person) in the foreground, and focus on that, instead. The stationery object/person will provide great contrast with the moving object, and give some context and contrast in the image.

Some amazing examples of blurry movement:



This shot of a New York City subway shared by ultraclay! is a classic demonstration of capturing blur by juxtaposing a moving object against an immobile one. In this shot, by focusing on the stationary couple in front, the speed of the passing train is beautifully captured — you can almost imagine standing on the platform with them, with the sudden train rushing by taking your breath away.

Nobody nearby for you to use as your stationary focal point? Look up: in this shot, Cazimiro used the interesting ceiling pattern as his stationary object — by focusing on that, the rushing train in this Washington DC subway is just a beautiful blur of light, and the entire shot is from an interesting perspective, rather than just looking straight on at the train. Outstanding job.


Finally, lest you think the “blur” technique only works for public transportation, check out the amazing shot above by Willy Volk, taken on a Florida beach. In this shot, Willy focused on the stationary sand, and let the ocean do its thing. An awesome shot – it makes you totally imagine the rushing waves over your feet, as your toes sink into the grainy sand. Of course, the warped perspective given by using the fisheye lens helps make this shot, as well.

3. For night shots, purposely make the lights out of focus. Lights at nighttime are magical — and sometimes purposely “unfocusing” the lights can make your images even more magical, as they flare against a darker sky. This technique is particularly effective when shooting holiday lights, strings of street lights, or any multitude of city lights against a darkening sky.

Something to keep in mind — this effect tends to work best at dusk, when you can still make out silhouettes against a dark blue sky, rather than at pitch black-darkness. Also, this can be a lovely effect when taking images in intimate restaurants or bars: place an object with a recognizable silhouette in the foregrounds, with the twinkling lights in the background.

Some really stellar examples of blurry lights:

This shot by ultraclay! is a perfect example of capturing an intimate feel in a bar or restaurant. Shot at a sake bar in New York City, by focusing on the candle in the foreground and keeping the other candles in blur in the back, the result is an image that makes you think of low conversations, the clink of sake glasses, and the occasional outburst of laughter. The photograph doesn’t just record an image, but it captures some of the mood around the image as well.


Additionally, this great shot by StrudelMonkey of holiday lights in Florida captures the magic of the season. The light tree in focus in the foreground provides the perspective and the setting; however, the blurred lights in the background let you know that the light tree isn’t just a one-off — the magic of the season goes on into the scene. Lovely piece of work.

4. Finally, just give up on focus altogether.

I’ve shared this photo with you before, but I can’t help it: I love this shot, mostly because it was a complete and total accident — I squeezed the shutter before the camera had time to find focus anywhere. But still — even without the focus, I’ve never had anyone fail to recognize the image above as one of the Houses of Parliament in London — and in fact, it’s the lack of focus that provides the interest.

The reason the shot above works is because (a) it’s an iconic image — one of an internationally-famous landmark; (b) there’s lots of colour and (c) there’s lots of lights. In other words, there’s more than just the shape of the subject, but light and colour keep the eye’s interest.

What (accidentally) taking this image taught me is that perhaps when taking pictures of iconic subjects — say, like the Statue of Liberty in an upcoming trip to New York, or the Great Wall of China (one of my future photography goals) — perhaps it make sense to grab a few shots with the subject out of focus — instead, let the colours and the contrast and the light of the surrounding area tell the story.

Hopefully all of these examples will inspire you to play with your focus a little bit — because, as my friend Josh says, sometimes focus is overrated. Keep taking your amazing shots, and keep sharing them in the Gadling Flickr pool. And as always, if you have any photography-related questions, don’t hesitate to send them to me at karen.walrondATweblogsincDOTcom – I’m happy to tackle them here on Through the Gadling Lens.

Karen is a writer and photographer in Houston, Texas. You can see more of her work at her site, Chookooloonks.
And for more Through the Gadling Lens, click here.