Maple syrup pouring over waffles

[Mike Buckley]

A favorite aspect of photography for me is when the resulting image reminds me of people and experiences I've enjoyed. This image reminds me of a childhood friend, his wife and the good times I had with them for a few days last summer. That was when they gave me the maple syrup shown below made near their home, which is why I decided to make the image. Mitch's Maples is the company that made the syrup, which is officially graded "Vermont Grade A Amber Rich Taste."

Setup
The background is a floor tile chosen for its warm tones that complement the warm tones of the syrup and waffles. A speed light behind and to the left of the scene shined through a sheet of translucent vellum. Doing so created a larger light source and diffuse light, both of which helped make soft shadows. A white reflector on the front right side of the scene brightened that area. The short duration of the speed light stopped the action of the syrup. Everything below the top surface of the waffles in the first capture was merged with everything else in a second capture.

[NorthernFocus]

Now here's one that's after my own heart. It would make me hungry but I just finished eating a stack of blueberry pancakes and bacon

The image is nicely done, Mike.

[Manfred M]

Now you are making me very hungry Mike. I wonder how many takes it took to get the shot. It works very well.

[Wavelength]

WOW; just awesome!!!!
PS: is maple syrup sweet by itself or sweetened?

[Mike Buckley]

Thanks, guys!

I'm guessing that Dan's blueberry pancakes tasted better than these waffles, which are from the frozen section of the grocery store and are made to be warmed up in the toaster. I'm sure he wouldn't eat waffles made that way now that we know he eats wild salmon instead of farmed salmon. For the record, the waffles in the photo were still frozen at the time of capture.

is maple syrup sweet by itself or sweetened?

This maple syrup is all-natural and is sweet by itself; no color or flavor is added. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some maple syrup contains added sugar.

I wonder how many takes it took to get the shot.

I was shocked at how easy it was to make this photo; I was prepared for a much longer session that ended up being relatively short. I expected to have to make several plates of waffles but used only one. The relatively short time and effort required to make the photo surely can be attributed only to luck rather than skill.

Once I got the composition of the static serving and lighting from the rear the way I wanted it by making several captures to tweak the details, I made only two test captures -- one with the reflector and one without it -- of the scene not including the syrup to get the exposure bang on. I then made about three more test shots that included the syrup bottle above the waffles but with its cap attached to determine whether I would include the bottle in the scene. (Obviously, I decided not to include it.) I then replaced the plate and waffles with a small mixing bowl and took two test shots of the pouring syrup to ensure that the syrup not yet fallen onto the waffles would be properly lit. I also used those two test shots to devise a way of measuring the proper height of the bottle to avoid it being included in the scene. I then returned the plate of waffles to the scene and made three captures while the syrup was being poured onto the serving. The first two of those captures were merged to make the final version. That is a surprisingly low total from beginning to end of only 17 captures including only three that were made while the syrup was being poured over the waffles.

The really odd characteristic is that the pour in one of the two merged captures was curved rather than straight. The pour in the capture used in the final version was straight but was not vertical. Clearly, something about the shape of the bottle's neck and/or spout and the viscosity of the syrup leads to those characteristics. My solution was to rotate both captures nearly 7 degrees to get the pour both straight and vertical. Fortunately, the resulting composition looked fine; I didn't even have to crop the image after rotating it so much.

[Mike Buckley]

By the way, I'm as happy as anyone to include artificial additives in a scene to make a food photo appear more realistic and/or to make it easier to produce the image. Even so, everything in this image is straight out of the kitchen cabinet, refrigerator or freezer except that the background is a floor tile that is one of my many props that I store for use in my tabletop photography.

[bnnrcn]

What a mouth watering image Mitch's Maples can use it as an advertisement

[bje07]

Hum Im hungry, well done Mike
You should try it in chiaroscuro

[selig1656]

Terrific capture and nothing like a great breakfast .

[Dave A]

I like this image on so many levels. Lighting, composition, subject matter, and yes.......taste

Dave

[Rita]

Excellent image Mike. It looks like it could easily be used in a menu advertisement. Actually it is a lot better than what you see in menus. One thing that caught my eye is the slight angle that the waffles appear to be on, it gives the image a less static look.

[rpcrowe]

Makes me regret the diet I am on... Until I look at the scale that is. Then I am quite satisfied.

[Mike Buckley]

Continued thanks to everyone and congratulations to Richard that the reading on his scale is improving.