Crumby Cranberries

This is a cranberry field. There are a whole bunch of these fields in Richmond, about fifteen minutes from my house. I stopped by these fields late in the day a couple of weeks ago. I regret that I didn't spend at least an hour there, exploring all the composition possibilities. Forget regret, I'm really ticked at myself. A cranberry field is a really cool subject, and if I had put in the effort, I'm sure I could have come up with some really interesting photographs. Instead I got this lame one. I must learn to slow down and take my time. Maybe this crop is better, but I don't think so.

For those who have never witnessed a cranberry harvest, I will briefly explain. The berries grow on short bushes near the ground (not unlike wild blueberries). Rather than pay people minimum wage to bend over and pick the berries all day, the workers are given machines. The field is flooded so that the berries will float to the surface. In order to keep the cranberries from clinging to the vine, the workers use machines that look like a giant snowblower. The 'blades' beat the berries off of the bush, and they rise to the surface of the water. Then another machine scoops them up.

Canon PowerShot S2 IS, 39mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO 50