The cooper

So much poor light this week, but one can only do what one can! We drove up to Craigellachie today to visit the Speyside Cooperage where many casks for the whisky industry are manufactured and repaired. 

A really fascinating experience, though Health & Safety makes it impossible to view the processes close up, understandably, and the visitor must view the process from a high level corridor behind glass. Pictures are allowed, but no flash. Looking down on the workshop floor is like watching the activities of bees - men scurrying to and fro at great speed, rolling casks with great skill. The workforce is on piece work and each man takes the one cask through all the processes - no conveyor belt work here!

A far doorway was constantly bathed in steam and men would appear through the steam with casks from time to time. It was a wonderful sight and I took a lot of photographs, but in low light with a bright background at long distance most were rather grainy. I converted this one to monochrome - it was nearly there anyway!

A jackdaw silhouetted in a car park tree made my extra picture of the day.