Cooper Hammering Wine Barrel Staves in Rain

Raindrops streak the air and glisten on the curved oak staves of a wine barrel under construction. The cooper stands at the frame's edge, hands steady as they drive a wooden mallet against the metal hoop. Soft, overcast light from the late summer sky diffuses evenly across the wet cobblestones of the old Encarnacion quarter. Water beads on the rough-hewn wood and the cooper's dark, oil-stained apron. Behind the figure, weathered brick walls and a slanted tiled roof absorb the gray morning. The rhythmic impact of the hammer sends faint ripples across the puddles at the worker's boots. one drop of water rolls down the edge of a barrel stave and vanishes into the damp ground.