Portland’s watercolors

Posted May 10, 2012, at 11:11 p.m.

A bus stop window is impregnated with flecks of colorful prismatic glass that dazzles on a wet evening on Congress Street in Portland on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Buy Photo

Robert F. Bukaty | BDN

Reflected in a puddle, a man walks his dog in the morning fog in Portland's Deering Oaks Park on Wednesday, May 9, 2012. Buy Photo

Robert F. Bukaty | BDN

A man walks along a path snaking though Deering Oaks Park, Tuesday evening, May 8, 2012, in Portland. Buy Photo

Robert F. Bukaty | BDN

The sign atop the Eastland Hotel glows on a misty night in this six-second time-exposure made in Deering Oaks Park, Tuesday evening, May 8, 2012, in Portland. Buy Photo

Robert F. Bukaty | BDN

A sudden gust of wind near the end of a five-second time-exposure add an unexpected bit of life to a quiet scene in Deering Oaks Park in Portland on Wednesday morning, May 9, 2012. Buy Photo

Robert F. Bukaty | BDN

Taillights and a stop light reflect on a rain-soaked Franklin Arterial in Portland on Wednesday evening, May 9, 2012. Buy Photo

PORTLAND, Maine — The next time you watch a movie check out the night scenes. Chances are the streets and sidewalks will be wet — even though it is not raining.

Filmmakers learned long ago that wet pavement reflects light.

The sparkle and contrast adds a little visual stimulation to the scene. So before the shooting starts, everything gets hosed down, unless Mother Nature has taken care of it already — as she has in Maine for the last two weeks.