Snapshot on New Zealand: A Day in the Vineyards

By LIZ LEWIS

I’m not a bad photographer. But I’m not a great one either. So when the opportunity arose to take part in a photographic workshop focusing on vineyards and wineries, I jumped at the chance.

Living in the heart of a wine region, it’s easy to just hop into the car and head out for a spot of wine tasting or lunch at one of the many wineries surrounding my hometown of Christchurch. But to actually get a chance to wander among the vines and watch the wine being bottled was a novelty. And to learn how to take better photographs at the same time – what more could a dedicated wine drinker ask for.

Turns out one could ask for a whole lot more, starting with sunshine and warmth. The day of the workshop was wet, cold, and windy.

No sunshine. No warmth. But that didn’t stop a group of keen photographers.

We loaded up our gear and headed north out of Christchurch on State Highway 1 to Waipara Valley.

First stop was Sherwood Winery for an indoor session on taking pictures of wine bottles. Easy, you might say. Not quite. Trying to get just the right angle, background, foreground, and the label in focus really is a work of art. But after many attempts and some tips and pointers from David, ex-photo editor of The Press, I finally managed to shoot an ‘almost’ magazine quality photo (except I cut off the first two letters of the label)

From there we headed out back for some reality ‘behind the scenes’ shoots of the Winery. Nothing was missed – empty wine bottles, boxes, and old labels, machinery, even gum boots – in our attempt to capture the winery experience.

Then it was back on the road to Muddy Water Winery to watch the bottling process and take more ‘behind the scene’ images for the pretend magazine spread that we were creating. An hour later, the camera warm from overuse, it was time to move on.

Final stop was the Waipara Springs Winery. Too wet by this time for any outdoor shoots, we settled for lunch instead. Although settle might not be the right word. A diverse lunch menu stirred up lively discussion on the merits of pizza vs salad and what wines to try.

Along the way, I learned some new photo techniques, discovered what my new camera – a Canon SX10 IS – is capable of doing, and have decided that I needed to spend a lot more time around the wineries, sampling the wines and getting the shoots.

(originally posted on Perceptive Travel Blog)