Lake Pukaki

I was looking at some of the photos taken in New Zealand and wondering what they would look like in black and white. This was taken on the South Island.

Assembly Line Book Signing

We had three "Icewine Books" for signing at Inniskillin on Saturday. One was for Clarke Baker, an Ontario Wine Society member from Rochester, NY. Clarke wanted Karl Kaiser & Donald Ziraldo to personalize his book! The hand in the photo is Karl's - enjoying a glass of wine while signing the books.

Frozen in Time

These grapes were frozen in a block of ice for the Icewine Festival. Photographed at Inniskillin Winery.

"Icewine - Extreme Winemaking"

Karl Kaiser and Donald Ziraldo at a booksigning for their new book - "Icewine - Extreme Winemaking". Taken at Inniskillin Winery.

Inniskillin Winery

Since we're going to a book signing at Inniskillin this afternoon, I thought I would post a photograph of a scene behind the tasting room (currently under renovation). This was taken during the summer months. This scene will obviously look much different today since it has now started to snow in Niagara!

Hernder Estates Winery

This is one of the most picturesque wineries in Niagara. To get to the winery and tasting room you have to drive over this covered bridge.

Barn By Coyote's Run

My fellow blogger "photoshopphlake" posted a photograph of the same barn taken in winter on his blog today. This photo was taken in the Spring a few years ago after a fresh coat of paint.

Fruit Stand in England

This colourful fruit stand photo was taken in London, England. This scan was from a 35mm Kodachrome slide.

Changing of the Guard

The photo was taken in 1977 at Windsor Castle. It was from a Kodachrome slide and scanned. The camera used was either a Nikon or Pentax 35mm.

Warming Fireplace

We visited Peller Estates Winery on Sunday for an Icewine & Food Pairing Seminar. Outside the winery they had set up an Icewine Bar and there was a fire for toasting marshmallows. However, it was so bitterly cold outside, we decided to stay inside and sit by the warm fireplace. Since we can have any wine samples for free because we're wine club members at Peller it didn't make sense to spend $10 to to outside in the cold for a marshmallow and a small dixie cup of hot chocolate.

Ice Carving

This ice carving was taken at Hillebrand Winery during the Icewine Festival. The colour of the ice was enhanced using a blue filter in PhotoShop. There was an Icewine martini bar there as well but it was so cold we stayed only long enough to take a photo.

Photo on Wine Label

My photo of grapes in the vineyard across from Fielding Estate Winery was used on the 2006 Horne Bros. Baco Noir. These are amateur winemakers but a photographer has to get his photo published anywhere he can!

Two Sunflowers

I was editing Sue's photos last night and came across a shot from inside Chateau des Charmes Winery. The shot was dark and not too interesting. Before I was about to delete it, I thought I would try an experiment in Photoshop Elements. This now "artistic" shot is the result.

Ice Painting

Last year, during the Icewine Festival, there was a display of Ice Paintings outside the Shaw Theatre. Inside there was a display of one-of-a-kind photographs of these paintings. We weren't sure if we could photograph the photographs so we asked. No one was really sure but said they didn't think it was a problem if we didn't use a flash. Sue was able to take a few shots with her camera and this is one of them.

Winter Fairy Skating by Nadine Dennis

© All rights reserved

Something different for today's blog posting. This is a copy of a painting by our friend, Nadine Dennis entitled Winter Fairy Skating. The original painting is a water colour. Some of Nadine's artwork will be displayed at Mountain Road Winery in Beamsville.

A Pleasant Sunday Afternoon in Wine Country

Sunday was a dull day in wine country. We decided to do a pre-Icewine Festival visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was a very inexpensive afternoon. Being a wine club member of Hillebrand & Peller Estates we were able to try a number of wines at both wineries including a Cabernet Franc & Riesling Icewine. I'm also a "Reif for Life" member at Reif Winery so we stopped there and were offered a number of complimentary samples of wine including their Vidal Icewine with a chocolate truffle. We also had a voucher for a free tasting at Inniskillin Winery. There we had a white and red table wine and our choice of Icewine. With all these "freebies" who needs to spend $30 on a Discovery Passport for the Icewine Festival? I had my camera with me but was only able to take a few vineyard signs at Reif Estates including this one of the Pinot Noir sign.

Icewine Festival

The Icewine Festival starts next weekend in Niagara. This photo of an "ice" glass was taken at last year's Festival.

One Last Photo from the Festival of Lights

Noak's Ark is always a favourite at the light display on Dufferin Islands.

Believe it or Not?

I did not tilt the camera for this shot on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. The sign for the Ripley's Museum is actually this way.

Festival of Lights, continued

The Festival of Lights, in Niagara Falls, features a lot of Disney characters. This one is of Tinkerbell from Peter Pan (originally from the play and book, Peter & Wendy by J.M. Barrie). Taken with a tripod and a slow camera speed.

More Light Experiments

While photographing the lights on Dufferin Islands, I decided to experiment with moving the camera while depressing the shutter.

Clifton Hill Sign

While taking photos at the Niagara Falls Festival of Lights, we made a short stop on Clifton Hill to take a few photos of the bright signs.

Festival of Lights

Yesterday was the last day for the Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls. These lights show a scene from the movie, "CARS". The photo was taken using a tripod with the camera set at aperture priority.

Fireworks?

No, this is another photo of Christmas lights taken at a slow shutter speed and moving the camera as the shutter was pressed.

Last of the Christmas Lights

We'll be turning off our Christmas lights tomorrow so I thought I would take some photos on our front lawn. The photos weren't very interesting so I thought I would experiments with a slow shutter speed and moving the camera slightly while pressing the shutter. This resulted in a more exciting photo!

Icewine Grapes

With temperatures reaching below -8 degrees C., most wineries were able to pick their Icewine Grapes this week. This should be one of the best vintages yet!

Half-Sisters?

We've adopted two cats from the outside - Sage is 7 months old and Chutney is 2 1/2 years old. We think they have the same father because they both have tails that flop over their backs!

No Bethany and Matthew this Year

We spent New Year's Day with my sister's sister-in-law. Unfortunately, my great niece and nephew didn't come. The apartment where we had dinner was not kid-friendly so my niece decided not to bring them. As a result I didn't get any photos of the kids this New Year's. This is recycled from 2006!

Photographer's Helper

I was just setting up to take some photos of wine bottles for a local winery, when our youngest cat, Sage, jumped into my light box. I didn't have the camera set up properly but I had to take advantage of the opportunity.

Happy New Year

This is the famous Grimsby New Year's beach ball that comes down at midnight - not to be confused with the New York version! I have to admit that this photo wasn't taken this year since we were at Casino Niagara for New Year's Eve. A little work in Photoshop made a "6" into an "8".