Observing plant growth is one part of my creative process. Each photograph begins with my observation of the development and maturation of the grape vines in the vineyard. I plan my photographs by focusing on how to convey the beauty of the vine’s life cycle and which part of the life cycle to capture. When can we see the first developing shoots after bud burst? When are the clusters of grapes most beautiful? What colors do the grape leaves turn in fall? Planning and observing are portions of the process, but the exciting part is the actual vineyard photography and the post-production that afterwards takes place in my studio. Two important criteria I use to portray the “personality” of a plant are the angle of viewing and how close I set my camera. I light each trunk, cordon, fruit cluster, leaf or tendril to reveal in detail the magnificient beauty of natural form and function of each grape variety. Just as

individual vines have a natural cylce, so too does the entire vineyard. After several years, conditions of sun and shade in the vineyard change. Also, many of the perennials, cover crops and trees mature. The vineyard offers me a variety of photographic opportunities to view not only its beauty, but also the passage of time experienced visually through the “soul” of the grape vines.

In spring, rising temperatures stimulate the vines to start converting starch they have stored in their woody tissues into sugar. A sugary sap moves through the vine and growth of green tissues starts, the growing season has begun! A lot happens now from bud break, shoot development, small clusters of buds, flowering, berry set to berry development and the macro lens often comes into play.

The tiny vine flowers must be pollinated before they become grape clusters. Most grape vines are hermaphroditic, which means they are self-fertile and do not need to have male or female plants in order to pollinate. Wind and insects are indispensable for pollination, however.

We monitor the vineyard carefully now and inspect the shoots for berry development and in case there is too much fruit on the vine (overcropping), we remove some shoots. This allows the canopy to get better sun exposure and air circulation which are both important factors for keeping the grape vines dry and disease free. For the same reason, trunks are routinely stripped off all unnecessary shoots.

Every year, every season brings new color and its own distinct characteristics to the vineyard. Thanks to this year’s generous rainfall in early summer, the vineyard seems brighter, fresher, greener. The vines have bloomed (small berries begin to appear under the shade of its leaves) and are beginning to grow exponentially. When you picture a vineyard, you see it as a blanket of green, but when you actually walk through a vineyard, there is an almost uncountable number of hues.

The leaves at the center of the vine (the leaves that were the first to grow) are now the darkest green while the leaves at the tips of the vine, the newest leaves, are always the lightest in hue. The older, darker leaves absorb more sunlight and hence photosynthesize more effectively than the new, lighter leaves. Another color variation in the vineyard comes from the different varieties of grapes grown.

The vineyard blocks mark themselves by their color: a swath of emerald green here, a strip of forest green there, next to that we can see hunter green, followed by shamrock green and shades of fern green…

…and suddenly it’s almost harvest time! This time of year is highly anticipated. I’ve been monitoring the weather, searching and waiting for veraison - the first signs of color in the clusters. Meanwhile the grapes take on more color every day and the vineyard looks radiant as it slowly starts to shed the greens of warmer months for the yellows, browns and burnt oranges of autumn. Now in September it’s the best season to take pictures in the vineyard, as usually early in the morning right after sunrise the light is soft and even . Personally, I think no time of year offers more readily available opportunities to create great vineyard images and it’s well worth embracing every chance I get to take my camera out and get some shots of beautiful wine grapes!

Taking captures in the autumnal vineyard is something I always look forward to. Harvest is over, the vineyard is a quiet place, the air is crisp and the scenery stunning. It takes two words only to describe the beauty of these days: autumn foliage. The vine leaves started to turn in shades of gold, fire and chocolate creating breathtaking views.

The vines seem to sigh and turn inward in anticipation of the slower pace autumn brings. Different grape varieties change color at different times surprising us with mesmerizing vineyard treasures. There is such a splendour to be seen in this season of transition and incredible photo opportunities are waiting! The cloudy days we are enjoying now give everything in the vineyard a soft light which makes for quite a contrast to the almost unbroken summer blue we were used to. I really can’t figure out a more perfect weather as only overcast conditions allow to take pictures all day because the clouds diffuse the intense sunlight, giving an even lighting to work with. It truely is a photographer’s delight and definitely one more reason to grab the camera and head out to the vineyard as much as possible before a November storm ultimately rattles down all the beautiful leaves. These are the truly magical, unique moments when a creative approach can transform subjects from “nothing” into something. I call this: beauty in decay.

December has arrived, the vines of the season are now spindly and bare-branched, ready for the well-deserved winter dormancy, waiting for the day to begin a new chapter.

And: the wooly weeders are back in the vineyard for the winter months! For me this is cuteness overload and I cannot stop taking captures of this lovely vineyard crew!

Turning out sheep (or other farm animals) into the vineyard over winter, when the grass is green and the vines are hybernating, has become increasingly popular over the last years. For good reasons! Sheep do not only carry out a great job in weed control and as grass mowers, but also contribute to naturally fertilize soil and vines. That’s what Best Management Practice looks like and to go even further this is what we call Biodynamic Viticulture, a farming philosophy that involves managing a vineyard holistically as a regenerative living organism. Vines are fertilized using compost created in the vineyard and soils are regenerated naturally through waste droppings of the vineyard animals. Sustainable, organic farming at its best, I’d say! And on top of that, are sheep not a great addition to the vineyard landscape?

Here’s to another time of year in the vineyard that will never cease to fascinate me: the pruning season! Pruning, by definition, is cutting back the canes to appropriate lenghts in order to incourage healthy growth for the next season. This work is done once the leaves have fallen and only the canes are left.

It’s important to know that pruning has nothing to do with haphazard hacking of branches and to realize that this particular work in the vineyard is very time consuming, takes a lot of training and also lots of time to think and reflect. Depending on the varietals and/or circumstances, for one vine spur pruning (cutting canes short) might be a good practice, while for another cane pruning (replacing the entire cordon) might be the much better solution. There may be rules to pruning, but in the end it’s all about the exceptions.

What makes pruning so unique is the mixture of art and knowledge, experience and philosophy, frozen hands and a melting heart. The transition of the vines from dormant canes to lush, grape producing plants every single year could so easily be overlooked and go almost unnoticed. One of the best things about living and working in a wine region is seeing the daily progression of the grape growing process first hand. There is so much to admire all year and I consider vineyards to be highly photogenic locales.