Mystery Creek Winery – A Photography Assignment.

ps|studio DPI has been on hand to create photography to showcase the Waikato, New Zealand based wine maker from vine to wine in anticipation of their new website and for use in their marketing material for 2010.

Requirements for the shoot included product and location photography, showcasing the onsite facilities including the bottle production line.

We tried a few variations for the bottle shots. First ideas were to have the wine bottles photographed in and around the vineyard – the origin of the wine. This to me was a logical first choice but unfortunately made the images unworkable from a marketing perspective.

We also took shots on a aggregate slab onsite with a hint of the lifestyle that goes with enjoying a glass or two of vino, the great outdoors and hot sunny days. however, as I like to shoot with available light on location we were getting some inconsistencies with the shots across the product range. Reflections of the cloudy but sunny sky above did not work in my favour.

Not satisfied with the results, it was time to take the wine to the studio.

With bottle samples in tow and a determination to get it right, we were back at base to begin working out what we should do and how the final images should look.

After a conversation with Mystery Creek Wine’s marketeer, we had some good ideas that definitley got the creative juices flowing in order to have an end result that would please everybody (including ourselves).

During the experimentation on the product shots we decided that the element of aggregate from the earlier shoot, which was favoured by the client and ourselves, would form a good foundation for the studio photography. We located some loose, broken, exposed concrete and found pieces that were of particular interest, set up a gray backdrop… Time to play!

Lighting the wine bottles was a little challenging to start with, but after a few test shots it was all looking good.

The clients response to the test shots was like beautiful music!… They loved them!

Mystery Creek Winery contacted ps|studio DPI to capture their working vineyard in pictures.

The assignment started this week with product shots of their entire range of wines (20 in total). I also took some time to have a wander around their fine facility, taking shots of the production areas, the pretty awesome looking ‘tanks’ with their own gantry, wine barrels, machinery, equipment and of course the vineyard itself. Wine-making is a real fusion of nature and technology.

The aim of the shoot is to show that the facility is a fully working operation from start to finish, everything is handled on site even down to the labeling of their wine bottles – which I will be shooting on another day. They have a fantastic tasting room in the grounds which is available for visitors to try out the many varieties of wine and even buy a few bottles to take home.

The weather was pretty wonderful yesterday, some cloud cover – still, I applied my sunscreen… The harsh conditions fit the shoot perfectly. Time to find a little shaded area, enjoy a wonderful glass of wine direct from the source, and get shooting… All part of the telling of the story don’t forget…

In an attempt to capture some of the lifestyle that goes with the product it was a simple decision to shoot outside. And what better place with the mighty Waikato river as a backdrop, things don’t get much better.

With the first phase of photography now done, the next phase should be even more exciting! Will keep you posted…

Mystery Creek Wines will be redesigning their website based on the photography provided by ps|studio DPI in the near future.