How To Take Part In International Wine Photography Day

Above: Morning Dew, Sonoma County by George Rose

Have you heard of the Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year competition? Well, among its categories is the Errazuriz Wine Photographer of the Year award. And the organisers of this have teamed up with Fujifilm to launch the first-ever International Wine Photography Day on Tuesday 20th November 2018 — and everyone is invited to get involved on social media.

Grape snappers are encouraged to use the #WinePhotographyDay hashtag to share their most creative photos of wine and (importantly) wine-related themes. I put “importantly” in parentheses there because, if you look at last year’s finalists you’ll see that none of them are pictures of wine itself. They’re of a more abstract/documentary nature.

Sure, it’s a nifty way to garner publicity for the awards and their sponsors, but it’s also an excellent opportunity for wine-loving photographers to reach a sharply focused audience, and to enjoy and be influenced by shots from like-minded visual artists.

Throughout the day Fujifilm UK will be supporting the event with hints on lighting, styling and composition (presumably via the hashtag on social media). I’m a Fujifilm user myself (I love the retro styling), but God knows, I could do with some of those tips.

Everyone who takes part by posting a picture on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram on the day, using the hashtag #WinePhotographyDay, will be entered into a draw to win a magnum (150cl) of Errazuriz’s Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve 2010 and a Premium subscription to Decanter Magazine.

See the official International Wine Photography Day web page for terms and conditions.

And here are a few of my favourites from last year’s Wine Photographer of the Year entries.

Beaune, Burgundy by Theirry Gaudillère

Spinning the Chardonnay by Victor Pugatschew

Vendange à Arbois by Jerome Genée