BY GARY MAY
There is a Currier & Ives quality about Upper Canada Village, a place stalled in the world of the 1860s. It is especially charming in winter, in a gentle snowfall, when flakes tumble down and accumulate with artistic randomness on split rail fences, pioneer homes and barns.
On a snowy evening, I have come with my new digital camera and tripod in hand to test out its time-exposure capabilities and hopefully capture some beautiful pictures during the village’s Alight at Night festival.
Over the course of five weeks around Christmas and New Year’s, a celebration of light and colour splits the early-winter darkness and bathes the village on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in a radiant glow.
Alight at Night is a marriage of our pioneer past with modern celebration.
As I leave the car and approach the village, the tang of wood smoke on the crisp air catches me up in the moment. I am transported back in time. My boots crunch through the sticky wet snow. Gentle flurries create a fluffy white shroud. The soft, twinkling lights break through the air’s gauzy veil.
My first thought is a practical one: protecting my camera from the wet snow. I’ve stored it safely inside a carrying bag and tucked a plastic bag next to it for future use. More on that later. First, it’s time to scout out locations.
I stroll over the bridge and along the village streets, past farmhouses, shops, a tavern, a blacksmith’s and the 1837-era Christ Church. Fences and buildings are festooned in strings of holiday lights. I hop onto a horse-drawn wagon and watch a couple passing by in the private carriage that’s available to reserve.
A walk in the past
Everywhere, there are interpreters dressed in period costume, ready and eager to help me recreate that magic Christmases-past moment. I stop in to the bakery, where women dressed in gingham are just removing fresh bread from the wood-fired brick oven. The tantalizing aroma brings back childhood memories of grandma’s kitchen.
Nearby, Cook’s Tavern is a great place for a beer or a glass of wine with a mouth-watering snack. For those with bigger appetites, the Harvest Barn offers hearty dinners.
There’s an artificial skating rink that lets you replicate the joys of an old-fashioned outdoor glide across a millpond. Drop by and just see if it conjures a long-forgotten childhood image, perhaps something culled from the pages of The Bobbsey Twins, or Little Women, or perhaps Anne of Green Gables.
Across a field, a warm candlelight glow bursts from the windows at Christ Church. The sounds of carollers drift across the still air.
This year, a life-sized gingerbread house is bound to become a favourite of the kids. You can also try your own hand at a little gingerbread-making and perhaps win a prize.
The stately Crysler House is a fine example of a mid-1800s landowner’s mansion and during the holidays, a special sound-and-light show is performed there.
During a pause in the snowfall, community carollers, dressed in Victorian garb, break out in song on the boardwalk outside the photographer’s shop. Passersby stop to listen; others join in as the joyous atmosphere catches everyone up in the season’s mood.
When a brisk wind off the St. Lawrence nips at your toes, visitors crowd into the village gift shop, perhaps to sip a hot coffee or cocoa, or pick up a bit of cheese, maple syrup or bread, made fresh at the bake shop they’ve just visited.
Upper Canada Village has been holding its Christmas lights festival for the past 10 years. Last year, says spokeswoman Jancis Sommerville, Alight at Night drew 45,000 visitors during its run, which this year begins Nov. 27 and ends on New Year’s Day. While most are from Eastern Ontario and the Montreal region, she says visitors come from across Ontario, Quebec and New York state, with a smattering from overseas.
Throughout the village, half a million lights are strung out to outline buildings, trees and fences in a fairyland display — even when there’s no snow. Regardless of the weather, there is something magical about the sparkle of Christmas lights. For some, they bring memories of warm-hearted moments shared with family and friends. For others, perhaps thoughts of sipping eggnog around the hearth or the Christmas tree.
Postcard-perfect pictures on offer
During my walk through the village, I have made a mental note of the places I want to capture digitally. If you’d prefer to leave the picture-taking to others, the village is a great place to just soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the fabulous light display.
But my new camera awaits its debut. The snow has stopped, so wet flakes will not be a danger to it. I came prepared, however, with a little “hood” to shield its lense. This is a store-bought one of plastic. They also come in rubber, but you can build your own, something as simple as a piece of cardboard that’s light enough to hold above the lense.
I haul out my tripod and secure it on the snowy ground, 200 feet from the church. I attach my camera to the tripod. Like a cinematographer, I create my scene with the church slightly off centre, with a wide enough scope to take in some of the trees outlined in coloured lights.
I’ve also brought along a tiny flashlight that makes it easier to see as I set my camera’s ISO (I choose 100 for less graininess), focus, f-stop and speed. The f-stop is 5.6, large enough to brighten the view, yet small enough to provide for a fairly wide depth of field. For variety, I also try 4.5, 5.0 and 6.3. There is always an “exploratory” nature to nighttime photography: try a setting out, then try something else and compare your results.
Now for speed. I start at 1/15th of a second and move to slower settings. Half a second, a second, two, then five seconds. The wonderful thing about digital cameras is they offer the opportunity to see immediately what you have. You quickly discover that different combinations of speed and f-stop create different moods.
Then I move on to a split-rail fence, laden with snow and draped in strings of lights. I try a close-up of three coloured lights cutting their way through a layer of snow. As I walk through the village, the subjects I choose are a range of close-ups and scenes.
I return to the boardwalk outside the village photographer’s studio. The carollers are back. I pick my vantage point, set up the tripod and start shooting. In this case, with the carolers being more animated than a stationary building, my shutter speed is of critical importance. I try a few with a flash and discover they work best, freezing the carolers.
However, sometimes a small amount of motion and blur can add an interesting quality to your picture. Remember, don’t be afraid to experiment! Then it’s into the bakery for some photos of bread-making. This is where that plastic bag comes in handy. The rapid temperature change as I move inside is bound to create condensation on cold surfaces. Before I go inside, I slip the camera into the plastic bag. When I walk into the warm cabin, condensation forms on the outside of the bag. Without it, that condensation would be coating the camera lense and working parts. Let the camera warm up slowly, inside the bag, and all will be well.
Upper Canada Village is located near Morrisburg in Eastern Ontario, about 30 kilometres west of Cornwall. More than 40 heritage buildings have been moved to, or erected on the 60-acre site, some of which would otherwise have been destroyed when the Seaway flooded riverfront areas 50 years ago.
If you’re thinking of staying over, one interesting option is Montgomery House, a log cabin available for overnight rental that sits next to the village. It’s a touch of pioneer heritage — with all the modern conveniences, including wide-screen TV. There are several other motels and B&Bs in the immediate area.
There are other Christmas light displays around Ontario’s waterfront communities, but for me, none surpasses Upper Canada Village for its charming, old-fashioned warmth.
For a more urban feel, I like to head down to Niagara Falls, where, until Jan. 31, you can take in Canada’s largest
lights festival. Nearly two million lights and more than 100 animated displays are on offer during the Winter Festival of Lights, amid the dramatic backdrop of the Falls.
The lights play on the water and the rising mist. Drive, or walk along the Niagara River Parkway where you’ll encounter the Enchantment of Disney displays, plus nightly fireworks, concerts and children’s entertainment. And best of all, it’s free.
MyNewWaterfrontHome.com — November 2010