Award-winning Lake Report photographer and NOTL resident Dave Van de Laar has released his 2025 calendar, showcasing photos of the town.

Van de Laar’s photography captures the essence of the community through the changing seasons with images of streetscapes, historical and modern buildings and, of course, the beauty of area orchards both in bloom and covered in snow.

“Niagara-on-the-Lake is a beautiful place,” he said.

“I love the architecture, I love the old buildings, I love the orchards and the old barns. I love mainly the history of Niagara-on-the-Lake.”

The calendar opens with a night image of a grape picker during the icewine harvest in January, progresses through a lonely but captivating shot of the gazebo at Queens Royal Park under a blanket of snow and moves on to capture iconic NOTL images such as the Prince of Wales Hotel draped in early summer foliage to other shots of Queen Street, historic manors and fields of blossoms.

“I tried to get one representative of each month,” he said.

Van de Laar was named photographer of the year by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association earlier this year and took home a third place for Best Feature Photo in News Media Canada’s national competition with his Oct. 12, 2023 photo “Happy 254th birthday, Brock.”

That photo depicted Jack Hill, 6, wearing a red-coat soldier’s uniform and relaxing during a celebration at Queenston Heights.

Van de Laar’s calendar is available for purchase by emailing davehv@gmail.com or by visiting davehvandelaar.com.

Born and raised in Niagara-on-the-Lake, this is Van de Laar’s second calendar. His 2024 edition was his first.

Last year’s calendar sold out quickly.

“I would have sold more than 500 but I stopped at 500,” he said, adding that depending on demand, he may order more than 500 this year.