The Canadian North Atlantic Coast and Newfoundland

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse

Trinity, Newfoundland

uring the summer of 2004 we went on a ten-day photo trip up the Canadian North Atlantic Coast to Newfoundland. For us this has been an adventure of a lifetime. Ironically, this was a trip we almost didn’t take.

Prior to the trip, during the planning stages our hopes for photo opportunities were high but our expectations were low. We weren’t able to find much in the way of published photographs of the area. Still, we had heard from those that had been to Newfoundland of a land of wonder and enchantment. Stories were told of quaint fishing villages virtually untouched since the turn of the 19th century, surrounded by landscapes from seemingly lost worlds.

We originally chose four locations; Peggy’s Cove and Cape Breton Highlands NP in Nova Scotia, and Gros Morne and Cape Bonavista in Newfoundland. That’s a lot of driving for only four known locations, was it going to be worth it? Our fascination with the stories we had heard made our decision, we scheduled the trip. We were not disappointed.

Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia. Enhanced in Photoshop to portray our feelings of being lost world explorers.

Nova Scotia

The first major day of shooting was Peggy’s Cove on the eastern shoreline of Nova Scotia. We arrived early morning; the sky was overcast with storm clouds, a perfect backdrop to set the mood. A local photographer came up and started a conversation. He recommended we spend most of our time that day at Peggy’s Cove, as it was the quintessential fishing village in that area. We were able to photograph for about an hour before it started raining. Despite the good advice, we packed up and drove on.

Continuing down the coast we photographed between the raindrops, looking for that elusive combination of good subjects and the right light. By mid afternoon the rain stopped. Remembering our local photographers advice, we headed back to Peggy’s Cove. This time we still had the drama of the storm clouds, but we also had the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. We photographed until we lost the light. What a great way to end our first day

The second day we drove through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park as we made our way towards Newfoundland. What a surprise, the coastline vistas with their rich green highlands and beautiful blue waters made us feel more like we were on a tropical island than on the far North Atlantic Coast. Photographic opportunities were not great due to the clear skies, but still very much worth the visit.

That night we took the ferry to Newfoundland. We slept through the seven hour ride awakened by the sound of the captains voice over the cabins speaker. As we drove off the ferry we were greeted by brooding vistas of mountaintops lost in the dark storm clouds. Although the light and mood were magical, the rain was too intense to take photos. Onward to Gros Morne we went.

Gros Morne

The combination of ominous skies and gloomy light on Gros Morne was in a word; enchanting. The image here although originally shot in color, was converted to black and white to better capture the lost world look.

Photo trips like this are a lot of find and seek, find a local map and seek out the landmarks on it. One such find was The Arches. A polarizer was used to reduce light and the lens was stopped down to f 22 with a corresponding shutter speed of approximately 30 seconds to show movement in the water. By the way The Arch as viewed from the parking area does not look like our image. The impact comes from placing the camera inside and under the arch, and using a 24mm lens with the camera just 18 inches above the water. My wife Tammy had to kneel in the cold ocean water to take the picture.

Unnamed cove in Nova Scotia. This reminded us of a scene from an old Technicolor movie, so we altered the light and color to give it the vintage look.

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Peggy’s Cove

“Stories were told of quaint fishing villages virtually untouched since the turn of the 19th century, surrounded by landscapes from seemingly lost worlds.”

Cape Breton

“What a surprise, the coastline vistas with their rich green highlands and beautiful blue waters made us feel more like we were on a tropical island than on the far North Atlantic.”

Cape Breton

Gros Morne, Newfoundland

Gros Morne, Newfoundland