Planning a photo trip to Newfoundland....

[Pasto]

I'm planning a trip out to Newfoundland for mid summer. It will be with my 8x10, and want to photograph icebergs. Any members from there that could help me plan locations, etc.??

 

[Nick Merritt]

I envy you -- Newfoundland is just an amazing place. I think of Twillingate on the northeast coast as more or less iceberg central, though other places near there (Fogo) would probably be good also. I'm sure you could charter a boat to take you out closer to the 'bergs, conditions permitting.

 

[jp80874]

Hope this is related enough not to steal the thread. How do you plan to deal with the motion of the boat? I shoot 8x10 and 7x17 in the industrial area of Cleveland, Ohio (the Flats) and I did not think it possible with the long exposures I encounter. I have a 25 foot boat, but even in the confines of the river I would think there would be too much motion. Please teach me.

John Powers

 

[frank]

I believe that the north west, between Newfoundland and Labrador is called iceberg alley. I loved visiting Newfoundland, esp. the tiny fishing villages.

 

[Dinesh]

Try and visit during the George Street Festival, it is one of the best times that you will never remember.

In 2006, I took a Hasselblad on a boat tour to the entrance of the North Atlantic. It was very difficult to compose, focus and stay in the boat as the waters very very rough.

 

[Nick Merritt]

I can concur with that -- I went out on a whale watch out of Twillingate and trying to manually focus a tele and compensate for the roll of the boat (and not pitch over!) was a challenge.

 

[Pasto]

I'm really not thinking about going out in a boat. Handling an 8x10 on a moving platform seems an impossibility particularly as I typically shoot in the 1/30 to 1/2 second range. I was hoping (I've never been to Newfoundland nor seen an iceberg live) that there would be a place/vantage point on shore where I could set up and shoot from. The longest lens I have is 450mm but that may be too short....

 

[Toffle]

You should be able to manage iceberg shots from land. My wife and I are visiting in early July, and one of our stops is Twillingate, which has great views. On an 8x10, 450mm might get you the kind of shots you want from land. I'm not sure about APUG, but I know a couple of LF photographers on Facebook who may be able to help plan an itinerary. I'm hoping to bring a 4x5, but I had better get cracking on that, because at this point my camera building project is stuck at the cut-wood phase.

Have fun.

 

[Ralph T]

The number of icebergs as well as their distance from shore varies greatly from year to year and even throughout the season. In a good year, you can easily shoot icebergs from shore with a 450mm lens. Other years, icebergs will be smaller and you may need a longer lens. The larger icebergs tend to ground themselves in shallow water and may stay in these locations for several days or even weeks depending upon tides and winds.

Some years there will be plenty of icebergs, even as far east as St John's. Other years they will be mostly in specific areas. The best places are probably around St Anthony and Twillingate. The season varies quite a bit as well. Some years you can see icebergs even on the Avalon Peninsula well into July. Most years recently, by the time you get into July you are limited to the northwest part of the island. The earlier in the summer you go, the better your chances. This site is a good guide and also lets you see what happened last year: http://icebergfinder.com/ .

Newfoundland is a photographer's dream... a step back in time. Don't limit yourself just to icebergs... there are lots of other things. If you get as far east as the Bonavista Peninsula look me up. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me.

 

[Mustafa Umut Sarac]

Take a M16 or hand grenade with you againts white beers

 

[pentaxuser]

Take a M16 or hand grenade with you againts white beers

The Labatts beers although not quite white are light in colour and are the worst. They seem not to have damaged you on the evening of the attack and it is not till the next morning that you realise how much they have savaged you

pentaxuser

 

[Bob Carnie]

That is called the blue flu- I have suffered from this too many times to tell.

The Labatts beers although not quite white are light in colour and are the worst. They seem not to have damaged you on the evening of the attack and it is not till the next morning that you realise how much they have savaged you

pentaxuser

 

[jscott]

If you travel to the northern tip of the Great Northern Penninsula you will come to L'Anse Meadows, the original settlement of Leif Eriksson in about the year 1000. Developed as a World Heritage Site but still quite natural. Nice tundra country, not particularly spectacular but definitely historic and maybe a good subject for your large format work. We stayed in a B&B there and got to know a Newfie family.

Another good spot is Gros Morne National Park, which includes huge mountains that are made of rocks thrust up from the Earth's mantle during continental collisions. Since the minerals are not crustal the elements are toxic to most plants so it's a huge green muddy serpentinized landscape. Very scenic.

One Canadian friend called Gros Morne "Canada's best National Park", although most Canadians have never been there...

It's also possible to get a ride across the channel to Labrador to take a few photos there.

 

[jp80874]

Do you have enough bellows for a 600mm lens? Even that is only the 35mm equivalent of 100mm on 8x10. I will be very interested to learn if you can get close enough. My wife and I are hoping to make that trip soon.

John Powers

 

[Pasto]

Thanks to all for the great advice (about the beers as well). I think I have a good starting point to put something together. It looks like I'll be planning for early june to have the best chance of getting in close to an iceberg from land. I'm sure there will be lots to make pictures of but I don't have the luxury of too much time. I think about 4 days is all I have not including the drive from Montreal.

Tom, I would appreciate more info regarding the LF shooters you know that may have more details for me. Regarding my bellows, I have about 650mm of draw. I'm not sure I have the budget for a longer lens right now. Anyone have a lens to loan me?

I'll keep you posted on how this progresses.

 

[jacques]

In september 2013 I travel to Newfoundland for a week by plane because by car from Montreal it is much too far and you have to pay for the ferry. I was staying in Rocky Harbour where I've rented a little cabin. I was not in Newfoundland for icebergs but I've taken pictures in Gros Morne National Park, I went to Cow Head where there is incredible rocks, I went to Western Brook Pond, I also went to the Tablelands and to the Green Gardens. Newfoundland has a lot of beautiful places. I wish though it did not rain everyday because I would have took more pictures. Also when I went to the Tablelands it was only 4 degrees in the morning.
Jacques

 

[Ralph T]

Pasto,

IMHO 4 days is really short.... better than nothing maybe, but way too short. It will take the better part of a day (each way) once on the island just to get to Twillingate from P aux B. leaving you about 2 days to shoot. If you go to the northern peninsula, you won't even have that. If you get a couple of soupy days, you won't have anything. When you count the drive/en route accomodation/ferry, etc that's going to be an expensive trip. You may want to consider flying Montreal to Deer Lake and renting a car from there. That will about double your days on the ground and increase your odds for not much more money when you consider everything.

Any current or retired Canadian Forces members going to Newfoundland should be aware that the ferry company has a great deal for you... free passage for you and your party (up to 4). It doesn't include the vehicle portion of the fare, but can still save you big bucks depending on the size of your party. They don't advertize this fare and you can't get it by booking on the web. You need to call the 1-800 number and ask for it.

 

[mrred]

If you want more info, I grew up there and it is a completely different culture. I was lucky to do band work in the 80's and got paid to travel the island. For those that have never been there, it's a much bigger place than you think with lots to see.

I now live in Pierrefonds, so PM me if you want a longer conversation.

 

[Pasto]

OK, it looks like it will be by plane which should give me about a week on island time. It also look like Montreal-deer lake with car rental is probably the best way to go. I'll be asking more questions as I go....

 

[barzune]

When you visit Twillingate (AKA Iceberg Alley) drop in and visit with Melvin Horwood. Bring a ballpoint pen to offer him, particularly one that advertizes your home town. Mr Horvath is an iceberg enthusiast, and enjoys visitors from away.
http://treasureislandcaching.com/tag/melvin-horwood/

 

[Pasto]

Thanks for the tip barzune!

 

[David Henderson]

I was in Newfoundland from 8th to 24th June last year, mainly on the north coast. With the exception of a couple of small ones pretty much on the horizon near Twillingate, we saw no icebergs. We saw no whales and no moose either. Whilst I take on board the difficulties of photographing from boats-and rarely try it myself- I'd just point out that there is a big industry in taking tourists out in boats to see Icebergs and whales. If you could predictably see either very well from shore I might hypothesize that this industry might be less well developed. There's a decent local information structure that tells hoteliers , boat owners etc what to expect. There is probably little point finding a good spot and waiting. You need to do something else whilst your waiting. The fishing infrastructure round the coast is photogenic IMO but to find interesting traditional fishing shacks etc you need to drive out towards the end of some pretty long peninsulas and you have little time. We drove 3500 miles in a little over two weeks looking for photographs. With only four days on the island I'd suggest that you don't really have time to get up to St Anthony's unless you want to spend most of your time going some extremely tedious driving . You need to pick a couple of areas such as Twillingate, Trinity, Salvage which will offer you more than the prospect of icebergs from shore. My suggestion would be not to spend time in/around St John's and to ignore Avalon too- its convenient but not very attractive and faces the wrong way.

 

[Pasto]

Thanks David. I've come to the same conclusions. Shooting icebergs from shore will not be as easy as I'd expected. I may not even have a lens long enough to get in close if an iceberg does come around. At this point I'm reconsidering the use of the 8x10 as taking it on a boat is scary to say the least.