Newfoundland Explorer

July 12 - 20, 2027

A photography tour through Newfoundland is an invitation to capture some of the most dramatic landscapes in North America. Rugged sea cliffs plunge into the Atlantic, colorful fishing villages cling to rocky shores, and ever-changing coastal light transforms every scene into a masterpiece. From photographing breaching humpback whales on a boat tour to comedic puffins nesting on windswept headlands, from quaint and colorful neighborhoods and historic lighthouses standing sentinel against crashing waves, every day offers extraordinary opportunities for unforgettable images. Join Jim for this photo tour to Canada’s far east and return home with some of your favorite images.

What you will learn on this photo tour:

-- How to shoot birds in flight

-- Camera settings for breaching whales

-- When to use the sun itself as a component

-- How to make the sun become a star effect

-- Why use HDR at twilight or night

-- How to hand hold the camera when doing HDR

-- Using focus stacking when exaggerating foregrounds

ITINERARY

Day 1, July 12, Monday

Arrive in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, on this day. Take a taxi or Uber to our hotel, rest from the flight, and meet Jim and the rest of the group in the lobby of our hotel to discuss the upcoming out and for a welcome dinner. Overnight St. John's.

Day 2, July 13, Tuesday

We rise early this morning and drive a few minutes to Cape Spear which has the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland and Labrador. It dates to 1836 and is the eastern most point of Canada. A white picket fence acts as a classic leading line. We then return to the hotel for breakfast.

Afterwards, we wander around the streets of Jellybean Row, photographing the amazing colors the 19th century Victorian homes that make up this entire area. It's a lot of fun. Jim will take you to a vantage point where a telephoto lens can compress all of this color into a strong composition. Following lunch, we'll go to Fort Amherst located in St. John's. There is a beautiful lighthouse there, and a short, easy trail takes us to a beautiful vantage of a lighthouse across the bay and two out buildings, now a B&B. It's a classic Newfoundland shot. Overnight St. John's

Day 3, July 14, Wednesday

This morning is our backup for Cape Spear. If the weather wasn't conducive for a beautiful sunrise yesterday morning, we will go there again hoping for better light. Otherwise, after breakfast, just 10 minutes away by van is the picturesque, historic village of Quidi Vidi (pronounced by locals as 'Kitty Viddy'). The brewery here is famous for its Iceberg Beer, brewed using water from 20,000-year-old icebergs. The quaint and colorful buildings in this village photograph well; using Photoshop techniques, you could turn the scenes here into beautiful paintings. After lunch, we'll drive to Petty Harbour -- Maddox Cove for another photogenic Newfoundland village. From here, we drive up to Signal Hill in St. John's for stunning views of the city. After dinner, we can return to the Hill for twilight photography and the beautiful reflections of urban lights in the water of the bay. Overnight St. John's.

Day 4, July 15, Thursday

We leave St. John's this morning following breakfast and drive not far to Bay Bulls. From here, we board a chartered boat that focuses entirely on whale watching and puffins. Hopefully, we can capture a breaching humpback whale. This is peak season for the whale migration past Newfoundland. Jim will discuss with you camera settings for this kind of action photography to make sure. your pictures will be sharp. At the end of the tour, we explore the village of Bay Bulls because it is a great place to do more fishing village photography. We'll have lunch here, and then we head south to Tors Cove and The Cribbies. This is a beautiful area with iconic red and white salt-box style cottages situated in a coastal meadow. They are among the most photographed landmarks on the island.

Next, we drive a little further south to photograph the striking red and white lighthouse at Ferryland. We will have dinner and overnight in Bauline East.

Day 5, July 16, Friday

After breakfast, we about 2 1/2 hours to one of the greatest bird photography sites in the world. Cape St, Mary's Ecological Reserve is the most accessible seabird rookery in North America. There are approximately 30,000 gannets, or 15,000 breeding pairs, plus 20,000 black-legged kittiwakes, 20, 000 common murres, and 2000 thick-billed murres. In addition, there are razorbills, black guillemots, double-crested and great cormorants, and northern fulmars. It's amazing there aren't any mid-air collisions! From a comfortable vantage point, we can photograph birds in flight, birds on nests, mating, chicks being fed, and birds diving for fish. There is so much going on you won't know what to shoot first. We will squeeze lunch into our schedule sometime in the middle of the day, but our focus will be on the tens of thousands of seabirds going about their daily routines of survival and reproduction. Jim will help you with focus tracking techniques, the placement of focus points in the viewfinder, and exposure.

Afterwards we drive a short distance to St. Brides to photograph the village, the lighthouse, and to overnight.

Day 6, July 17, Saturday

For sunrise on the seabird colony, we can get up early to catch the magic of golden light in motion as the birds greet the day. When we've satiated ourselves with too many great images to count, we return for breakfast. Following this, we check out and head north toward what is considered the prettiest town in Newfoundland, Trinity an historic town since the 16th century. It feels like stepping into a living postcard. Besides the colorful houses and fishing boats, we'll photograph the Fort Point Lighthouse, beautiful St. Paul's Anglican Church, abandoned railway cars, and more. We'll have lunch here surrounded at every turn by history.

In the middle afternoon, we continue driving north and arrive at the Elliston Viewing Point. This is the closest view of puffins from land in North America. Sometimes puffins fly close to people and often land just a few feet away. Jim has a strategy that brings them super close to photographers. The sun will be low in the sky, and we'll take advantage of the beautiful lighting to photograph these comedic birds.

After our puffin experience, we'l check into our hotel, have dinner, and then photograph the beautiful Bonavista lighthouse at sunset. Overnight Bonavista.

Day 7, July 18, Sunday

Before breakfast we return to Bonavista Lighthouse for sunrise photography. The sun rises behind the 19th century structure, and by using HDR you can capture the detail in both highlights and shadows. We return to the hotel for breakfast, and then we spend the day photographing the rugged seascapes characteristic of so much of Newfoundland. Exploring Dungeon Provincial Park, Tickle Cove, and Spiller's Cove means taking pictures of sea arches, sea caves, huge rock spires, and churning seafoam. Overnight Bonavista.

Day 8, July 19, Monday

After breakfast, we head south and then east toward St. John's. Before leaving town, though, we photograph the beautiful Memorial United Church built immediately after World War I. Following this, we drive to King's Cove to capture the St. James Anglican Church that dates from 1898. South of here we stop at Bloomfield village to photograph the ruins of a once beautiful 19th century Victorian mansion, and in Spaniards Bay we shoot another beautiful late 19th century Anglican Church. It's photogenic from several angles, including from a nearby hill so its bright red roof is seen in contrast with the blue water of the bay.

We arrive in St. John's and check into our airport hotel. This evening we enjoy a welcome dinner and talk about our favorite shots from the tour.

Day 9, July 20, Tuesday

After breakfast we take our homeward bound flight, knowing we've seen and photographed the essence of this very special part of Canada.

Tour cost: $4950. Includes all lodging on a shared basis, all ground transportation, all breakfasts, all dinners, entrance fees, photo instruction, and critiques on demand.