The Best Photo Workshop in Newfoundland

2018 Newfoundland Photography Workshop

Have you always wanted to stay in your very own lighthouse?

This trip will have you waking up in our very own private lighthouse inn to the smell of a home cooked breakfast as you look out across the north atlantic ocean at the entrance to Iceberg Alley.

Do icebergs captivate you?

Imagine an up close and personal viewing of some of the largest tabular and cathedral icebergs at the entrance to the world famous iceberg alley.

This is the perfect trip for the photographer that loves photographing by the ocean in and around old abandoned fishing villages, icebergs, and lighthouses, with a backdrop of stunning golden hour... and we can't forget the Humpback whales that are migrating north as the icebergs are travelling south.

Read all the details on my website...  https://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2018newfoundlandworkshop

A Photo Workshop to see the Quamirjuaq Caribou migration in Canada

Wildlife Photography Workshop in Canada

For months now I have been thinking about, visiting locations and investigating great animal migrations around the world... from butterflies and birds, to whales, to wildebeest in Tanzania to Musk Oxen and Caribou in Canada. 

I've talked to naturalists, looked at photos, discussed ideas with lodges and remote camps and researched different species in their environment... and todays blog is about one Migration in particular that I have been researching for awhile. It is of the largest Caribou migrations in North America, the 250,000 strong Quamirjuaq caribou herd.

For thousands of years this herd has migrated across the Barrens west of Hudson Bay. From late August onwards, throughout the autumn, the caribou are spread out over the tundra of south western Nunavut in one of the most remote places in the world that very few get to visit each year.  

And while I love photographing the Wildebeest Migration in Tanzania and Kenya... Let me paint a picture for you that just might excite you as much as it excited me... 

Take the Wildebeest herds that one would see in Tanzania and substitute them with migrating Caribou that have been following the same migratory path in Northern Canada for thousands of years.

The landscape isn't dry and dusty like it is in Tanzania, instead its autumn colours of the tundra – crimson reds, vibrant yellows and shimmering oranges as a backdrop to caribou with full racks that can, at times, walk within meters of you.

In Tanzania you have Cheetah, Leopards and Lions that prey on the wildebeest. In Canada's north its Arctic wolves, wolverines, foxes and bears that can be present in the tundra. 

Tanzania has its eagles and colourful birds, but in Canada's tundra its arctic swans, snow geese, bald eagles, hawks and falcons, Snowy owls, over twenty-five species of ducks and Rock and Willow Ptarmagen that gather and cackle in the bushes as the turn to winter plumage.

Then at the end of the day, when you're usually relaxing and talking with friends in Tanzania at your lodge or tented camp... well, in Canada we are all gathered around the campfire relaxing on our Muskoka chairs waiting the aurora to dance in the skies above the lake and the tundra. 

Join Marc Muench and Kevin Pepper on a journey to one of Canada's northern territories. Our destination, Nunavut. The first impression many visitors have of Nunavut is that of its vast expanses of pristine wilderness and exotic wildlife. Comprising most of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, about one fifth of the total landmass of the nation, Nunavut is the size of Western Europe. It is the largest, yet least populated of all the provinces and territories in Canada, and one of the least densely populated places on the planet.

Together we will witness mothers with young Caribou calves along with males with their fully grown antlers, full of velvet.

This authentically Canadian experience is at the heart of Canada's Remote Wilderness - the Arctic Barrenlands - a three hour private flight charter from Yellowknife and 400km west of Hudson Bay to location that is so remote, the night skies have zero light pollution and the only paths we take are ones the migrating caribou have been following for thousands of years.

Caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, over twenty-five species of ducks and more are just some of the wildlife that call our tour destination home. 

This is an experience you will never forget. From local guides who know the traditional routes of the caribou, knowledgable staff on hand to give presentations on the animals and the flora and fauna, to shimmering northern lights in the evening, to the silence of the tundra broken by the hooves of caribou, this late summer/early autumn Arctic experience will surprise and delight at every step.

This uniquely Canadian adventure is unsurpassed at offering all the beauty and real wildlife Canada has to offer. 

If that wasn't enough, this is your opportunity to attend a workshop with one of the most talented photographers I know, Marc Muench.... well, and me too of course! ;-)

Marc is a internationally renowned landscape photographer with eleven book titles to his name, ESPN outdoor shows and numerous magazine, calendar and poster titles to his credit. Marc is a third generation landscape photographer following in the family tradition started by his grandfather Josef Muench and then his father David Muench.

His most recent exhibition was titled “Explorations” at the Wildling Art Museum in Los Olivos CA.

Marc has completed photography training videos with Creative live and Craftsy, on landscape photography in 2015... And in May of 2016 Marc was designated a Hasselblad Ambassador.

This trip offers the perfect isolated opportunity to learn from the best, at one of the best locations in the world for a photography workshop. 

To see the details, click on the link below. I hope to see you in Canada. 

https://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2018-caribou-photo-workshop

Highlights of my annual trips to Newfoundland... Part One

This blog deals with some of the highlights we see on my annual Newfoundland trips every summer.

When I lead trips to Newfoundland, we go to the famous locations, but I also take you off the beaten path on hidden roads I have uncovered through the years of guiding trips to one of Canada’s photographic gems.

One of the favourite locations we visit is Gros Morne National Park. Gros Morne National Park of Canada was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. It took Mother Nature 485,000,000 years to mold Gros Morne National Park into the geological and visual wonder we know today.

It is the second largest National Park in eastern Canada, Gros Morne National Park stretches across 1,805 square kilometres of western Newfoundland as part of the towering Long Range Mountains.

Gros Morne is framed by tiny seaside communities, and encompassing forests, freshwater fjords, bogs, barren lowlands, moose, and striking cliffs and shorelines, this area is also world-renowned for its complex geology. It was here that geologists proved the theory of plate tectonics. The Tablelands, a mountain of flat-topped rock of a kind usually found only deep in the earth’s mantle, is a truly awe-inspiring sight.

Together we will take a stroll along the trail to Western Brook Pond, over marshland draped in butterworts, great sundew, orchids, dragon's mouth, and pitcher plants. At the end of your walk, hop aboard a boat tour taking you through the fjord.

You'll can also get to sail close enough to feel the spray on your face from some of the highest waterfalls in eastern North America.

The tours I lead are not just about the ancient land… When it comes to viewing icebergs, this is one of the best places in the world. On a sunny day, view these 10,000-year-old glacial giants from many points along the northern and eastern coasts – in every shape and size. With colours ranging from snow-white to the deepest aquamarine, these cathedrals of ice are on their last leg of their journey as they float down the eastern coast of Newfoundland.

Its taken them two years to get here from the arctic or the Greenland shelf… and with me you will be able to photograph them form land, and by boat.

Despite their arrival from the Arctic every spring, the awe of them remains new, year after year. Their sheer size sends the mind racing, and that's not even counting the ninety-percent still unseen below the surface. It was these types and sizes of bergs that sank the infamous Titanic, a mere 400 miles from the Newfoundland coast.

The best time to view icebergs is in the spring and early summer, and that’s whey we are going in early June… the optimal time for viewing.

Iceberg Alley is an area stretching from the coast of Labrador to the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. Some of the more popular places from shore, or from tour boats, are (from north to south): St. Lewis, Battle Harbour, Red Bay, Point Amour, St. Anthony, La Scie, Twillingate, Fogo Island, Change Islands, Bonavista, St. John's/Cape Spear, Bay Bulls/Witless Bay, Cape St. Mary's and St. Vincent's.

All of these locations are accessible by road. The first four, which are on the coast of Southern Labrador, can be accessed by car ferry from the island of Newfoundland year round. Our location for optimal viewing is near St. Anthony’s… and to make it even better, we will be staying many nights at a converted lighthouse on a private island at the very north east point of Newfoundland. From here we can sit and drink our coffee on the huge deck that overlooks the icebergs that float just off the coast line for our own private viewing.

L’Anse Aux Meadows and Quirpon Island… one of my favourite areas in Newfoundland.

Norse Sagas have spoken about it for centuries. But whether it was merely myth or folklore, had long been debated. That is, of course, until the discovery of a small cloak pin in 1968 by archaeologists Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad. This proved that Leif Erickson and crews of Norse explorers settled here in Newfoundland and Labrador (or Vinland as they called it) over a thousand years ago.

In 1978, L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site became part of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites as the first and only authenticated Norse site in North America.

Today, a visit to the site can transport you back to where Vikings once stood. Perched on the tip of the Viking Trail, it’s a place where mystery still mingles with the light and washes over the strange, captivating landscape.

Right around the corner from here lies Quirpon… a favourite every year for viewing icebergs and whales… where land meets the open sea, whales, icebergs, endless seascapes and our very own lighthouse awaits.

Quirpon, the most north eastern point of Newfoundland where the icebergs that travel for up to two years to get down to iceberg alley are first seen in off the coast of Newfoundland.

My groups stay at our very own lighthouse inn on a private island. You have complete access to the entire island at any time of day. Here you will be photographing some incredible seascapes, Gannet colonies, puffins if the colony has returned, humpbacks and icebergs.

Each day we will take a boat out onto the water to track down these bergs as they flow past the island. We want you to get up close and personal with these cathedrals of ice. On these three days we will have 6 hours of private Zodiac time at our disposal.

Our stay for these three nights is at the Quirpon Lighthouse Inn. Quirpon (pronounced kar-poon) offers a unique island experience at a 1922 light-keeper’s home on the shores of ‘Iceberg Alley’. Fully restored, Quirpon Lighthouse Inn features ten beautiful rooms at the base of a still-operating lighthouse and is a Registered Heritage Building.

Located off the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, Quirpon is the province’s best location for viewing icebergs as the Labrador Current carries them south. Quirpon Island boasts the longest iceberg-viewing season in Newfoundland, with the last melting in the fall during a good year.

Whales are constant companions off the shores of Quirpon, often coming close enough to the rocks to be touched. Whale experts ascribe this phenomenon to the underwater topography and ample food supply. In addition to Humbacks and Minke - the presence of which is virtually inevitable - you may spot as many as 27 more species, including Orca, which are being spotted with increasing frequency around Quirpon Island despite becoming a rarer sight elsewhere in Newfoundland.

But one can never forget the lower east coast of Newfoundland. Towns like Trinity, Bonavista, Hearts Content and Cavendish, these are just a few locations that await if you travel with me to the other side of the island.

Come back tomorrow and I will discuss where we go when I travel to those locations... That post can be seen here, http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/blog/2017/5/20/highlights-of-my-annual-newfoundland-workshops-part-two

If you want to see the tours I lead to this area of Newfoundland, please check out my page dedicated to all my Newfoundland trips. That page can be seen here, http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/newfoundland-photography-workshops

Highlights of my annual Newfoundland Workshops ... Part Two

As a continuation to my earlier post on areas of Newfoundland that have turned into my favourite places to visit, todays blog is a continuation of that post. 

Lets start off discussing the Provincial Bird, the Puffin. 

Going to photograph the Puffins in Newfoundland is a must see for anyone that likes to photograph birds, er even wildlife for that matter. 

There are a few ways you can photograph these birds. One is by boat, the other by land. My personal preference is to photograph them by land. That can be done in the town of Ellison 

Elliston was once known as Bird Island Cove and with good reason. It is home to numerous seabirds and also the Atlantic Puffin. In fact, we have one of the closest land views of puffins in North America. The puffin is also the official bird of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1992.

The Atlantic Puffin is one of four puffin species and the only one that lives on the North Atlantic Ocean. The Latin term is Fratercula arctica, with fratercula meaning "little brother" and arctica meaning "north." This scientific name can be translated as "little brother of the north." The puffin is also known as the "sea parrot" due in part to its interesting colouring. Elliston has hundreds nesting pairs at the site and more on North Bird Island.

Puffins establish burrows on grassy cliffs. They will also nest amongst rocks. Male puffins perform most of the work of clearing out the nest area, which is sometimes lined with grass, feathers or seaweed. The only time spent on land is to nest which is about five months per year. Mates are found prior to arriving at the colonies, and mating takes place at sea. The Atlantic Puffin is sexually mature at the age of 4–5 years. The species is monogamous and has biparental care. A single-egg clutch is produced each year, and incubation responsibilities are shared between both parents. Total incubation time is around 39–45 days, and the chick takes about 49 days to fledge. At fledging, the chick leaves the burrow alone, and flies/swims out to sea, usually during the evening. Contrary to popular belief, young puffins are not abandoned by their parents. The average bird lives about 20 years.

My favourite puffin viewing site is just a short five minute walk from the main road on a sharp turn. It is also roughly halfway between Sandy Cove Beach and Puffin Ventures Craft shop in Maberly. Puffins return to the area in May and usually stay until the end of September.

On the theme of bird life in Newfoundland, one can not leave out Cape St. Marys. Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve is a wonderland for birdwatchers and explorers alike. Thousands of gulls, razorbills, common murres, black-legged kittiwakes, northern gannets, and double-crested and great cormorants nest here. Where 20,000 scoters, oldsquaw, harlequin, dovekies, thick-billed murres, and kittiwakes winter. This captivating area is one of seven seabird ecological reserves protected by provincial legislation. Its natural beauty makes it perfect for nature walks and family adventures.

Cape St. Mary's is the most accessible seabird rookery in North America. Bird Rock is the third largest nesting site and southernmost colony of northern gannets in North America. Cape St. Mary's is also the southernmost breeding area for thick-billed murres in the world and the southernmost major breeding site for common murres in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. This site is overflowing with perching, diving, and scrambling birds from edge to edge – melding together into an awesome moving, breathing spectacle of colour and sound.

OK, lets switch gears... lets discuss the Cape Spear lighthouse and St. Johns itself. There is plenty to see and photograph here for any photographer. 

At Cape Spear you can stand with your back to the sea and the entire population of North America is to the west of you. Face the sea and the next stop east is Ireland.

Perched on a rugged cliff at our continent's most easterly point lies Cape Spear Lighthouse – the oldest surviving lighthouse in the province and an iconic symbol of Newfoundland and Labrador's mariner history.

Constructed in 1836, the Cape Spear Lighthouse represents the unique architecture of lighthouse construction during this era. The structure consists of a stone light tower surrounded by the lightkeeper's residence. In 1955 a new lighthouse tower was built on the site using the active light from the original lighthouse.

The human side of Cape Spear tells the story of the Cantwell family. Generations of this famous family of lightkeepers resided at Cape Spear for over 150 years and worked tirelessly to maintain a light so vital to mariners. Step inside the restored lighthouse and discover the true life of a 19th-century lighthouse keeper.

Journey back in time and explore the remnants of the sites World War II coastal defence battery – Fort Cape Spear. Walk in the footsteps of Canadian and American soldiers as they guarded St. John's from attack from lurking German U-boats.

For the naturalist, Cape Spear will overload your senses with ocean vistas of crashing waves, feeding whales and majestic icebergs. The site also provides an entry point to the breathtaking East Coast Trail.

Jelly Bean Row... It has been said, the human eye can see over ten million colours. Around here, we felt as though there were a few missing. So residents have taken the liberty to think up some of their own. You’ll find that the path through Jellybean Row is paved with all sorts of tones - from the playful absurdity of Mollyfodge, to the subtle silvern mists of Foggy Dew, and everything in between.

There is lots more to see and do in and around Newfoundland, for the tourist folks, Signal Hill is a must visit, the warf, the battery... but Im going to skip up north now and focus on a few other highlights... 

Lets look at Cavendish, Trinity and Hearts Content on Trinity Bay. This whole area has something for everyone! Steeped in wonderfully preserved history, surrounded by pristine waters and forests, Heart's Content, Cavendish and Trinity are a few places you will never forget...Let me just say vibrant colour, incredible architecture to photograph and fantastic people. 

A little farther up the eastern coastline are two more of my favourites... not too far from each other lie Newtown and Twillengate. 

Newtown, said to be called the Venice of Newfoundland. Imagine the past meeting the present! Meet characters from the past in our homes, school, fish stage, gardens, and Sealers Interpretation Centre. This town is somewhere that my groups say they could spend a whole day at... 

Awhhh, then there is Twillengate. Known for its icebergs and dotted islands that lie just off the coast, Twillengate is a favourite every year for the icebergs. 

A small island in the North Atlantic, Twillingate is one of the most picturesque outports in all of Newfoundland and Labrador and one of the province's most popular rural outport destinations.

Located on the edge of what is known as Iceberg Alley, Twillingate is affectionately known as the Iceberg Capital of the world. Many of these 10,000 year old iceberg giants float by quietly each year and people travel great distances just to chance a glance.

Have I teased you enough yet? ;-) How about one more photo from a whale tour in Trinity Bay... 

Why dont you check out my Newfoundland tours page. It has all the trips I am running in this very photogenic province. All those trips can be seen here. http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/newfoundland-photography-workshops

Oh, and dont forget to check out part one of my highlights of Newfoundland. Check that out here, www.kevinpepperphotography/blog/2017/5/19/highlights-of-my-annual-trips-to-newfoundland-part-one

Who wants to photograph the northern lights

Calling all photographers that have always wanted to photograph the northern lights in one of the best locations in the world to capture the Aurora.

I am referring to the Yukon. It is here where you will close your eyes and breathe in crisp Yukon air. Smell spruce sap and the earthy scent of tundra, and listen for the excited howls of husky sled dogs. But the real magic happens when you open your eyes and drink in Yukon landscapes under dancing aurora borealis.

Come with us on a vacation in Canada's Yukon, it is a larger than life experience.

Now after five years of running workshops in Northern Canada, we’ve decided to take a group of photographers to focus on an Aurora hunt and select winter landscapes in two Kevin’s favorite locations in the Yukon, Whitehorse and Tombstone. 

This is the perfect trip for someone that wants to focus on capturing once in a lifetime aurora images over some of the most majestic landscapes Canada has to offer.

All the details can be seen here, http://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2017-yukon-territory-adventure