A few years ago I spent about a week doing some photography and exploring the Newfoundland North Shore. The people are warm, wonderful and a breath of fresh air compared to the crowded anger we’re suffering right now in the states.
Perhaps that’s what made me remember this image today. It would be great to don the parka and escape back into those woods and marshy muskeg that swallows your legs faster than a bulbous competitor does hot dogs at a Fourth of July wiener-eating contest. I’d trade the din of the nightly news for this spot’s birds, wind and waves instantly.
My boots logged a lot of miles on that trip, most of them alone. The locals probably thought I was crazy, but unescorted you’re seeing things through a fresh perspective. Guides lead tours with tunnel vision, glossing over scenes that can be spectacular to people from faraway places. Take a tour if you must, but venture out on your own, even if it’s just across the parking lot or nearest out house.
This spot isn’t anything special, or at least my hiking route that day didn’t come “highly recommended.” It’s just a section of river before it spills into the Atlantic on the Newfoundland North Shore. I followed a game trail and kept the water’s edge in sight to avoid becoming a statistic.
Technique for the Newfoundland North Shore
I’d love to lie to you and claim I spotted this one day, then came back the next and waited for the light to set up. I didn’t and the meter wasn’t happy in my long-since retired Canon 10D, so I bracketed, a lot, probably thrice over. It was a few hours before sunset and the approaching snowstorm provided some color in an otherwise monochromatic scene. Of course that storm also canceled my flight out the next day, but that’s overnight in an airport is another story.
The details are ISO 100 and F20 at a shutter speed of 1 320th of a second. I’d tell you about the parka, hat, overmitts I took off the work the shutter with fingerless wool gloves, but who cares. I just hope the image gifts you smile, or drops your blood pressure a little. If it does, let me know.