Details
- The Milky Way over red fishing stages and calm harbours
- The northern lights, if we're lucky
- Point Amour Lighthouse in Labrador, the tallest in Atlantic Canada
- Caribou, outport villages, and fall colors
- Recreated Viking sod huts at L'Anse aux Meadows
Overview
Join me for 9 days and 8 nights on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula and across the Strait of Belle Isle in Labrador. The workshop is scheduled for dark, moonless skies every night, so we'll photograph the Milky Way over fishing stages and harbours as conditions permit — along with lighthouses, caribou, remote outport villages, and fall colors.
Lodging is included: all 8 nights in a private room with your own bathroom, booked for you at every location.
Why tour Newfoundland with me? I've been going to Newfoundland for over 11 years and know the best spots for amazing landscapes and night skies.
Clear skies are never guaranteed, but with 8 nights of dark, moonless skies we have a lot of chances for the Milky Way. The northern lights are possible this far north, but they can't be predicted far in advance.
Wildlife sightings also can't be guaranteed, but we'll visit areas where they're often seen.
Bring camera gear for everything from super wide angle to telephoto lenses, plus warm clothing for cold nights.
Tuition is $6990 and covers photography instruction, guiding, lodging, and the round-trip ferry to Labrador — it does not include meals or other transportation.
What We'll Photograph
Fall on the Great Northern Peninsula brings dark skies and fall colors. Here's what we'll focus on — click any photo to view it large.
Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula
The workshop is scheduled for dark, moonless skies every night, and we'll photograph the Milky Way over fishing stages and harbours as conditions permit — and this far north the northern lights are also a possibility in the fall! We'll explore red fishing stages, calm harbours, hillsides of fall color, lighthouses, and remote outport villages. We'll also visit the recreated Viking sod huts in L'Anse aux Meadows.
Labrador
We'll take the ferry across the Strait of Belle Isle to Labrador to photograph Point Amour Lighthouse, which at 109 feet tall is the tallest lighthouse in Atlantic Canada. We'll also explore Red Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was a Basque whaling station in the 1500s.
Caribou
Schedule
Each full day includes sunrise, sunset, and Milky Way as conditions permit. Most days will include breaks in the schedule for time to yourself if you want. We often have breakfast and dinner together, sometimes lunch. Editing and/or photo review sessions may be held depending on the weather.
- 3pm: You can check-in to your hotel room
- 4pm: Quick Meet & Greet session
- Then we'll head out for golden hour and sunset
- Lighthouses and landscapes
- Check out of lodging, drive 1 hour to St. Barbe to catch the ferry to Labrador (1 hr 45 min ferry ride)
- Check-in to lodging
- Point Amour Lighthouse
- Explore the area and Red Bay
- Check out of lodging, take the ferry back to Newfoundland (1 hr 45 min ferry ride)
- Drive to lodging in St. Anthony (90 mins)
- Explore surrounding villages and landscapes
- Explore the area — fishing stages, landscapes, harbours
- Check out of lodging, drive to next lodging in Roddickton (1 hr 40 mins)
- Explore remote outports, fishing stages, fall colors
- Explore remote outports, fishing stages, fall colors
- Workshop ends after sunrise & breakfast
Included
- ✓ Photography instruction
- ✓ Guiding to locations
- ✓ Lodging: all 8 nights in a private room with your own bathroom
- ✓ Round-trip ferry to Labrador
- ✓ Possible editing sessions (depends on schedule)
- ✓ Lots of fun!
Not Included
- ✕ Transportation
- ✕ Meals
- ✕ Camera gear
Physical Difficulty
Moderate hiking on rugged coastal trails with steep sections, hills, and loose rock beaches.
We may do a bit of hiking during some days, possibly 1-2 miles round trip depending on the schedule. This is on rugged coastal trails with exposed roots, rocks, and small hills. Other days there will be little or no hiking.
At night we do far less hiking but it can still be uneven or rocky terrain. All night spots we visit are short hikes, half mile or so one way, unless the group is up for a longer hike.
Please advise me of any mobility issues. If you are unable to hike this is probably not a good fit.
Driving
You'll need your own vehicle for the workshop. Some locations will require driving to and from sunrise and sunset locations of up to an hour each way, in addition to the drives between towns listed in the schedule.
Your vehicle comes with us on the ferry to Labrador and back (the ferry is included in the price). Moose are common on Newfoundland roads, so take extra care when driving at night.
Getting There
You might want to consider driving to Newfoundland, it will allow you to bring all your camera gear. You will take the ferry from North Sydney, Nova Scotia and arrive in Port-aux-Basques, Newfoundland. Marine Atlantic is the ferry operator. The ferry ride is about 6.5 or so hours depending on conditions. You need to arrive at the ferry terminal 2 hours prior to departure. The ferry sells out so I recommend booking soon, especially if you want a cabin.
Airports in Newfoundland, with driving times to Port au Choix where the workshop starts:
- Deer Lake (YDF) — 3 hour drive
- St. Anthony Airport (YAY) — 2 hour drive
- Gander (YQX) — 6 hour drive
- St. John's (YYT) — 9 hour drive
The workshop ends in Roddickton, about a 4 hour drive from Deer Lake (YDF) and about 1 hour from St. Anthony Airport (YAY).
Don't forget to book your rental car.
Lodging
Lodging is included — all 8 nights are booked for you. At every location you'll have private lodging: your own room with your own bathroom. Lodging details are provided upon application.
- Port au Choix · 2 nights · Sep 27–29
- Labrador · 2 nights · Sep 29–Oct 1
- St. Anthony · 2 nights · Oct 1–3
- Roddickton · 2 nights · Oct 3–5
Want to book your own lodging or bring your RV? Contact me for pricing.
Required Equipment
In addition to your camera, lenses, batteries, etc, you must have the following:
- Night photography lens — For full frame cameras this would be a 14mm f/2.8 lens or similar, for crop cameras you'll want 12mm f/2.8 or similar. I would also recommend lenses in the 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm range with fast apertures (f/2 or better) for different compositions with the Milky Way core. Ask me if you have questions!
- Sturdy tripod. Don't cheap out here, you will regret it if we're shooting in the wind!
- Remote shutter release with timer and extra batteries, preferably one with a programmable timer. Or your camera may have an intervalometer and/or bulb timer built in, many newer cameras have this. If you're not sure then you can ask me in your application below.
- Proper footwear — Hiking boots recommended for some outings.
- Warm clothing - It can get cold on the coast at night, expect it to drop into the 50s in the summer, and 40s or 30s in June and September.
- Headlamp with a red LED mode. Your headlamp MUST have a red LED mode on it to limit the amount of light that will get into the shots of other workshop participants and to help preserve your night vision. One like thisBlack Diamond Cosmoworks very well.
- If we have any editing sessions — Laptop for editing your photos. To get the most out of the editing sessions you MUST have up to date versions of Lightroom Classic (or other professional raw editor) and Photoshop installed.
PLEASE NOTE: Lightroom is NOT THE SAME AS Lightroom Classic.
Important to Know
Tuition
Tuition is $6990 per person, including all 8 nights of private lodging and the round-trip ferry to Labrador. A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to book your spot, and the balance of $6490 is due June 1, 2027.
Meals and transportation are your responsibility and are not included.
Cancellation Policy & FAQ
Registration
Please fill out the form below to request your spot in the workshop. I'll check your equipment list to see if it will work for the workshop and I'll e-mail you back with information on how to pay the tuition online.
You must be 18 years of age or older. By filling out this form you acknowledge that you understand the weather and cancellation policies.