The Newfoundland Iceberg Show

Nearly every late spring and summer Icebergs calved from the Greenland Icecap head South in the currents down the East coast of Newfoundland.

Icebergs from the Greenland Icecap pass Newfoundland

This was a major attraction for our visit to Newfoundland in Canada.

The largest Iceberg we saw

My first encounter with icebergs happened a very long time ago, when I was 17 years old. I had been selected to participate in a kayak expedition to Southeast Greenland. So flying in at midnight the bergs were illuminated with the sweet light from the sun. For the next seven weeks we kayaked in the fiords filled with Icebergs.

For our visit to Newfoundland we started in the very Southeast and worked our way up the various peninsulas on the east coast. We saw icebergs at every coastal stop!

Group of Icebergs near Twillingate, NL

Some we visited on a boat trip,

On our boat trip (note the largest berg we saw is on the horizon)

most we saw from the land and on one special occasion a local fisherman who we were talking with spontaneously took us around some trapped in a bay in his small fishing boat.

Icebergs, Toogood Arm, NL

Although most had these beautiful shades of blue coming through the snow that has been compacted into ice for centuries, my preference has been to produce my photographs as black and white images.

One noticeable feature were the veins of vivid clear blue ice. This is where a fissure in the glacier had more recently been filled with water which froze rapidly.

The other detail is that the erosion or melting is performed by the water. Yes there is a minimal amount caused by the sun, but the shapes and textures of the bergs are a result of the water. When a piece breaks off, the iceberg rotates in the water around its new centre of gravity, thus exposing new areas that had previously been under water.

Textures and surfaces created by water erosion

One thing we did learn was that most of the locals would use a lump of glacier to cool their cocktails as it was very slow to melt (and thus not dilute the drink too much!)

We also came across a micro brewery who produced a larger called “Iceberg” with an ingredient of iceberg water!

Gear: Nikon D4s, Nikon D800, Nikon GP-1, Nikon MB-D12, Nikkor 600.0mm f.4 VR II, Nikkor 80.0-400.0mm F/4.5-5.6 VR III, Nikkor Tc-17 EII, Nikkor TC-14 EII, RRS TVC-34L, RRS Full Gimbal Head, Lexar Digital Film

2 Responses to “The Newfoundland Iceberg Show”

  1. admin says:

    Thank you Barry

  2. Barry Engleman says:

    Fantastic B&W’s of the bergs!

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