“The light you chase across the coastline is the same light that shapes you. Stay patient, stay present, and when the moment arrives, press the shutter and let the world remember how it felt to stand there.” – MJ Martin
A photographic journey along the Avalon Peninsula and into the quieter reaches of Newfoundland begins in St. John’s, where colour, light, and ocean drama converge. The day starts early, ideally before sunrise, when the soft blue hour settles over Jellybean Row. From an elevated vantage, the tightly packed houses glow with subtle pastels, offering a perfect study in colour contrast against the steel tones of the Atlantic.
A short drive brings you to Signal Hill, where rolling fog often spills into the harbour, creating layered compositions that shift by the minute. At Cape Spear Lighthouse, the first light in North America breaks across jagged cliffs, rewarding patience with dramatic skies and long exposures of waves colliding with rock. Nearby, Quidi Vidi Village offers a quieter scene, where fishing stages and boats reflect gently in sheltered water.
Travelling south toward Trepassey, the landscape becomes increasingly raw and elemental. The coastline here feels untouched, shaped by wind and time. At Cape Race Lighthouse, the Atlantic reveals its full force, making it an ideal location for long exposure photography, where shutter speed transforms chaos into motion and texture.
Close by, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve offers something entirely different. The ancient rock formations and fossil beds introduce patterns and leading lines that feel almost abstract, particularly under low, angled light at sunrise or sunset. This is a place where composition becomes meditative, and detail matters more than scale.
Turning west, Placentia provides a softer, more reflective atmosphere. The harbour is calm, especially in the evening, and the still water creates mirror-like conditions that double the visual impact of boats and fishing infrastructure. From Castle Hill National Historic Site, the elevated view allows for sweeping panoramas that capture both land and sea in a single frame, particularly striking at sunset when warm tones wash over the scene. Continuing to Dildo, the charm of the outport becomes the subject. Weathered wood, simple structures, and quiet coves invite a slower pace, where small details and textures define the photograph.
Further north, Trinity feels almost suspended in time. Morning fog settles gently over the harbour, softening edges and creating depth through layers of visibility. Historic homes, churches, and narrow streets provide strong compositional anchors.
In nearby Bonavista, the coastline becomes dramatic once again. Cape Bonavista Lighthouse stands as a focal point against sweeping ocean views, while the cliffs near Elliston offer opportunities to photograph puffins in their natural habitat. With the right lens and patience, these small birds become striking subjects against vast coastal backdrops.
The journey continues toward Lumsden and Lewisporte, where the landscape opens into long sandy beaches and quiet bays. Lumsden’s shoreline is ideal for minimalist compositions, where symmetry, negative space, and gentle wave patterns define the frame.
In Lewisporte, the calm waters of Notre Dame Bay offer near-perfect reflections at dusk, transforming simple harbour scenes into balanced, almost painterly images. As night falls, the absence of artificial light reveals a sky filled with stars, offering a final photographic moment that is both expansive and deeply quiet.
NOTE: All photographs belong to the original photographer and not the author of this article. This author makes no claim or holds any rights whatsoever to these images. They are offered as examples of various locations only.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees, in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 60 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) continuous education in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.