Late in August of 1980, I was able to spend some time in Nova Scotia wandering about with my equipment. My eldest brother, Bruce, was headed up to shoot and picked me up on the way. We took the ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine to Yarmouth and then headed up the west coast along the Bay of Fundy, later crossing over to the east coast.
One of the most successful images of the trip, this boathouse is located on the shores of some inlet whose name and location I have long since forgotten. This picture always presented a tough technical challenge: the original slide faithfully captured the gradations of color, yet every attempt to print it inevitably raised the contrast enough to destroy its subtlety. It was not until I was able to digitize it and carefully adjust the colors to match the slide was its full potential realized. Nikon F, Nikkor 105mm, Kodachrome 64
Arriving in Digby, on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, we were met with a dense almost inpenetrable fog. Fog is a good thing for photographers, except when the visibility is zero. Andy Warhol not withstanding, theres not a lot you can do with a uniform grey image. This picture was one of the few that presented itself as the occasional hole in the fog would roll by.
Nikon F, Nikkor 50mm, Kodachrome 64
Peggy's cove has almost become Canada's national photographic cliche. It's very picturesque, to be sure, but for a photographer, trying to work in Peggy's Cove is almost like attending the gala buffet dinner at a convention of professional eaters. There's so much to photograph, and there are so many people who have been there before you. So I look for scenes within scenes that no one else notices, or so I hope. The lighthouse at Peggy's cove stands out on barren, weathered rocks. Huge waves from the North Atlantic come pounding in. This shot was take from a spot only accessible at extreme low tide. The soft lighting from the lifting fog, the rounded, weathered boulders all combined to give an unsual perspective of a very popular target.
Nikon F, Nikkor 105mm, Kodachrome 64
Another image from Peggy's Cove, these dinghies were part of an entire chain, tied up stretching halfway across an inlet. I photographed these using a telephoto to compress the perspective. The fog hanging around throughout most of the day had lifted (literally: it was clear below 50 ft, and no visibility above that) revealing several interesting photo opportunities such as this one.
Nikon F, Nikkor 200mm, Kodachrome 64
A somewhat more normal shot of the area. As mentioned, the fog was rolling in and out, lifting and dropping. In 10 minutes I was able to shoot a half dozen very different pictures as the fog did its little dance. This, clearly, was the one I liked the best. Throughout my session, the seagull remained patiently on the rock. I almost believed it to be prop put there by the local chamber of commerce. But, when I was done and carrying my gear up the rocks, it lazily lifted its wings and flew off, hoping, I am sure, for a more cooperative tourist than I to toss it something to eat.
Nikon F, Nikkor 50mm, Kodachrome 64
Back in Digby, this time on a bright sunny afternoon. When the fleet is in, the harbor is a riot of of color. The colors applied to the hulls of the old wooden-hulled fishing boats span the entire spectrum. Many of these boats are now gone, abandoned or replaced with more modern steel or composition hulls, or lost at sea, sometimes taking their crews with them.
Nikon F, Nikkor 105mm, Kodachrome 64
Another image from Peggy's Cove. This one as the fog had almost completely lifted. Though it was probably mid-afternoon at this point, the wind had been almost dead calm all day. Even the normally tumultuous Atlantic was placid. This inlet, pointing almost directly out to sea, was nearly glass smooth. Most of the fleet was out that day, leaving the harbor devoid of boats save for examples like this one.
Nikon F, Nikkor 24mm, Kodachrome 64