Perched at the edge of the North Atlantic, Newfoundland and Labrador is a place defined by motion — wind, tide, and wings. Each summer, millions of seabirds return to its rugged cliffs and island sanctuaries, transforming the coastline into one of the most dynamic wildlife gatherings for anyone who loves photographing birds.

Northern gannets plunge like arrows through curtains of sea spray, striking the water with impossible precision. Puffins, their wings a blur of determination, ferry fish back to their burrows in the cliffs. Beneath them, humpback whales rise and lunge in the same glittering waters, following the pulse of the capelin run.

Our journey begins in St. John’s, where brightly painted row houses spill down to the harbor and the Atlantic horizon feels endless.

From here, we’ll explore the windswept beauty of the Avalon Peninsula, devoting our first three sessions to photographing Atlantic puffins in one of the most accessible and charismatic colonies in North America.

We’ll work different light and weather conditions, from soft morning fog to the golden slant of evening, capturing both intimate portraits and the dizzying spectacle of birds in flight. We’ll do four sessions (two each AM/PM), and overnight in Bonavista for two nights.

After our last morning session with the puffins, we’ll trade the cliffs for open water on a private charter boat, photographing humpback whales as they feed in the capelin-rich bays and, if the season allows, the blue shadows of passing icebergs drifting down from Greenland. This also provides a chance at photographing seabirds on the wing from the water. Afterward, we’ll overnight in Trinity, a picturesque harbor town that seems lifted from another century.

From there, we’ll travel south toward the dramatic cliffs of Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve, home to one of the largest and most approachable Northern Gannet colonies in the world. Over the next three outings, we’ll photograph gannets diving, nesting, and wheeling through fog and light — an ever-changing choreography of flight and form. Our lodging for this part of the trip is a convenient 20 minutes away in St. Bride’s.

Throughout the workshop, we’ll stay in comfortable, locally owned inns and boutique hotels, chosen for their charm, proximity to our shooting locations, and the sense of place they offer. With a maximum of six participants, this experience is designed for ample space, time, and guidance to refine both your technical skills and your storytelling vision.

This is more than a chance to photograph puffins and gannets; it’s an immersion into a living ecosystem shaped by wind, tide, and seasons. Through long days in the field, quiet observation, and guided instruction, we’ll immerse ourselves in one of the planet’s most captivating coastal ecosystems, exploring how light interacts with movement, how weather becomes character, and how patience turns observation into art.