First off I want to apologize for the lack of posts as I have been on a family vacation for the past week. My family and I decided to head up to Twillingate and surrounding areas to see some icebergs and to enjoy some beautiful weather. It was certainly not going to be a photography trip but I did come back with some great images and some stories to share...so here we go.

Before arriving in Twillingate we took a quick detour to a small community called Tizzards Harbour (I've always been fascinated by the names in these small communities). We had gotten word from my parents friends that there was a large iceberg in very close to shore. I admit I was a bit skeptical because my version of close and a non photographers version is much different. To my surprise they we're right..boy was it close. These images certainly don't do this berg justice nor can you get the true feel of its size but I think you will get the idea.

Here is a shot from a balcony of someone we knew in the area. What a view...

After getting our fill of this one it was time to head on to Twillingate. We were staying in a place called Back Harbour and our campground was only a min walk to shore. As we drove down the main street to the campground I was excited to see what waited us...

Two massive icebergs were in close to shore and at least another 10 about half a km off shore. It was going to be a beautiful trip....

After settling in my father and I decided to climb the cliff that you see on the left in the image above to get a close view of the icebergs and to see what else we might find. On our hike up the hill I was distracted by the chirps of a bird as it made several passes at close range. It was a very vocal American Pipit. I took note of the location and continued on to the top of the hill. It was a beautiful view and we had our picture taken by a visiting couple from Australia.

The following morning I was up before sunrise. My sights were set on the Pipit. I haven't spent much time with this species so I thought this would be a great opportunity. At the base of the hill my attention shifted to a pair of Spotted Sandpipers that clearly had young close by. This parent kept a close eye on me as I walked along the shoreline.

After a short time with the Sandpipers it was time to move on up the cliff side to the location where I had spotted the Pipit. Sure enough within secs it showed up. Chirping away. I sat back and watched as it was search for food and hop along the rocks and flew from one place to another. Every so often coming back to where I was sitting. 

At times it would come so close I couldn't focus on it with my 500mm F4.

Having taken a number of images of this guy I decided to move along the edge of the cliff to get a look at the Icebergs. I switched over to my Tokina 11-16mm lens to try some landscape shots when to my surprise the Pipit had followed me.

My creative juices started to flow and with such a cooperative bird I just had to try something I have always wanted to do...a wide angle birdscape. With one hand I hung on the edge of the cliff and used a rock for a slight bit of cover. With my other hand I began to take pictures. For this shot I did use some playback but a respectful amount not to stress the bird out. He was very comfortable around me and often just sat with me on the rock edge. This is my fav of the images.

Having a long lens is great to capture those close detailed images but its nice to switch things up and try some wider angle. Showing the surrounding environment is always a bonus. Be creative and think outside the box...(I have to give thanks to an amazing photographer Jess Finley who takes amazing images and who inspired me to be more creative which in turn produced the above image).