No trip to Nova Scotia would be complete without seeing the colour and character of Peggy’s Cove. This quaint village with its iconic lighthouse is situated about an hour’s drive from Halifax.

NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.

The lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove was built in 1915 and is often the first thing that people associate with this quaint village. There are a few areas of interest along the road to the lighthouse which can also be explored.

During the tourist season it is just about impossible to photograph the lighthouse without getting people in images. The best thing to do is simply relax about this issue. The tourists roaming around the site can serve an important role in your photographs as they help create a good sense of perspective.

A short walk from the Welcome Centre you’ll find expansive rock formations that can be explored and photographed. These extend all the way to the lighthouse. Depending on the time of day, wind conditions and cloud formations, some of the images captured amongst the rocks can be quite pleasing.

If you prefer to capture at least some of your images without people in them, these rock formations present many opportunities to adjust your shooting angles to create ‘people-free’ photographs. Exercising caution when traversing the rocks is critical. It is also very important to stay off any of the wet rocks close to the ocean as the footing is treacherous. Over the years many tourists have either slipped into the ocean or have been washed off the rocks by rogue waves. In both situations many have drowned.

There is quite an interesting area where visitors have constructed their own  Inuksuk figures. Traditionally constructed by the Inuit, Inuksuit (plural of Inuksuk) are an important part of their culture. They are used as hunting and navigation aids, coordination points, as well as message centres. Using the flip screen on your camera and shooting up towards a Inuksuk, with the sky as a background, can create some quite dramatic photographs.

Situated half way between the Welcome Centre and the lighthouse you’ll find the harbour area at Peggy’s Cove. This is my favourite photographic location as it provides a treasure trove of creative opportunities.

If you enjoy photographing details, you’ll typically find lots of brightly coloured floats and buoys.

The homes, sheds and boats can also add a lot of colour and interest to your photographs.

With a bit of luck you may even be able to combine many of these elements into an individual photograph.

Incorporating lobster traps and other fishing gear in your images can also add some interesting details.

Using individual fishing boats as a ‘dominating element’ in a composition can also add some drama and interest.

Around the harbour area you’ll find many types of structures that can serve as corner anchors in your photographs, adding to the feeling of depth.

One of the areas at the harbour at Peggy’s Cove that oozes with character is the boat ramp. It is a great feature to incorporate into photographic compositions.

There are specific angles that you can use in your photographs that can completely transform Peggy’s Cove into what appears to be a dark and ominous place. Having some storm clouds moving in can add drama to this type of composition.

If you’re like me and enjoy photographing at locations that provide both colour and character – you’ll likely enjoy a visit to Peggy’s Cove!

If you enjoyed the images in this article you may want to consider our Nova Scotia Photography Tour eBook, which is available for $12.99.

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Technical Note:
All photographs in this article were captured hand-held using Nikon 1 gear as per the EXIF data. All images were produced from RAW files using my standard process of DxO OpticsPro 11, CS6 and the Nik Collection.

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