Collapsing Iceberg Arch

On a grey foggy day in Newfoundland & Labrador, I experienced a spectacular event of a massive iceberg arch calving before my camera. It was a foggy and rainy day but knowing there was a massive iceberg with an arch at Grates Cove, Newfoundland convinced me to drive a few hours. As a professional photographer in Newfoundland, I know how rare these iceberg arches are, so it is a real treat to able to photograph one. Once I arrived the sun actually broke through the clouds for a few minutes, so I got my drone and few that thing right through the arch way. Was I nervous? of course, but I like to push the boundaries in photography, and this would be something to capture your imagination.


After the adrenaline rush for actually accomplishing the drone flight and landing it back home safely, I then took some time to capture some long exposures to obtain an image for my Newfoundland & Labrador fine art book (release spring 2020).

Once I had my images from the long exposures, I thought I would have my packed lunch of cold chicken and rice while standing by the back of the truck. I had my two Canon 5D cameras with a ND filter on one and my 70-200 mm on the other for the just in case the iceberg happens to collapse scenario. Of course, I have planned for that very scenario for years and it never happened. However, while eating my lunch I heard a loud sound like thunder and when I looked up, I saw a small piece of the iceberg broke off the front. With that, I but down my spoon and grabbed the in-case scenario camera and pointed it towards the massive berg with hopes of something amazing might happen.


Then another piece breaks off the front and at this point I knew that it was going to happen. With all the vibrations going through the ice there was no way that this thing would remain standing.


And then it started with a chunk of ice about the size of a truck fell from the arch way.


A cropped version of arch collapse!


At this point, I could see the whole thing breaking up and coming down.


Just trying to keep calm and keep shooting with the claps of thunder as the whole thing started to disintegrate before me eyes.


The amount of water and ice that rocketed meters in the air was unbelievable and the very reason you should not get too close to such destructive power.

But this iceberg was not finish with its massive transformation, so more water and ice started to fly through the air.

At this point, the noise was over, but experience is something I will never forget. Unfortunately, there was no one else around to witness this except for a tourist couple who happen to stop by at that very moment to get a selfie together. It was the first time they saw an iceberg and did not quite understand what they just witnessed. However, after I explained to them the rarity of the seeing an iceberg with and arch collapse, they felt pretty special as they walked towards their car holding hands with a very big smile on their faces.As for me, I still can’t believe I had the chance to witness such an amazing event! One of the great things about conducting workshops with Newfoundland Photo Tours, everyone is unique.