I recently booked myself a trip to Nova Scotia, Canada, bringing along all my camera gear. As with my earlier island-sojourn in Malta, there’s something irresistible about being near the sea when you live in landlocked Switzerland. Nova Scotia isn’t quite an island, but with its thousands of kilometres of rugged coastline, it evokes that same sense of escape and horizon.

From a photography perspective, one of the joys of the coastline is witnessing a proper sunset. In Switzerland I’m lucky to see golden-hour skies from my living room, but I rarely watch the sun drop behind the horizon over open water. On Nova Scotia’s shores, I waited through golden hour, watching the fiery red ball descend, while the sky shifted through orange, purple, and red—always looking for a lighthouse to frame in the foreground.

Below are some highlights and lessons from photographing Nova Scotia lighthouses on my trip.

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse (Peggy’s Point)

Peggy’s Cove is iconic—the lighthouse is one of the most photographed in Nova Scotia and indeed in Canada.

On my second evening, I arrived well before sunset to scout for a reflection in a tidal pool. I then paused for dinner at the Sou’Wester (which sits on the car park), hoping timing would align. It did—but in classic travel fashion, I forgot exactly where the pool was. I found a spot near another photographer and captured a sliver of the lighthouse’s reflection.

Tourists milled about, strolling in front of my vantage point and asking me to snap photos of them. (Always an amusing reminder: yes, my expensive gear is for lighthouses, not human portraiture!). As light faded, I leaned on modern post-processing to remove distractions. The sky turned from orange to deep violet and red, and I nearly missed the stunning sky behind me until someone kindly pointed it out.

A photograph of Peggy's Cove lighthoutse shot at dusk during September with the lighthouse reflected in a tidal pool — Peggy’s Cove lighthouse

Shot at dusk during September with the lighthouse reflected in a tidal pool

Baccaro Point Lighthouse

A couple of hours’ drive from Halifax lies Baccaro Point Lighthouse, near the southernmost tip of mainland Nova Scotia (in Cape Sable). I stayed in Barrington Passage at the charming Salty Shores Inn & Café (only two rooms—quaint but comfortable). After a lobster dinner at Kat’s Lobster Shack, I drove ~20 minutes to Baccaro Point.

The site is relatively uncluttered: apart from a radar station and occasional cars, there isn’t too much to distract. I composed with care and waited as the sun first appeared behind the tower, then later sank into the sea behind it. I captured two distinct moods in the same location.

Gilbert’s Cove Lighthouse

I photographed Gilbert’s Cove during daylight. This lighthouse is lower and squat in stature, which presents compositional challenges. Shooting from the car park gives little variety, and in the morning, the sun’s angle (behind and to my right) was not ideal—even with a polarizer. I tried shooting from the beach with seaweed piles in the foreground, but none of the shots resonated with me. Sometimes, a location simply doesn’t yield the magic you hope for.

Kidston Island Lighthouse (Baddeck)

In Baddeck, I aimed for Kidston Island Lighthouse, which lies on an island in the Bras d’Or Lakes. Wikipedia The lighthouse is only accessible by boat (a ferry operates in summer). I found a land vantage point (via the Location Scout app) across the lake. One complication: the boardwalk was damaged and fenced off, so I set up along the roadside path.

I tried multiple compositions. Fortunately, light hit one side of the lighthouse beautifully, so I focused on that. The golden hour itself was somewhat subdued, but I was glad to have explored alternate angles earlier.

A photograph of the lighthouse on Kidston Island, which lies off Baddeck in Nova Scotia — The lighthouse at Kidston Island, in the Bras d’Or Lake just across from Baddeck, in Nova Scotia

Louisbourg Lighthouse

While visiting the Louisbourg Fortress Museum, I also photographed the nearby lighthouse. This is a fairly busy site: it's within day-trip range of Sydney (and cruise ships), so coach loads of tourists arrive early. But many tours leave on schedule, giving you windows of relative solitude.

I used Location Scout again to identify a spot that was a little off the beaten path—one that many visitors won’t notice. There are also a pair of red wooden chairs there that can serve as compositional anchors.

A photograph of Louisbourg lighthouse with the sea in the background and two iconic red wooden chairs in the foreground — Louisbourg lighthouse

Low Point Lighthouse

Low Point is more remote and harder to locate (you park at the end of a road and hike). But that also means fewer crowds at sunset—although I still saw local and Canadian tourists and some ATV riders. Composing was a bit tricky: wide angles revealed undesired trails and vegetation. Still, I captured a shot where the last rays of sun reflected off the terrain as the sun dipped below the horizon.

Nova Scotia lighthouse photography tips

Tripod

Yes, it's a no-brainer for landscape photography but it can be a pain if you're travelling - especially long haul. I have a quite big and heavy (despite the carbon) Rollei C6 model that has stood me well over time. Remember, however, that you are going to be shooting on the coast and it can get very windy. In these situations, even a tripod is not much use. Unless you are looking to capture shots like the last two above, where the shutter speed is not too slow, a tripod in the wind is not going to help you get a sharp shot (unless you carry around separate sandbags to weigh it down with). In these cases you are better of cranking up the ISO and going for a faster shot. Forget about long exposures to flatten choppy waters!

Filters

I always carry a selection of filters with me and my filter adapter attaches to a screw-on circular polariser. I have mixed feelings about the polariser: sometimes it's great for adding saturation, other times it just gets in the way by darkening only a portion of the sky. You really need to have the sun hitting the lens at just the right angle for it to work. I have a lot more success with my graduated ND filter for the kind of shots shown above. Even at sunset and during golden hour, the sky will still be lighter than your foreground, so it is great to be able to compensate for that. Addtional ND filters (ND8, ND 64 and ND1000 in my case) allow you to cut out the light and smooth water.C

Cleaning gear

I am my own worst enemy out in the field. I switch lenses without paying attention to wind or dust (the Nikon is a pain here as, unlike the Canon, the sensor is exposed when you change lenses unless you follow the cumbersome procedure of removing the battery while the camera is on, in which case the curtain covers the sensor) and when I open up the aperture beyond F11 I often see the results of my carelessness in the form of dust spots on my shots. Look after your lenses and your camera's sensor and pay extra attention when switching lenses in the field, particularly when you are in windy, salty or dusty environments.

Planning

This is the most time-consuming but the most crucial aspect. I had a schedule and a rough idea of what I wanted to shoot but was subject to the weather. So if the weather is good you need to be ready to go, set up and shoot without worrying about anything else. I use the Location Scout application to find spots. The contributors sometimes give you useful tips for shooting a particular location and there is always a map showing where the sun rises and sets. As a avid Photopiller, this app is my go to for a number of things: sunrise and sunset planning, moon phases, night AR view for the Milky Way and exposure calculations when shooting long exposures with filters.

This is a map showing the location of all the lighthouses shown above. I travelled a total of 2668km over 10 days on my trip to Nova Scotia.

Lighthouses of Nova Scotia: A photographer’s journey along Canada’s Atlantic coast