Its remoteness and frequent appearance in seafaring tales of the North Atlantic have caused Sable Island to be added to many travellers’ bucket lists, but tourism to the island is tightly controlled by Parks Canada to protect its fragile biodiversity. Those who do get to visit usually only get to do so for a few hours, which makes Gary Brinton’s experience all the more special.

Last summer, the Halifax-based photographer was invited to spend seven days on the island as a guest of Parks Canada, shooting drone footage that would help the federal agency showcase the island’s beauty and ecological significance. Over the course of the week, Brinton photographed sunsets, rain squalls, horses grazing, grey seals lazing, and even some crystal-clear night skies — rare for the usually fog-bound island. He notes that he was accompanied by a Parks guide at all times and followed a long list of rules to ensure the environment and animals were not disturbed as he worked.

“I wanted to capture what Sable Island’s beauty really looked like, but I also wanted to bring awareness to the importance of keeping the impact on this place to a minimum,” he says. “As much as people would love to visit this eighth wonder of the world, it’s important to realize that this is a very sensitive ecological landscape, with very unique characteristics found nowhere else on earth.”