The real deal: Twillingate shutterbug says viral iceberg snap not Photoshopped

If you scroll through the photos on Doreen Dalley's Facebook page you'll see some fantastic shots — crashing waves, vivid sunsets, breaching whales and plenty of majestic icebergs.

But it was one photo in particular that has grabbed attention on social media. A spectacular iceberg towering over a house in Little Harbour, a tiny community about four kilometres from Twillingate on Newfoundland's northeast coast.  

It was taken by amateur photographer Doreen Dalley, who has been snapping photos of the scenery in iceberg alley for the past 30 years. 

"I think it all started when I decided that I was going to use an iceberg picture for my Christmas cards," she told CBC Radio's Corner Brook Morning Show.

When this one showed up in Little Harbour, her cousin called and told Dalley to bring her camera.

"I can't tell you how many times I went back there. It's about a five minute drive from my house," she said. "The iceberg kept changing and I kept taking picture after picture."

If I could Photoshop I would take a picture of myself and make me skinnier and taller.- Doreen Dalley

She posted her shot to the Newfoundland Iceberg Reports page on Facebook. 

"I think somebody shared it and they cropped it. Because my original picture wasn't cropped," Dalley said.

"From that cropped picture it went, I think, viral. A lot of people saw it and liked it."

"People are accusing me of Photoshopping. I wish I could Photoshop, but if I could Photoshop I would take a picture of myself and make me skinnier and taller." 

"I don't have any of that. I'm just not a computer savvy person."

Ever-changing scene

Dalley took numerous photos of the iceberg from different angles at different times of day. 

"I just put my camera on landscape and I shoot and that's it," she said. "I zoom in and zoom out." 

She said the response to the photo has been overwhelming. She was even contacted by a television station in New Zealand.

While she understands people find the scale of the photo incredible, being accused of faking it isn't a good feeling.

"I know that within my own self that it's not Photoshop and that's it. I have lots of pictures on my camera that can verify that," said Dalley.

"When it's zoomed in it looks so huge. But it was a big iceberg, a really big iceberg, and there were a lot of people who took pictures of the same iceberg, and could tell you it was there."

Merry Christmas, Newfoundland-style

Even though it has created such a buzz, the photo might not make the cut for the Christmas card this year. 

"I like the one I took last week, it has all different colours and it has a hole right through the iceberg and its shaped like a heart."