Watch The Birdie
NAO Santa Maria, a replica of the Spanish carrack, heading up Saginaw River toward Bay City, Michigan. A gull appears to be escorting the ship. July 31, 2019....
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NAO Santa Maria, a replica of the Spanish carrack, heading up Saginaw River toward Bay City, Michigan. A gull appears to be escorting the ship. July 31, 2019.
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Aug, 2019Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken from the 'last bridges' before ships arrive at downtown Bay City, Michigan. The ship (Santa Maria) is heading up Saginaw River. My viewpoint was from the Western approach of a railroad bridge. 'Behind' me is Liberty Bridge, and the downtown section of the river. That is the area where tall ships normally dock during our tri-annual Tall Ship Celebration (which had taken place about two weeks prior). I'm facing roughly Northeast, toward a rightward bend of the river. I knew of this shooting location, since I'd scouted and used it before - during the 2013 Tall Ship Celebration. And, I was also aware of the time of day, and where the Sun's relative location would be.Time
This was roughly 7:00pm local (Bay City, Michigan - Eastern time zone). The tall ships were heading back 'out' of the Great Lakes during the latter stages of the Tall Ship Great Lakes Challenge, and quite often some of the ships from the fleet will stop here during the outward journey for rest and relaxation, restocking, and - of course - the possibility of collecting a few more donations from people wanting to tour the ship.Lighting
The Sun was still relatively high above the horizon at the time (being mid/late Summer). And - VERY conveniently - it was almost directly behind and to the left of me as I was looking down river for the ship.Equipment
I used a Panasonic DC-FZ80 (with a 128 Gb memory card). The only extra equipment I had was a Manfrotto Monopod (which a friend had given me a couple of years before, and which I believe helped improve my photographs immensely).Inspiration
The Tall Ship Celebration is a major event in the region - and I have many friends who are fellow fans of the event. And, thankfully, some of them have houses on or near the shore of Saginaw Bay (a section of Lake Huron, which helps form the 'Thumb' of Michigan's shape). As it was, one of those friends had just posted about sighting a ship about to enter the Saginaw River mouth (about 4 miles down river from the position of this shot). I just happened to have seen the post, and we quickly started messaging back and forth. So, I grabbed my camera and monopod and trekked to the bridge. My home is only about six blocks from the river, so I knew I had plenty of time to reach that position. As it was, I had even more time. While waiting to see the masts appear above the treeline (and, the upraised Independence Bridge spans down river), I heard a loud boat horn. Looking behind (up river), I could see a large bulk carrier heading down river. It was just passing through Veterans Memorial Bridge, and nearing Liberty Bridge (which was about 50-75 yards up river from my position). So, I patiently waited for them (carrier - Pathfinder, and tug - Dorothy Ann) to pass by. I wasn't worried about 'missing' Santa Maria, since the river is too narrow for ships of these sizes to pass each other. My guess was that Santa Maria had either exited the river, or had pulled close to shore at one of the docks along the way. Eventually the carrier passed, and I again waited for Santa Maria. Finally, I saw it's masts barely above the tree line, and prepared for it's approach. After catching several photographs as it passed (and some as it went 'through' Liberty Bridge, I walked along the shore / riverwalk trail until I caught up to where it was docked (across the river, but that allowed me to grab a few more photographs with the Sun still behind me, fully lighting the ship's hull. That was actually during the "Golden hour" - but I couldn't get a good angle to take advantage of it. On a side note: the gull in this photograph was pure luck (as they quite often are). However I felt it added some character to the photograph - giving the appearance of helping to guide the ship.Editing
I generally would use a straighten, crop, and one-step enhancement (using Corel Paintshop Pro). However, I've been trying to go through some of my older photographs and apply new 'techniques' I've learned after the fact (I have gotten into the habit of saving not only my edited versions, but the originals as well). I believe I tried adjusting the white balance, followed by brightness, contrast, back-lighting, and vibrancy. My only regret is that I didn't take .RAW photos at the time.In my camera bag
Though I didn't even bother with my bag for this excursion (basically I slung my camera over my shoulder, grabbed the monopod, and headed out), I normally have: * Two back-up batteries charged * Two back-up 128 Gb memory cards (mostly for if I take videos) * Plug-in USB charging adapter (for the in-camera battery) * Plug-in battery charging adapter * USB cable for charging and/or downloading photographs * Rubber-tipped Stylus (for making adjustments in my viewscreen - especially adjusting the white balance in-camera, and selecting the focus areas.Feedback
About the only advice I can give in this instance is: Select an appropriate viewing angle. And, the best way to be able to do so is being aware of the local area. That's one of the reasons I tour on my bicycle though many of the local areas. Not only does it help with future opportunities (like this one) - it's a great way to discover hidden 'treasures' which I'd otherwise be totally in the dark about. And, it's great exercise as well.
