MSC Bellissima at Southampton - 2 March 2019

The newest ship in the MSC fleet, MSC Bellissima, was officially delivered to the company by Chantiers de l'Atlantique on 27 February 2019 and arrived in Southampton on 1 March 2019 for 4 days of celebrations including the naming ceremony on Saturday 2 March. She became the largest cruise ship to be christened at the UK port.

This picture is the first in a new body of work by me using my recently acquired Nikon D5300. I continue to use other cameras and they serve me well but I have long been uncomfortable with how 'soft' some of my images are compared to the beautiful work of some of my contacts. The nature of my documentary photography and slightly industrial output means that I have to make compromises in many situations where shots cannot be meticulously planned or repeated so bridge and compact cameras have a role to play.

Unfortunately, MSC Bellissima was unattractively posed at berth 101, City Cruise Terminal, starboard side to quay and with a large container ship forward. So, whatever the merits of my new camera, this is, nevertheless, no more than a record shot.

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