January Cruise Vacation 2014

A little fun with the prime number on our table marker on board Eurodam. TZ30_P1010509CM1 Geotagging approximate

A little fun with the prime number on our table marker on board Eurodam. TZ30_P1010509CM2 Geotagging approximate

A little fun with the prime number on our table marker on board Eurodam. TZ30_P1010508 Geotagging approximate

'This is your family' (2008) by Jan Snoeck. Displayed on board Holland America Eurodam. TZ30_P1010518 Geotagging approximate

'This is your family' (2008) by Jan Snoeck. Displayed on board Holland America Eurodam. TZ30_P1010519 Geotagging approximate

Crown Princess and Celebrity Constellation at Port Everglades. 200_P1000441

In this compact impression of Port Everglades on a Saturday, Carnival Freedom is glimpsed between Crown Princess (left) and Celebrity Constellation. 200_P1000442

Late afternoon sun warms Celebrity Eclipse at Port Everglades before its departure for Orangestad. In the foreground, Crown Princess prepares for departure to Princess Cay. 200_P1000443

The Holland America Westerdam was the first of six ships to leave Port Everglades on this January Saturday. Having arrived in the morning from Carnival's Half Moon Cay, it departed to Grand Turk. 200_P1000445

Carnival Freedom at Port Everglades. It had arrived in the morning from Cozumel and would depart for St. Thomas. 200_P1000450

I have taken a lot of pictures of Celebrity Eclipse. I make no apology for that because one rather challenging ambition of mine is to photograph every ship in each port it visits. I am unlikely to achieve that but it is helped by my own travels and, incidentally, Eclipse is one ship on which I have travelled. In this imposing view, Eclipse is seen at Port Everglades shortly before departing for Oranjestad. 200_P1000451

Cruise ships feature widely in my photos. My rather challenging ambition is to photograph every ship in each port it visits. I am unlikely to achieve that but it is helped by my own travels. Many of the pictures will be purely documentary but I hope too to bring a little variety of composition to the subject(s). While we were watching the six ships which departed Port Everglades on this Saturday afternoon, there was a steady stream of aircraft approaching runway 27R at FLL. In this view, a US Airways A320 is seen behind Holland America Westerdam as it departs for Grand Turk. 200_P1000452

Cruise ships feature widely in my photostream. My rather challenging ambition is to photograph every ship in each port it visits. I am unlikely to achieve that but it is helped by my own travels. Many of the pictures will be purely documentary but I hope too to bring a little variety of composition to the subject(s). While we were watching the six ships which departed Port Everglades on this Saturday afternoon, there was a steady stream of aircraft approaching runway 28R at FLL. In this view, a US Airways A320 is seen behind Celebrity Eclipse which will shortly depart for Oranjestad. 200_P1000453

I think a great deal of effort and care goes into making Florida waterways usable and environmentally friendly. Port Everglades and the Intracoastal Waterway are very busy. They have no wake and minimum wake zones as well as an important manatee protection programme. Manatees are cute and mysterious creatures but they are not very clever or fast moving and are liable to injuries and death when there are so many vessels around. 200_P1000612

Amidst hectic scenes at Philipsburg, St. Maarten when, again, six cruise ships (and Star Clipper) were berthed, it was still possible to observe detail. For some reason, this view on the side of Celebrity Summit amused me and, in any case, seemed to provide an opportunity for a very simple composition. 200_P1000926

At the beach in Philipsburg, St. Maarten my eye was caught first by the beachcomber who was operating his metal detector under water which I have not seen before. He was joined incidentally by a lad who was photographing two friends on a nearby pier. I was torn between a composition in which the two are further apart and this which I think has more impact as a depiction of a moment in two separate lives. 200_P1000953

As I continue to bring you photographs from around the world of fire, ambulance and police vehicles, this St. Maarten Police Nissan Navara, seen in Philipsburg, makes a nice addition. 200_P1000957

There are a lot of cruise ships in my latest postings but then I was on a cruise vacation and they are one of my main subjects. I continue to try to provide a mixture of documentary images - ships frequently change identities and areas of operation - and others with more compositional merit. Weekends are busy at Port Everglades with six ships on both days on the last weekend of January 2014. In this view, Crown Princess slips away from the quay bound for Princess Cay. Carnival Freedom in the background will be the next to depart for St. Thomas. Celebrity Constellation (just visible) would leave later for Key West. 200_P1000454