January Cruise Vacation 2014

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 towards Princess Cay past Carnival Freedom which will be the next to depart for St. Thomas. 200_P1000460

On a six-ship January Saturday at Port Everglades, Crown Princess was the second to depart, its destination Princess Cay. 200_P1000462

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 Caribbean Airlines B737-800 is seen between Carnival Freedom and Oasis of the Seas. The Carnival ship will depart for St. Thomas and the Royal Caribbean giant to Nassau. 200_P1000467

Still tied up, but only a short while before departure to Key West, Celebrity Constellation dwarfs much of its surroundings and the nearby cargo ship SCM Fedra. 200_P1000472

The Baleària Bahamas Express fast-ferry Pinar del Rio operates from Port Everglades to Grand Bahama. It is seen here at the Florida port. The service, which started in December 2011 has attracted mixed reviews. 200_P1000475

This replica Lockheed P-38 Lightning stands in the grounds of the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Miami and looks out across an aviation landscape of a very different era - that of today's Miami airport. This is a colour version of an image I posted earlier in b&w. TZ30_P1010733

This replica Lockheed P-38 Lightning stands in the grounds of the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Miami and looks out across an aviation landscape of a very different era - that of today's Miami airport. This is a colour version of an image I posted earlier in b&w. TZ30_P1010740

This replica Lockheed P-38 Lightning stands in the grounds of the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Miami and looks out across an aviation landscape of a very different era - that of today's Miami airport. This is a colour version of an image I posted earlier in b&w. TZ30_P1010748

This replica Lockheed P-38 Lightning stands in the grounds of the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant, Miami and looks out across an aviation landscape of a very different era - that of today's Miami airport. TZ30_P1010745C

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 27R at FLL. In this busy view, a Virgin America A320 is seen with Carnival Freedom, Oasis of the Seas and Celebrity Constellation. The Carnival ship will depart for St. Thomas, the Royal Caribbean giant to Nassau and the Constellation to Key West. 200_P1000477

As cruise ships leave Port Everglades, their passengers have splendid sunlit views of the many desirable coastal properties. The views from those properties could be described as equally splendid. It certainly is quite moving the watch the departures of the many ships to varied locations. On this occasion Crown Princess, destined for Princess Cay, was the second of six. 200_P1000482C

Dwarfing both the cargo ship SCM Fedra and the port buildings, Celebrity Constellation is seen at Port Everglades in the final stages of preparation for departure to Key West. 200_P1000489

Carnival Freedom, seen leaving Port Everglades for St. Thomas, was the third of six ships to depart on this January Saturday. This is something of a crossover shot in what I have recently described as a mixture of documentary and more compositionally pleasing shots. In the more documentary shots I have concentrated on the sky and lighting, as here, but this also contains other elements such as the Southwest B737 which was one of a steady stream of inbounds to FLL during my ship watching. 200_P1000490XC

Carnival Freedom, seen leaving Port Everglades for St. Thomas, was the third of six ships to depart on this January Saturday. In the more documentary shots, like this, I have concentrated on the sky and lighting. I hope cruise ship enthusiasts will like this. 200_P1000493C

The entrance to Terminal D at San Juan International Airport (Luis Muñoz Marín) displays some classic architecture with the Airport Hotel and (presumably) the old control tower above. The airport has received substantial investment and development continues as evidenced by the glass frontage (right) and the 2012 Terminal A also shown in this series. 200_P1000818

The control tower at San Juan International Airport (Luis Muñoz Marín) is an imposing but not especially attractive structure which looks rather utilitarian. 200_P1000817

The San Juan International Airport (Luis Muñoz Marín) has received substantial investment as reflected by the 2012 (Jet Blue) Terminal A which I thought very attractive. 200_P1000827

The San Juan International Airport (Luis Muñoz Marín) has received substantial investment as reflected by the 2012 (Jet Blue) Terminal A which I thought very attractive. 200_P1000822