Bridge at night from a cruise ship
Jan 22, 2018 08:10:13 #
alx wrote:
You're welcome. Any port in a storm, so to speak. 
Considering the news a couple of weeks ago, keep in mind to be inside during high seas. Especially EXTRA high seas.
Jan 22, 2018 08:33:56 #
Shoot with the 50 wide open from a distance in RAW at 1/30-1/125, ISO 12,800 rapid fire. hand held, using your bent knees to adjust for the ship's motion. You're bound to get a few keepers!
Jan 22, 2018 08:41:56 #
Also make sure you have a flashlight to help you with your camera controls. You might want to see if you can find one that will allow you to add a red lens so as to not have problems with your night vision. The old Mag Lites had this feature.
Jan 22, 2018 09:57:40 #
Actually, the Queen Mary was retired years ago, and on the West Coast as a hotel. She was replaced by the Queen Mary II.
Jan 22, 2018 10:33:23 #
In these situations I've done well with fast-lens point & shoots with 1" sensors. They are zooms, which helps a lot when composing from a moving object (ship, train, bus, etc.) However, the ones with faster lenses do not zoom all that much. Sony RX100 is 24-74 or so; Panny is similar, Canon G7X goes 24 - 120. Canon G1X has a larger sensor with zoom similar to the Sony and Panny. If you are considering one of these look up the specs and make your choice. I've used them all successfully.
Jan 22, 2018 10:35:05 #
I think you have to stabilize. There are other ways to go. A beanbag work be as effective or more so than a towel. https://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-Photography-Support-Spotting-Equipment/dp/B00C8SKLY2/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1516635020&sr=1-3&keywords=Photography+beanbag There are thes plates that are used to stabilize without a tripod called platypods.
https://www.amazon.com/Platypod-Max-tripod-tabletop-photography/dp/B01LY0GALG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516634724&sr=8-3&keywords=platypod+ultra
There are also the gorillapods that are much less intrusive than a tripod. If you stabilze you can set your aperture higher to get the whole bridge in focus and a shutter speed long enough to work best. I really advise finding a way to stabilize.
and keep your iso down.
https://www.amazon.com/Platypod-Max-tripod-tabletop-photography/dp/B01LY0GALG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1516634724&sr=8-3&keywords=platypod+ultra
There are also the gorillapods that are much less intrusive than a tripod. If you stabilze you can set your aperture higher to get the whole bridge in focus and a shutter speed long enough to work best. I really advise finding a way to stabilize.
and keep your iso down.
ssohl wrote:
I’m sure this has been discussed before but I coul... (show quote)
Jan 22, 2018 11:31:58 #
RichardTaylor wrote:
Without knowing the light levels I would try: br U... (show quote)
I would second those suggestions, but having shot off the Staten Island Ferry quite a bit I would keep the camera far away from the rigid parts of the ship, don't think the towels are enough to hide the vibration, add shoot bursts, some will be sharper than others, hope for some dawn light to illuminate the scenes, don't miss the chance to get the two forts, Hamilton on the Brooklyn side and Wadsworth on the Staten Island side, also there are two small uninhabited islands in the harbor before you will pass under the bridge, Hoffman and Swinburn, bits of history there Bob
Jan 22, 2018 11:42:24 #
Have you considered using a sand/bean bag? We used them on land rovers in Africa and they insulate, stabilize, and are inexpensive. Get one shaped like a U to for over some edge and fill with dry beans. I shot 5,000 pictures that way and got reasonable stability. Worth a try and you haven’t lost much if it doesn’t work. Practice some to get some idea of how it feels to use one. It takes a little adjusting. Some even come with camera mount but are more expensive.
Jan 22, 2018 12:12:59 #
Jan 22, 2018 15:13:29 #
SAVH
Loc: La Jolla, CA
I have had good luck coming into San Francisco early in the morning, leaving Tokyo at night as well as leaving Sydney, Australia at night. I found that, for me, I had better luck with an aperture of f8 or so to allow for a little better depth of field rather than opening up my lens all the way. I think I was happy with an ISO of about 800 or 1000. l took several shots adjusting the aperture and later the ISO just to be sure. I think you will be very happy with your shots. In any case, bracketing will certainly help.
Jan 22, 2018 18:24:20 #
Stephan G wrote:
Considering the news a couple of weeks ago, keep in mind to be inside during high seas. Especially EXTRA high seas.
Arg! Definitely!
Jan 22, 2018 18:25:25 #
Mundj wrote:
Also make sure you have a flashlight to help you with your camera controls. You might want to see if you can find one that will allow you to add a red lens so as to not have problems with your night vision. The old Mag Lites had this feature.
Good call! I hadn’t thought of that.
Jan 22, 2018 19:18:13 #
ssohl wrote:
Good call! I hadn’t thought of that.
You could also close a designated "darkness" eye, while using light for settings. Remember which eye.
The secret behind pirates wearing eye patches.Also have a wrist strap on flashlight. Ships have a tendency to "roll". And have camera on straps to body. That is , do not carry equipment by hand without having strapped to body.
Jan 22, 2018 21:51:10 #
Thank you everyone! Some excellent suggestions. I’ll try to remember to post pictures when I get back.
Jan 22, 2018 22:00:38 #
ALL of the above - - BUT - - you MUST set up your shot before hand (recommend a high ISO and fast /f stop) shoot jpg+RAW AND shoot in a 5-shot auto-BRACKET +1ev AND then clean up the jpg from RAW, then process in Post with Photomatix, Nix HDR, or Photoshop.
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