Night Ship Lights Shining?? Your Recent Favorites??

While on our just-completed Amazon River-Caribbean "adventure", we were sailing from Barbados in the evening and I snapped this picture of a next-door, Aida ship. Wow!! I lighten up the picture a little and . . . FUN, here is this interesting visual. In doing a search on this CC Board, it's be a little time since we had a thread focused on night ship photography.

Join in! Share your night pictures!! These visuals are a little more challenging to capture, but when they work well, it can be exciting, not boring or bland. This next door ship looks exciting with its varied lighting treatments and touches. No tripod used. Leaned against our ship's railing. Used ISO 800, a fifth of a second exposure, f5 with my Nikon D7100 using the 18-140 lens at 27mm.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean combo back-to-back sailing over 26 days, here is the link below to that series of posts on my live/blog. Lots of great visuals from the Amazon and these various Caribbean Islands, etc. Check it out at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 17,322 views for these postings.

Very nice!

Really nice photo, Terry. I love all the colors on the ship!

Here's a far less colorful MSC Musica; I took this last fall leaving Palma de Mallorca (aboard the Celebrity Silhouette). That's the famous Cathedral in the background.

(turtles06)

Lovely shots...great light and color on yours Terry.

It's almost embarrassing how much I love photography and even night photography more, yet don't have too many examples of ships at night. Unfortunately, I rarely seem to get the advantage of stopping at a port in evening hours, so the only ship lights I see at night are the ones I'm on! Looking back, I only have a few snaps of night lighted ships:

Crown Princess in San Juan:

Eurodam in Quebec:

Emerald Princess in Aruba:

And a really old oldie - the Clipper Adventurer in Costa Rica:

Wish I had more, but being at a port or dock with a ship at night is just something that I don't get many opportunities on, despite all my cruises!

Oh, and technically my signature photo is one too - of a Celebrity ship at night, which I placed in the bay of Boca Raton where it could never actually fit - the magic of photoshop (or should I call it PhotoshIp?)

I'm in the same "boat" as Justin. I am seldom in a position to see shiups other than the one I am on at night. Here's an early morning exception where another ship made a u-turn before docking at Miami.

Dave

Wow awesome shot Terry :-)

My wife was sure we'd be at least robbed, if not outright murdered by bands of Québécois she heard roamed Quebec. ;) But we sallied forth and perservered, unmolested. We took the ferry across the river to Levis for this shot of Summit and a few others that turned out.

QUE097 by AV8PIX Hickory Shampoo, on Flickr

Also, it is of interest that the shutter button on my camera has a mystic ability to summon sudden gusts of wind. :rolleyes:

Lovely shots...great light and color on yours Terry. It's almost embarrassing how much I love photography and even night photography more, yet don't have too many examples of ships at night. Unfortunately, I rarely seem to get the advantage of stopping at a port in evening hours, so the only ship lights I see at night are the ones I'm on! Wish I had more, but being at a port or dock with a ship at night is just something that I don't get many opportunities on, despite all my cruises!

pierces: I'm in the same "boat" as Justin. I am seldom in a position to see shiups other than the one I am on at night. Here's an early morning exception where another ship made a u-turn before docking at Miami.

Appreciate these nice comments and follow-ups.. Excellent insights about how our opportunities to get such evening shots are kind of limited. BUT' date=' when we get a "good one", it is fun to have that visual and share. That night lighting can create excellent interest and "drama".

Getting ready to do tomorrow an all-day [b']National Geographic Traveler seminar[/b] with two of their expert photographers here in Columbus. It's always nice to get more inspiration, ideas, etc. Plus, be able to ask them questions, learn more.

Here are four more night/evening examples from our recent Amazon River-Caribbean "adventure" as we fortunately escaped the winter cold of Central Ohio in late January and February.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 101,343 views for this posting.

From our recent, 26-day sailing from Barbados to San Juan that including the Amazon River in Brazil and a wide variety of Caribbean islands, here are four, fun night visuals that I was lucky to capture. First is from Curacao in the Dutch ABC's of their uni,que floating, wooden bridge in this nicely-styled port. Second was a combination of ship lights and the sunset as we were departing from Manaus in the middle of the massive Amazon River basin. Third was a shipping tanker seen as we sailed along the super wide and massive Amazon River. Fourth is a "subtle" boat in the luxury St. Barts harbor where they were shouting out with loud lights their contradictory name of "Incognito".:

great pictures.We have a overnight in port on our next cruise and I would like to be able to take some shots of the ship.Any recommendations for camera settings?

great pictures. We have a overnight in port on our next cruise and I would like to be able to take some shots of the ship. Any recommendations for camera settings?

Appreciate this good question on camera settings for shooting in the early evening and/or at night. From my experience, your automatic camera reading can be very, very off if you just shoot it and let the camera guess for what works best. Many times, it will be best to shoot these types of pictures in the manual mode and/or some other combination.

The great "news" and opportunity with today's digital camera are two-fold. First, you can see what you have just shot, allowing chances to improve and get it better. Second, you can "test" or try out a number of different "adjustments" for shutter speed and/or f/stop settings to find what works best.

Also, use a ship railing and/or leaning against a door-frame or solid surface to stabilize your shot with these slower shutter speeds in low light situations. With many cameras, including mine, you might have a tool when looking at the back of camera visual for what you just shot. Pushing a + button will enlarge that visual so that you can check the exposure quality for the image that you just recorded.

For night pictures, I would start at a speed of 1/15 or 1/10. In many cases, you will not need a tripod. None of my pictures have been done with a tripod. Try that initial exposure setting. Look at what you have. How good or bad in the exposure, speed??? Then, try several more speeds and lens opening combinations, etc. It does not cost any more for film or processing to take many different visuals.

Below are three additional night or evening ship visuals that can be interesting and creative. My top rule? Shoot lots of pictures, try many different exposures, angles . . . AND . . .

only show the "good ones" to make people believe you are a smart and skilled photographer.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 195,666 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Here are three shots from the Celebrity Solstice sailing in and around Italy and the Med during our June 2011 adventure. At night and/or in the early evening can allow lighting that adds to the interest and drama for creating memories from these international settings. The third visual is a wider view of this ship’s Corning Hot Glass show area, plus the green grass and the unique covering designs. Classy design touches and style!!:

TLCOhio

Thanks for the advice.

only show the "good ones" to make people believe you are a smart and skilled photographer.

This, this, this. Take 5,000 pictures on your vacation, trim it down to 100, post process them, trim it down to 25 and then take the top 10 to show off.

Also, shoot in raw and post process in something like lightroom. It makes a world of difference.

I love night shooting too. I feel the same as the rest of you that I don't get night ship shots unless I'm on an overnight in a particular port.

I go with less ISO (100), aperture around ~f14 with a 20-30 second exposure. I go as much as a full stop (-1) underexposed so it doesn't blow the harsh lighting out.

Ruby Princess/Quebec City, October 2014.

Disney Fantasy Sunset by Havoc315, on Flickr

Dawn deck at night.jpg by Havoc315, on Flickr

Dawn at Night.jpg by Havoc315, on Flickr

This is a great thread. I have a couple of lenses but was considering buying a prime lens for low light/night shots. Have looked at canon EF 24mm f2.8 pancake lens and canon EF f1.4 USM lens.Would appreciate your views on these lens or other recommendations.

This is a great thread. I have a couple of lenses but was considering buying a prime lens for low light/night shots. Have looked at canon EF 24mm f2.8 pancake lens and canon EF f1.4 USM lens. Would appreciate your views on these lens or other recommendations.

Appreciate the super great night visuals from havoc315 and snowblower. Wonderful examples and sharing!! Keep these "good ones" coming!

For the excellent question on a prime lens by Ecuador, about 15 months ago I got a Nikkor 35mm f1.8 for lower light and other such needs/specialities. This includes for taking many of my food pictures. However . . . there are lots of "trade-offs" and factors to consider. Do not know that there is one "perfect" answer for all persons, needs and interests. Doubt for me that this 35mm f1.8 lens would be ideal when doing most of my night outdoor shots. I like having the flexibility of being able to get a good range of wide, medium, closer, etc., angles, looks in a quick and varied manner. If I just had only a 35mm lens for that purpose, it would get rather narrow for my photo desires and creativity.

Before buying that 35mm fixed lens, I debate whether a 50mm or 35mm would be best. After doing some tests and considering doing food places, that 35mm seemed to be the best choice. Happy how it has worked for those special needs.

On this most recent trip, a nice plus was for how well this 35mm fixed lens worked for capturing available-light, ship entertainment programs in their theater setting. Below is one of many examples posted on my trip live/blog. These show pictures were shot in manual setting after doing a number of tests, checking the look on the back of the camera to get the best shutter speed/lens opening combination.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

If Venice is one of your future desires or past favorites, look at this earlier posting for many options and visual samples this city that is so great for "walking around", personally seeing its great history and architecture. This posting is now at 49,177 views.

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

Here is one example capturing some of the "Voices of Silversea" from our Amazon-Caribbean cruise within the past month. Nice costumes and a classic music program that weaved in Broadway/West End songs, etc. This image was captured in a manual setting with the Nikkor 35mm f1.8 at ISO 800, f3.5, 1/50 of a second exposure.:

This is a great thread. I have a couple of lenses but was considering buying a prime lens for low light/night shots. Have looked at canon EF 24mm f2.8 pancake lens and canon EF f1.4 USM lens.Would appreciate your views on these lens or other recommendations.

If you want night landscape type shots, buy a tripod. If you want action photos buy a f/1.4 lens. If you want land scapes but don't want the bulk of a tripod, buy the 35 F/2 IS, it's about 3 stops faster than a f/1.4 if you don't need to freeze motion and it's incredible IQ.

Oasis arriving in Port Everglades

http://jensjuul.smugmug.com/Other/Oasis-for-CC/i-fKVzCsS/0/O/DSC00147-2_edited-1.jpg

Guess it is there, but I had issues with sizing. Taken with Sony A6000 automatic from our balcony at the Hilton.

This is on board the Celebrity Eclipse:

(turtles06)

TLCOhio

Thanks for the info and also the excellent picture of what can be achieved with a prime lens.

Celebrity Reflection

Royal Princess

I've been enjoying this thread since it started. These are some beautiful pictures and some great tips, which are very much appreciated and I'm getting incentive to try to improve so I can hopefully get pictures like the ones posted some day. I love taking pictures and have many used a point and shoot, but I got a DSLR a few years ago and am still very much a novice with it and any tips and tricks will help. I've been "playing" with it on recent cruises but always have my point and shoot as back up. I was finally able to get some half decent night pictures with the DSLR on our cruise last year and this is one of my best. I used a railing as a "brace" to keep the camera still and adjusted the ISO for the best results. This one was ISO 3200. I forgot to set the camera to the RAW setting and my pictures, even though fairly "sharp", appear grainy. Would I be able to get rid of that grainy appearance if I had used "RAW" when editing?

Carnival Liberty shortly after arrival back in Miami, FL, 04-12-2014 @ 5:30AM:

No, the grainy appearance is from using a high ISO (3200) and would not disappear in raw, you could probably get a little bit better from shooting in raw and "developing" it your self in lightroom (or other digital darkroom product), however at iso 3200 don't expect too much with your camera. At some point we all have to choose if we're going to be photographers or travelers first in how much we inconvenience out selves in our travels to get the perfect shot. I know full well how to take that shot without any of the grain, however you're not going to catch me on deck with a tripod and a 30 second exposure at iso100 because I'll be way to busy enjoying my vacation and perhaps a couple of drinks.

Nice shot btw!

No, the grainy appearance is from using a high ISO (3200) and would not disappear in raw, you could probably get a little bit better from shooting in raw and "developing" it your self in lightroom (or other digital darkroom product), however at iso 3200 don't expect too much with your camera. At some point we all have to choose if we're going to be photographers or travelers first in how much we inconvenience out selves in our travels to get the perfect shot. I know full well how to take that shot without any of the grain, however you're not going to catch me on deck with a tripod and a 30 second exposure at iso100 because I'll be way to busy enjoying my vacation and perhaps a couple of drinks.

 

Nice shot btw!

Thanks! I'm with you...traveling/vacationing comes first for me. Pictures ok but a little grainy vs. perfect pictures and hauling a tripod around...I think I'll stick with pictures being a little grainy. :D I don't sell my pictures but enjoy looking through them as a memory of our vacation. Thank you again.

Appreciate the nice added pictures and comments on this thread. Super love the pool pictures with the "shimmer" showing in the water. That adds a nice "touch" and style for these visuals.

Good "debate" for how much time and effort to put into vacations versus picture taking, etc. Personally, I took a tripod a couple of times, but never used it. Too much time and hassles. Maybe ISO3200 is too much?? Will need to try a few pictures at that level to see how the "noise" works . . . or does not.

Keep up the good postings and sharing.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 102,773 views for this posting.