Nature Photography on a Cruise Ship
11/08/10 21:23 Filed in: Guest blog
Nature Photography and Cruising
By DCStep
I just returned from a ten-day cruise and land excursion to Alaska on the Diamond Princess and using Princess Properties (trains, buses and hotels) inland to Denali. This was billed as an “Inside Passage Glacier Discovery” tour, which meant that the ship’s captain took every opportunity to use inland waterways, ranging from the rivers and straits North of Vancouver, British Columbia to the river dead ending at Skagway, Alaska to the incredible fjords like Glacier Bay and College Fjord where active glaciers “calve” into the fjords.
Dreaming of the trip I imagined bald eagles, orcas, humpback whales, bears, glaciers and beautiful scenery, all visible from my balcony. (Do spring for a balcony if you can afford it. You can go out on the Promenade Deck for photography, but being cozy on your own balcony for hours at a time is much superior). All my dreams came true, but I wasn’t prepared for the beautiful send off from Vancouver as boats swarmed our big ship as the prominent skyline against the water with Whistler Mountain served as the backdrop.
Wildlife photography generally requires a long lens, but shooting wildlife from a ship amplifies the need for focal length because ships can’t really get into shallow water and/or stop for much wildlife. (Our ship did slow for whales and other sea life and did stop for the bear you’ll see later in the blog). Expecting this, I took my 500mm f/4 lens on this trip.
First, let’s look at a couple of shots using the 500mm lens for “scenic” images.
View on Black
The shot above of Lions Gate Bridge with a Holland America cruise ship and a tanker passing was taken with my 500mm lens on my Canon 7D. I’m guessing that I was around a mile away from the nearest ship. The compression of distance caused by using the super telephoto lens gives this image much of its dramatic impact. The long focal length also reduces the impact of smoke and atmospheric haze in this busy metropolitan city.
Here’s another image taken with the 500mm, taking advantage of the distance compression to compact a tanker, the Vancouver skyline and Whistler Mountain into a dramatic composition.
View on Black
Even though the subjects are relatively static in the past two examples, I’m still using my tripod to get the maximum sharpness out of my 500mm lens. I use a strong ballhead with a Wimberley Sidekick mounted to hold my 500mm steady while also allowing quick movement to follow opportunities like the image that follows.
View on Black
I doubt that anyone else on the ship actually saw this juvenile bald eagle catch a fish. About two-hours out of port, I saw a large bird cross over the ship and tracked it with my lens before I’d even identified it. As it neared the water I shot a burst of images and caught this image To give an idea of the distance involved, I had to crop this around 80% to get it this close, pushing the limits of reasonable sharpness, even with a 500mm lens. I don’t use my 1.4x teleconverter for birds in flight because I find it very hard to lock onto the bird quickly and follow it. With more practice I hope to develop the necessary skill, but right now the 500mm is about at the limit of my handling ability.
For the following image I had my 1.4x teleconverter mounted with the 500mm lens, equaling 700mm, and I still had to crop 50%. I’m guessing that the brown bear was around 300-yards away. The ship’s skipper did a great job of getting us close to wildlife and glaciers, but there’s only so much that he could do.
View on Black
The distances to wildlife when viewed from a cruise ship are the big reason to bring your long lens. Also, using the long lens for scenic images gives your images a different perspective. I still brought and used my wide angle lens, but this blog thread is about using the heavy artillery.
Carrying all the equipment on a trip is an issue to be considered. I bought a ThinkTank International carryon roller bag that holds two bodies, my 500mm lens, a 70-200mm f/4 and my 24-105mm f/4, plus ancillaries. It’s heavy when loaded, but it fits in the overhead bins on US and international flights. That and my computer case are my carryon baggage. I have a four-section Induro C414 (now the CT414) that will fit in a large suitcase, which I check with the airline. The 3-section tripods tend to be too long for most luggage. When buying a tripod, make its length versus your luggage one of the selection criteria.
I’ve packed this way for two trips and found that it works quite well. For trips where I don’t need the 500mm I use a regular sized backpack style camera bag and usually take two bodies, two lenses, the flash and other odds and ends. For some trips I travel light and take only one body and two lenses and use a much smaller handbag type arrangement. I still usually pack the tripod in my checked bag.
Other issues I was forced to deal with were vibration and wind. With a large lens, every vibration is amplified and the wind on the deck of a moving ship can grab a lens and shake it pretty good. To the degree possible, I positioned the tripod inboard as much as possible to still see and yet avoid letting the wind catch the end of the lens. To deal with vibration I kept the shutter speeds up over 1/1000-second when I could. When cruising, the ship’s vibrations are minimal in calm seas, but when the ship is stopped and positioning for us to see wildlife, like the bear, the side-thrusters can produce quite a shake that is visible through the lens. I waited on the thrusters to stop, but you could lift the camera off the tripod to damp this effect with your body, but then you need higher shutter speed to offset any unsteadiness due to hand holding.
What if you don’t have a 500mm lens and don’t want to rent one, then what is the minimum lens needed to get some really effective shots? I find my 70-200mm f/4 to be a workhorse. Here’s a shot of Margerie Glacier calving taken with my 70-200mm f/4 lens.
View on Black
This was handheld. We were too close to use the 500mm for this type of shot. I did get some details of the glacier with my 500mm, but this shot of the glacier “calving” into the Glacier Bay worked best with the smaller zoom. By the way, that blue tint is the actual color of the glacier.
Everyone trekking to Denali wants to capture something like this following image. I used my 70-200mm lens, plus the 1.4x teleconverter for this. We were 80-miles from the mountain at this point. I was extremely lucky that the mountain even showed its face, because there had been rain and clouds for two-weeks prior to my visit. I could have ridden the bus another 40-miles into the park, but probably would have come up empty because the mountain would likely be hidden again. Our bus driver saw this and pulled to the side at the first turnout so that we could get our shots. The window of opportunity was only around 30-minutes. I was there for another day and a half and never saw the mountain again.
View on Black
For me, taking the inside passage up Alaska’s Southeastern coast and then inland to Denali was a “bucket list” kind of trip. In planning I couldn’t imagine going without taking the very best pictures possible for me, which meant bringing my best equipment, even if it’s bulky and heavy. I’m glad I did. Out of around 2,800 passengers, I only saw a handful of other “serious” photographers. Most others were shooting with point and shoot cameras and a few were simply using their iPhones. If you’re reading this blog, you probably want to stay at the higher end of the scale.
My wife and I took our ten and fourteen year old granddaughters with us on this trip; otherwise, I might have gone on a much smaller boat. I considered taking a photography workshop on a boat that carried only 28 passengers and crew. That would not have worked with the wife and young girls, so we elected this style of cruise. I think that it really did work out well. I looked at what the photographers on the smaller boat did on their cruise and envy them nothing. They did get some things that I didn’t and vice versa. The large cruise ship is a valid way to really see Alaska and document it with your own photography.
Here’s the URL of my Flickr site for anyone interested in seeing more of my images from this adventure:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/sets/72157624407179225/show/
Happy shooting
By DCStep
I just returned from a ten-day cruise and land excursion to Alaska on the Diamond Princess and using Princess Properties (trains, buses and hotels) inland to Denali. This was billed as an “Inside Passage Glacier Discovery” tour, which meant that the ship’s captain took every opportunity to use inland waterways, ranging from the rivers and straits North of Vancouver, British Columbia to the river dead ending at Skagway, Alaska to the incredible fjords like Glacier Bay and College Fjord where active glaciers “calve” into the fjords.
Dreaming of the trip I imagined bald eagles, orcas, humpback whales, bears, glaciers and beautiful scenery, all visible from my balcony. (Do spring for a balcony if you can afford it. You can go out on the Promenade Deck for photography, but being cozy on your own balcony for hours at a time is much superior). All my dreams came true, but I wasn’t prepared for the beautiful send off from Vancouver as boats swarmed our big ship as the prominent skyline against the water with Whistler Mountain served as the backdrop.
Wildlife photography generally requires a long lens, but shooting wildlife from a ship amplifies the need for focal length because ships can’t really get into shallow water and/or stop for much wildlife. (Our ship did slow for whales and other sea life and did stop for the bear you’ll see later in the blog). Expecting this, I took my 500mm f/4 lens on this trip.
First, let’s look at a couple of shots using the 500mm lens for “scenic” images.
View on Black
The shot above of Lions Gate Bridge with a Holland America cruise ship and a tanker passing was taken with my 500mm lens on my Canon 7D. I’m guessing that I was around a mile away from the nearest ship. The compression of distance caused by using the super telephoto lens gives this image much of its dramatic impact. The long focal length also reduces the impact of smoke and atmospheric haze in this busy metropolitan city.
Here’s another image taken with the 500mm, taking advantage of the distance compression to compact a tanker, the Vancouver skyline and Whistler Mountain into a dramatic composition.
View on Black
Even though the subjects are relatively static in the past two examples, I’m still using my tripod to get the maximum sharpness out of my 500mm lens. I use a strong ballhead with a Wimberley Sidekick mounted to hold my 500mm steady while also allowing quick movement to follow opportunities like the image that follows.
View on Black
I doubt that anyone else on the ship actually saw this juvenile bald eagle catch a fish. About two-hours out of port, I saw a large bird cross over the ship and tracked it with my lens before I’d even identified it. As it neared the water I shot a burst of images and caught this image To give an idea of the distance involved, I had to crop this around 80% to get it this close, pushing the limits of reasonable sharpness, even with a 500mm lens. I don’t use my 1.4x teleconverter for birds in flight because I find it very hard to lock onto the bird quickly and follow it. With more practice I hope to develop the necessary skill, but right now the 500mm is about at the limit of my handling ability.
For the following image I had my 1.4x teleconverter mounted with the 500mm lens, equaling 700mm, and I still had to crop 50%. I’m guessing that the brown bear was around 300-yards away. The ship’s skipper did a great job of getting us close to wildlife and glaciers, but there’s only so much that he could do.
View on Black
The distances to wildlife when viewed from a cruise ship are the big reason to bring your long lens. Also, using the long lens for scenic images gives your images a different perspective. I still brought and used my wide angle lens, but this blog thread is about using the heavy artillery.
Carrying all the equipment on a trip is an issue to be considered. I bought a ThinkTank International carryon roller bag that holds two bodies, my 500mm lens, a 70-200mm f/4 and my 24-105mm f/4, plus ancillaries. It’s heavy when loaded, but it fits in the overhead bins on US and international flights. That and my computer case are my carryon baggage. I have a four-section Induro C414 (now the CT414) that will fit in a large suitcase, which I check with the airline. The 3-section tripods tend to be too long for most luggage. When buying a tripod, make its length versus your luggage one of the selection criteria.
I’ve packed this way for two trips and found that it works quite well. For trips where I don’t need the 500mm I use a regular sized backpack style camera bag and usually take two bodies, two lenses, the flash and other odds and ends. For some trips I travel light and take only one body and two lenses and use a much smaller handbag type arrangement. I still usually pack the tripod in my checked bag.
Other issues I was forced to deal with were vibration and wind. With a large lens, every vibration is amplified and the wind on the deck of a moving ship can grab a lens and shake it pretty good. To the degree possible, I positioned the tripod inboard as much as possible to still see and yet avoid letting the wind catch the end of the lens. To deal with vibration I kept the shutter speeds up over 1/1000-second when I could. When cruising, the ship’s vibrations are minimal in calm seas, but when the ship is stopped and positioning for us to see wildlife, like the bear, the side-thrusters can produce quite a shake that is visible through the lens. I waited on the thrusters to stop, but you could lift the camera off the tripod to damp this effect with your body, but then you need higher shutter speed to offset any unsteadiness due to hand holding.
What if you don’t have a 500mm lens and don’t want to rent one, then what is the minimum lens needed to get some really effective shots? I find my 70-200mm f/4 to be a workhorse. Here’s a shot of Margerie Glacier calving taken with my 70-200mm f/4 lens.
View on Black
This was handheld. We were too close to use the 500mm for this type of shot. I did get some details of the glacier with my 500mm, but this shot of the glacier “calving” into the Glacier Bay worked best with the smaller zoom. By the way, that blue tint is the actual color of the glacier.
Everyone trekking to Denali wants to capture something like this following image. I used my 70-200mm lens, plus the 1.4x teleconverter for this. We were 80-miles from the mountain at this point. I was extremely lucky that the mountain even showed its face, because there had been rain and clouds for two-weeks prior to my visit. I could have ridden the bus another 40-miles into the park, but probably would have come up empty because the mountain would likely be hidden again. Our bus driver saw this and pulled to the side at the first turnout so that we could get our shots. The window of opportunity was only around 30-minutes. I was there for another day and a half and never saw the mountain again.
View on Black
For me, taking the inside passage up Alaska’s Southeastern coast and then inland to Denali was a “bucket list” kind of trip. In planning I couldn’t imagine going without taking the very best pictures possible for me, which meant bringing my best equipment, even if it’s bulky and heavy. I’m glad I did. Out of around 2,800 passengers, I only saw a handful of other “serious” photographers. Most others were shooting with point and shoot cameras and a few were simply using their iPhones. If you’re reading this blog, you probably want to stay at the higher end of the scale.
My wife and I took our ten and fourteen year old granddaughters with us on this trip; otherwise, I might have gone on a much smaller boat. I considered taking a photography workshop on a boat that carried only 28 passengers and crew. That would not have worked with the wife and young girls, so we elected this style of cruise. I think that it really did work out well. I looked at what the photographers on the smaller boat did on their cruise and envy them nothing. They did get some things that I didn’t and vice versa. The large cruise ship is a valid way to really see Alaska and document it with your own photography.
Here’s the URL of my Flickr site for anyone interested in seeing more of my images from this adventure:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dcstep/sets/72157624407179225/show/
Happy shooting