Monday, November 30, 2009

Leaving Shore

I've been on a few cruise ships, and have always found it exciting when the ship leaves dock for the first time. Just the fact that something that big is moving is amazing. But, with the music playing, people waving and the great views, it's an inspiring experience.

Here are some pictures from a recent trip to Mexico. They look best if you click on them to view larger. We were second in line to get out of the port at Ft. Lauderdale. First was the Celebrity ship next door. The light at sundown was amazing.
There were a lot of people waving (from the other ship also). This guy seemed to make a special trip to come wave. Maybe he was talking to someone on board?
We seemed to be in a race with this speed boat. It was a bit speedier than us, but he suffered when it came to onboard entertainment. It seemed to me that it was levitating over the water. The slow shutter speed and panning along with the boat made a rather cool effect.
People on deck, of course, were walking around, pointing, and looking.
And, there were some people who managed to get to the bar.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Oasis Stitching

So, I was headed out on a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, headed towards Mexico. The port there had a number of ships waiting to take off. There were all quite large, but the shuttle bus driver pointed out one that was especially huge. It was "Oasis of the Seas", which I learned was the largest ship in the world. Some other passengers were getting off to take a trip on Oasis. They were travel agents from Canada. They were taking a one day ride to nowhere so they could review it. The ship has not yet taken its maiden voyage (hope their are enough lifeboats).

After getting on my own ship, "Enchantment of the Seas" (which was 11 decks itself). I got a view of the Oasis right across the pier. It was too large to get in one frame, so I took a series of pictures from one end to the next. The pieces looked like this.

I loaded them into my picture editor, and stitched them together to make the ship whole again. And, this is what I got. Looks a bit smaller, but it's all there. You can click the picture to get a larger view of the picture and get a better sense of its size.

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Yankee Tickertape Recap

Friday was my second tickertape parade. The first was the one celebrating the Super Bowl victory of the Giants in 2008. While crowded, I had good positioning to get a feel for the parade and got some decent photos. But, that crowd seemed to be nothing compared to the Yankees parade. I couldn't get anywhere near the parade itself and didn't even try.

To get an idea of how far back the crowds went, in the shot below, the parade would be passing by near the traffic light way up ahead. The girl is looking the wrong way.

Instead, I focused on the people in their Yankee outfits. They didn't always feel like cheering. Many of them had been there since 7am (parade time was 11). Add on to that time to get your face painted.

Several were fighting to use the bathrooms in office buildings nearby, even though signs said NO PUBLIC BATHROOMS. Even the face painters got tired and eventually lost their enthusiasm. These two seemed to be done (this was after the parade).

Finally, I got this amusing moment on video from my iPhone. Apparently this flag was considered a weapon, and the guy holding it was removed.



Clickers

StreetObservations.com - I was walking home in the vicinity of City Hall. Across the street I noticed a guy sitting casually in an orange vest and hat observing people as they passed. He was very serious looking and had something in his hand. Maybe a clicker.

I looked a little bit to his left and there was another guy. Watching, watching people pass. A little strange.

Then, I looked across Broadway and there was another! At the same intersection. Watching, counting, clicking.

I was a bit unnerving, they were everywhere. I had a funny feeling that I, in fact, was being watched. And, maybe, was being watched? Ahhhhhh!!!!!! No!!!!! Damn, I've been counted!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Lunch Truck Vanity

StreetObservations.com - So, a lunch truck was parked on Whitehall Street. It was one of those shiny high tech ones. I noticed this guy standing in the street waiting for service at a window. I thought his reflection was kind of cool, especially with half of his face cutoff. So, I started taking some pictures.

It was kind of strange that he was in the street since most people would be waiting on the sidewalk. And, obviously the vendor was spending his time with those on the other side of the truck. So, this guy keeps waiting. I could see he had a suitcase, so he was probably a tourist. Not sure what was up with his double hoody look, especially since it was a warm day. After a while, he started checking himself out in the reflection of the truck.

Finally, the merchant turned around and addressed the guy. Sure looks like he wasn't happy with this guy being on the wrong side of the truck, and the reaction from the tourist looks like he doesn't have a clue and is baffled by the strong reaction.