David's Images of the Day Photoblog
There were several Northern Gannets following the MV Explorer. I wanted to get an image of one crossing the full moon. I took lots of pictures, but only came close a few times. Then there was the issue of whether the moon, or the bird should be in focus.
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After a long nine days crossing the North Atlantic ocean we arrived in Galway, Ireland just after sunrise. We were given our passports, and went through immigration on the ship. The ship anchored, and we were tendered into Galway via the ships lifeboats. The day was overcast with some drizzle and rain. We were only going to be there for the day and I had signed up for the Cliffs of Moher field trip. First stop was Dunguaire Castle. The quick rest stop in Ballyvaughn ended up being a long rest stop since there were only a couple of toilets. An interesting character with a pipe was waiting in front of the village store. We then visited the ancient Poulnabrone Portal Tomb. As we drove through to the Cliffs of Moher passed a road sign for Lisdoonvarna — Largest Matchmaking Festival in Europe. There were also old stone homes, and farms with cows and horses on very green fields. We were running late, and missed the tourist boat we were supposed to take to the Cliffs. The next tourist boat was the Tranquility. The seas were rough even more than our crossing the North Atlantic. By the end of the tour, some of the students looked pretty green. The final stop was to a pub for a traditional Irish meal. Unfortunately, the meal was rushed because we had a deadline to get back onto the MV Explorer.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
The early dawn sky was full of pink jet contrails when I got out on deck. The contrails would be from all of the red-eye flights crossing the Atlantic ocean from North America to Europe. A sign we were getting close to the end of our first leg at sea. As the sun came up, the contrails changed from pink to yellow.
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Lone deck chair at dawn and the sun rising through the clouds. I found out that one of the traditions before arriving at a foreign port was a special event for Academic staff and Lifelong-learners (LLL) where we could order appetizers based on the food of the country we would be visiting. I would order two, and skip dinner, because they were always good.
It was another rough night with heavy seas. I got a picture of the waves outside my cabin portal. By dawn all of the water in the pool had sloshed out and the deck chairs were all tied down. During the day the wind reduced and the seas had calmed. By early evening the happy students escaping from cabin fever were out on deck for sunset. While shooting sunset, I looked behind and saw some students on the upper deck with the waxing Gibbous Moon in the sky next to them. I would watch out for this type of moon shot on subsequent Semester at Sea voyages. I am waiting for a camera and telephoto lens combination where both the people and moon are in focus (infinite depth of field, and infinite ISO, with no noise).
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.
Click on the above image to access the individual images in the slideshow.