Re-tired

I am usually corrected when I post something about this.  But...

The image from the bridge cam has changed and no longer shows the tractor tug in the drydock.  In checking a marine traffic website it shows the ship alongside a dock, facing eastbound.  In checking Google Earth it appears that the ship is docked, still in the water, facing eastbound.  My guess, subject to correction, is that they are doing work on the starboard side of the ship and they can access if from shore and do not need to take the ship out of the water.  But, I've had a glass of wine and there are much more knowledgeable folks here that may know better.  You have eleven days but we have fourteen.  I guess you will be the road test before our cruise...

It appears that she has been repositioned and is now facing east with the starboard side alongside the dock.  

The adjacent drydock is being emptied and blocking is in place...

Well, it sounds like you know what you are doing.  Good luck and have a great trip.

Two seconds might work out just fine.  I have done some time lapse in Glacier Bay and the Panama Canal.  At that speed, and playing back at 30fps I think you would end up with two minutes and twenty seconds of video.  I have done some at .5  and that has worked for me, although the files are a bit bigger.  On the ship I have used a tripod on the balcony and a GoPro clamp on the railing.  Both worked fine.  The larger issue may be battery capacity.  On my Hero 4 I had an external battery that attached to the case and maintained a watertight seal.  The newer 6 or 7 is more of a challenge to keep dry.  If there is no rain then you can use any USB power source.  Waterproof power extenders are available, B&H has one for $60.  Play with it before you get to Hubbard Glacier and see what works for you.

Tom

My experience has been that you can ask them to do your photo gear by hand, with no x-ray.  I travel with film and have had only one issue with the TSA.  Unfortunately it was at Fairbanks airport and happened at 4am.  The TSA fellow emptied my entire photo backpack onto a table and individually x-rayed and bomb scanned every body, lens, and filter. After nearly 40 minutes he lectured me on using camera gear that was too dense for the TSA and told me that if it had been busy I would have missed my 6am flight.  Despite this one guy, I have always found that a smile and cooperative attitude make screening gear a piece of cake.  I did finally break down and buy digital gear for trips involving flying.

I have used Lensrental a few times and it is a great way to go.  They'll even rent you the correct size polarizing filter to go with whatever lens you end up with.

Interesting topic.  I have always taken pictures, partly because my dad was in the camera business.  For a time photography was part of my work, but not the primary function.  A few decades ago I became serious about photography as a method of escape from my work reality.  Photography became total escape for me, spending weeks in beautiful places soaking it in and making a few exposures.  Although I do shoot with a digital camera my passion is still large format black and white film.  I'm amazed at the ease with which I can create a wonderful print from digital images or scanned film.  But it does not provide the personal satisfaction that I get from spending time in the darkroom making a print by hand.  Since I never had to do this in order to make the house payment it does not feel like work to me.  If I had spent my working years in the dark with stinky chemicals I would never step foot in a darkroom again.

I, too, don't commit photography to satisfy others.  I do it for my own personal enjoyment/satisfaction.  If someone else gets some pleasure, or more importantly, a smile from my work, then I'm even happier.  I don't do social media so most of my photography is aimed at something I can print and hang on the wall.  

When our parents passed we inherited boxes and boxes of pictures of unidentified people.  I feel bad disposing of them so I will most likely leave them in my sisters garage and not say anything.  

Photography has been my escape from reality and entry into a new world of friends, mentors, and other creative people.  It's been raining for a few days and I have spent some quality time in the dark listening to music and making prints.

Well, despite our well meaning advice it looks like you did a great job.  The face-plant landscape is a wonderful image with a swell story.

Both of the round-trips were on the Island Princess.  On one trip we anchored in Gatun Lake.  That was when we toured the new locks.   On the previous trip we anchored off Panama City.  That is when we did the Mira Flores Locks  and museum tour.  On each of these trips it was a little bit hard to plan in advance as the canal schedule depended upon the actual schedule the Canal Authority imposed on the ship.  We just kept an eye on the schedule and worked with it.  Sometimes it seems that they send the ship northbound and then turn it around and send it southbound on the same day.  The last time they sent us northbound and we anchored overnight, going southbound the next day.  No matter what they do, I don't think you will be disappointed.

We've done this trip twice, and both times did excursions.  Last time, a year or so ago, we toured the new locks.  The ship was anchored in Gatun Lake at the time.  The previous trip we anchored off Panama City and were offered several tours including a very nice one of the Mira Flores Locks Museum and another one that included a small boat ride through the locks.  Both cruses were incredible.

Well, if you want perspective check this out.

https://www.markholtzman.com/Sports/Football/2019-Rose-Bowl-Ohio-State-vs-Washington/i-bG58gn5

Mark flies over events and takes photos out the open window of his Cessna.  He claims it is just luck, but he has been very consistent for several years.  The airspace around/over these events is restricted so he flies above the restriction and has a safety pilot fly while he is shooting.

It involves planning, dealing with very competent pilots and reducing the variables.  For a stadium event the biggest variable is the performance of the National Anthem.  If you can determine that in advance then you can set the timing for the flyover.  Once the time for the flyover is set it becomes a fairly simple time/speed/distance calculation. For this event the timing is determined well in advance.  The program leading up to it has several instances where we can catch up or slow down if some portion goes long or short.  The airplane is pretty much committed about five minutes out and can make only minor timing adjustments from that point.  So we can adjust the show timing right up to the start of the Anthem.  When it starts on time time the airplane usually hits the mark.  

In the event the sun does come out you might like to have a polarizing filter.  Also, read up on exposure compensation when photographing snow.  The camera will attempt to make all of that white snow into 18% grey.  A bit of overexposure and help move the snow back into white, from grey.

It starts slow and ends fast...

We did it with our travel agent arranging the details.  It worked great. The Sheraton with a view of the falls was worth every dollar.  Her best advice was to spend two nights at the falls.  The rationale was that we did not want to do the boat ride under the falls and fly back the same day.  By spending an additional night we were able to shower and change to dry clean clothes.   The falls are beautiful, but the water is full of jungle.  Dead, rotting jungle.  Even my flip-flops stunk.  But it was an incredible experience, would do it again in a heartbeat.

The Sheraton is a bit remote, but a very nice place.  The restaurant was fine, the bar was great, and the view of the falls was amazing.

Well, that makes sense.  GoPro had a $100 rebate for a new 6 so I sold my 4 to my brother-in-law and bought the 6.  It is a huge improvement, especially the stabilization.  We went to Iguazu Falls earlier this year and the in-camera stabilization worked wonders in the ride to the falls.   

I'm not a rabid camera buyer, most of my gear is decades old and uses large pieces of film. But for some strange reason I like having the latest GoPro even though I don't use it enough to justify the expense.  I'm charging the batteries for a weekend of fun at Willowsprings.

8 hours ago, Loonbeam said:

Which is why I use my balcony more often than not or ask permission to put it somewhere out of easy reach (like a railing in a non-public area - I have surprisingly good luck with that request if not always the best positioning if they do it).  If I have it in public areas I tend to stay near it and use my regular camera at the same time.

 

Wow, thanks for the idea.  We are heading out in March and May so I will try your method.  If it gets swiped I will lobby for the new Hero7...

10 hours ago, Loonbeam said:

Thats why I like the gorillapod method.  I can set it up somewhere that's out of people's view.  I've had staff even help me mount it in places not normally accessible.

 

I did use a clamp but my life experience just won't let me leave gear where some malcontent can take it.  If it's going to leave my sight it pretty much has to be disposable.  Maybe I need therapy...

I seem to get carried away with the time-lapse video's, too. There is a lengthy story about setting up on forward facing deck two hours early and then dealing with some pushy lady who showed up mid-transit, but that's not for here.  I don't use the GoPro enough, but it does a very good job when I finally get it out

.Panama Canal Video

South America/Cape Horn is an incredible journey.  At fourteen days it would stretch your timeline, but well worth it.  The destinations are so varied that each day is a different adventure.  Buenos Aires is an incredibly modern city with great history and the trip just gets better from there.  We stopped in Uruguay and the Falklands before heading to Cape Horn and on, with a few stops, to Santiago, Chile.  An absolutely incredible journey.

Spent the week in the Eastern Sierras.

The whole transit would be tough.  I used an external battery on a canal transit and it worked fine.  The battery would depend upon which model GoPro you have.  It can be important that the battery not compromise the waterproof aspect of the camera as it rains every day.  

https://youtu.be/FUmbCbv-CE8

Just trying out the new setup...