Following the Disney Magic’s re-imagination last fall she spent a couple months sailing from PortMiami. This provided us with an opportunity to sail from Miami for the first time, and it was a night and day difference from our experience sailing from Port Canaveral. The major difference is obvious, PortMiami is in Miami, a city with a population nearing a half million. That alone is a drastic contract to Port Canaveral. I could go on about the differences between Port Canaveral and PortMiami, but in all honestly, I’m just using the comparison as setup for some photos I wanted to share.
During the day, the port’s location offers panoramic views of the Miami skyline, and makes for a nice background for your vacation photos.
The Miami skyline almost saves this photos of the dolphin following us out to sea.
In the evening, the Miami skyline comes alive in a rainbow of colors. Although we sailed away before sundown, the opportunity for night photography presented itself upon the ship’s return to port in the early morning hours. Originally, I planned to grab a cup of tea, and watch from the upper deck as we returned from the first leg of our trip. However, it was hard to resist the opportunity to shot some long exposures.
Unlike long exposures using a tripod on land where you can get silky light streaks from moving cars or a theme park ride, there is an added dynamic on a ship. It is reversed, the lights are fixed, and you are moving in multiple directions. The image below is a two minute exposure of the Disney Magic sailing into PortMiami.
Now, I do not know if i was falling asleep from my late night in the atrium, but I left the shutter open for 6 minutes while the Disney Magic was turning around in PortMiami’s main turning basin.
I like the long exposure shots, Scott. Our three previous cruises were aboard the Wonder, and I know I have a lot of shots of the same things. I’m looking forward to taking a lot of photos our December cruise on the Dream, not just for all of the differences in the ships, but to try some new techniques.
Shutterbug here, as well. I love the 6-min exposure. I’m dying to do some long shots of the fireworks against the stacks too, but don’t think a tripod would work well up there, and I can’t find a gorilla pod with enough grabbage to get around the railing, high enough to get it. That Aquadunk photo is awesome 😀
Thank you. I did not have an issue with a tripod on pirate night. I set up on the upper deck away from the crowd that was congregated between the stacks.
Were you aft of all the stacks? I found the crowds really tough in-between the front and back stack. I should have jaunted back further, but then decided to focus on the party since i had a front-row, balcony view. I keep wanting to check back further on the ship. I’m too chicken to experiment. lol
Yes. At some point I will get around to those photos. I know there is at least 1 good shot to share.
Yaaay! Looking forward to it!
Is that a dolphin in the shot with the buoy?
Yes.
Thanks for sharing!
Scott I know the traffic have to be bad in that area. Never been to Miami before. I think I will stick to Port Canaveral. After a long drive, who wants to get stuck in a lot of traffic. By the way your pictures looks very nice. Technology is amazing, is it?