Any Ship Spotters Out There?

[shamrock838]

Greetings,

In addition to aircraft spotting ... I'm also into ship spotting ... especially since I have access to New York Harbor.

Best spotting sites I've found to date include: Battery Park ... back and forth on the Staten Island Ferry ... St George and north shore in Staten Island ... along the Shore Promenade in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn ... 69th Street (Veteran's Memorial) Pier also in Bay Ridge.

I'm interested in interfacing with individual ship spotters ... ship spotting groups and forums ... etc.

Current ship spotting specialties include: ocean-going commercial ships ... tugboats ... unusual harbor craft ... etc.

Thanks.

Mike (shamrock838)

[T-Bird76]

I've always found shipping to be fascinating myself, more so passenger ships. I've have a rather nice collection of original Cunard and French Line posters I have hanging throughout my house, I'll try posting some pics of them next week when i return. Even today's modern superliners are amazing to me that something that big can float.

[Tom_Turner]

Tommy, Mike - We need to hang out.

I've taken images of a couple thousand ships & tugs in the last couple of years.

Staten Island is the place to be for that.

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/370191.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/302934.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/12819.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/311271.jpg

How is this for a livery...?

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/370787.jpg

Tom

[Derf]

:D :D :D :D :D I am never in the right place for those type of shots!
Bravo, Would love to see more if you have handy.

[hiss srq]

I love ships but have no idea where to go to get em etc etc..... I just tag along with my fathr to the ports sometimes when he goes.

[Derf]

I would love to get a shot of a carrier under the Varazano!!! That would put a smile on my face for a week! :)

[AirtrafficController]

awesome pics nice to see departing cruise ships in the NY harbor on a summer saturday

[Bellucciman]

I installed photo equipment on the Crown Princess!

[PhilDernerJr]

I wouldhave paid money to see Tom Turner's face when seeing this thread. I know how much he is into ships, too. Great shots Tom!

[cancidas]

hey tom, can you post up the pix of the intrepid again?

[Tom_Turner]

Thanks Guys... I always have more... :) There are some differences, but its not really too different at its heart, than planespotting.

Intrepid Move..
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/321856.jpg

Norwegian Spirit
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/214935.jpg

A sinking Ship.... haha.. not really
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/405255.jpg

Fire Fighter
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/296614.jpg

An oldie in Brooklyn
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/372819.jpg

QM2
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/11528.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/220025.jpg

Tall Ship
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/10570.jpg

Heavy Lift
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/24255.jpg

TugBoats
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/319354.jpg

a Relic
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/224278.jpg

a Car Carrier
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/40503.jpg

A Really Busy Day..
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/136337.jpg

A Bulker in Brooklyn
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/393763.jpg

NAVY
http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/236661.jpg

[stuart schechter]

There's a Harrier in that garage or a helo right?

[hiss srq]

It would be a UH60 or a CH53 no harriers on those ships.

[shamrock838]

I've always found shipping to be fascinating myself, more so passenger ships. I've have a rather nice collection of original Cunard and French Line posters I have hanging throughout my house, I'll try posting some pics of them next week when i return. Even today's modern superliners are amazing to me that something that big can float.

T-Bird76,

I'd like very much to see these posters. I remember the old Cunard advertising slogan fom back when ... "Getting There Is Half the Fun"!

Mike (shamrock838)

[shamrock838]

Tommy, Mike - We need to hang out.

I've taken images of a couple thousand ships & tugs in the last couple of years.

Staten Island is the place to be for that.

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/370191.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/302934.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/12819.jpg

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/311271.jpg

How is this for a livery...?

http://media.shipspotting.com/uploads/photos/370787.jpg

Tom

Tom,

Fantastic shots ... from the Staten Island side, yes?

I sometimes ride the SI Ferry back and forth to capture some of the harbor craft ... I'm especially into tugs and they seem to be all over.

BTW ... my wife and I are actually planning to move to Bay Ridge next spring. She has a single brother there ... we both l-o-v-e the area ... and I'll have the Shore Esplanade with it's vistas ... fresh ocean air ... and ships, ships, ships.

Even now I go down there when I have some vacation time. Alas ... I usually get there in the afternoon when the sun's against me ... so a lot of the incoming / outgoing ships are backlit. But ... post-editing usually brings out the details. Once we live in Bay Ridge I'll be able to get down to the shore earlier when the light is at my back.

An exception was Fleet Week when I was over there in the morning to catch the Navy ships arriving. Perfect lighting for that! The next day I took the SI Ferry over to St George and the SIR to Stapleton to visit the five ships moored there for open house. I went aboard the CG-66 Aegis cruiser "Hue City" ... where photography was actually encouraged! I got some nifty shots of all the ships from dockside ... including the US Navy destroyer "Winston S Churchill" ... singular honor that!

Last month I took the SI Ferry to St George and got the S40 bus for a survey trip along SI's north shore to scout out photo vantage points along Richmond Terrace and the Kill Van Kull. I got off at Arlington and caught an S40 going back. The North Shore Espanade just west of St George has great viewing possibilities with a nifty Manhattan background ... though shipping traffic was light at the time. Further west the view is mostly blocked off except for Faber Park near the Bayonne Bridge ... which I didn't explore at the time. I did pass a couple of interesting "tug bases" but they looked off-limits to photog visitors.

Whenever I'm on the SI ferry to St George I always check the distant shipping between SI and Bay Ridge down to the V-N Bridge. If it looks especially interesting ... I take the SIR down to Grasmere ... catch the S53 over the bridge into 86th Street Bay Ridge and get the B16 (or walk) over to the shore. I then usually wend my way up to the 69th Street (Vet Memorial) Pier at Owl's Head where it juts offshore. I'm gotten some nice shots from there.

All this is when I'm taking a break from LGA and JFK aircraft spotting. Aircraft and ships have always been dual photo interests for me!

I do have specific questions about New York Harbor and its shipping that I'll save for another e-mail. And ... yes ... I would be interested in getting together for some ship shooting sometime soon. Perhaps the best place to meet might be inside the St George Ferry Terminal? Thanks.

Mike (shamrock838)

[shamrock838]

I would love to get a shot of a carrier under the Varazano!!! That would put a smile on my face for a week! :)

Derf,

I took some of the USS Wasp taken May 23 as she entered NY Harbor for Fleet Week. I can e-mail these to you directly as I'm still undecided on how best to upload images to these forums.

Mike (shamrock838)

[Tom_Turner]

Mike, that shot of the WASP sounds great; you were certainly on the right side for it.

Certainly would be nice to get aircraft carriers through the Narrows, but unfortunately, I am believe NYC will not allow nuke carriers so that limits us to just a couple of genuine carriers, and when we get those typically most of the aircraft have been removed.

An exception might be when we get a foreign carrier that is scheduled for tours...like HMS Invincible a couple of years back..came in with full complement of aircraft on deck.

Tom

[NYCMedic]

Wow... A lot of memories in those pics. My Dad was a Longshoreman/Pier Superintendant for 45 years. I used to tag along with him to work and actually worked as a Longshoreman for a few summers during College. The Containerships and car carriers are so massive. When I worked Brooklyn South as a Medic I used to park my Ambulance under the VZ or up on Shore RD and watch the ships for hours....

[Derf]

if you send it to me at [email protected] , I will post. Thanks for the offer! -Fred