Scenic -
Impact
Being below decks, you would never guess that this storm raged outside.
The Healy is certainly the most stable ship I have ever experienced.
Autumn in the Arctic means polar lows - hurricane-like low pressure
systems that whip the seas into a frenzy. This particular storm carried
sustained winds of around 50 knots.
To get this shot, I (very carefully) made my way up on top of the
bridge so I could look down on the bow. Since we were traveling at
about 10 knots directly into the wind, the apparent wind was gusting
to somewhere between 60-70 knot winds, which was strong enough to
occasionally move me. Since my fleece hat and gloves were doing nothing
to keep my head and hands warm, I crouched down out of the wind until
the ship hit a particularly large wave, then ran up to the railing
and shot down as fast as I could. Another problem was the sea spray,
which was being carried 70 feet upwards to where I was standing -
between every set of shots I would have to clean the camera and lens
off. This was a tough shot.
Technical information:
Camera: Nikon D100
Lens: Sigma 14mm f/2.8
Film: Compactflash
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