BIGMA ! :: Fotopic.Net

BIGMA !

18th December 2006

Here is another gallery from. I guess this will be the last one of the year. It's been a good year overall. I've gotten more shipspotting in this year than I can remember for a long time.

My photography has come on leaps and bounds since getting back into it in the new year - or at least I personally believe it has. I started out with a 5MP Minolta Dimage 7, then in February I picked up an 8MP Nikon 8700 which was the mainstay of my photography for this year. Then in August I splashed out on a Samsung GX-1L DSLR which really give my photography a real kick in the ass. I've had to work hard at it to get decent shots out of the Samsung but it's a whole different league and I hope that the images in the later part of these collections reflect this.

With christmas nearly upon us I got what I hope to be my main lens for years to come. A SIGMA 50-500mm f4.0-6.3 zoom lens. It's big heavy bugger at almost 2kg but early tests have shown it to be tack sharp and lightning fast on the AF.

All the shots in this gallery were taken with the BIGMA, as it is commonly known. Unfortunately the weather got the better of me slightly and instead of the glorious sunshine I was hoping for I got that along with some serious mist which hampered photography a little. It was also bloody freezing on the shoreline at Paull but I managed to pull a few decent shots off with it.

I travelled up to Paull on the bus. East Yorkshire #78 from the stand at the side of the Guildhall on Alfred Gelder Street. This service passes Guildhall at 34mins past the hour / each hour.

Once at Paull I got set up on the end of the seawall with my tripod and awaited the first of the river traffic. As high water was 1645 I arrived around 1400 to catch the smaller stuff for Goole and the Trent as it would be dark by HW at Hull.

As I said the sun was shining but there were heavy mist patches and it was bitterly cold.

On VHF I heard the PRIDE OF BRAILLA report in at Sand Spit and knew she would be along shortly. The tug HT SWORD was coming up from KGD followed closely by the HUMBER PROGRESS. HT Sword stopped of 19A buoy whilst the Humber Progress carried on to Immingham.

My old man arrived to partake in the shipspotting shortly after the Brailla passed.

HT SWORD treated us to a display of her firefighting capabilities whilst she was sat out of the buoy. Very impressive stuff.

From New Holland outwards was the small coaster the EST. At first I though she looked a little like the Oak. Taking her place on New Holland was another regular, the CROWNBREEZE.

From KGD we saw another tug. This time the Connie. She passed by and sat in position along with the Sword. We had guessed that there was a tanker due for SEJ. We guessed wrong!

Out of the mist loomed a massive bulker of the POLSTEAM fleet. The Polish ZIEMIA TARNOWSKA (16705/85) imo 8207795. Rock on! considering that my internet connection had gone down and I couldn't access PAVIS to see what was coming it was just pure luck that I caught her. Of all the vessels that visit Hull docks, these are my favourites. So, along with the bulker was the LADY STEPHANIE and the LAURA. LADY CONSTANCE also took up the tow on the head.

Whilst this was going on there was the most amazing skies above her. Three plumes of condensation from Killingholme were rising above her almost vertical as there was very little wind. An orange glow from the sun of a dying day added to this spectacular view. To top off it was all reflected in a glasslike river humber.

The SOMMEN passed inward to Alex Dock, Hull but was pretty much totally obscured by the ZT. I got a couple of shots off at her but nothing great.

Around 1530 when I had seen everything we went home to get warmed up.

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With that I want to wish everybody that has visited this site in the past 12 months a Very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. Special wishes to my Shipspotting companions - Dave Evans (my dad), Dave Calvert, Dave Smith, Phil Simpson, Robert and his dad and all the other barmy buggers who spend hours on the riverside! Stay safe and i'll see you all next year.

Regards,
Mick

1024x681 Crownbreeze.jpg 2006-12-17 16:09:47	1024x681 Crownbreeze__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:10:19	1024x681 Crownbreeze__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:11:09	1024x681 Crownbreeze__3_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:11:57
1024x681 Crownbreeze__4_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:12:40	1024x681 Crownbreeze__5_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:13:56	1024x681 Crownbreeze___Connie.jpg 2006-12-17 16:14:38	1024x681 CRownbreeze___HT_Sword.jpg 2006-12-17 16:10:57
1024x681 Est.jpg 2006-12-17 15:43:40	1024x681 Est__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:43:18	1024x681 Est__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:45:56	1024x681 HT_Sword.jpg 2006-12-17 15:21:20
1024x609 HT_Sword__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:21:29	1024x681 HT_Sword__2_.jpg 2006-12-17 15:22:09	1024x681 HT_Sword__3_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:22:19	1024x681 HT_Sword__4_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:22:54
1024x681 HT_Sword__5_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:10:22	1024x681 HT_Sword__6_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:10:29	1024x681 HT_Sword__7_.jpg 2006-12-17 16:27:09	1024x681 HT_Sword__8_.jpg 2006-12-17 16:27:14
1024x681 HT_Sword__9_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:45:07	1024x681 HT_Sword__B_W_.jpg 2006-12-17 15:22:19	1024x681 Humber_Progress.jpg 2006-12-17 15:21:44	1024x681 Humber_Progress__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:23:05
1024x681 Humber_Progress__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:23:47	1024x681 Humber_Progress__3_.jpg 2006-12-17 15:24:51	1024x501 Humber_Progress__4_.jpg 2006-12-17 15:30:17	1024x681 Lady_Constance.jpg 2006-12-17 16:13:38
1024x681 Lady_Constance__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:14:02	1024x681 Lady_Constance__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:17:35	1024x681 Lady_Constance__3_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:15:18	1024x681 Lady_Constance__4_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:17:47
1024x681 Lady_Constance__5_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:19:26	1024x681 Lady_Stephanie.jpg 2006-12-17 16:23:23	1024x681 Lady_Stephanie__1_.jpg 2006-12-17 16:20:23	1024x681 Pride_Of_Brailla.jpg 2006-12-17 15:41:23
1024x681 Pride_Of_Brailla__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:41:41	1024x681 Pride_Of_Brailla__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:43:26	1024x681 Pride_Of_Brailla__3_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:43:33	1024x681 Pride_Of_Brailla__4_.JPG 2006-12-17 15:44:15
1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska.jpg 2006-12-17 16:16:30	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__1_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:17:57	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__2_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:19:47	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__3_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:20:09
1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__4_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:20:57	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__5_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:21:52	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__6_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:23:09	1024x681 Ziemia_Tarnowska__7_.JPG 2006-12-17 16:25:19