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North Sea Oil Rig #1

Oil rig and support vessel in the North Sea, photographed from the P&O cruise liner Azura

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The story behind this image

One of the things I really like about cruise liners is that by sailing on one you get to see sights from a nautical perspective that are only available by being on the sea.

Add to that the ability to photograph in comfort on a relatively stable platform and you've got a winning formula for getting some unique images.

Such as this photograph of a North Sea oil rig, with attendant support vessel, that I was priviledged to be able to shoot in-between sips of coffee from the promenade deck of the P&O liner Azura as she sailed southwards back to Southhampton from Iceland.

Add bright, sunny weather and calm seas to the mix and it's easy to see why the deck was lined with passengers busily clicking away on their smartphones as we sailed past.

But I reckon my Canon 6D full frame DSLR and 400mm zoom still has the advantage in a situation like this however!

Of the few dozen images I took of this rig, this one is my favourite, being both sharp and with the most pleasing composition, with the legs of the oil rig and the large crane each having their own space, without overlapping.

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Image data

Filename - north sea oil rig 01

Camera - Canon 6D

Lens - 100-400mm zoom @ 400mm

Exposure - 1/500 sec @ f8, ISO400

Filters - None

Location - P&O liner Azura, North Sea

This image - 800x533px JPEG

Conversion - Adobe Lightroom

Comments - Fast shutter speed and lens stabilisation used to prevent blur from camera movement