God Save the Queen

Southampton has a long and famous association with great Cruise Liners. The local economy derives a great deal from these superb vessels, and many locals take a great pride in "their" ships even though they may never have seen the insides of one. One of the greatest of them all is the Queen Elizabeth the Second. Today she left Southampton for the final time before heading to her new home and conversion to life as a floating hotel in Dubai. The people of Southampton bade her a very fond farewell. Today we also marked Armistice Day, 80 years on from the end of the Great War. The two minutes silence was marked by the dropping of one million poppies over the QE2, a fitting act for a ship that had served during the Falklands conflict. In 1982, she carried 3,000 troops from the Fifth Infantry Brigade and 650 volunteer crew to the south Atlantic. She was refitted in Southampton in preparation for war service, including the installation of three helicopter pads and the transformation of public lounges into dormitories. The Queen Mother, on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, welcomed her home. The Captain of the QE2 responded to the Queen Mother's welcome: "Please convey to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, our thanks for her kind message. Cunard's Queen Elizabeth 2 is proud to have been of service to Her Majesty's Forces."



Named as the successor to the Queen Elizabeth, the QE2 is named in honour of the Queen Mother, not Queen Elizabeth the second, and (confusingly) was launched by Queen Elizabeth the second in July of 1967. She weighs in at 70,327 tons and is 963 ft (294 m) long. While much smaller than modern cruise ships, she has a far more elegant visage than most. As she came into Southampton this morning she carried 1.700 passengers and 1,000 crew. Amongst the guests on board for the events throughout today was HRH Prince Phillip. While the eyes of many were on the QE2 those on board were taking in all that was going on around them.



Around 1:40pm the QE2 was given an aerial salute by a Harrier Jump Jet, another truly magnificent piece of engineering. The sense anticipation of seeing such an amazing machine over Southampton water, was more than matched by the reality. If only a photo could convey the sheer noise of the Harrier! The pilot flew her with grace and poise and it was a great way to celebrate the QE2's place in history.



The celebrations continued into the evening with the QE2 leaving her berth at 38/39 and the Queen Elizabeth 2 terminal to acknowledge the crowds at Mayflower Park and to be waved-off with a superb fireworks display. The noise of the explosions and the sounding of what seemed like every ship in Southampton's whistles made sure that even those who had not been able to see her off in person knew that this great lady of the seas was bidding a final farewell to her home of nearly 40 years. She will be greatly missed.

I Am The Sea

Is it me, for a moment?


Much of the time when I head out to take photos I make for Lepe Beach, one of my favourite places near Southampton. Just a stones throw away (well a couple of miles)is Calshot, with its activities centre, shingle beach and views dominated by Fawley power station. Having decided to put the Bronica camera to more use, I loaded up with several rolls of film both monochrome and colour slide film. (The slides will make an appearance here when they come back from being processed)



It was a glorious autumn afternoon with clear blue skies and dramatic side-light from the slowly setting sun. I hoped the sun would bring out plenty of detail in the landscape. I used Ilford Pan F, which is a low speed film sacrificing speed for very fine quality. Using the Bronica is a very tactile process. Manual focusing, hand-held light meter readings and careful composition using the focusing screen make this a very considered approach. Just 12 shots per roll of film makes you work harder before pressing the button.



The use of a tripod and using non-zoom lenses makes you think more about your subject, and is initially a constraint. That constraint actually becomes a freedom and liberation of the mind, freeing you to avoid the obvious and tune yourself to a different way of seeing. The last picture in this series to be taken was the picnic table, a shot which shouted out to be taken. It will be interesting to see how the slides turn out, as working in colour seems so different after a couple of hours of tuning into a monochrome view of the world. I'm also going to think about applying some toning effects to these images, so you may get to see them again in a different way soon.