Man on the boat

"As his boat rocks back and forth like a seesaw, owner of ELF, Rick Carrion gathers materials to change the oil beneath the cabin in Annapolis."

Sometimes you get lucky and having to shoot a docked boat two-weeks ago did not seem very exciting to me. I needed some luck.

Shooting stationary subjects such as buildings, cars, signs,boats, etc., etc., are fairly easy for the most part. Unless that is, you're trying to get a better vantage point.

When I was transmitting my first assignment from the local area Annapolis Panera Beard following my first assignment of the U.S. Naval Academy Vice Admiral Jeffrey L. Fowler, I was told to zoom by the downtown docks and look for "Elf" and grab a couple quick frames.

Apparently the Elf I was looking for didn't involve a horrible movie played by Will Ferrell. It was a 30-foot racing cutter built in 1888.

I had no idea what a racing cutter was, but was told ELF was anchored at the future site of the National Sailing Hall of Fame through Saturday. In addition, the boat is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is entered in the Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties. Plus, the National Sailing Hall of Fame would be one of Elf’s permanent homes on the Chesapeake Bay.

OK, so I am looking for an old racing cutter in a marina full of boats. To my dismay, and without any trouble, I located the boat.

One problem though. The boat was docked and had the most unimaginable, cluttered background. No matter where I shot the boat from, I was struggling to separate the boat from it's habitat.

I did my best to try and find angles that made the boat "pop" and before I left wanted to see if I could discover any closer angles. Luckily there was, and the dock which the boat was parked, was open to the public, getting me an up and personal glimpse.

Following a couple frames, I hear some footsteps on the boards of the dock.

"Hey, there! Go ahead, get on board if you'd like," said this gentlemen.

I was hesitant, so I asked who he was. He was Rick Carrion, the owner of ELF.

Inside I cheered aloud, I couldn't have been happier. Not only was I going to get some images I didn't think I was going to get, I could now try and incorporate a human element to the pedestrian, stale images I had taken of the boat earlier.

As Carrion readied his boat for a trip to Philadelphia the next morning, I hung out aboard his vessel making some frames him and his boat.

Now, I should mention. I've traveled every mode of legitimate transportation: trains in Tokyo, boats in Hawaii, taxis in New York City, cars everyday in Maryland, planes around the world, and bikes in the forest, to name a few.

But the vehicle of travel that makes me nauseated each and everytime I get on one are boats. I am not sure what led me to be this way, well, maybe the ginormous swells in Hawaii, but even the smallest of boats get me.

Let's just say I didn't last very long on Carrion's boat, especially when I was checking out below the deck, which was barely enough for two people.

I could feel the green starting to overcome my body.

Anyways, I was lucky to bump into the owner of the boat, and sometimes luck is all you can ask for in situations like these.