To Cruise Or Not To Cruise

Engaged in a little site reconnaisance for the 2013 version of Vivid this evening with some photo buddies. We spent two hours on a cruise ship seeing Vivid from the water, or valiantly attempting to at any rate. The ship departed from Darling Harbour, travelled past Luna Park, underneath the Harbour Bridge, past the Opera House and back to Darling Harbour. It was somewhat disappointing as the seating was less than desirable - in long rows with no tables, flashing lights and droning music, as well as a consistent flow of people walking in front of us to get to the bar. Photo opportunities were extremely restricted as people jostled for the best vantage point. And as for the food !!! It would have been necessary to crash tackle most of the waiters as they charged by in an endeavour to get the food to those seated upstairs. In spite of these little glitches, it was fun to be out with friends sharing experiences, with plenty of opportunities for laughs.

My friends departed to return another night but my thirst for a few decent shots remained unquenched, so caught the ferry from Darling Harbour back to Circular Quay. Realised very quickly that the view from the ferry (which was free) was superior to the Cruise and it was people free where I was seated. Bliss. Ah well - experience is the best teacher.

 image source: http://www.vividsydney.com/

The Harbour Bridge is always involved in some way in the celebrations

I've realised that Vivid is as much about timing and patience as it is about a visual spectacular. I can't see how you'd do justice to the experience with one visit. It's necessary to spend time viewing each installation to allow the cycle to complete and to decide which component is worth capturing. Some of the installations are not continuous, so you also may miss out on one if you're charging through. Having said that, I think I'm the odd one out yet again because I've become a tad numbed by light shows over the years and I think it's a case of seen one seen them all to a certain extent. I won't dismiss Vivid without at least one more visit however and this time I'll make sure I have my wide angle lens with me because it's impossible to get back far enough to capture some of the buildings completely in frame. Perhaps this is the time to give my new Fisheye its inaugural evaluation :-)