A sole Moran Towing tugboat rests amidst the fog in the Portsmouth waterfront. With all of the heat and humidity we’ve been seeing here in the seacoast, there have been many foggy and moody mornings. Here is a profile of a tugboat with one of my favorite parts of town – the decks! Happy Friday and happy summer to all.
A Moran Towing tugboat escorts the Rhourd Enouss from Monrovia back towards the Atlantic Ocean. The lighting was not great mid-day, but the view was still awesome as this massive vessel was guided by the Roderick McAllister (in from New York, NY).
Sometimes you happen to be in the right place at the right time. Usually I try very hard to plot out where I’ll visit to shoot in the evenings/mornings. I recently got back into town and was hungry for some food, so I thought I’d head to Loco Coco’s in Kittery for a good burrito…and on my way towards downtown I noticed that the Middle Bridge’s lift span was up. This is usually a good sign for someone who likes hunting freighters/tugboats along the Piscataqua. An even better sign was when I got to Market Street downtown I saw something beyond the Memorial Bridge that looked like a subtly lit cloud on the horizon, nice and orange with a pinkish hue – sometimes this happens when a solitary cloud is left behind with the sunset blasting it with some last minute daylight.
As I got closer, I thought I might have lucked out and caught a moonrise…I recently bought an awesome app for my iPhone – The Photographer’s Ephemeris, which basically tells you what angle the sun/moon is coming up/going down at when a location is selected. It’s been a wonderful tool – but this time the au naturale drive without any supplementary technology rewarded me with a gorgeous humongous moonrise over the shipyard as this freighter was escorted under the Memorial by a tug. Talk about sensory overload…hope to get more photos ready for later in the week!
The afternoon this shot was taken happened to be one of those perfectly timed opportune moments. I had just filled up on gas over on Islington Street and was heading towards the Congress/Middle/Islington/Maplewood intersection and happened to see the bridge span lifted all the way to the top (a rare occasion in the summer, particularly as high as it was).
I decided that instead of heading directly home, I ought to head up State Street towards Prescott Park to see if there might be some interesting nautical traffic. I happened to be in luck, and this massive beauty was just approaching the Memorial Bridge…and this girl must have been as interested in catching a glimpse of the boat as I was – since she ran all the way to the end of the pier to watch and enjoy the view. The umbrella with the cloud cover along with the bright ship made for a beautiful shot. Here’s another version below with an antique processing/feel – which do you like better?
The sunrise illuminates the sky above the Middle (Sarah Long) and the Piscataqua River Bridges over the Piscataqua River as the early morning light hits the bricks of Harbor Place. The special guest is the Creole Miss, a distinctively blue tugboat that makes its home here in Portsmouth, NH.
Another shot below with a more vintage feel and some different processing:
Harbor Place got a special visitor today, Theodore Too of the TV show Theodore Tugboat. The rather adorable tugboat must be a hit with kids, as while I was snapping this shot I heard a very happy camper excited to see it from his parents car as they were driving by. Stop by to check it out…
Meanwhile, I took a shot of the main entrance to Harbor Place…where you’ll find local firms Wiggin & Nourie as well as the new home of the Portsmouth Museum of Fine Art. I hope to have another post up soon from my recent visit to the PMFA.
Harbor Place got a special visitor today, Theodore Too of the TV show Theodore Tugboat. The rather adorable tugboat must be a hit with kids, as while I was snapping this shot I heard a very happy camper excited to see it from his parents car as they were driving by. Stop by to check it out…
Meanwhile, I took a shot of the main entrance to Harbor Place…where you’ll find local firms Wiggin & Nourie as well as the new home of the Portsmouth Museum of Fine Art. I hope to have another post up soon from my recent visit to the PMFA.
One of the freighters visiting further upstream in the Piscataqua River from the NH State Pier making its way back towards Portsmouth Harbor. Moran Towing escorts the freighter in the fleeting afternoon hours towards the Atlantic Ocean. Seen below is the Harpoon Willy’s waterfront deck.
One of the freighters visiting further upstream in the Piscataqua River from the NH State Pier making its way back towards Portsmouth Harbor. Moran Towing escorts the freighter in the fleeting afternoon hours towards the Atlantic Ocean. Seen below is the Harpoon Willy’s waterfront deck.
Like James Brown was the hardest working man in showbusiness, this boat might be the hardestworking Tug in Portsmouth Harbor. These things have unbelievable engines, and travel in pairs to guide the gigantic freighters through the windy and narrow Piscataqua River and through Portsmouth Harbor. Stop in to visit the folks at Tugboat Alley on Bow Street to hear more history and about the innerworkings of the boats. Lots of folks come down to the decks to enjoy a beverage (or two), or eat their ice cream on the city’s deck next to Poco’s and admire the tugboats.
Full size here: FLICKR
THE DAILY PORTSMOUTH 