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Symphony OTS Live! - Transatlantic Oct. 28, 2018 "Coming to America"


twangster

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Day 3 - Hairspray

Let me start by saying I'm not into musicals.  In the past if I were asked to go to a musical I would rank it right there with "Go to the hair salon with me" or "Help me pick out a dress".  When Hairspray was first announced for Symphony of the Seas I paid it little attention because I had somewhat already decided to pass.

Since that time I have be able to go on a number of back stage entertainment tours on various Royal ships.  On those I learned a lot of technical details and the level of effort that Royal Caribbean puts into its shows.   When Symphony first started sailing earlier this, Hairspray was getting pretty great reviews.  Consequently I settled on taking in this show, after all, we have 12 nights on this sailing so why not?

I'll let the pictures tell the story.

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The music was good, the vocals were strong and the cast did a great job.  I never found it dragging or felt the need to come up with an excuse to leave.  It was a great performance and I highly recommend it, even for the non-musical types. 

If you've sailed Harmony and you couldn't find an excuse to book Symphony this just may be it.

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8 minutes ago, Matt said:

What lens did you use for the Hairspray photos? I always struggle with show photos in terms of getting not fuzzy photos and especially lighting.

Wide angle shots from my RX100M6 combined with a 70-300mm zoom on my A7III. 

The trick is setting a high enough shutter speed while not pushing the ISO too far.  With it's low noise profile the A7III does at great job for this use case.

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Thanks @Matt for asking that question and @twangster for the answer.  I have been wondering the same with the fabulous photos of both the ice show and musical.  Can you go any further into the deep dark proprietary details on what ISO / Shutter combo you used on some of the shots?

Also a quick thanks for the live blog in general.  Wonderful work as always!

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8 minutes ago, mvannie said:

Thanks @Matt for asking that question and @twangster for the answer.  I have been wondering the same with the fabulous photos of both the ice show and musical.  Can you go any further into the deep dark proprietary details on what ISO / Shutter combo you used on some of the shots?

Also a quick thanks for the live blog in general.  Wonderful work as always!

A shutter speed of 1/250th for a show like Hairspray minimize blur as the cast moves. 

I leave my ISO on auto so depending on lighting it will vary shot to shot.  A film concept, ISO values increase with sensitivity.  The problem is so does grain and noise.  In full outdoor lighting 100 ISO yields very little grain or noise.  In the dark, at 6,400 ISO there is more noise with a digital camera.  Since I shoot in RAW I have to remove that noise in Lightroom.  Newer cameras have a better ISO noise profile so you can push the limits well past where you could with older digital cameras and the result is the photos you see.  A number are shot at ISO 6,400 the cap I have set for my camera.  It can go higher but I find 6,400 provides good results that are easy to fix in post.

I also shoot in burst mode, taking many pictures very quickly.  Later I can step through them like frames in a video and find the best facial expressions.

To be even better full manual would work best but given that I am on a cruise there is often some drinking involved so partial automation usually gets me in the right neighborhood so I can fix it later which is the main benefit of shooting in RAW.

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I had a 6pm My Time reservation that I skipped so I could see Hairspray.  I went to the My Time non-reservation line since it was well past my reservation at this point.  At 8:15pm through 8:35pm I had moved about 20'.  Still 20' from the hostess stand I gave up and went to the Windjammer for dinner.  It too was busy but typical for an Oasis class Windjammer.

The rock of Gibraltar and our pass through the Straits was approaching.  I didn't want to be sitting in a dining room even if I could only see distant lights on shore.

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Here is our position as we approached the Strait of Gibraltar:

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I tried to venture up top but found the upper decks closed due to high winds so I headed to deck 5, the running track.

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That pyramid looking object is the rock of Gibraltar. 

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At this point we were in the Strait of Gibraltar and you could see lights on both sides.

Africa on the port side:

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Spain and the rock of Gibraltar on the starboard side:

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Walking a few steps, Africa on the port side:

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Just now, J_Keeble said:

will it be like this going forward?

I had to come up with something quick for this voyage due to changes on the blog and viewing photos from other sources.  As I sat in Barcelona looking for a place I could store photos and have them available for access where ever I pick, the one I chose was an old default.  

Storing content is often a picky subject, I regret IMGUR is blocked by your work place.  Not sure what I'll do going forward.

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3 hours ago, monctonguy said:

damn..none of these pics open for me......in Explorer or Chrome.....strange....all the other live blogs do and previous blogs by  @twangster have for me....and I have tried on 2 different computers now.....

 

Disappointed..I KNOW I am missing out on some great pics!:37_disappointed:

Weird. Photos load just fine for me.

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Thanks alot for the video! I love captain Rob and love these presentations. I know uploading that video from the ship must have taken ages but very much appreciated sharing it with us.

Also I had no problem viewing the photos and they are great as usual!

Let us know how rough the sea is after you ventured into the Atlantic.

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Define "motion".

Yes, there was some pitch (front to back) and some roll (left-right) associated with minor jostling like one would get riding a subway or train.  I am all the way aft so if it is going to felt, you would feel it here.  There is 'some' movement' but like a bartender said to me, it's better than what he has experienced on smaller ships. 

The Atlantic is rarely flat on any transatlantic.  It happens occasionally where some transatlantic sailing is perfectly calm the entire way, but many times there is "motion in the ocean".    If you are thinking about a transatlantic I would be ready for small to moderate seas.  I sleep through this stuff without batting an eye but other's may not.  

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Day 4 - Sea Day

Finally out of the rain (for the most part).  A little bit of 'motion in the ocean' in approximately 14' seas.  This is the first morning I didn't sleep in past 9:30am.

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Time for breakfast at Johnny Rockets.

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Included in the cruise fare for breakfast only, it's a great breakfast venue and since I can see it from my cabin, it was calling me this morning.

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Cooked to order Omelette 

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Plus some french toast

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Yum.

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Noted some new screens on the cabin TV.

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Our progress up to this point:

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With some time to kill before the Halloween party in the promenade I went to the Wonderland Bar.  A lot people don't know you can visit the bar like any other bar on the ship.  You don't have to eat at Wonderland to visit the bar.  They have some unique concoctions in the Wonderland theme.

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They have a table in the bar area that serves as a waiting area.

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Like the restaurant the bar menu is also unique and backlit.

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Down the Rabbit Hole:

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The Smoke Rings cocktail is made with real smoke.

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Mmmm.  Good.  With a hint of oak wood smoke.

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40 minutes ago, twangster said:

I had the Moroccan Spiced Ahi Tuna Steak on another ship recently and it was much better both in presentation and in flavor.

Sorry, was the other ship's tuna steak the one that was better, or the one you just had on Symphony was better? Hopefully the latter!

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In anticipation for the Halloween parade the Promenade became very popular.

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Earlier in the day nearly 200 groups registered for the parade.  Each were assigned a number and given a card with their number to carry around.  Voting was setup in "On Air" where you could vote on the best costume.

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Finally it was time for the balloon drop.

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It was quite the party and a lot people really got into the costume and makeup.

After the party it was time for some music in the pub.

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Awesome costumes those people came up with! I still think yours is best though... The Invisible Bot! ?

And thank you for photographing as much as you did, because even if I had been there I never in a million years could I have watched that parade unless I was way into my drink package. I am utterly terrified of balloons, and being in a hallway full of them all over the floor, just waiting to be stepped on and popped by every random passer-by, would have been more than I could handle.

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