Blog

I used to be a music director on a cruise ship. Covid-19 started to get very bad in the states in late March, 2020 and many people that work on cruise ships lost our jobs. No one knew how long we would be out a of a job. We were hopeful and optimistic but then many months went by and we all had to start thinking of finding other ways to make money. I started my online photography business DavidMoreheadPhotography.com and been having a lot of fun doing it. Never in my life did I think that I would stop being a musical director on a ship. I loved that job. It was the perfect job for me. I love to travel and take pictures. Covid-19 has prevented almost all ships from sailing with guests so we entertainers that worked on ships had to come up with another plan to survive. So many other people in other professions are going through the same thing. I have been using this time to learn so many new things. I am learning Photoshop, Lightroom, video editing, marketing, Facebook and Instagram algorithms, vegan cooking and more. I know our job on a ship will come back some day. In the mean time, I will continue to keep learning new skills and enjoy getting a different perspective on life. Tomorrow I go back to creating more Christmas cards and taking more photos for my site. :) Stay healthy everyone and maybe I will see you on a cruise ship someday. :)

I was shopping at Walmart a few days ago and I saw this nice Christmas scene they have for sale. I took a pic of it with my Galaxy S9 plus phone so I could use it to practice using Photoshop. Unfortunately I cannot sell what I made because this is someone's else's design and I am sure it is copyrighted. Maybe someday I will get good enough with Photoshop to create my own scenes. Photoshop is a very powerful program. I am really enjoying learning how to use it.

I took a pic of this autumn scene in Lyons Woods (in Waukegan Illinois) about a week ago. I was imagining what it would look like with snow. I started to look on YouTube for ways to create snow and eventually I found a way that wasn't too complicated. I am just learning Photoshop so I need to keep things pretty simple until I know the program better.

Doing projects like this is a great way to learn Photoshop. I will continue to learn Photoshop and maybe one day I will be able to do what I want without having to follow a tutorial. :) Thankfully there are so many great teachers willing to make videos and upload them to YouTube. It is an amazing opportunity to learn from the pros.

I usually never use on-camera flash. It is too harsh for most subjects. I did some experimenting with it yesterday when there wasn't a lot of light available coming from the sun.

I set my camera to manual using a fast shutter speed (around 160th of a second ), set my aperture to around F11 to get more depth of field and set my on-camera flash to + 3 exposure. I was hoping the flash was powerful enough to reach the leaves up in the tree and the fast shutter speed would make the background darker so the leaves would stand out more. It worked. The sky was actually brighter than this but the faster shutter speed made it a beautiful dark blue. I will be using the on-camera flash more at night. It can get some interesting results.

My mom used to love feeding the animals in her back yard. She would throw peanuts out the back door and usually a squirrel would come and get them. This time someone got there before them. :) Thankfully I had my camera (with a zoom lens on it) near by so I could get a pic of the infamous early bird. I think I took the photo through glass. The bird would have flown away if I tried to open the glass back door.

I wasn't going to go out of the house yesterday and then I looked out the back door and saw it was foggy. It was close to sunset so I had to hurry and get my camera to go out and take some pics before it got too dark.

I didn't have time to go far so a I went to Shiloh park (Zion, Illinois) which is about about a mile from where I live. It is full of trees and some of the trees have colorful leaves because it is autumn now in the Chicago area. This was one of my favorites from yesterday. Hope you like it. Sometimes the best shots are close to home. Especially when there is fog. I am hoping for many more foggy days. They make driving harder but they are great for taking photos.

One of my favorite antique stores is in Volo, Illinois. They have several buildings filled with antiques from many different vendors. One of the buildings is an old barn with three floors.

It is a great place to practice taking pictures. So many interesting subjects.

I had to spend a little time to get this shot. The figurine was sitting back on the shelf so I had to move it to the edge to be able to get this angle with out the shelf blocking the view. I used a large aperture for two reasons. One reason is there is not a lot of light in the store so a large aperture lets in a lot of light so you don't have to raise your ISO. The second reason was I wanted to get a very shallow depth of field to accentuate the boy at the bottom of the figurine.

Volo Antique Mall is a family business started by "Go Go" Gert Grams and William Grams Sr.

Gert's high fashion style envisioned, repurposed shabby chic, and an appreciation of vintage and antiques before it was cool. They have had generations of motivated sellers that helped to build their business as it stands today.

Their laid back, yet upbeat atmosphere, is welcoming to all ages. They have décor that can suit the style of any era.

They have seven miles of aisles. This place is huge. 4 different buildings are connected with hallways.

The Volo 4 Antique Malls have been in business for over 25 years. They are internationally known and have been featured on Discovery Channel and soon will be on The History Channel. They aren't your stuffy grandma’s mall; They are your cool grandma’s mall.

It's a great place to bring your family and friends or go by yourself to get away for some personal time. You can stay all day if you wish. There is no admission for the malls and there is plenty of free parking.

If you love antiques this is a must see when you are in the Chicago area.

They also have an amazing antique car museum but unfortunately it is closed due to Covid-19. A person working there told me they won't open that part of the museum until there is a vaccine. I got a chance to go there many years ago and was very impressed with their selection of cars.

I visited Chicago in January, 2008. Since Chicago is very cold during this time of year there were a lot less tourists visiting Cloud Gate so I was able to get a photo with only a few people in the shot.

Cloud Gate is a public sculpture by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor, that is the centerpiece of AT&T Plaza at Millennium Park in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois. The sculpture and AT&T Plaza are located on top of Park Grill, between the Chase Promenade and McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Constructed between 2004 and 2006, the sculpture is nicknamed The Bean because of its shape, a name Kapoor initially disliked, but later grew fond of. Made up of 168 stainless steel plates welded together, its highly polished exterior has no visible seams. It measures 33 by 66 by 42 feet (10 by 20 by 13 m), and weighs 110 short tons (100 t; 98 long tons).

Kapoor's design was inspired by liquid mercury and the sculpture's surface reflects and distorts the city's skyline. Visitors are able to walk around and under Cloud Gate's 12-foot (3.7 m) high arch. On the underside is the "omphalos" (Greek for "navel"), a concave chamber that warps and multiplies reflections. The sculpture builds upon many of Kapoor's artistic themes, and it is popular with tourists as a photo-taking opportunity for its unique reflective properties.

The sculpture was the result of a design competition. After Kapoor's design was chosen, numerous technological concerns regarding the design's construction and assembly arose, in addition to concerns regarding the sculpture's upkeep and maintenance. Various experts were consulted, some of whom believed the design could not be implemented. Eventually, a feasible method was found, but the sculpture's construction fell behind schedule. It was unveiled in an incomplete form during the Millennium Park grand opening celebration in 2004, before being concealed again while it was completed. Cloud Gate was formally dedicated on May 15, 2006, and has since gained considerable popularity, both domestically and internationally.

I was visiting Chicago in January, 2008 and saw this on Michigan Avenue. This Giant American Gothic Statue, a 25-foot-tall version of the farm couple from Grant Wood's painting, "American Gothic." moves from place to place; it's already spent years in Chicago, Dubuque, Des Moines, Elkhart, and Anamosa (Grant Wood's hometown).

Because of its wild popularity among camera-ready tourists, J. Seward Johnson Jr.'s God Bless America sculpture towered for more than twice as long as the usual rotating exhibit.

Despite some art critics' best efforts, the farmer, a woman, a pitchfork and a suitcase became one of the biggest art draws in a city that boasts the Bean (aka Cloud Gate), the Picasso sculpture and Calder's Flamingo.

The sculpture has moved to another city so American Gothic fans can flock to the Art Institute of Chicago, just blocks away, where the original Grant Wood painting is on display.

I have worked for Royal Caribbean Cruise line since 1997. I met so many really nice guests during these 23 years.

We had a special lunch during each cruise called, "Meet the Officers." Different managers would have lunch in the dining room with our Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members. These are the guests that have cruised the most times with Royal Caribbean. I love going to these because I love hearing the guests' perspective about entertainment and cruising in general.

We would share stories and tell everyone at our table what our favorite ports are and also share any unique stories relating to cruising.

One time at the end of a cruise I was walking around the ship and a lady stopped me to give me this. She wanted to thank me for the chat at lunch and for all the entertainment she enjoyed during the cruise.

I was moving recently and found this. It is a great reminder of how nice some people are and they do really appreciate what we do to entertain them during their cruise.

I was walking around Antioch, Illinois and saw these tiny leaves on the street. I took the photo with my Sony A6000 camera (I carry it with me more now that I have this photo store. I want the highest quality pic for my site if I see something that is interesting) then transferred the photo to my Galaxy S9+ smart phone via wifi that my camera creates, edited it with Snapseed, reduced the file size then uploaded it to my blog creating the post all on my phone. I absolutely love all the amazing technology we are spoiled with today. I think I use my phone more as a camera, video and picture editor and an internet connection than I do as a phone.

I am very excited about next month. The leaves start changing to some amazing colors. Autumn is my favorite time of year.

I love taking pictures in antique shops. Wilmington, Illinois has lots of great antique shops so I've visited there many times. The lady that owns one of the antique shops would usually have her dog with her in the shop. She let the dog go wherever it wanted to in the store. Sometimes the dog liked to sit on the counter. You don't see this very often in stores so I wanted to get a pic of it.

If you love antiques, and you are in the Chicago area, it is worth a trip down to Wilmington, Illinois. They have most of the antique shops on the main street of the town so it's convenient to park on the street and be able to visit a lot of shops that are very close to each other. There are more shops near downtown. Just drive around in the area and you will find them.

I got a chance to visit Starved Rock yesterday with my sister and brother in law. It is beautiful. We couldn't stay long so I wasn't able to get a lot of pics.

I want to come back next month in October when the leaves change color. I am sure it looks even more amazing during autumn.

The park hosts over two million visitors annually, the most for any Illinois state park.

My brother in law was walking ahead of us in one section of the park so I took some pics with him in the shot to show scale. He is the little blue spot. :)

Last year I had a chance to visit Pripyat, Ukraine while on a Chernobyl tour. It is 2 miles from Chernobyl and has been a ghost town since May, 1986.

These are the bumper cars that the public never got a chance to ride because the city had to be evacuated a few days before the amusement park was supposed to open. It was very eerie visiting this ghost town. You have to watch where you walk and what you touch. You can't sit on the ground or eat anything in this area. Some areas still have a high level of radiation.

If you watch the HBO mini series they show this town with CGI to show what it might have looked like before the explosion.

The Pripyat amusement park is an abandoned amusement park located in Pripyat, Ukraine. It was to have its grand opening on 1 May 1986, in time for the May Day celebrations, but these plans were cancelled on 26 April, when the Chernobyl disaster occurred a few kilometers away.

I was taking the dogs for a walk today and saw this leaf on the ground. I picked it up and then put it on some concrete to give it a lighter background.

I took this picture with my Samsung Galaxy S9+ phone because I didn't have my better camera with me. Then I cropped it and sharpened it a little with Snapseed using my phone.

The best part about seeing this red leaf is knowing that my favorite time of the year is coming soon. I absolutely love autumn. I love 70°F weather and I also love all of the different colors in the trees and from the leaves on on ground. I will definitely be outside taking pictures every day as soon as the leaves start changing. I will need to drive around to see where the color is changing first. I like the combination of the old colors with the new colors.

Now I don't mind waiting two more months for my job as MD on a ship to come back. I do not want to miss fall.

I hope I can get back to work in November. Fingers crossed. I will use this extra time to get more photos for my photography website.
DavidMoreheadPhotography.com

One of the best ports I was able to visit while working on a cruise ship was Sydney, Australia. We docked very close to the world famous opera house. I got extremely lucky on the day I signed up for a tour. No one else signed up at the time slot I chose and I got a personal tour with just the tour guide and me. The opera house has a fascinating history. I never knew that the sails all were sections of a sphere.

The land where the Sydney Opera House stands is called Bennelong Point. Bennelong Point was once home to Fort Macquarie (the fort was built in 1817 and knocked down in 1901). On 10 August 1902, the Fort Macquarie Tram Depot was opened at Bennelong Point. The depot was knocked down in 1958. The Sydney Opera House was built on the same spot and the work began in 1959.

It was designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. He won a design competition in 1957. Utzon left the project in February 1966 because the government was not paying his invoices. The building finally opened on October 20, in 1973. The project was completed ten years later and cost more than fourteen times the original budget. In 2001, Utzon was invited back to restore the building and change it back towards his original designs.

The original cost estimate to build Sydney Opera House was $7 million. The final cost was $102 million and it was largely paid for by a State Lottery.

233 designs were submitted for the Opera House international design competition held in 1956. Jørn Utzon from Denmark was announced the winner, receiving ₤5000 for his design.

Construction was expected to take four years. It took 14 years. Work commenced in 1959 and involved 10,000 construction workers.

Paul Robeson was the first person to perform at Sydney Opera House. In 1960, he climbed the scaffolding and sang Ol' Man River to the construction workers as they ate lunch.

Sydney Opera House was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007

There are more than 1 million roof tiles covering approximately 1.62 hectares sitting over the structure. They were made in Sweden.

Seven A380s could sit wing-to-wing on the site.

Sydney Opera House was opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October, 1973. She has since visited four times, most recently in 2006.

When the Sydney Symphony Orchestra is on stage in the Concert Hall, the temperature must be 22.5 degrees to ensure the instruments stay in tune. Temperature and humidity are critical to musical instruments.

Arnold Schwarzenegger (former actor and Governor of California) won his final Mr Olympia body building title in 1980 in the Concert Hall.

A net was installed above the orchestra pit in the Joan Sutherland Theatre during the 1980s following an incident during the opera Boris Godunov. The opera featured live chickens and one bird walked off the stage and landed on top of a cellist.

More than 10.9 million people visit the Opera House every year.

Sydney Opera House is cooled using seawater taken directly from the harbour. The system circulates cold water from the harbour through 35 kilometres of pipes to power both the heating and air conditioning in the building.

Each year, Lunar New Year is celebrated at the Opera House with sails lit in red, Lunar Lanterns and Mandarin tours. In 2019, some 25,000 people celebrated with us.

While I was working on a cruise ship I got to visit Lisbon several times. The first time I saw a boy playing the accordion with his dog holding the tip jar I thought it was original. After I visited a few times I started to see different guys doing the same thing. It is a great gimmick because people are more likely to tip because the adorable little dog is holding the tip jar. I don't know if the dog enjoys it or how long he has to hold that string in his mouth but the dogs usually looked pretty happy so it didn't bother me too much.

Lisbon is a beautiful city. If you go there be sure to bring a camera. There are some great photo opportunities. At Christmas time they have the guys driving the trolleys dressed up as Santa. I love the cobble stoned streets, old buildings and the trolleys driving around town. Lisbon is rich in architecture; Romanesque, Gothic, Manueline, Baroque, Modern and Postmodern constructions can be found all over Lisbon.

One of the cruise ships I worked on went from Vancouver to Hawaii on our way down to French Polynesia and eventually New Zealand. We had the whole day free so I rented a car to go see the bamboo forest. On our way to the forest we saw this gigantic Banyan tree. I asked my friend to be in the shot for scale so I could show how large the tree is.

If you go to Maui, I highly recommend you rent a car and drive the road to Hana. It is quite an experience. The Hana Highway (HI-360) has 620 curves and 59 bridges. Yowza! After you reach Hana, go ten more miles to get the trail that goes to the bamboo forest. It is amazing! At the end of the trail there is a very tall waterfall. Make sure your camera battery is fully charged. You will get some amazing pictures.

If you have a few days in Maui be sure to see Haleakalā National Park. You drive up the volcano (in total darkness except for your headlights) at 3 o'clock in the morning to get to the top so you can see the sunrise from 10,000 feet. You are above the clouds! Wear something warm (it is very cold at 10,000 feet) and get there early so you can get a good spot. Lots of people do this everyday so it can get crowded. Also bring a tripod. It is very difficult to get sharp hand held shots because you need to use long shutter times when it is very dark. Before the sun rises, so you can actually see different color stars.

Another must see is to go to a Luau. Great food and amazing entertainment.

Cozumel is one of my favorite ports. It has grown so much since I first started going there in the early 90's. It has great beaches, lots of different types of really good restaurants and the local people are very friendly. Once in a while, if our orchestra had the day off or a late rehearsal, I would rent a moped and go around the island.

While I was riding my moped I saw this guy selling fresh coconut juice on the side of the road. I couldn't resist so I pulled over and bought one. He was a very nice guy so I asked him If I could use his face in the photo so I could get the reflection of his glasses. He said, "no problem" so was I was able a self portrait. Haaaa!!!

If you go on a cruise, be sure to go on one that goes to Cozumel. You will love it. If you have lots of time, you can take a ferry to the main land and see some Mayan Ruins.

The Mayan Ruins of the Yucatan Peninsula are very nice. These lost cities hail back to as many as 2,000 years ago, when the Mayas were practicing such mathematical genius as astronomy and physics, long before the white man had figured out the secrets. Nobody knows what happened to the Mayas, but their legends - and their cities - live on to this day.

If you only have a little time go out to get some delicious Mexican food from the local restaurant. I usually eat at Ernesto's near the ship. It is nothing fancy but the view of the water is great, the food is delicious and the staff is very friendly.

While working on a cruise ship I got to visit Cartagena many times. I would see many people dressed up like this and would wonder what the story is behind this.

They are mimes doing their act solo or in pairs. They stand in the street completely still, silent, looking as inanimate as possible — like a statue — until a passerby drops a coin in the receptacle that sits on the ground before them. Then, WHAM! the black faced actor springs into action, doing a set sequence of movements that makes up his show.

Depending on what props they have, members of this group mostly act as if they are fishing or cutting wood, and one, who is dressed to suit, does a pirate routine.

When our cruise ship was in Alaska during the summer we went to a very small and beautiful town called Hoonah. As always, I was walking around taking pics and when I got near the beach I noticed people playing fetch with this dog. They eventually left and didn't take the dog with them so I quickly realized that this wasn't their dog. The dog grabbed the stick and came up to me letting me know he wanted to continue to play. I couldn't resist so I played with him for a while. I wondered who's dog it was. Was he homeless? I think it was a year later I was talking to one of the tour guides and she mentioned that they lived in that area and this was their dog. He really loved to play fetch with anyone walking by. He would do this all day if new people kept walking by.

There are three ways to get up the mountain to get to Fira. (the main city in Santorini) You can walk uphill in blistering heat taking in the smells of the donkeys, hoping you don't step in the presents they leave on the trail. Or, you can ride a donkey which is less work but you get the same smells. Or, you can quickly get up there via the cable car. I usually took the cable car up and then walked down the path to get some photos of the donkeys and the guys in charge of the donkeys. Make sure you don't use your good shoes if you walk the path. They won't smell very good when you get back to the ship or your hotel room. Haaaa!!!

Santorini is one of my favorite places on Earth. It is very peaceful & beautiful and you get breathtaking views all around the island. I heard they also have the best sunsets so stay a few days and you will get to enjoy those too.

Occasionally I would rent a moped when our cruise ship went to the Greek islands Mykonos and Santorini. It is a great way to see a a lot of the island and not be exhausted from walking all day. Anytime I saw something I liked I would stop and take a photo. There is barely any traffic on the road so I felt safe riding a moped there. The most dangerous thing is getting near other people that rented a moped but have no idea how to drive a moped. There were usually a few people that had accidents every time we went there. Guests and crew. I took my time going pretty slow and stayed away from gravel roads going uphill or downhill. Thankfully, I never had an accident.

This is definitely the largest bubble I have seen in person. The gentleman that was making this bubble is just one of the many street performers on La Rambla, Barcelona's main walking street. I love to look at each person's face in the photo to see the various levels of excitement. Some look thrilled and amazed and some look not so amazed. Haaa!!! I was amazed. That is why I took the photo. :)

While working on a cruise ship I was fortunate to visit Barcelona, Spain many times. I would always like to walk up and down La Rambla (the main walking street) to see the various street performers.

This puppet act was very entertaining so I stopped to watch him and got a few photos of his show. This was my favorite photo from that day.

If you visit Barcelona, La Rambla is a must see. Vendors sell all kinds of souvenirs, there are lots of great street performers and there's also lots of great restaurants.

Like any major city, you need to be careful of scammers. Keep your wallet in your front pocket (lots of pickpockets), keep your purse or shopping bags where you can see them (don't put them under your chair in a restaurant or internet cafe) and don't play the shell game. You will always lose. :) Anyone that wins at the shell game is part of the scam to get you to play.

Pickpockets have accomplices that will distract you while they take your wallet or watch. If someone drops something in front of you, don't pick up the items. It is a scam to distract you. If someone "accidentally" spills something on you don't let them clean it off. They need to get close to steal something from you. Never give your credit card to anyone. They can easily take a pic of both sides and then use your info to buy things online.

This applies to all major cities. Not just Barcelona. Here is some more info on the type of scams out there.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/theft-scams/tourist-scams

One bonus tip - most people don't know this. If you visit the Columbus monument at the start of La Rambla, you can pay a small fee in the souvenir shop to be able to take a small elevator up to the top of the monument. It gives you a great view of La Rambla.

I personally never had a problem in Barcelona. I loved every time I went there. But I did hear stories of people getting ripped off so please be careful.

There is a very interesting history that goes with this bridge. When I was younger this bridge was actually on 135th street. This photo is several photos taken at different exposures and then merged in High Dynamic Range software to increase the dynamic range.

In 1990, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District moved the bobtail swing bridge a few hundred feet to be a trail bridge when the high bridge was built across the Sanitary and Ship Canal, SanteFe tracks, and I&M Canal.

The 135th Street bridge is the only remaining example of this type of bridge in the state of Illinois. Built in 1899 to cross the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, it was uniquely designed to allow passage of large vessels along the waterway.

This two-span bridge was able to pivot on a steel turntable supported by a masonry pier; thus the name "swing bridge" as it swung across the water to the opposite bank. The longer east span was the part that actually crossed the canal, and the shorter west span functioned as the counterweight arm.

The trusses, which are the supporting framework, were constructed out of steel and extended up and over the bridge. Located within the trusses is an overhead pilot house where the movement of the bridge was controlled.

The bridge was a busy, active bridge up until its removal and relocation. After its closing in 1990 due to structural problems, it was moved to Centennial Trail for preservation.

I was walking around Villfranche, France taking pictures and I eventually saw this. Seriously, what would this little girl do if the dog decided to take off? She would have to let go of the leash or hang on for dear life! Thankfully, the dog was very well behaved and there were no problems. :)

Our cruise ship went to Naples many times. I would often eat at the restaurant just across the street where the ship docked. They had one waiter that could speak English well and his name was Tony. He was always super nice and very helpful. He was also an amazing waiter. He was the same age as my mother and he was running around putting food on peoples' tables like he was in his 20's.

He knew I liked to take pictures, so every time I visited Naples, he would give me a lot of helpful information so I could see some different things each time. One day he told me how to take the funicular to get the highest vantage point you can get in Naples. The views from up there are stunning. Castel Sant'Elmo, a medieval fortress, is at the top of the hill. Naples at the street level can get very noisy. Once you get the top of the hill, it is very eerily quiet. Check out DavidMoreheadPhotography.com and search for Naples. I have a pic on there of the view you will see when you go to the top of the hill in Naples.

Once I got some pics at the castle I walked around the little neighborhood up there and eventually saw a cameo shop. The owner was very nice and let me take pictures of his cameo molds. This mold one was one of the best ones I saw that day.

I got up very early one day to take pictures at Dellwood Park in Lockport, Illinois. As soon as I left my apartment I noticed this wasn't an ordinary morning. There was some pretty heavy fog everywhere which was causing some limited visibility. I wasn't sure how this would work when taking photos. Once I got started taking pics I was having a lot of fun taking advantage of the limited visibility. It adds a little mystery to the photos. Now when I get up early to take pics I hope there is fog.

This is one of my favorites from that day. The normal color of fog looks a little dull so I experimented with different white balances on my camera until I got a color that I liked.

My friends Mario and Daniel, from Las Vegas (creators of the Tango show exclusively on Royal Caribbean) put together a great new act last year called Impact. The group is four very talented guys from Argentina doing a variety of amazing things. They asked me to take promo photos of the act for their website. I took pics at their rehearsal and both shows and then picked the best photos to send to them. The one I posted here was one of my favorites from that day.

I love taking pics of acts like this. So much energy and emotion to try and capture. It isn't easy keeping up these guys because they rarely stand still. These guys dance, sing, play piano, flute and various percussion instruments and also swing a fierce boleadoras (bolos). They also add some humor to the show. Once cruise ships start sailing again they will be back performing with Royal Caribbean. If you see their name advertised on your ship, please make sure you go to the show. You will love it.

Yesterday afternoon I was walking on Michigan avenue in Chicago and saw these people relaxing while wearing a mask. People wearing masks in public areas looks like a scene from a science fiction movie about viral outbreaks. Sadly, this is our new reality around the world. Is this going to be a new norm from now on? When we will be able to go back to normal? Will will be able to go back to normal someday? Only time will tell.

If you have a story to share about Covid-19, please share it below in the comments. It has affected so many lives. I know it has affected me greatly. It took away the job I have loved for the past 22 years. I was a music director on a cruise ship. Thankfully, we are starting to see some ships in different parts of the world cruise again. I hope to be back on a ship within the next two months. Fingers crossed. It's a very different world now. We will all have to do our best to adapt. Please wash your hands and social distance when you can. Sending positive thoughts to you and your family to stay healthy.

Yesterday I was walking on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and noticed many of the store front windows were covered with wood. Of course it looks really bad and takes away from the beautiful downtown area. I hope the downtown businesses are able to get through these hard times and eventually get back to normal. I am glad the Chicago Police are letting people peacefully protest and they are also ensuring the safety of everyone else not involved in the protests.

Sadly, the boards in the windows make it look like a war zone. No amount of looting and destroying property is going to help anyone's cause. It is only going to make things worse. Thankfully the protests remained peaceful this time.

This post is the first in a new series I am starting. If I can remember a story that goes with one of my pics, I will post it here.

I was visiting Paradise Point in St. Thomas and I had my 50mm lens on my camera. That was the only lens I had with me. My camera has an APS-C sensor so, with the crop factor, it is the focal length of 75mm compared to a full frame camera. This is a very narrow view and would have only captured a small part of this scene. I really wanted to capture the entire view that I was seeing so I took ten vertical shots, slightly moving the camera to the right each time, and then later that evening, I stitched them together in Photoshop. The cruise ship I was working on at the time is in the bottom left part of the photo.

If you go to St. Thomas, you need to take the cable car up to Paradise point. The view is spectacular. Unfortunately, it is temporarily closed due to Covid-19. If you want to know more about it, here is the link to their website. https://www.paradisepointvi.com/about/

If you would like a print of this photo, please visit DavidMoreheadPhotography.com
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/david-morehead/art/st.+thomas

I work on a cruise ship that travels to many beautiful parts of the world. I have had a opportunity to visit Cartegena, Colombia a few times. It is a beautiful city with lots of beautiful art everywhere and they also have a lot of street performers. I was waiting for the shuttle to go back to the ship and these gentleman were performing for everyone that was waiting in line. Everyone in line was under a shelter to keep us from standing in the very hot sun for a long time. While we were enjoying these guys' incredible acrobatic skills it started to rain very heavily. Everyone in line was protected from the heavy downpour but the performers were getting drenched. We thought that would be the end of the show. Nope. They kept on performing as if there was no rain. We were amazed because they were doing some incredible stunts and it would have been so easy to slip and fall with the street being so wet. They were persistent and kept the show going and the crowd was really loving it. Thankfully, no one was injured.
I am not allowed to sell prints of this photo because I did not get a model release from the performers. If you would like to see other photos of mine that I have for sale please visit DavidMoreheadPhotography.com.

I have been very fortunate to visit some amazing places since I started working as a music director on a cruise ship. One of our stops was Civitavecchia, Italy which is only 51 miles from Rome. If we (the ship's orchestra in the main theater) were lucky, there would only be one late show that night so we would have all day free to take the train to Rome. I always went to Rome when I had the opportunity. On this day, I got off the train and went visit the Vatican. I saw thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square and was wondering what was going on. Eventually I saw the Pope riding around the area on his Pope mobile. I had lots of people in front of me so I couldn't get a clear view of him because peoples' heads were blocking my view. Thankfully, my Sony F828 camera had a feature that would let me see the screen while I was holding the camera as far as I could above my head. The Pope's vehicle eventually drove coming towards me so I was able to get this shot when he was close enough. I took this pic on June 16, 2004. The Pope passed away one year later on April 2, 2005.

We had no idea the Pope was going to be in St. Peter's Square on this day. It was just pure luck that we got a chance to see him.

The cruise ship I was working on docked in Tauranga, New Zealand. It is close to Matamata, where the Hobbiton movie set is located. It is where they filmed part of the “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” trilogies. I wanted to go on the tour because I knew there would be some great things to see and it would be fun to take pictures of parts of the set.

On the bus ride going there our guide asked, over the bus PA, for everyone that has seen all the movies to raise their hand. Everyone on the bus raised their hand except for one person. Me. I started to sink down in my seat trying to make sure no one could see me because I starting to feel really embarrassed. I was the only one that had never seen any of the movies.

This tour was in 2013 and I still haven't seen the movies. I missed seeing the movies the first time when they originally came out in theaters. I purposely never watched any of the DVD's because I only want to see these epic films on the big screen. I am waiting for the anniversary of the movies and hoping they show them in a big theater again. Fingers crossed that happens. If it doesn't. I want to see it on a huge T.V. at home with a 70 to 80 inch TV that has a great sound system. That will get me close to the big theater experience. It just doesn't feel right watching epic movies like this on a small TV screen, laptop, tablet or a phone.

I think it was a great choice for them to choose to shoot a lot of the scenes in New Zealand. It has breathtaking landscapes and is a beautiful country. It is one my favorite places to visit.

While working as a music director on a cruise ship, I was very fortunate to be able to visit Brazil back in 1999. I got a chance to see so many great things and I also got to hear some of the best music in the world. I love Samba and Bossa Nova.

I took this pic with my first digital camera. It was an Olympus C830L. 1.3 megapixels! WOW! Haaaa!!! Hey, I was impressed! My, how things have changed since then. Now-a-days, most inexpensive smart phones have way more megapixels than that.

The famous photographer Chase Jarvis once said, “the best camera is the one that's with you." In 1999 almost no one had a smart phone. They became popular in 2007 when Apple created the Iphone. Even though my Olympus had very few megapixels, I still loved using that camera. It inspired me to go out and take pics every day. I loved not having to wait to get photos developed. You could see the results instantly and print them that night if you wanted to.

The mountain this statue is on is called Corcovado, which means "hunchback" in Portuguese. It is located in central Rio de Janeiro (River of January in English), Brazil. It is a 2,329 ft (710 meters) granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park.

Corcovado hill lies just west of the city center but is wholly within the city limits and visible from great distances. It is known worldwide for the 125 ft (38 meters) statue of Jesus atop its peak, entitled Cristo Redentor or Christ the Redeemer.

As you can see from the people in the picture, this statue is huge! I am so glad I got a chance to see it in person.

From the peak's platform the panoramic view includes downtown Rio, Sugarloaf Mountain, the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas (lake), Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Estádio do Maracanã (Maracanã Stadium), and several of Rio's favelas.

Cloud cover is common in Rio and the view from the platform is often obscured. Sunny days are recommended for optimal viewing.

The cruise ship I worked on docked many times in Livorno, Italy. It is close to Pisa and Florence. If we had the day off, or we had a late rehearsal, I would take the train to Pisa. Sadly, most time I went there the Leaning Tower was closed to the public due to working on reducing the amount that it was leaning. The few times it was open there was a large crowd to be able to go to the top. I didn't want to wait in line because I wanted to have time to see the rest of the city.

I will never forget the first time I went to Pisa. I got off the train and started walking towards it. The buildings in the city are kind of tall so you can't see it until you get very close to it. I remember turning the corner on one street and there it was. Something that I have heard about for years and only seen on the internet, TV and in books. It is world famous.

I hope they are able to solve the problem of it leaning too much. That would be a shame if they had to demolish it. By 1990, the tilt had reached 5.5 degrees. The structure was stabilized by remedial work between 1993 and 2001, which reduced the tilt to 3.97 degrees. Lets hope they can continue to save it for future generations. Fingers crossed.

While working as a music director a cruise ship, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Santorini many times. It is one of the most beautiful places I have been to.

If our orchestra had the day off, or we had a late rehearsal, I would rent a moped and drive around the island. The scenery you see is stunning. I got a few miles away from the town and I saw this view. I parked the moped and took this pic. The city in the background is Fira. It is where most people from the cruise ship go when they travel to the island.

When the ship is approaching the island, it looks like snow on top of a mountain. All the buildings are white. When the ship gets close to the island we stay at sea (we don't dock because there is no dock for larger ships) and then we tender our guests by small boats to the island.

Once you get on the island you have to find a way to get up to Fira, which is at an elevation of 1,312 feet (400 metres). There are three ways to get up there. You can walk the path uphill in very hot weather, hire a donkey or take the cable car. I always took the cable car up and sometimes I walked down the path when I was leaving to go back to the ship. I wanted to get some close up pics of the donkeys and the local guides in charge of the donkeys.

If you ever get a chance to go to Greece, Santorini is a must see. It is one of my favorite places that I have been to. I highly recommend you rent a car or a moped to see all of the island. Don't forgot to wear sunscreen and drink lots of water. It gets very hot in the summer time. And make sure you have your camera. There are amazing views everywhere.

One thing I love to do is show motion in a photo. It is very difficult to do during the day because you need to leave the shutter open for about a second or more. If there is too much light, your shot will be overexposed. The solution to this problem is to put a neutral density filter on your lens that blocks light so you can use slower shutter speeds and larger apertures in bright light.

I was visiting Chicago one day and decided to stop in the camera store to see if they had an ND filter that was the correct size for my lens. They had one in stock so I bought it and couldn't wait to try it.

To get successful long exposure shots the camera has to be very steady, otherwise everything in the photo will be blurry. I didn't have a tripod with me so I had to get creative. I stopped for a coffee at Starbucks and sat in the seating area just outside the store. I set my camera on the table and used the two second timer to ensure there would be no camera movement during the long exposure times. I experimented with different shutter speeds and eventually came up with one that gave me the exact amount of blur I wanted.

To get a successful long exposure shot you need to have things that are not moving be pin sharp in the photo and then the things that are moving will be blurry. This was one of my favorite shots from that day. I rarely carry around a tripod because they are very heavy and some places won't let you take pics if you have one. So, when I want to take long exposure shots I usually find something to set the camera on or I lean up against something sturdy (a wall or a street lamp), use the two second timer (so I don't get the movement of me pressing the shutter) and hold my breath for a second to ensure nothing moves. It is challenging, but also very fun.

Our cruise ship was in dry dock in Hamburg, Germany doing some renovations and repairs. This is a normal process in the cruise ship industry. It can be one to two months depending on how much work the ship needs or how many features they want to add to the ship. During this time there are no guests on board so all entertainers can either go home during this time or stay on the ship and do other duties until we have guests on board again. I decided to stay on board so I could take pictures of Hamburg whenever I had some free time. Hamburg is a beautiful city with so many things to see.

One day during the dry dock, I had some free time during the day so I decided to go to the zoo. I was walking around the zoo and I noticed, "Don't Feed the Animals" everywhere. Apparently, this little guy doesn't understand the signs or he is a little rebel because he decided to break the rules and feed one of the animals. I saw him giving this elephant the apple (that he didn't eat at lunch time) and thankfully I was able to get the camera ready in time to capture the moment.

The little boy looks so happy sharing his lunch with the elephant. I think the elephant was happy too.

I have been working for Royal Caribbean cruise lines as a music director since 1997 and I have been very fortunate to see some amazing places around the world. In 2010, I was looking for a another ship in our fleet to try and see some more places I haven't been to before. I was curious about Alaska and started asking my friends on the ship about it. They said you need to go. It is amazing! I transferred to the Radiance of the Seas because it was doing an Alaskan itinerary. One of the first stops was Ketchikan. I was in paradise. The views are stunning and the weather was perfect. Well, maybe not perfect for everyone. It rains a lot there, but I don't mind rain as long as I have an umbrella. I just want to make sure my camera doesn't get wet because water can stop your camera from working.

I thought it would be freezing in Alaska but most of the time it was around 70 degrees because we were in the southern part of Alaska and during the summer.

I was walking around town taking pictures and saw this man on the street with some animals on perches. He was letting people get close to the animals and have their picture taken with them. I saw this adorable little owl and had to get a picture of him. In this picture, you can't tell how little he is because I took a close up of him. He is very tiny.

Western screech owls length averages 8.7 in (22 cm), wingspan of 22 in (55 cm), and weight 5.0 oz (143 g). Weight ranges from 3.1 to 7.8 oz (88 to 220 g). Females are larger than males and northern populations are notably larger than southern populations.

As you can see from the photo, Western Screech owls are a beautiful animal. I am so glad I got to see one in person.

I got a chance to visit this ghost town while I was in Ukraine last year. It was very eerie seeing a town that no one can live in. We had to be very careful where we walked. Some places still had very high amounts of radiation. One of the people on the tour had a Geiger counter and he placed it near the metal of the ferris wheel. It was giving a very high reading. We were told to only walk in certain places and not to sit on the ground or eat anything while in the area. We were checked for radiation at the end of the tour as we were leaving the area.

The Pripyat amusement park is an abandoned amusement park located in Pripyat, Ukraine. It was to have its grand opening on May 1, 1986, in time for the May Day celebrations, but these plans were cancelled on April 26, 1986, when the Chernobyl disaster occurred a few kilometers away. The ferris wheel has become a symbol of the Chernobyl disaster.

I got up very early to take sunrise pictures because I love the lighting and colors at this time of the day. Eventually the sun got too bright to get an even exposure. Instead of giving up and going home, I decided to stay and take multiple pictures at different exposures and then I combined the shots in my H.D.R. software to see what would happen. This is the result. If you would like a print of this picture, it is available here. https://fineartamerica.com/featured/hdr-sunrise-david-morehead.html?newartwork=true

If you would like to see more of my photographs, please visit DavidMoreheadPhotography,com

I saw this couple getting married in Galleria Umberto, a public shopping gallery in Naples, Italy. Just as I was taking their photo a women came up to them asking them for change. It was a very awkward moment because the couple didn't know how to handle the situation.

This is the chance you take if you get married in a crowded shopping mall that is not closed off to the public. Anything can happen.

I like to go to butterfly farms because it makes it a little easier to get good butterfly shots. There are lots of them in a contained area and they tend to stay on the flowers longer so you have time to focus and compose your shots correctly. I saw this little guy sitting on some fruit and that made me curious of what they like to eat. I asked the person in charge at the farm about butterflies' eating habits and he said they like to eat fruit because they use it to get drunk.

Here is what he told me.

"If you’re familiar with the sugar fermentation process you’ll know that any rotting fruit results in the make-you-clumsy chemical called ethanol, your every day alcohol you’d find in beer/wine/you name it. Butterflies sip on a large amount of very fermented fruit and fly off quite lazily and awkwardly. Yes, butterflies even like to get drunk."

An average butterfly species has an adult life span of two weeks or less so they have to party as much as they can to enjoy their very short life. :) Can you blame them? Haaaa!!!

I was walking around Akoroa (A city on the south island of New Zealand) taking pictures of the beautiful landscape. I saw this gentleman walking near me and noticed all the tattoos on his face. I wanted to take a picture of him but had no chance to check the settings on the camera or look through the viewfinder to compose the shot. I only had time to point the camera at him (only viewing the back screen) and I hoped for the best. Thankfully he was in focus and the unique angle created a nice shot.

I was curious why he had tattoos on his face so I did a Google search and found this info...

Moko is a name for Māori tattoo and the culture that surrounds it. It is the skin art form of the Māori.

What is the difference between moko and tattoo? 'Tattoo' is the English version of the Tahitian word tatu. Tattoo is the tradition of marking the skin with ink and needles, whereas moko is the practice of scarring and marking the skin to reflect the whakapapa (genealogy) of the Māori wearer. Moko can be seen as a cultural affirmation.

Why do people get facial moko?
A moko on the face is the ultimate statement of one's identity as a Māori. The head is believed to be the most sacred part of the body. To wear the moko on the face is to bear an undeniable declaration of who you are.

I was driving all day to get to Yellowstone Park and was getting a little tired so I stopped in a little town (Cody, Wyoming) near Yellowstone Park to get something to eat. I saw a sign at the restaurant saying tickets were available for the rodeo later on that night. I had never been to a rodeo before so I decided buy a ticket and stay the night in Cody. I took a bunch of pics at the rodeo and this is one of my favorites from that day. As you can see, this guy has a pretty dangerous job. Thankfully, no one was injured that night.