Do you shoot ships?

I was hired over the phone while the art director was literally in a helicopter shooting the project with another photographer. A week later, I was sent to New Orleans to fly 150 miles over the Gulf of Mexico by helicopter and land on the world's largest ship. We did countless fly-bys, often dipping below the oncoming bow and quickly pulling up while ship's bridge surged beneath us. After landing on the deck, I got more shots of the crew and a pilot tug before heading home.

After showing the film to the client, I was hired to go to Spain and charter a helicopter to catch the ship while it passed through the Straits of Gibraltar. I was picked up at sunrise from a nearby rooftop and we flew over the Straits with nearby Morocco off my left shoulder as I shot.

I later flew to Greece to catch a helicopter to Crete for a sunrise shoot the next morning. Despite the 40 knot winds, we were so close to the ship that my feet were wet from the sea spray while my legs dangled out the open door. We then landed on the deck to shoot more film before returning to Athens.

A month later, the art director and I flew to the Samsung Shipyard in South Korea to photograph the client’s last 2 ships being built. Traveling with 300 pounds of equipment, we also brought customized hard hats and white jumpsuits for the crew. With just 2 days to shoot and full access to the shipyard with a technical advisor/ interpreter, we used a golf cart to keep up with the tight deadline.