Photo and explainer from J. Smersh: “I was walking back from the southern most tip of Damon Point/Protection Island tonight after sunset and was watching this large ship between Westport and Ocean Shores, when all of a sudden it turned on all of its lights. It was like magic, one minute it was mostly dark with only a few lights on port and bow for safe navigation and the next, it was lit up like a Christmas tree with all of her decks, quarters, and crane piers beautifully illuminated. I have never seen anything like it before and was really blown away by how beautiful it was. I tried shooting lots of different exposures and settings to make up for the lack of light and trying to balance that with the motion/blurring induced by the longer exposures and this was the best of the bunch. Still didn’t catch the majesty and colors of the moment, but I gave it my best try. :-)”
Click on the photo below to see a larger version: