The Alpena on the St. Clair River

So on Saturday Morning, I saw that the Alpena was heading back to Alpena.  I figured that would give me a chance to get some pictures of her underway with my regular camera and drone.  So I headed up to Marine City because I figured that's where I would first catch her.

I was right in my guess of where to catch her.  It wasn't too long before I was able to get pictures of her.

It was a nice day but for these shots, I was shooting into the sun.

But I think that's okay because she is a beautiful ship.

She was heading back from Detroit.  I had pictures of her unloading at the cement plant from the night before.  Cement unloading typically takes a while, so I figured I had a good chance of catching her heading back.

It wasn't too windy, so it was a nice day for the drone.  This picture shows one thing that I like best about the drone.

It gives me a chance to get better pictures relative to the sun.

She passes the ship in the next post.

So after Marine City, I headed up to St. Clair.  I really like getting pictures here.  But honestly, there isn't a bad spot on the St. Clair River.

There are some that a better than others but for the most part, you'll get a good shot anywhere.

Because of the bends in the river, there are even a few spots where you can get a bow shot.

She continues to pass by.

She was kicking up a nice wake.

One more shot here with my regular camera.

And again, I took to the air.

Like I said, I like the fact that I can maneuver my drone to get better lighting.

She passes the newly restored St. Clair Inn.

One more shot before moving on.

I headed up to Marysville next.  There is a nice little fishing pier where you can get good pictures.

This is another spot where you can get different angles.

Include a bow shot.

And she continues by.

I kind of like this shot.

Since I couldn't use my drone here.  This is too close to an airport, I switched to my smaller lens.

That gives me some better shots.

She passes by.

A stern shot.

I headed up to Port Huron next.

I think Port Huron is probably the best spot to catch ships.

Sadly, you can't catch every ship as there are a handful of ships that only sail on Lake Michigan but those are few.

This is probably the best spot to get the different angles of the ships.

Including the bow show.

And probably my favorite angle.

One more with my regular camera.

And then I switched to my drone.

Someone on one of the ship forums pointed out that you can tell where the channel is.  It is where the water is darker.

A beam shot.

And then she heads off into Lake Huron.

She gets out further.

One more shot.