Evening at Sea on the Disney Dream
Clouds Ahoy!
The Disney Dream sails off into the clouds at the end of a day at sea on our 2018 Christmas Disney Cruise.
We had excellent weather all during our most recent Disney Cruise. Right up until the end. Our last day was a day at sea, and it was nice, too. But as the day went on, the clouds started gathering. And as evening approached, there were even some raindrops, as you can see on the railing of the verandah.
It rained a good bit that evening. Nothing too severe, just lots of raindrops. Fortunately, we had not planned anything outside that evening. We had gone to see the new Beauty and the Beast stage show in the Walt Disney Theatre, and when the show ended, we noticed that it was raining outside.
One of our standard evening traditions is to go for a walk on the Deck 4 Promenade after dinner. We still managed to do that, but we had to walk quickly through the parts that were not very well covered.
Also, you might notice that the water looks a little rough, too. All day long, we had felt the motion of the ship as it sailed through the rough water. That kind of thing does not bother me. I actually like feeling like I am on a ship sailing along, as opposed to feeling like the ship is docked all of the time. But I would guess it may have bothered some other people. It never was excessive, but you could often feel it all day and into the night.
Good or Bad?
While some might think that was a bad ending to an otherwise good cruise, I felt just the opposite. The rain had stayed away the entire time, unlike some of our previous cruises.
As with most everything in life, sometimes you have to learn to take the bad with the good. If you have the right attitude about it, the bad does not seem early as bad, because you have been able to enjoy the good.
Sometimes, the bad comes first, and you can comfort yourself in knowing that it will not always be that bad. You can hold out hope for whatever better thing is waiting just around the corner.
Or sometimes it is just a good lesson in learning to be content with whatever you may have. You cannot always change your circumstances, but you can always change your attitude.
Life can be so much more enjoyable if you have the right attitude, no matter what your circumstances may be.
Bible Verse
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Philippians 4:12-13
About the Photo
I spent some time on this one to give it just the right look. After all, I have taken several similar photos over the years, so this one should look at least a little different from all of the others, right?
This photo was originally rather bright. But I intentionally made it darker in Photoshop. That made the sky look more dramatic than it did originally, and it brought out some of the details in the water, too.
I liked that there was still some blue visible in the sky, even though the clouds were gathering quickly and the raindrops were already falling. That blue sky did not show up as well in the original lighter exposure. Thankfully, the Raw file stored a good bit of detail that I was able to bring out.
I actually used two exposures from the same Raw file to get the right parts darker or lighter. For example, when I darkened the photo, our verandah on the right of the photo was too dark, so I masked in the lighter exposure there so that the verandah was more visible.
While some may prefer blue skies (and I do enjoy them, too), I really like the mood of this photo.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens
Date: December 20, 2018
Location: At Sea on the Disney Dream
