080225_055941_0763 Two Icons (Mon 25 Feb 08)

            Overseas Passenger Terminal Circular Quay, Sydney Australia

The iconic QE2 faces the Sydney Harbour Bridge, itself more than a little iconic.

A comment that I received on PBase (back when those used to happen) said "(It's) a bit disorienting... (it) appears the ship's too large to pass under the bridge, and must have made a wrong turn.)

That was an "aha" moment which reminded me that most non-Sydneysiders (even Australians come to that) don't really know how Sydney Harbour is laid out.

In this shot we are looking roughly north west. The entrance to Sydney Harbour from the Pacific Ocean is to the east; that is, to the right of the shot. Ships come through there, and if they are coming to the overseas Passenger Terminal (as the QE2 has), they never pass under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which sits to the west. That waterway becomes the Parramatta River, which leads inland.

The commenter was correct; the QE2 is in fact too big to fit under the Bridge most of the time. The shipping clearance under the Bridge is about 49 metres, and depending on how much water she's drawing at the time the QE2 could need a bit over 50 metres. (The ship's official height is 52.1 metres, or 171 feet.)

Some smaller ships do pass under the Bridge. At the time I shot this there were some cruise berths at Darling Harbour (which will be seen in some galleries like my 2010 PAD one), which later moved to White Bay (which will be seen in some later PAD galleries).

Those berths are not fit for a Queen, though.

Taken in: Australia / New South Wales / The Rocks (show map)

Taken on: February 25, 2008

Tags:

Queen Elizabeth 2

QE2

Cruise Ship

Night Photography

Ship's Lights

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sydney Cove

Overseas Passenger Terminal

Ocean Liner

New South Wales (NSW)

Australia « less

Sets appears in: • Maritime: Sydney:2008_02 Her Majesty's Final Visit (Mon 25 Feb 08)

Camera: Canon EOS 40D, f/5.6, 1.3 sec, 27mm, ISO 800 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 40D
Lens:	EF17-40mm f/4L USM
Aperture:	f/5.6
Exposure Time:	1.3
Focal Length:	27mm
ISO:	800
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 25.9 (Windows)
Show full info

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