Jun 16, 2012

The days of art school assignments fulfilled by lugging bulky, metal-bodies cameras with manual focus and no optical zoom are behind us. Even though many of us loved every minute of it, and secretly, the smell of Kodak developer, the convenience of having an iPhone 4 in your pocket is invaluable. Better still is the gratification of sharing those photos immediately around the web.

Last year on MSNBC’s Rock Center, Annie Leibovitz said that the iPhone 4s was the “snapshot camera of today.” And while not every smartphone has an 8 megapixel resolution like the iPhone 4S, most provide an instant, and very accessible, camera for when the moment strikes. Using basic composition skills and remembering the tips from Robert Hamilton, the Sun’s director of photography, the following Sailabration photos were shot on an iPhone 4 with the Camera+ app and clarity filter between 5:30 and 10:00 p.m. on June 14, 2012.

Have you taken your own Sailabration photos? Be sure to share them with the Baltimore Sun.

: The tall ships docked along the west side of the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: The figurehead on the bow of the tall ship ARM Cuauhtemoc docked in the west side of the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Details from the tall ship ARM Cuauhtemoc docked in the west side of the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Tall ships ARC Gloria and USCGC EAGLE near Peir IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Flag flying on the BAE Guayas off Peir IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: By 6p.m., most of the ships had closed the free tours except for the beautiful Gloria, the official flagship and sail-training ship of the Colombian Navy. Pictured is the stern of the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Detail from boarding the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Details of ropes aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: More details of ropes aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Looking up one of the masts aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Looking up at the sails aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Looking over to the USCGC EAGLE while aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: The crest aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Even more details of ropes aboard the ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Main mast of the USCGC EAGLE near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: The golden eagle figurehead on the bow of the USCGC EAGLE near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Details along the side of the USCGC EAGLE near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Detail of the US Coast Guard emblem on the side of the USCGC EAGLE near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: More details along the side of the USCGC EAGLE near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: View from across the Inner Harbor courtesy of ‏@ssdance, Instagram and an iPhone 4S. (Scott Dance/Baltimore Sun)

: Looking up the side at the lit up ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: View of the stern of the lit up ARC Gloria with the light-up BAE Guayas in the background near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: The full back end of the lit up ARC Gloria near Pier IV in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: A bachelorette getting attention from the sailors in the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Lit up tall ships along the west side of the Inner Harbor with the USS Constellation slightly visible to the left in the foreground. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

: Details from a sand competition entry on the Inner Harbor. (Nick Tann/Baltimore Sun)

Pictures: Sailabration ships cruise in from Norfolk
Steve Kilar, Baltimore Sun

Tuesday morning, shortly before 9, a half-dozen tall ships from around the world set off from Town Point Park in Norfolk for the roughly 24-hour sail to Baltimore.

View the gallery