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Rangefinder Magazine
November 2003

The Building of QM2 by Harvey Lloyd
Documenting the Building of the World’s Largest, Most Expensive and Most Luxurious Ocean Liner

How it all began. Almost two years ago I met with book packager Ross Eberman, president of Carpe Diem books, to discuss our ideas for a book on the construction, completion and sailings of Cunard Line’s Queen Mary 2 (QM2), the world’s largest, most luxurious and most expensive ocean liner. I wrote an outline of the book concept and photography: it was to be a large-format “coffee table book.” Ross provided the marketing materials needed, and Cunard Line, a Carnival Cruises line, has been a client of mine for many years. Ross did the necessary pre-marketing to put together the book package. The eminent ocean liner historian and writer John Maxtone-Graham joined our team, and our trade book publisher would be Bulfinch Press.

My approach was to consider the project the equivalent of being present at the building of the pyramids, the Eiffel Tower or another wonder of the world. In addition, I wanted to create a visual approach to the imagery that included an element of fantasy. The client, Cunard, Ross Eberman and the publisher, Bulfinch, all supported this plan.

Dawn image of QM2 in mid-construction phase, featuring the “bulbous nose,” which breaks the waves for smooth, fast passage. The nose lies below the waterline when the ship is at sea.

The Journey Begins…
I am in Brittany, France, standing on a stone ledge at dawn looking up at a gigantic structure. A “bulbous nose,” big enough to house an aquarium, thrusts toward me. High above me, the unfinished prow towers high into the rosy light. Queen Mary 2, the largest, most expensive ocean liner ever built confronts my camera!

To put this giant vessel into perspective, here is what Cunard Line says.

	State-of-the art navigation system and computers on QM2’s vast enclosed bridge.

At 150,000 gross tons, as high as a 23-story building, with a 40-meter beam, and over 100 feet longer than the Eiffel Tower is tall, QM2 will be the largest, tallest, longest, and broadest ocean liner ever constructed. The most expensive ship ever made (estimated cost, $780 million) QM2 contains within her hull ...a realm of sweeping spaces and grand designs the likes of which have not been seen for decades.

Above water, the behemoth of QM2 towers 23 stories into the blue sky, her decks alive with service and passenger activity. At dusk, she transforms into a glittering palace of lights, sparkling in the cool night. Inside the giant’s steel carapace, a light show and elegant decor ravish the eye into the wee hours of dawn. Below water, QM2 draws 10 meters. Within that vast space resides a wonder world of technology—four giant diesel engines, two gas turbines and fuel bunkers, a quartet of huge Mermaid pod- mounted propellers to drive the ship at 30 knots, crew quarters, lockers, storage, equipment and supplies of every kind.

QM2’s renowned Captain Ron Warwick, formerly captain of QE2 for many years. His father was also captain of QE2.

Technical Info:
I set my Canon EOS1D to ISO 1600—partly because of the low light (I had run half a mile from the security entrance to be in time for the “magic light”) and because I have “a plan.” I shoot the early construction phases in a way that adds fantasy, like brightly painted watercolors, rather than drab, typical construction images. Later, as the ship nears completion, I will refine my photography to reveal the luxurious and resplendent ocean liner in full glory. This is my plan.

	The immense single funnel of QM2 seen through construction hardware.

I used Canon equipment and am a member of Canon’s Explorers of Light program. My cameras are Canon EOS1Ns, EOS 1Ds and EOS 3s. I use Canon EOS lenses: 14mm, 17–35mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, 28–135mm IS, 70–200mm, 70–300mm IS and 400mm.

For my film cameras, I primarily I used Fujichrome Velvia and for my digital cameras I used 500MB Scandisks. I shot RAW files only to save space on the Scandisks and did all modifications in Photoshop.

Rear view of QM2 under construction, showing the enormous size of the world’s largest luxury ocean liner.

My strobes are Canon 550EX speedlights, which I mounted on my camera with diffusion or softboxes attached. I also use the speedlights with softboxes attached on lightweight stands for location lighting wherever I go around the world. I power the speedlights with Quantum battery packs attached to my belt. I attach heavy duty Ken Lab KS6 gyrostabilizers to my cameras using Lindahl Qwik-releases on all cameras for rapid changes in the air or on any unstable platform.

	Shipyard worker wearing mask against fumes. Image enhanced in Adobe Photoshop.

I usually wear a multi-pocket camera vest to hold an extra lens or two and all needed accessories while shooting on location. I wear three cameras while shooting. My method of photography, which I term, “The Zen of Fluid Motion Photography,” insures I am ready at any instant to make images.

Digital Information:
While shooting QM2, the ability to change ISO speeds at any time when shooting digitally enabled me to shoot ship interiors, or dawn and night scenes—at ISO 1600 one minute and ISO 100 when in brighter light. In addition, the EOS1D’s ability to give an automatic white balance in any kind of light took care of the problems of mixed-light interiors (like tungsten, fluorescent, halides, and so forth).

Two shipyard workers applying red paint undercoating to QM2.

When shooting with film, all of the Velvia slides were scanned into Photoshop. I employ basic features of Adobe Photoshop (unsharp mask, hue-saturation, brightness-contrast, curves, color balance, etc.), to transform the many images according to my creative instincts. Other images I simply enhance to bring out the colors, contrast and light and shade the way I think they should look. In addition, I work with a large assortment of typefaces and with a Wacom digital pad.

	Welder inside QM2 during construction.

Hardware:
I use a Minolta Dimage Scan II film scanner for scanning slides and an Epson Perfection flatbed scanner for flat art. I use a Zio card reader to download EOSID images from the Scandisks and two HP DVD/CD-ROM burners to store digital files along with the CD-ROM burners and DVD readers in our six imaging computers. I have three fast computers networked at my own workstation, with external 250-gigabyte and 40-gigabyte drives, and an Epson 1280 printer attached to my main computer. There are more Epson printers (1270 and 2000) in the studio and even more to come. We do not allow my three networked computers to be online, to prevent viruses or any other problems from affecting the raw images. (Our online computers use Norton Symantec software for protection.) I look forward to DVDs holding 20 or more gigabytes (50 would be great) to reduce time and save storage space.

The Experience
With all of the preparations and technical information aside, what I experienced was a hypnosis of sorts. While under hypnosis by this grand mistress-to-be of the seas, I wrote the following:

hipyard worker consulting schematic blueprint of part of QM2’s interior.

QM2 speaks: “I am legend, myth, prodigious iron whale, hull rib bound and casqued like a besieged feudal castle. I await my launch, my lunge into battering seas, to ram my towering steel prow into thundering wind-stacked waves.

“ I am designed to staunchly stand steady in the eyes of hurricanes. I will straddle the seas like a colossus. I will rear up and canter as I am a steel-hoofed, winged Pegasus, who will clobber forth, splash down and hurl giant waves and plow my way across the seas, girdling the planet. My stupendous quartet of diesels throb a somber song, whaling through Davy Jones locker—a whale song which keens around the globe entire, made sanguine by Hephaestus’s iron forge high on Olympus. He, the armorer of the gods, clangs where welders strut their white hot flames, red hot sparks flare into the night. A ruddy constellation spills down my black steel sides. I was acres of steel, empty, a barrel big enough to drown the Pleiades, my parts strewn on the dockside, but I was uplifted by colossal gantry cranes and hard-fit like Brobdingnagian jig- saw puzzles. I lurch and rock on the dry dock concrete floor, heavy laden, spry and sprung, 150,000 gross tons awakening, arriving, clanking, screeching, wailing my raucous, rumbling, rambling birth.

“ I will plough the water planet greedily—craving for the light of each new sea born at dawn, for flaming sunset skies, or mist, fog, rain or sleet; with my vast enclosed bridge safe harbor for my gray- bearded master, Captain Warwick, I await the pilot at each reef at a hundred or ten hundred ports. I thirst for salt seas around my globe. I hum my diesel threnody, a whale song in basso. Behold the consummate of dreams, an ocean liner atop the heap. I am the end of the line.”

The final touches being applied to QM2’s exterior.

Final Thoughts
Final shooting of QM2 at sea will be after the launching ceremonies late this year. The first copies of my book will be available in November for Cunard Line to use in their marketing program, although we will not yet have the QM2 at-sea images. The trade edition for public distribution will be out in April 2004. Altogether, the first runs of some 45,000 copies will be printed by then.

Harvey Lloyd is an internationally known artist, aerial and adventure travel photographer, photojournalist, cinematographer, writer, poet and film director based in New York City. He is a past president of ASMP and a member of the National Arts Club. He has traveled over a million and a half miles on assignments and his photographs hang in museums and galleries in the U.S. and abroad and have been featured in magazines worldwide. See his website: harveylloyd.com for more information.