The world’s largest ship and Cunard’s flagship liner ‘Queen Mary 2‘ tempted me to take a day out to Liverpool to snap her on a rare visit to the historic Mersey waterfront this week.

Queen Mary 2 departs from Liverpool’s Pier Head.

Getting this shot involved a energetic sprint through Birkenhead, as the ship’s whistle announced her imminent departure! I wanted to get far enough west to get the whole ship and the Liver Buliding in the same shot before she moved. As an experiment, I ‘aged’ it to reflect Liverpool’s connections with famous old liners. 

Scale… a pair of seagulls ‘stand guard’ over Queen Mary 2 as she awaits departure from Liverpool. At nearly a quarter of a mile long, getting the full length of the ship in the frame requires either distance, or an extremely wide-angle lens! Needless to say, there was a good turnout of fellow snappers present to record the first scheduled Cunard departure from Liverpool for 45 years.

Queen Mary 2 and Mersey Ferry ‘Iris Of The Mersey’

A Mersey Ferry approaches my veiwepoint at Seacombe with the Cunard liner slipping graciously past in the background, destination Invergordon Scotland, two days later.

 

 

Passing mid Mersey, Queen Mary 2 dwarfs an Isle Of Man ferry.

 Farewell to Queen Mary 2 (below), snapped an hour or so later from the picturesque sand dunes at Formby. I like the crisp lines of the ship and horizon, contrasting with the ‘soft’ grass on the dunes.

Queen Mary 2 off the Merseyside coast at Formby