JULY 2009 – A full-scale replica of the HD-4 Hydrodrome, a large speedboat exhibited at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. Photo © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com
The story behind the image
Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) was a unique scientist and inventor who had had countless ideas throughout his life, including the telephone, the graphophone, the aileron, and more.
When we were exploring Nova Scotia in 2009 we also visited Cape Breton, the northern part of the province. In Baddeck, where Bell died in 1922, we discovered the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site which was included in our Parks Canada pass. Since I am a bit of a tech geek myself, it was no question that we had to visit the exhibition.
And it was exceeding our expectations by far, really. The site shows insights into Bell’s work as well as his personal life. It explains countless inventions and concepts developed by Bell. There is even a ‘White Glove Tour’ where you can inspect some of the artifacts by yourself (while wearing protective gloves.)
My photo shows the HD-4 Hydrodrome, a large speedboat invented by Alexander Graham Bell and Casey Baldwin. It had hydrofoils (fins) under the boat that lifted it out of the water enabling speeds of up to 71 mph (61.6 knots). This made it the fastest watercraft on Earth in 1919. Watch it in action in this historic newsreel.
For my photo I used a long exposure time to capture the speedboat at f/16 enabling a large depth of field (front to back) with star-shaped lights while blurring the movements of the visitors. (Well, if they move at all.)
Just awesome.
If you are coming to Nova Scotia, do yourself a favor and visit the site. If you are interested in Bell’s life, I suggest to visit the site of the Alexander & Mabel Bell Legacy Foundation.
Design ideas
The high resolution image
| Capture Date & Time | 04-JUL-2009, 11:52 |
| Location | Baddeck, Nova Scotia |
| Camera | Canon EOS 5D |
| Lens | Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM |
| ISO | 800 |
| Exposure | 1.6 sec at f/16 |
| Digital Image Source Format | Canon Camera RAW (CR2) |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 4368 x 2912 Pixels |
| Copyright | © by Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com |
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