Fun Photo Journal of Norwegian Epic in Costa Maya

Photo Journaling
Your Cruise Vacation

Norwegian Epic

Costa Maya,

Mexico

Here I am in Costa Maya, Mexico, posing in front of Norwegian Epic.   Without any words being spoken, you can tell that I'm enjoying myself..   You can also see that it is sunny since my glasses have turned dark.

In the picture to the right, passengers are being taken from the ship by tram to the end of the pier where the resort is located.  The resort includes an administration building, several bars, swimming pool, beach, and souvenir shops.

Your Cruise in Pictures

Telling a story through pictures is known as photo journaling.  A cruise vacation provides many opportunities for story telling.  We join this photo journal in the port of Costa Maya, Mexico.   To tell this story, we begin with arrival in the port and continue with activities, the people, and the sights.

To add interest to the story, we have chosen to apply borders and effects to the images.   Thanks to the digital age, modifications to photos can be accomplished in the digital darkroom using Adobe Photoshop or other photo editing software.

The Plugin Site  offers various resources for Photoshop, Lightroom, Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, Photo-Paint, After Effects, Premiere and other applications.  We utilized effects from Edge & Frame Galaxy, Harry's Edges, and Harry's Actions in these images.

Arriving at the Costa Maya resort, the first building you see is the administration center.  You can obtain information, brochures, and obtain phone cards if you need to phone home.

To add interest to this photo, we have applied "Waterpaint3" effect to the image. The edge covers a portion of the image framing the photo and helping to call attention to the main focal point.

Costa Maya Resort is Colorful

Explore the many shops at your leisure, looking for local souvenirs.   Wear your swimming wear and you can pause for a dip in the pool.   Swim up to the bar if you like and enjoy your favorite beverage, or simply lounge on one of the chairs that line the pool area.

This photo was enhanced by applying the "Torn1" edge using Photoshop 6.0.

Colorful buildings and souvenirs can become more interesting when they are distorted.   Compare the original photos to their modifications.  Would you be able to determine what the original picture looked like?    We applied a Photoshop action which twirled the images to create these new images.

We applied a texture effect in the following two images.  The image on the left is an archway which we have framed with the "door5" effect.   The local liquor store becomes more interesting after the "canvas10" effect was applied.

These digital effects can be easily applied to your favorite cruise vacation photos to assist in developing a fun photo journal to share with family and friends.  You are only limited by your imagination.

Double the Fun

In this final image, we've used a Photoshop action which we found on About.com's Graphic Software pages.   The action was part of Sue's Symmetry Action collection.  The tool actually applied both vertical and horizontal symmetry to the original photo, but we then cropped the picture in half.   At first glance you might think this was an actual panoramic picture, but look closely.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas on how to take your digital images, which to some might be pretty boring, and breathe new life into them creating an intriguing photo journal.   Have fun creating your documentary of your next cruise vacation.