ISO 200, f/7.1, 1/60sec

We were on our way back from Ocracoke to Hatteras on the car ferry, when two coast guard boats close together sped past the ferry. I didn't have enough time to get the camera ready, so I missed the shot. I decided then and there I'd have my camera on me just in case more boats came by. I got lucky, because about 10 minutes later, the same two boats came back around again, and this time I was ready.

It was starting to get dark out, and I couldn't get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action, so I decided a little bit of blur would actually show the speed and movement of the scene. I did my best to pan with the action, while our ferry boat was moving in the opposite direction. It isn't perfectly clear, but the results aren't too terrible. I had hoped the lettering on the side of the boat would be a bit more clear, but this was my first time trying to follow a moving object from another moving object.

I was able to pull the photo into Topaz Adjust (I told you I'm addicted!) and turn it into very cool looking (in my opinion) HDR. I know this HDR is overdone, but I think it fits the scene well.