photographer captures cargo ships passing by on his ferry ride home

Counting Ships photography series by Pierfrancesco Celada

Counting Ships is a photography series by Pierfrancesco Celada that examines proximity, movement, and scale within a maritime landscape. The project captures a busy ferry route connecting an island to one of the most densely populated regions nearby. The crossing takes approximately 25 minutes and passes through one of the world’s most active maritime trade corridors, where more than two hundred cargo ships transit daily.

all images by Pierfrancesco Celada

Celada uses the ferry crossing as a fixed observational point

The series documents the photographer’s repeated encounters with this infrastructure of global circulation, using the ferry crossing as a fixed observational point. Through a sequence of photographs, large cargo vessels are framed against open water, emphasizing their frequency, scale, and rhythmic presence within the landscape. The work by Pierfrancesco Celada reflects on the coexistence of everyday commuting patterns and the continuous flow of global logistics.

cargo ships moving along one of busy trade routes

a ferry route connecting an island to a densely populated mainland region

repeated crossings frame a consistent maritime landscape

large cargo ships emerge against open water

the ferry serves as a fixed observational viewpoint

maritime infrastructure intersecting everyday travel

open water as a constant backdrop to transit

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35 photographs, 36 pages

soft-cover, concertina

project info:

name: Counting Ships
designer: Pierfrancesco Celada | @fotografante
publisher: Muddyisland – Pierfrancesco Celada

ISBN: 9791221068795
format: 14 × 10.5 cm

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom