How the AP Scored Its Stranded Carnival Cruise Shots

When the Carnival Splendor cruise ship and its 4,500 passengers became stranded off the Mexican coast last week after a major fire, it became huge news around the world. Especially, oddly, that the passengers were served SPAM to eat. But way before all that SPAM talk, AP photographer Greg Bull was first to the scene, capturing both photos and videos of the smoking ship. No small task. How did he do it? This staff memo from AP Senior Managing Editor Mike Oreskes explains: