The view from the Eagle's bowsprit (VIDEO)

Photographer Dana Jensen and I were lucky enough to be on board the U.S. Coast Guard barque Eagle on Saturday during the Parade of Sail event. To get there, Dana and I, along with reporter Jennifer McDermott, had to board a Coast Guard patrol boat at Fort Trumbull at 7:00 a.m. to be ferried to Niantic Bay, where we the Eagle was anchored.

There were about 40 other passengers on the two patrol boats, and we were soon joined by another boat load of dignitaries that included Gov. Malloy, Sen. Blumenthal, Rep. Courtney and Mayor Finizio.

Our task as photojournalists is not just to document events, but also to look for unique perspectives that our readers could not see themselves. Yes, the view from the Eagle's deck was something the thousands of spectators on the shore and in other boats would not be able to see. But with the deck crowded around us with passengers and Coast Guard personnel, we wanted to look for something with a little more 'wow' factor.

We had hoped to be able to climb into the rigging of the ship to get the view looking down like Tim Cook had in this photo from the July 4th celebration in Boston, but the boat's operation that day would not allow us the opportunity. Dana had the idea to climb out onto the bowsprit and look back. A crew member outfitted us with harnesses and PFDs and instructed us to remove any jewelry and empty our pockets.

Dana went out out first, and captured this image. I went next, with a full-size video camera strapped around my shoulder and neck, and a smaller GoPro camera strapped to my head. The accompanying video shows you the process of climbing out onto the bowsprit and then back to the deck.