Modern cargo ships are marvels of engineering performance, sheer bulk, and clever technology. However, Dutch photographer Raymond Waltjen sees another aspect of the colossal vessels when he gazes out to sea—artistic beauty.

The former advertising agency creative director is a self-trained photographer who spent a year and a half shooting pictures of containerships, tankers, and other vessels as they sailed from ports near Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and Antwerp.

He collected the 13 best prints for a series called "Destination," now posted on his website but intended for a future gallery exhibit or book publication.

"Our consumer society asks for a constant flow of cargo crossing the various seas. Traffic at sea is much busier than you would think or observe," Waltjen told Slate magazine.

His photos are stark portraits of the vessels' sterns as they steam away from land, intended to illustrate both the power of the ships themselves and the lives of the mariners who operate them. "They leave their daily world behind them on the way to their destination, while facing all kinds of weather in the unpredictable sea," he told the magazine.

To see the photos, visit www.waltjen.nl/destination.html.