Travel by Any Means Necessary

Tag: Detroit

Detroit Architecture

One Detroit CenterThis past weekend, we headed to The D for the first Pure Detroit Skyscraper Tour of the season. The tour starts at the Guardian Building (a view of the interior of the building can be seen below) which is an Art Deco marvel unlike anything I had ever seen before. From there the tour guide, who is a historic preservationist and urban planner, takes you around several blocks and tells you about the history of skyscrapers and architecture in Detroit. It was interesting learning about the history of the city from original 1701 Detroit settlement to the Renaissance Center, or as our tour guide like to call it, GM’s Galactic World Headquarters,. The building pictured to the left is one of the newest buildings featured on the tour, One Detroit Center, which was completed in 1993 and is the second tallest building in Michigan (second only to the Renaissance Center). The best thing about this tour? Its free! Pure Detroit offers this tour as well as tours of the Guardian Building and Fischer Building that are free and open to the public every Saturday and Sunday. Visit PureDetroit.com for times and for more information. I’m making it a goal to go back and do a tour of the Fischer Building this summer.

Guardian Promenade

The downside to doing a skyscraper tour is that is was hard to get a good shot because everything around us was so, well, tall. And, the few shots I got inside the Guardian Building didn’t really turn out because I had my aperture too wide so one point is in focus while the rest of is fuzzy and while that is great for portraiture, it doesn’t look right in architecture photography. The photo above was actually taken with my iPhone. I will have to go back to the Guardian Building and try it again with different settings.

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Wordless Wednesday: Scott Fountain

Scott Fountain

Wordless Wednesday: Milliken Lighthouse

Milliken Lighthouse

Detroit Institute of Arts

Diego Rivera Mural

This past week, I enjoyed the end of my winter break with a trip to a staple of Detroit culture, the DIA. The DIA’s collection is said to be among the top in the country. The building that houses the museum is, in my opinion, is as beautiful as many of the pieces inside. The historic Detroit Institute of Arts building opened in 1927 and is often referred to as a “temple of art”. One of my favorite parts of the museum is what is known as Rivera Court, which is home to a 27 panel fresco celebrating the industry of Detroit. The 360 degree masterpiece was completed in 1933 and was considered  by Rivera to be his most successful work (DIA). I love that we have something with such rich cultural and historical value in my home state.

About the Photo:
While visiting the museum, I figured I wouldn’t be taking many photos so I decided to leave my camera behind. Luckily, with my phone, I always have a camera on me because if I couldn’t snap a picture of this mural, I would’ve been very disappointed. This was shot with the native iOS camera app, but edited in Lightroom Mobile. I wasn’t standing very centered to the mural when I took this picture, so I did a bit of cropping to make that less obvious.

Camera Gear:
iPhone 7 – iOs camera app, handheld

Date Taken:
January 4, 2017

Thanks for stopping by! If you like my photos be sure to “like” my Facebook Page, follow me on Instagram, and Flickr! To see inside my camera bag, check out my Gear Page. To plan your visit to the DIA, visit DIA.org.

Wordless Wednesday: River Otter

River Otter

Detroit Hidden Gem

Lighthouse & Ice

When planning our Belle Isle trip, Chris did some research into other photo-worthy spots in Detroit. One spot he found was the Windmill Point Lighthouse in Mariner Park, which is right on the border of Detroit and Grosse Point Park. This area is sometimes referred to as the “Venice of Detroit” and as we drove in, I could see why. The homes are situated on canals that run to the river. Every home seemed to have a boat on a lift. I never knew anything like this existed in the city! If I’ve piqued your curiosity, check out this photo feature on Daily Detroit from a few years ago.

So, I had no idea this “Canal District” or this lighthouse existed. And it seems like no one else knows it exists either. We visited on an unseasonably warm Saturday in January and it was just us and a border patrol agent on his lunch break. If you search online for Windmill Point Lighthouse, it doesn’t seem like a lot of photographers have discovered this spot either.

Like many Michigan lighthouses, this one has an interesting history. The original lighthouse with an light-keeper’s quarters was built on this spot in 1848. In the 1920’s the Public Health Service acquired the land for a new Marine Hospital. The main tower of the light was left standing and was converted to an electric light while the keeper’s quarters were demolished to make room for the hospital. The hospital was torn down long ago and the area is now known as Mariner Park. Looking at old photos, both the lighthouse keeper’s quarters and the hospital were beautiful buildings. I wonder what they would look like today if they were still standing. (LighthouseFriends.com)

About the Photo:
When we made this trip, I really wanted to get a shot of the ice in the river (I did get this one). When we got there, I really wanted to get both the ice and the lighthouse in one shot. Well, both the fence and my lens made that kind of difficult. This was one instance where I wish I had a wider lens! This was a single RAW exposure, with basic edits done in Ligthtroom.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens handheld

Date Taken:
January 2016

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Wordless Wednesday: Lighthouse Shadow

Lighthouse Shadow

Belle Isle Conservatory

Belle Isle Conservatory

Today I’m continuing my recount of my recent wintery voyage to Belle Isle, Michigan’s 102nd state park. The conservatory may have been the part of the park I was most excited to check out! One thing I was not prepared for was the stark contrast between the cold outside and the humid warmth in the conservatory. The abrupt change wreaked havoc on both my camera and my glasses! It felt like forever before I could see again! So, tip for photographers and glasses-wearers alike, put a cap on your lens or glasses in your pocket before you walk in, especially in colder months.

The Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory opened along with the Belle Isle Aquarium in 1094. The Conservatory, remodeled in 1980, is the oldest, continually operating conservatory in the United States. The building has five different areas, each houses a different climate from cacti to the soaring palms pictured to the left. Fun fact: 50 years after the greenhouse opened Anna Scipps Whitcomb (daughter of James E. Whicomb, founder of the Detroit News) donated her collection of 600 orchids to the conservatory. This gave Detroit the largest municipally owned orchid collection in the country. Many of these plants were saved from Britain during Word War II. (Historic Detroit)

About the Photo:
There’s not much to say about this photo. It was a single exposure with basic edit done in Lightroom. Although, I think I was annoying another photographer who was trying to take engagement photos. I was standing directly in front of the bench she wanted the couple to sit on . Other photographer, if you’re reading this, I’m sorry.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens handheld

Date Taken:
January, 2016

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Belle Isle Aquarium

Belle Isle Aquarium

I have wanted to visit Belle Isle in Detroit for some time now, so when we had a warm(ish) winter weekend, I made my way east. I had driven through Belle Isle once before, but it was before the park service took it over and was in a deserted, dilapidated state. It was good to see the historic buildings being restored and people walking around, enjoying the beautiful weather.

While its still being renovated, I fell in love with the Belle Isle Aquarium. Before it closed in 2005, it was the oldest, continually operating aquarium in North America. It reopened in 2012 and now seeks to inform the public about invasive species that are taking over the great lakes. The aquarium first opened in 1904 and was designed by famed architect Albert Kahn. The stone facade atop the doorway depicts two spitting fish and the emblem of Detroit. (Belle Isle Conservancy)

About the Photo:
For this trip, I stuck mostly with my 18-55mm kit lens. It is the widest lens I currently have and it was a sunny day so I wasn’t worrying about speed. This shot was a tough one to get as people were coming and going from the aquarium and I was kind of standing in the way. I decided to shoot up high and get less of the doorway to avoid having people in my shot. This was cropped down a bit and a basic edit from RAW done in Lightroom.

Camera Gear:
Nikon D3100 with 18.0-55.0 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens handheld

Date Taken:
January, 2016

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Wordless Wednesday: Frozen River

Blizzard Schmizzard

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