Yearly Archives: 2012
Belle Isle Bridge early in the morning
The bridge is actually called the McArthur Bridge. This was an early morning photo shoot at Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan. We were there for sunrise and this photo was taken just before sunrise. This photo is taken from the park at the entrance to the park, you’re looking across the Detroit River to Belle Isle itself. The sun is way to the left and out of the shot.
This was shot at ISO 100, f/14 and set for a 1 second exposure, the long expose is part of why the water looks so smooth (see the difference in this cropped ⅓ second exposure photo I took just seconds before. I shot this in RAW with no editing after. I normally don’t shoot in raw (the images are too huge) but I plan to explore more with some post production but didn’t with this photo.
A Detroit alley at sundown
I’m somewhere between the river walk (to my left) and Jefferson Ave. (to my right), probably heading to Belle Isle. I don’t think I’m all the way down by where the river walk ends, I think I spotted the water tower (I’m always taking water tower photos) and headed over there. I wish I’d had another camera with me (this was my iPhone 4), I think I’d have gotten a little more definition on those clouds.
Hart Plaza Reflected
This is a photo that I took from in front of the Underground Railroad monument (the Detroit River is behind me). The reflection is from the marble on the top of the monument.
I shot this with my iPhone 4 standing as tall as I could (while in front of the monument).
Downtown Detroit Christmas Trees
Some pictures of the Christmas trees in downtown Detroit. I believe I’m standing where the old Hudson’s building used to be located.
This was a 13 second exposure at f/14 with my 18-55mm lens at 18mm.
The Sunset from Belle Isle at Sunset Park
The sunset from tip of Sunset Park on Belle Isle. I posted a similar photo (but much closer) photo last October (maybe from the same day) you can see the Ambassador Bridge connecting Detroit to Canada. I was just there in the evening a few weeks ago and the sun goes no where near the Renaissance Center when it sets.
The Launch of Space Shuttle STS-131
This was my causeway view of the April 2011 launch of STS-131. It was very exciting! The causeway is the best view you can publicly purchase* tickets to watch a launch from, you can actually see the shuttle while it’s on the launch pad. From the Visitor’s Center you can’t actually see the launch because the trees are in the way, you can see it seconds after it clears the tree line. We couldn’t see the shuttle until a bus took us to the causeway and as you stepped off the bus people were gasping when they could see the shuttle on the launch pad! It was (very) far away, but it was beautiful!!!
This was one of the last few launches and it was amazing, I really wished I’d made it down there to more launches. It was a great experience. I’m so glad that I went on that trip!
* After you got in the lottery via e-mail you get to be in the “virtual waiting room” for ticket purchase day, you then had to win another lottery get actually get picked out of that room. FYI, they didn’t charge more for tickets on launch day, they were just harder to get (you did pay more for the causeway, but that’s because you had to get on a separate chartered bus to get out to that location). Private tour groups had some tickets but they charged more and it seemed a little more complicated getting around.
Baskets on an Island in Egypt
This is on a tiny island near Aswan, on The Nile at the south end of Egypt. I think we did a small tour on a boat and then had lunch on the island. The water is the Nile and that’s facing west, so that makes all the sand in the background the Sahara Desert.
Under the Ambassador Bridge
This was taken on the Diamond Jack boat tour of the Detroit River. I think this was the tour from Wyandotte, it goes just a little north of the Ambassador Bridge and then turns back around.
Diamond Jack has great boat trips on the Detroit River. I think they run from Memorial Day to Labor Day on Thursdays to Sunday. The ones from downtown Detroit start at Rivard Plaza right by the carousel and the ones from Wyandotte start at the Bishop park. I think they do two a day at each location; the Detroit ones are the same, the Wyandotte has a north tour and a south tour.
Click for some of my blog posts and photos about Detroit, Michigan..
Christmas house on Woodward Ave.
Just an interesting building I saw on Noel Night in Detroit last year. I’m pretty sure this was on Woodward Ave. right across (nearby?) the Detroit Institute of Arts.
ISO 200, f/3.5 at 1/2 second.
Barbed wire on the road to Cabuya
Some empty tree land (farm land?) on the road from Montezuma to Cabuya (on the Pacific side of Costa Rica). I was just walking to see what I might find (I was specifically looking for some more waterfalls).
I thought it was extra green around here so I was taking a lot of photos and started playing with the focus a bit.