Sunday, September 30, 2007

Ste Claire, Boblo Boat



The Ste Claire was one of two boats that ran from Detroit down to Boblo Island where an amusement park was located. It is now in the process of being renovated. Read more about it here. Read about the Columbia, the other Boblo boat here. It's headed eventually for the Hudson River in NY.

The Ste Claire is currently docked at the new and still unfinished Tri-Centennial Urban State Park in Downtown Detroitl.
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Saturday, September 29, 2007

More Sculpture at Wayne State


More Sculpture at Wayne State, by Mary Stebbins Taitt; click image to view larger. You can see me faintly reflected in several portions of the sculpture. The sculpture at Wayne State is diverse and interesting.
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Friday, September 28, 2007

Sculpture at Wayne State University


Sculpture at Wayne State University, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger. Today I went to an all-day Photoshop workshop. I "learned" a lot, too much to take it all in. Don't expect instant results; I'll have to relearn and relearn most of it multiple times before I finally "get it!" I attempted to apply "curves" to this photo but I am not really sure if I did it right or if it helped. I clearly have to practice more.

Wayne State has lots of nice architecture and sculpture.
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Thursday, September 27, 2007

Inside the Renaissance Center



This is a big posh place right in Downtown Detroit. I am behind on commenting, hope to catch up soon. Yesterday blogger would not let me comment; I tried several times. Notice it says General Motors. Biker Buddy is back at work, but the new contract has not been ratified yet.
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Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Bogartz Cafe at Night (color and BW)



Bogartz Cafe at Night (color and BW), by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click images to view larger. I have lots more pix from the conservatory and lots more from sunset at the point of Belle Isle and at the fountain, but I wanted to share this. I may got back to the others soon. Do you like the color one or the BW one best? This is sort of near where I live, but I haven't been there yet. I'm new in town. PS: note the fallen leaves on the pavement! PPS: if you like flowers, view another new conservatory flower shot here.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Inside the Conservatory



Inside the Conservatory, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Looking up, and over. The tropical room and the ferns.
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Monday, September 24, 2007

Belle Isle Conservatory



Belle Isle Conservatory, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click images to view larger. This conservatory not only has beautiful flowers. but is also a beautiful building.
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Sunday, September 23, 2007

Hibiscus at Belle Isle Conservatory


Hibiscus at Belle Isle Conservatory, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click iamge to view larger. Yesterday we went to the Belle Isle Conservatory and Elmwood Cemetery. I will post some of the pictures I took in the coming days.
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Saturday, September 22, 2007

Balduck Park past dusk


A perfect bright red sugar maple leaf lies face up on the ground. Closer inspection reveals yellow, orange, spots of green and brown and a few holes. Perhaps not perfect to some, but perfect to me. My first real autumn leaf. Oh, the ground is littered with yellow leaves and brown, but they fall all summer. This is an autumn leaf with its brilliant red.

And there, still on the bushes, are some red and orange shadbush leaves. Now the yellow leaves have new meaning. There is a faint chill in the air after all that heat we've been having, and a certain freshness—the humidity is lower. And it smells like fall, suddenly.

Crickets are singing and cicadas, too, though not with the same strength and vitality—or volume—as last week. The sky is a clear—but darkening blue, no summer haze today, and the puffy white clouds are tinged with salmon and a little pink, still pale.

The sky darkens, the color in the clouds brightens, the cricket song rises and the cicada song falls. I take a series of photographs of a light ground fog (a faint mist, really) in the trees, and with each shot, I have to lengthen the time exposure. Suddenly, I realize I can see stars. It must be night.

I walk through the dark trees toward the trail. I have no light, but even in the dark woods, there is enough light to see the trail. It's sort of spooky. I can't distinguish the lay of the land, the bumps and dips in the trail are smoothed in the faint light.

My senses come alive in the dark, my vision, though dim in the faint light, seems somehow more acute, the woods are full of smalls, mud, leaves, a rank animal smell, then a dead animal smell. No cicada song at all, but the crickets have risen to a din, yet I can hear the leaves rustling and the sounds of some animal hopping through the bushes nearby.

I come around a corner and my heart leaps to my throat—I jump back. I think I have seen a man standing, legs apart, in a threatening posture. My heart beats wildly, but it is only a stump. I take a deep breath, still feeling a bit fearful, peering around with more concern, and continue on. I spot the moon looking a bit hazy through the leaves of the trees, overhead. It casts strange flickering shadows in the woods. I am not sad when the trees thin, as I often am, but instead, a bit relieved. I'm happy tonight to just head home. I meet another woman walking into the trees, alone, as I walk out. I hope that mean stump doesn't worry her too much.

* * *

I set my little camera on a picnic table in Balduck Park and took some time exposures. This was the best of them.


Here are four maps of Balduck Park, the second one is rotated to fit it in the picture better.


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Friday, September 21, 2007

Party Boat on the Detroit River at Sunset




Party Boat on the Detroit River at Sunset, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger. Also included is a map of Belle Isle and a map of just the point of Belle Isle. All the Detroit River shots, bridge, moon, and skyline shots were taken from the point at #1. All the fountain shots were taken from #2 (also yesterday's heron). In this photo and on the maps, Windsor is to the south or left.
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Thursday, September 20, 2007

Heron at Scott Fountain resized



I liked it better when Blogger automatically resized the pictures. I carefully resized and saved them and then stupidly posted the originals. So if you want to read about this, see the previous post. If you want to click on them and have them open to screen size, use these. Aieee!
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Heron at Scott Fountain



Heron at Scott Fountain, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. It was NIGHT, and I was using a tripod to photograph the fountain when a heron landed nearby. It's a bit pixelated, but I was happy to see and "capture" it. The colors on the fountain keep changing, but I won't post all the varieties. Click images to view larger.
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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Belle Isle Bridge and Detroit at Sunset


Belle Isle Bridge and Detroit at Sunset, by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger. This bridge, the General Douglas MacArthur Bridge, crosses from mainland Detroit to Belle Isle. The buildings in Detroit are reflecting the setting sun in their windows. The Detroit River flows around Belle Isle. On one side is Detroit and the USA and on the other, Windsor and Canada. The green in the foreground is the point of Belle Isle and part of Detroit.

I have also posted a new autumn leaf, a red sugar maple leaf. When leaves turn red and fall, can snow be far behind? Aiee!
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Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Detroit Skyline just after sunset


Detroit Skyline just after Sunset from Belle Isle by Mary Stebbins Taitt. Click image to view larger. Belle Isle is part of Detroit.
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Monday, September 17, 2007

Detroit Skyline at Sunset


Detroit Skyline at Sunset from Belle Isle, by Mary Stebbins Taitt (click image to view larger).
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Sunday, September 16, 2007

Scott Fountain on Belle Isle at Night


Scott Fountain on Belle Isle at Night, from across the lagoon, by Mary Stebbins Taitt (click image to view larger.) Too bad the have been moon couldn't have been in this one, too! It doesn't even look like the same night, but it was. There were cloud banks on one side and clear areas on the other, and luckily, the moon was in one of the clear spots. This is a wonderful fountain! I really love it.
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Saturday, September 15, 2007

Moon Over the Ambassador Bridge


The Ambassador Bridge connects Windsor and Detroit. (Click image to view larger.) I took this last night, and no, I did NOT add the moon, it was really there just as you see it! The photo was taken from the very tip of Belle Isle. Windsor is on the left and Detroit on the right. I got more of Windsor than Detroit because I wanted to get the moon in, but I was IN Detroit when I took it. I had a wonderful assistant, Biker Buddy, who carried the tripod and helped me get everything set up just right. We had to bring a small tripod, because we rode there on our bikes. I took a lot more pictures and am eager to share them with you! YAY!
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Friday, September 14, 2007

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The People Mover (Downtown Detroit)


The People Mover (Downtown Detroit). This elevated makes a circle around downtown Detroit.
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