Abandoned Detroit

I am in Detroit for a convention this week. I arrived on an early flight today, and then went in search of two abandoned factories that I learned about before coming here. It is a long story and I will talk more about it later on. This is part of the Continental Motors factory, built in 1912, and then shut down in 1965. It originally covered 12 acres, and was one of the world's largest motor factories, building engines for cars and trucks, and even tanks. One version of the history says that the factory made a huge stink, and neighbors sued, but lost the case. Another version claims that worker militancy was the cause of the shutdown. I was extremely lucky today - when I arrived at the first factory it was raining, which was perfect, and it was still overcast when I arrived here. Perfect light for photographing these amazing structures. I posted a really large file of this, so please click on it to see a much larger image. You will enjoy seeing more detail in the larger image.

The Neighbor's House

This is the view that I see each morning out my bedroom window. I have been watching the dogwoods come into bloom - the trees with white and the pink blossoms, thinking that maybe there was a photograph somewhere there. This morning there were low clouds breaking up, with dark and bright patches in the sky. I realized instantly that was what completed the picture! So here it is. It is one of my more subtle images I think, but I do think that there is something special here. Click on it, of course, to see much better color.

The New Bike

"The New bike?" What? This is a picture of a rocking chair! OK, OK, I will explain. Now that I am traveling around town doing errands with my bike instead of my car, I discovered another plus to the process... I went to the Post Office the other day, and on the way home, even though it was raining, I didn't go directly home - I started riding around on some of the narrower streets that I wouldn't drive along with my car. And since this isn't my racing bike, I am riding more leisurely, instead of hammering for my whole ride. The reward is being able to see so much more than I would in the car. This shot is proof of that. The beautiful yellow rocking chair jumped out at me from some distance away. Stay tuned to see if I find other photographs this way, in my bike travels.

Rain Again Today

It rained again today, so I went into the yard to see what I could find. This is our dying dogwood that has been in our side yard for 39 years, and it has always been a joy to watch come into bloom every spring. Half of it is gone now, and apparently there was no way to save it. Anyhow, I first looked at the blossoms, and did some photographs of them. I moved to the left, and realized that there were some of the dead branches in the foreground that were out of focus. At some point I decided to focus on the branches just to see what it looked like, and I was stunned because there were water drops on the branches. It was a completely different looking photo - just because of a change of focus! Wow! I love that this has a completely different feeling from what I normally recognize as a picture.

Ferns in the Rain

We bought our house back in September of 1970. There is a steep bank in front of the house, and it was covered with brown vegetation after a hot summer. I didn't pay any attention to it at the time. But the next Spring, the bank exploded into brilliant bright green, as the fiddleheads of new ferns pushed their way up through the dead remains of last year's ferns. It was rainy today, and in the rain, colors are more brilliant than in bright sunshine. So I grabbed the camera and went searching in the fern bank for something interesting. I photographed the green ferns against brown, and then found this, with the green against the new green grass. I think the monochromatic version is more striking, so here it is! (And it looks dull green, so please click on it.)

Moonrise From The Couch

Last month I was tired one afternoon, and did the unusual thing of lying down on the couch to take a short nap. I usually stretch out in my chair. When I woke up, I noticed the moon rising in the East through the window. While I was idly looking at the scene, I thought it might make an interesting shot for the blog. Interesting because I would usually not shoot a scene like this - I would go outside and maybe go down to the beach and look for a traditional scenic. So this is not traditional - it is a different way of seeing for me. Of course it could be that this is not even a complete photograph. But I liked that I was, for a few minutes, thinking of seeing the world in a different way.

Helping the Economy

Question: "How many bicycles do you need?" Answer: "Just one more." What I am doing here is helping the economy to recover by supporting my local bike shop! I received a letter in the mail the other day, telling me I would receive my Stimulus check at the end of May. So I decided to do the right thing, and not save the money. About the bike: It is a Specialized Hardrock mountain bike, the least expensive one they make. My plan is to drive less, and use this to buy bagels on the weekend, and to go to the grocery store and Starbucks by riding my bike, instead of using the car. Seriously. The neat thing is, when I ride my racing bikes, I have to get all decked out with my spandex shorts and jersey, and my bike shoes with cleats before riding. With this bike, I just put velcro straps around my jeans, toss on a helmet, and off I go. And don't you just love the yellow!