Sunday, March 11, 2012

Belle Isle in March

So it was the first day after the Daylight Saving Time and of course I got an hour later start than I really wanted.  But I guess that didn't really matter since that meant the sun would be out an hour longer.  At any rate, it was pushing into the 60's today, so I decided to head over to Belle Isle to do my March shots.

This has really not felt like winter at all.  Sure we've had snow but it seems like within a couple days of the snow it would be warm again and the snow would melt.  I'm not sure what kind of effect that will have on things but we will see.  This is close enough to spring though that not having snow in my shots wont matter.
 Since it was a pretty nice day, the people were out at Belle Isle in droves.  I'm glad that the park gets alot of use but sometimes it doesn't make it very fun.  This is a shot looking down The Strand.
 A shot of the MacArthur Bridge.  One of these days I'm going to get a shot looking down the sides or something.  But not this time.
 Looking across the pond at the Scott Fountain.
 Looking up at the Scott Fountain.
 I took the opportunity today to get some shots from some angles that I wouldn't normally get.  There was no water in the fountain.  I was very careful because I didn't want to break anything. 
 One of the friezes.
 Another one of the friezes.  These circle around the fountain.  I think I might do a page just dedicated to this fountain again.  The last time I did one, I didn't include many of the details.
 One of the sculptures on the side of the fountain.  I kind of like the look of these.  Again, this was an angle that I couldn't normally get.
 This would normally be shooting out water.
 So would this.
 Another shot of the Detroit skyline from the fountain.  I kind of like the looks of this with the skyscrapers shooting out from the trees.  You can see the string of cars on the drive around the island.
 A look at the almost whole fountain.  I can't wait to get shots with water in this.
 It is kind of neat around the fountain.  There are marble stairs.  There is also a statue of Scott.
 The building called the casino.  Although you don't gamble here.
 One of the footbridges across one of the streams that runs through the park.  One of the things I like about this park is the variety of things that are on it. 
 One of the other things that I like is that I keep discovering new things.  I don't think I've ever noticed this statue before.  Or I may have but I don't remember.  At any rate, it is dedicated to the Union soldiers in the Civil War.
 A closeup of his face.
 Down the street, there is a statue dedicated to the Goodfellas.  This one is dedicated to the newsboys.  It was originally built in the 30's and renovated in 1997.
 A closeup of a statue dedicated to the sailors of the Spanish-American War.
 A shot of that statue.  I believe this statue has appeared on this blog before.  The statue on the left is like one that is near the Water Tower in Ypsilanti.  It depicts an Army soldier from the Spanish-American War.
 A fuller shot of the soldier.
 A closeup of his face.
 A full shot of the sailor.
 I've taken a picture of this statue before.  And I'm pretty sure I've taken one from this angle before but I just wanted a shot of the street that kind of cuts through the center of the island.  It is General Alpheus Williams.
 A closeup of that statue.  I think it is a pretty cool statue.
 I really like how it sets out against the blue sky.
 This time I decided to head back towards the Livingstone Lighthouse.  It is named after a former President of the Lake Carriers Association.  Under his watch a number of safety innovations were developed for the Lake Freighters.  This is the only memorial lighthouse that is also an active one.
 A shot of the lighthouse from an angle.
 A detail of the back of the lighthouse.
 The lighthouse from another angle.
 The detail of the front of the lighthouse.  I kind of like the frieze on the front.  The lighthouse itself was designed by Albert Kahn.
 An attempt at looking up at the lighthouse.  Unfortunately, you can't get right up to the lighthouse, so I can't get my favorite angle.
 Another shot from the front.  I do think it is a pretty cool lighthouse.
I tried to get one more shot of the lighthouse but if you can see the disembodied head at the bottom.  That person kept hanging out in front of the lighthouse and I didn't feel like waiting for them to do whatever they were doing, so I am left with this shot.

Well, I am three months into the project and I'm still not sure how I want to approach it.  Belle Isle is a pretty large scope for a project like this.  I almost think that I want to concentrate on something for each month but that kind of defeats the purpose of why I do this.  I kind of want to show the change of the seasons on similar spots.  If I bounce around to different spots on the island, I wont get that.

At any rate, I think this is a fun project so far.

1 comment:

DetroitVideoDaily said...

Great photos! I especially like the statue photography. Looking forward to when the fountain gets going.
-Roger