Belle Isle Redux

After the Cuyahoga, I decided to head back to Belle Isle.  I was hoping to catch some more pictures of the cherry blossoms since it wasn't as windy today.

 The Scott Fountain shot from across the Scott Lagoon.  It was a nice enough day for wandering around though.

 And it wasn't quite as windy today, so I think I had a chance to get some better pictures of the cherry blossoms.

 I tried to get this one set against the sky.

 As I was shooting pictures, I heard this guy flying over.  Sadly, I was just carrying my camera and not my camera bag, so I couldn't switch lenses.

 I really like the blossoms shot against the other blossoms.

 They say threes the best.

 I just wish they weren't doing stuff for the race with this.  I'm not thrilled with the crash barrier in the background.

 I tried to get a shot of the fountain against the trees.

 I also had to get the city against the blossoms.  This time I shot at f/36, so the city would be in focus too.

 The Scott Fountain again.  this time with the flowers in front of it.

 One of the flowers in front of the fountain.

 Another one of the flowers.

 Moving up closer to the fountain itself.

 I like the view of the skyline from this spot.

 Some of the details of the fountain.  I believe there is a sculpture representative of most industry in Michigan.

 The fountain bowl.  I love the little cherubs.

 More details on the fountain.

 One of the lions.

 A sculpture of the person who the fountain is named after.

 A closeup of his face.

 I tried to get a shot with the city in the background.

 One of the turtles.

 Another lion.

 Another angle of the fountain.

Another stand of trees.

 I tried to get some of the lagoon in this shot.

 More blossoms.  I think they were a little pinker today.

 And another group.

 Three's a crowd.

 Looking up at the sky.

 The stand of trees from another angle.  I just with the radio towers and stuff weren't in the background.

 This part of the fountain leads into the lagoon.  I don't think I've taken pictures of this before.

 A water catch.

 I would have liked this picture if it were straighter and those people weren't climbing all over the fountain.

 Another shot of the blossoms.

 Looking down the row of trees.  Again, I wish the guard weren't there.  But oh well.

And a shot of the skyline before heading back to my car.

Hope you enjoyed those shots.

The James Scott Fountain Revisited

There are some things that I will photograph over and over because I like the subject. The Mackinac Bridge comes to mind in that regard. There are some things I will photograph again because I didn't like the way the pictures turned out the first time. Then there are those rare instances where someone has done some work on something I've photographed before.

Frequent visitors to this blog know that I like to visit Belle Isle because it is a perfect spot for shipwatching. They also know that I like it because there are many photogenic things on it. I've done a couple trips where I've just photographed the various sculptures and buildings on the island but I have only scratched the surface. Sadly, there are quite a few of these sculptures that are in a sad state of disrepair.

Last time I visited this fountain was in March. The water wasn't running and there were traces of rust where the water would normally be running. Many places didn't look as immaculate as white marble can look. So I was glad when I stopped by Belle Isle tonight to see that the water was running and they had cleaned the fountain.

As a refresher the James Scott Fountain was built in 1925 and it as named after a real estate tycoon. After his death, he left a nice sum of money to have this fountain named after him but there were many people who did not like him. Eventaully, he won out and here is the fountain.
As you can see, considerable work has been done on the fountain and the white marble stands out nicely against the blue sky of summer. Many of the traces of rust are gone.It is nice to know that some of the details are little fountains in their own right. The water itself seems to match the color of the Detroit River.

I really love some of the details on this fountain though. The sculptures are very interesting.

This is a statue of the person the fountain is named after.

One of four lion sculptures.

The stem of the fountain. I like the parts that look like Greek actors.

An overall shot of the fountain. This may end up becoming something I will photograph more because I do like the looks of it.

The James Scott Fountain

This fountain was built in 1925. It was named after James Scott who was a real estate tycoon and left a substantial sum of money to have the fountain named after him. He was a controversial figure and this caused some dismay as they tried to get around naming the fountain after him.

A shot as you are approaching the fountain. It is pretty nice and will look nicer in the summer when the water is going.



A detail of some of the sculptures around the fountain.

One of the fish.

Another angle of one of the snapping turtles.

A closeup of the lion head.

One of the figures near the top of the fountain.

One of the lions.

One of the figures near the top from the front.

One of the friezes.

Some more of the fountain detail.

Another overall shot of the fountain.