The Lewis J. Kuber

I was up in Bay City today and was riding along the river when I saw this ship, the Lewis J. Kuber.

This is a shot of the Kuber right after she passed the Liberty Bridge.

The Lewis J. Kuber started out life as the Sparrows Point named in honor of the shipyard that built her. She was the sister of 2 other ships (the Elton Hoyt which is now the Michipicoten and the Johnstown). She was launched on April 18, 1952. In 1958, she was lengthened to 695 feet. Then in 1980, she was converted to a self unloader and then in 1990 she was sold and renamed the Buckeye (blech).

She was to be converted to a diesel ship, but that never happened and she was converted to a barge and mated to the Olive L. Moore in 2006.

This is the Lewis J. Kuber as she approached the Vets Bridge.

This is a shot of the tug Olive L. Moore. She was launched in 1928 as the John F. Cushing. She would keep that name until 1965 when she was briefly named the James E. Scully. In 1966, she would become the Olive L. Moore. From 1979 to 1990 she was mated with a barge called the Buckeye (different Buckey than the Lewis J. Kuber).

In 2006, her pilothouse was raised to see over the crane of the Lewis J. Kuber.

It's amazing how these ships can serve as a representation of Great Lakes History as well.

A Fountain in the Flash

This one was part of an odd experiment. I was heading back to my car and I passed this fountain. It was dark and I wanted to try to capture it with my flash. Sometimes when you capture stuff with a flash, you can freeze the motion. I hope you enjoy.

The Triton Fountain...Again

This one is not part of my 12 Months series but it is in front of the Bell Tower and I really like it so it finds itself in front of my lens every so often. It is the Triton fountain.



I was trying different parts of it and trying to capture the feel of the water motion. With the nice sheen of water in front of the fish, I think I did that.

Same here.



I was trying to capture the motion of the fountains and the slight waterfall effect.

The Bell Tower in July

The other part of my 12 Months series and one of my favorite structures in Ann Arbor.

This is pretty much my standard shot of the tower. The trees in the foreground to give some persepctive of the season.

Looking up at the corner of the tower. I kind of like this shot because it takes something concrete and turns it into something abstract. Plus it gives the illusion of height.

Looking straight up the tower.

The sun setting. I am liking the slightly darkened building against the light sky look.

Another shot of the tower.

A Michigan Flag

Flying on top of the Michigan Union is a Block M flag. I really love the color scheme of Maize and Blue. The colors go well together.

The Michigan Union in July

As part of my ongoing series dealing with 12 seaons worth of the Michigan Union, I decided to go down to Ann Arbor today and take my pictures of the Michigan Union and the Bell Tower.

My pretty much standard shot of the Union.

I wasn't able to get a picture of this guy last month because he was covered in Ivy. They must have cleared him off and I really like the effect of the branches criss crossing him.

I don't remember if I got a picture of this guy or not. I may not have as I didn't have my shutter speeds right or something. Anyways, here he is.

Here's a shot of both statues.

An overall shot of the building itself.

The Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

And this is another previously photographed subject of this blog so I'm not going to go into much detail about it. It is another one of my favorite statues in Detroit.

This is an overall shot of the Monument. There is a representative for the Navy, Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery. There is also relief of Lincoln. This is dedicated to the soldiers and sailors of Michigan that fought in the Civil War.

This represents victory.



This represents an infantryman.

This one represents a cavalryman.

It's not quite as impressive as the similar statue in Indianapolis but I like it a little better.

The Underground Railroad Sculpture

The Hart Plaza is also home to a statue dedicated to the Underground Railroad. Detroit was typically the final place escaped slaves would go before they crossed over into Canada.

Here one of the people is pointing over towards Canada.

You can look at this statue and almost imagine that they are seeing freedom for the first time. Apparently roads in Michigan were under construction then too (note the orange barrel..which I don't think is a part of the statue).

Another angle of the statue.

The Horace Dodge Fountain

The Horace Dodge Fountain is probably the focal point of Hart Plaza and was built in 1979. It is named after one of the people that founded Dodge Motor Company. It is a neat looking fountain.

This is looking from the river side. I think this may be the first time I've seen water running in it.

A closeup of the fountain.

Looking up at it.

Looking at an oblique angle.

The Spirit of Detroit

Another iconic image of Detroit is the Spirit of Detroit statue. I have posted a few pictures of this before as it is one of my favorite subjects in Detroit. I haven't lately because I haven't been down to this part of Detroit in a while. Since I was in the area, I decided to take some pictures.

A shot of the statue from the front. If there is a team in the playoffs or something, you'll see a jersey on him.

A closeup of one of his hands.

A shot of the statue later in the day.

A closeup of his face. The sculptor was Marshall Fredericks.

Joe Louis' Fist

Probably one of the iconic figures of Detroit is Joe Louis. And probably one of the more iconic statues is the statue of his fist. It seems like everytime there is a national sports broadcast they have to wander down to the fist.

A side shot of the fist.

Probably not the angle of the fist you'd want to see for real.

A close up of the side.

Antoine DeLemothe Cadillac Statue

Hart Plaza is near the spot where Antoine Cadillac discovered the spot that would eventually be Detroit.

This is a state made in his honor.

A closeup of the statue's face.

Some Pictures of Detroit

These are some pictures of a few buildings of Detroit.

Right next to the State Harbor was a hill. I decided to climb up it and see what I could see. I thought it made for a nice picture of the Detroit skyline.

A closeup shot of the Ren Cen and the Comerica Tower.

The 150 Jefferson Building and a couple other buildings looking from the Hart Plaza.

The 150 Jefferson building and the One Woodward Building. The Dodge Fountain is near the front.

A shot of the Coleman A. Young building. This is where the City Offices are housed.

Looking up at the Comerica Tower.

Looking up at the Comerica Tower from the front. This is probably one of my favorite buildings in Detroit.

Looking at the Renaissance Center from the Fist.