Day Fifty Six

Shopping at the guitar store with my son.  We got a nice 12 string.

Day Fifty Five

A display of glass bowls and vases at a gift shop.

Day Fifty Four

When I went to Detroit, the main reason was because of this building shown below.  I had seen pictures taken by other photographers and was completely amazed and intrigued.  How could such a big, beautiful building, end up in such a state?

This building is known as the Michigan Central Station. It was completed, and began operation, in 1913, where it served as a train station for the Detroit area, and was the tallest train station in the world.  During it's hey day, up to 4000 passengers boarded here on a daily basis.  Some of those passengers include Presidents Hoover, Truman, and Roosevelt.  Other noted passengers included Thomas Edison and Charlie Chaplin.

Most of the building closed in 1967, excluding a couple of ticket windows, as rail service began to dwindle.  When Amtrak took over passenger rail service in 1971, parts of the building were reopened, but in 1984 the building was sold, and four years later in 1988 the building was closed for good.

Several efforts have been made to try and renovate the building, and in 1996, it was sold to the owner of the Ambassador Bridge which connects Detroit to Windsor, Canada.  There have been many different ideas submitted on what to do with the building.  If you are interested, you can check it out here.

It has been featured in several movies including 8 Mile, The Island, Transformers, and Four Brothers.

In 1975 it was added to the National register of Historic Places.

This view here is from behind, where all the trains crossed and loaded.  Notice that not only is the building in a state of disrepair, but so is the overpass.  When we drove under the overpass, I was actually a little scared.  It was quite dark and filled with graffiti. 

Here is a view from the south side.  It almost looks as if the area to the right was a loading area, but with razor wire surrounding the entire building, there was no way for me to get much closer to have a better look.

Unfortunately, I did not have much time to stay in town, so I wasn't able to take the picture in better lighting.  This shot here is from the front of the station and also the best view of the building. 

If you click on any of the pictures, it will take you to a bigger picture where you can see a little more detail.

Day Fifty Three

A nice shot of an Edsel that I captured at the Henry Ford Museum.

Day Fifty Two

The Spirit of Detroit statue in downtown Detroit.

Day Fifty One

When I was a child, my mom and step-dad owned a VW bus.  Being hippies, we traveled, and moved from place to place quite often.  I don't remember much about that time in my life, but I do remember riding in it once.  Now, as I've grown, I would love to own one, and take it on an adventure across the country!  Too bad they don't make them anymore, although I did hear rumors they might start making them again. 

Day Fifty

It was a beautiful day here today.  It was the first day we reached temperatures over 30 degrees in at least a month and a half.  I took the opportunity of warmer weather to do some exploring outside, and to take a quick ride on the snowmobile with my daughter.  While outside, I noticed a pumpkin that had been left outside by our compost pile.  It seemed strange, so I took a closer look.  Upon inspection, I noticed little bunny rabbit prints nearby.  The little rabbits have been making a meal of this pumpkin.  It looks quite interesting up close. Here are a few various shots.

Up close.

A step back.

From above.

Day Forty Nine

Not sure what kind of car this belongs too, but I love these tail lights.  Do you have any idea what make and model these belong to?

Day Forty Eight

A drive through downtown Detroit can yield a lot of interesting photo ops.  Here's a slew of graffiti tags that I captured during my visit.

Day Forty Seven

This interesting structure, created by Buckminster Fuller, is called a Dymaxion House.  

Here is a picture of the kitchen area.

More information can be found here.

Day Forty Six

Today I took a trip to the Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Michigan.  There are so many awesome exhibits there, you could spend a whole week there and still not see all that there is to see.  The following photos are from one of those exhibits.  I chose this exhibit as today's feature since February is Black History Month.

 This is the infamous bus that Rosa Parks rode on, in Montgomery Alabama, on December 1, 1955, when she refused to give up her seat to a white man.  Her actions are what helped spark the civil rights movement.

This is the view of the back of the bus.  This is the area where the "colored" people, as they were referred to at the time, were required to sit.

The second seat from the left, is the seat that Rosa was sitting in when the bus driver told her to move to that back section of the bus.

This here is from the back of the bus, where the "coloreds" sat.

And finally, a picture of the back view of the bus.

Day Forty Five

This is a picture of Thunder Bay, taken from the pier in Alpena, Michigan.

Day Forty Four

Here's a collection of cute little birdhouses from one of my favorite northern Michigan markets, Knaebe's Apple Farm.  The farm is closed for the season, but whenever they are open, I love to go in and just look around.

Day Forty Three

 I love this sign.  Although the weather wasn't so nice and the roads were horrible when I took the picture.

Day Forty Two

 This really looks like somewhere I'd like to escape to.  I can be a hermit sometimes.

Day Forty One

I create Artist Trading Cards and swap them via snail-mail with other artists around the world.  I use a website called Swap-Bot.  It inspires me to be creative, plus I get lots of beautiful art from all over.  I made these two cards for a Valentine's Day swap.  They will be going to their new home tomorrow.

Day Forty

An old school house not far from my home.  I love old buildings, obviously you know that already if you've been paying attention.  I would love to go in here and check it out someday, but I doubt I'll get the chance.

Day Thirty Nine

A little color on a depressing day.  A family member has been really moody the last few days, and it's not been very enlightening for me.  When this happens, I turn to my art to keep my mind occupied.

Day Thirty Eight

Captured this beautiful morning sunrise en route to take my daughter to school this morning.  I had to pull over and make her wait to get to school.  It's a good thing we left a few minutes early. It drives my kids crazy when I seem to constantly pull over on the side of the road to capture something interesting that I happened to see. 

Day Thirty Seven

Well, I was sick yesterday and was not able to get on here.  I pretty much stayed in bed.  Since I missed it, I am making up for it today.

 A colorful store sign in Mackinaw City.  The store sells a wide variety of flavored popcorn. They are currently closed for the season.

Day Thirty Six

 I absolutely love this store front in Pellston, especially the door.  If it were mine though, I'd change the yellow color to something else, maybe  cornflower blue or a coral.

Day Thirty Five

The Mackinac Bridge and the Mackinaw City water tower.

The bridge as seen from the park in town.

Here's one taken from out on the ice of Lake Huron

 Getting a little closer.

Icy pillars of the Mackinac Bridge.

My daughter, taking a picture of me, taking a picture of the bridge.