Documentary kit

I got my hands on a Canon 1D MarklV today. Hopefully this will be the camera I will shoot the documentary with.
Here is a picture of my kit.

Thats my 7D, with the EF-S 10-22mm. The 1D MarklV is sporting the EF 85mm "L" series prime.

I'm heading intro NYC tonight to do some testing I'll post the results in the days to come.

One of my favorite photos from my Canon 20D

Ok this doesn't have anything to do with Detroit or the Documentary I am making but it is one of my favorite photos that I took with my old Canon 20D. Recently I purchased a 7D, and plan on shooting a good part of the Doc. on the 7D, I just haven't had the chance to put it through its paces yet. So in reminiscence of all the great time-lapse footage and stills shot acomplished with the 20D I post this picture and hope the 7D will serve me as well.

Response from Detroit Artists.

I have been getting a good amount of interest for this project from local artists and just general people with an opinion from Detroit and elsewhere. It will take me a little while to sort through them but as I do I will post some of the more interesting correspondence.

Water and Sewerage

Notice the GM building looming in the background like an unreachable Land of Oz.

Outside the soup kitchen

I took this photo in early November just a few blocks from the Motown Museum.

Michigan Avenue around Rosa Parks near the MCS

PBS Series "Beyond The Motor City" Blueprint America

PBS is running a series which uses Detroit as a framing structure to examine infrastructure issues in urban planning.
"Blueprint America harnesses the power of public broadcasting’s most prestigious programs, primetime documentaries, and the web to shine an unyielding spotlight on one of the most critical issues facing our country: America’s decaying and neglected infrastructure."

This video "The Power House" portrays an interesting grass roots approach akin to the homesteading that went on during the western expansion.



Here is a link to their blog: http://powerhouseproject.com/blog/


The plight of Detroit is pertinent and timely, and can be seen as a harbinger of things to come and a warning to future urban planners.

Church Interior

Another fabulous abandoned building, this one used to be a church, everything had been stripped out of it, but the stone structure remains. It too is for sale. I neglected to get a price. I did actually stumble upon a crack den while getting this photo, but that is another story.

Detroit artists use city’s blight as a canvas By MIKE HOUSEHOLDER The Associated Press Sunday, December 20, 2009

This is an HDR photo of one of the houses in the Heidleberg Project in Detroit.
I have several more photos of this multi block installation that I will post at a later date.
Link to Heidelberg website: http://www.heidelberg.org/

Recent attempt to auction off foreclosed or abandoned properties fails in Detroit.

LINK: http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/10/detroit_house_auction_flops_as.html

Artists Buying Cheap Houses in Detroit

This is an interesting bit of news. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08barlow.html?_r=3

Agree or not this guy has a point.

The plight of Detroit seems to be on many people's minds and keeps popping up in regard to a number of social and political issues. I find the mixture of response fascinating. http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/01/25/haiti-is-not-our-long-term-responsibility-detroit-is/

Fisher Plant

People from Detroit have an amusing term for pictures outsiders take of the infamous ruins found in their city, they call it "Ruins Porn". I've tried to breath new life into this fledgling genre of architectural photography. Above is an HDR photo I took of the Fisher Plant. Perhaps its too "pretty" to truly convey the ominous nature of the ruin. I'd like to think it elevates the structure to a more fitting reminder of the majesty such pillars of industry once held.

Inside the MCS

Here is a picture of me standing inside of the MCS in Detroit. I stood in front of the camera so a sense of scale could be had. The building is enormous. I had to climb through a hole in a fence toward the back of the building and then make my way through a second floor window.

Ice House of Detroit

Here is an interesting attempt to raise awareness of the situation in Detroit.
They even lit it up like a Gregory Crewdson photograph and took 8x10 photos.
I'll keep my eyes on this project.
I wish I could get out there now and interview these guys and take a few photos with my own brand of photography.
It seems there are a good many of us feeling the need to act on behalf of that city.
www.icehousedetroit.blogspot.com

Life Magazine photo spread of Detroit Ruins

It seems there was a Life Magazine photo journalist wandering the back alleys of Detroit during the same time period as myself.
It also seems that we visited a great many of the same sites, not because there is a shortage of such sites, more likely due to the fact that the sites we both visited were so profoundly present, accessible and in your face. One can only hope that the Life Magazine photo essay will help me in my quest for funding for my endeavor. Find it here: http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/36682/detroit-still-life

Bombed out truck at the abandoned Packard Motors Plant

It seems this truck started on the 4th floor of the Packard plant until some local activists decided to alter the scenery. It landed right were I snapped it.: http://jalopnik.com/5398818/dang-detroit-kids-push-abandoned-dump-truck-out-packard-plant-window

Abandoned house in Detroit

Abandoned gas station in Detroit

Interior of the Abandoned Train Station

Detroit once called the paris of North America now lays in ruins