This shot of downtown Detroit, Michigan was taken from Campus Martius park during Scott Kelby’s 2nd Annual Worldwide Photowalk. The tall building in the center is the Penobscot building and is one of the more recognizable buildings in Detroit.

This shot, taken on Scott Kelby’s Second Annual Worldwide Photowalk, shows the statue known as The Spirit of Detroit. The statue was created by Marshall Fredericks, who is responsible for many pieces of art in Southeastern Michigan (and other places as well).

This shot shows the Wintergarden portion of the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan. The RenCen is also the world headquarters of General Motors. This is another picture that I took on this years Worldwide Photowalk organized by Scott Kelby and friends. The RenCen was the starting and ending point for our walk. We finished the walk and had some lunch at the food court. When I came in from outside, I took this shot. Shortly thereafter, a security guard approached some of our photowalk members and informed them that there could be no photography inside the building. There was even a vague threat to one of our photographers that they might confiscate his camera. It was later learned that it was ok to shoot with point and shoot cameras, but not ‘professional’ cameras. What a load of crap. Anyway I have this one shot which I think came out all right. The picture has a slightly greenish cast to it because the glass is tinted green. I debated about fixing the white balance, but I kind of like the color cast.

Today was the day for the 2009 edition of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk. I participated in the Detroit photowalk led by Terry White. This shot was taken right at the start of the walk. Our walk started at the fountain on the riverfront side of the Renaissance Center (also known as the world headquarters for General Motors). I was actually lining up to take a shot of the fountain with the RenCen in the background when this kid decided he wanted to run through the fountain. Fine by me, I think it made for an interesting shot.

The Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan was built in the mid-70’s. At the time, the thought was that this new set of buildings would help provide for a ‘renaissance’ of the city of Detroit. Alas it wasn’t to be. The building was more of a fortress than anything else. It had large berms which faced the main street, and the other side was the river. This created a structure which was more of an island than anything else. A couple years ago, General Motors purchased the buildings and moved it’s world headquarters to it. There was a bit of irony in this, since the Renaissance Center (aka ‘RenCen’) had significant funding from the Ford family.

‘The Fist’ is a sculpture made in tribute to Joe Louis aka ‘The Brown Bomber’ and sits in the middle of a busy intersection in Detroit, Michigan. The 24 x 24 x 11.5 feet Monument to Joe Louis was commissioned by Time Inc. for the City of Detroit to honor Joe Louis. It was created by sculptor Robert Graham and installed at Jefferson Avenue at Woodward, Detroit on October 16, 1986. Over the years the artwork has been the subject of controversy.

This shot was taken at the 2008 North American International Auto Show. The Mazda display had a video screen which showed a variety of images and I thought the juxtaposition of the mother/child as a backdrop to a high speed sports car was an interesting mix. Afterwards I noticed the gentlemen on the left side which I also think add something to the shot. The original was color and I converted it to black & white using Photoshop.

This sculpture is named ‘Transcending’ and it was a gift by Detroit labor unions to the city to honor Detroit’s 300th birthday. I took this shot during the Detroit edition of Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photowalk. The sculpture is located at the edge of Hart Plaza which is located along the Detroit riverfront. Our photowalk took us along the new Riverwalk which runs along the Detroit River. In the summer, it makes for a pleasant trip.