On October 13, 2012 my daughter and I had the pleasure of a photo outing with my friends Kiah and Brian, and a newbie I call Dynamite.
Elmwood Historic Cemetery in Detroit, MI was our photographic destination, and we joined an official tour group to learn more about this beautiful place. We probably should have just explored by ourselves, because I wasn’t a very good student/tour member. I kept getting distracted (Squirrel!) and so had to google the information about Elmwood after the fact. Today Google is my friend.
Originally established in 1846, Elmwood Cemetery is now 86 acres of beautiful rolling hills and gentle streams. Stones and mausoleums reflect dates from the 1800s until now, and it is very interesting to note the trends of the times for marking burial sites. From wrought iron barriers, to ornately carved marble, stone statues and artistic stones, I spent my time primarily photographing details. And my fellow photographers of course.
Shooting me, shooting you?
After the tour we decided that we should explore on our own. The guard warned us that the gates close at 4pm, and if we were not out then we would be locked in the cemetery. Great.
Squirrel!
Did we lose track of time? Of course we did. We arrived at the gates just as they were being locked. I blame this on Kiah. Why? I don’t know. Mostly because he is trouble. Thankfully the guard took pity on us and opened them back up even though it was 4:05. Not sure how I would have explained to my husband that my daughter and I were locked in a cemetery with three strange men. Yes, I know them – doesn’t mean they aren’t strange.
All kidding aside, a great outing and fun time photographing a beautiful place. Thanks guys!!!
More Squirrels!
Clockwise from upper left: Dynamite, Kiah, Riley and me, Brian
*Note: This article was originally published on the TDP Blog HERE May 24, 2009. This post contains a couple of extra images. 🙂 MCS was restored as of June 2024 – I thought it might be fun to look back… =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Flashback: May 2009
What an exciting photo outing this was, thank you so much Kiah for inviting me! Kiah’s friends Brian and Ralph were great fun too. I loved talking photography and sharing ideas/comps. Oh, and Ralph you were a great model, we’ll have to get some pics to your mom for ya LOL.
I have to say that while I am generally a portrait photog, I absolutely LOVE taking pics just for the sake of taking pics. This was a golden opportunity for beautiful images in Michigan Central Station.
Entering
A grand, majestic old building scheduled for demolition, you walk in and your reaction (after an appropriately stunned silence) is a breathless “wow”.
The sheer expanse of the main room alone is breathtaking, and that is even before you look around and see the intricate stone and tile work. It’s sad and depressing too, as the initial impact wears off and you realize the state of total decay this beautiful building is in. The regal columns and gorgeous architecture defaced with graffiti and crumbling concrete and tile.
It’s easy to lose track of time exploring this building. Around every corner was another room or expanse, always with something different if not more beautiful. I must say, some of the grafitti was pretty interesting as well LOL (gotta love urban humor).
According to wikipedia “The building is composed of two distinct parts: the train station itself and the 18-storey tower. The roof height is 230 feet (70 m)” Yes, we climbed the stairs to the top, stopping every couple of floors to take pics and look out the windows.
Going Up the Stairs
The stairs had no railings (yikes), missing tiles and even holes/broken spots (FREAKIN yikes). And no glass in the windows on the landing of each stair floor (I can’t type an expletive strong enough here). For someone afraid of heights (yes, me), it was somewhat of a nightmare to make the climb. Good thing the boys humored me, though I’m sure Kiah will make fun of me later LOL.
A lot of the floors looked the same. Not as grand as the main floor and mostly with loose boards and nails covering the floors. And just the skeleton of the structure. Support beams and such but not many walls/separate rooms outside of those on the outside structure of the building.
There were heavy doors on a couple of the landings, but most of the doors were gone as well.
As We Climbed, the View got Better
Every floor brought a more beautiful and clear view of the city of Detroit. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, you get to the top. Tired and shaking legs do nothing to diminish the absolutely breathtaking view from the roof of MCS.
Temporarily forgetting (ok, ignoring) my fear of heights, I walked to the edge to get my pic taken with the D in the background. Kiah and Brian, get those pics to me – I need proof that I DID it! (And a printed record for my great grandchildren that I’m not quite as boring as my kids would lead you to believe.)
We spent quite some time on the roof. Taking pics, chatting, watching some teenage degenerates (or degenerate wannabes LOL) spray painting any open surface they could find. Though I’m not sure how they were finding ANY.
It was pretty windy up there compared to the ground floor and soooooo so high up and scary! Beautiful, but scary!
Decided to Leave before Sunset
As the sun started to go down, we snapped a few more pics and decided that we wanted to start the decent to the bottom floor while it was still LIGHT out. I’m pretty sure it would have been an incredibly stunning sunset from the top of MCS. But not sure I would have survived (emotionally if not physically) walking down those stairs in the dark.
The fears/concerns I had as the shoot started turned out to be unfounded on this trip. We didn’t get arrested, and no one fell through a hole in the roof. Though I’m still certain that it could have been a possibility because a piece of the structure DID fall down on Brian. No crackheads or bums to be found anywhere, the only other people in the building were other photographers, and LOTS of them. Some heading UP the stairs as we were heading down. I’m sure they were on their way to photograph the sunset from the top – they are braver souls than me. 🙂
Want to Learn More About MCS? Here are some links
If you’d like to read more about the history of Michigan Central Station, see the wiki page HERE. See a floor plan of the main floor HERE. I’ll be updating this post and posting more pics as I get them, this was one of my most fun “non client” shoots to date – thanks again to Kiah for organizing this outing, Kiah you are the best tour guide in the D!
Me on top of Michigan Central Station in 2009 (photo taken by Brian Lantis)Me on top of Michigan Central Station in 2009 (photo taken by Kiah Ford)On top of Michigan Central Station in 2009 (photo taken by Brian Lantis)Me on an upper floor of Michigan Central Station in 2009 (photo taken by Kiah Ford)
There is nothing quite like The Big House. Or so I had been told. And until September 8, 2012 I had no idea what I was missing. The UofM vs Airforce game may be old news to most, but it is an experience I will never forget.
Through a very cool friend (yay for cool friends!), I was given the opportunity to photograph field side during the UofM vs Airforce game. What an amazing way to experience Michigan Stadium for the first time!
The outside view of the stadium is deceptive, looking smaller than it really is. Walking in (especially for the first time) you realize just how little of the stadium is visible from the outside. With an official capacity of 109,901, the inside fills to a roaring, unbroken sea of maize and blue – the perfect venue for an uninterrupted “wave” around the stadium.
Even before the game, the sidelines hum with a bustle of activity – players warming up, fans and media hyping up for the event. Two Falcons with their handlers worked the perimeter of the stadium allowing up close and personal encounters with the live birds. “The Bird” mascot was also in attendance, dancing, waving and posturing on the sideline. The Bird may be famous for his daredevil antics, but my favorite part on this day was his harassment of photographers. Sorry Greg, had to post the pic of you. Please forgive me. 🙂
As fans settled into their seats, and with photographers and videographers lining the sides/endzones, the Michigan Marching Band took the field. I positioned myself for an image of the Michigan Drum Major (the “Man up Front”) doing the infamous back bend during the pre-game performance. He graced my camera (and others of course!) with a big smile as his head touched the field.
And then…the National Anthem. Complete with the majestic flight of a bald eagle through the stadium during the anthem, followed by the “surprise” appearance overhead of a B-2 Stealth Bomber.
The excitement in the stadium was palpable as the players ran onto the field, ready to play. I love to shoot football, but I am not much of a sports writer – a better story of the actual game can be found HERE (along with one of my images – yay!). I spent my time shooting, and reveling in the festive atmosphere complete with chanting from the student section, deafening roars with every touchdown and an occasional beach ball bouncing down from the stands – taking note of random things, like why I end up with photos of two different players missing a shoe during the game. Yes, one was Denard.
Whether you are a football fan or not, The Big House is something that should be experienced at least once in your lifetime. From beginning to end, a very exciting, exhausting experience – and one I hope to repeat. A huge thank you to Terry Jacoby for the opportunity, and to Greg S for watching out for this “lost puppy”.
Elmwood Historic Cemetery in Detroit, MI was our photographic destination, and we joined an official tour group to learn more about this beautiful place. We probably should have just explored by ourselves, because I wasn’t a very good student/tour member. I kept getting distracted (Squirrel!) and so had to google the information about Elmwood after the fact. Today Google is my friend.
