Lens Workshop

We are lucky enough, at Royal Oak Photography Group, to have as one of our members a Nikon rep. Not only is he a rep, he is also a great guy. And as such, he offered to bring all his lenses and several cameras out to play. Not only that, but he also gave a great talk about what the different lenses do, and why you might or might NOT want this or that particular lens.

It was a great day!

By the way, the above photo was taken with a fish eye lens (in case you weren't sure! Mwahaha)

In my first attempt to organize a Royal Oak Photography Group Meetup, I was hoping to make it something appealing and also something I can think about technically and learn from. After a few failed ideas like graffiti on highway bridges (too dangerous), portraits of the ghetto (possible loss of life), and stop-action photography of a national chess championship (just plain retarded), I had always wanted to get into what skills and techniques were needed to successfully shoot a sunrise. Ok, easy enough right? Well, yes and no.

In the planning stages, I had to decide a location. I remembered my phrase, “the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west”. It is the number two memorable phrase right after “righty-tighty, lefty loosey” . I know Metro Beach faces east, so I go ahead and post my Meetup in anticipation of the nice weather forecasted for that weekend. Cool! As the day moves on, the responses come trickling through my email as I check my phone at intervals throughout the day. Before I know it, I have 10 shutterbugs willing to get up early on a potentially hungover Saturday morning to shoot. Awesome.

I get an email from a member (props to radtke) of the group telling me that Metro Beach actually faces south. Uh-Oh! I planned this without getting all technical about where we were going to actually stand and take these shots. I envisioned a group of groggy people showing up all ready to go and I am without a clear, unobstructed view of the horizon. It would have been the blind leading the blind. The email I received mentioned a great spot called Huron Pointe in the park with a perfect view, but to get out there, it would require a 15-20 minute walk. This type of a hike would be great for me, but may not be too cool for the rest of the crew…hmmm

I went in to do a little work on how I could make my Meetup a success. I show up to Metro beach the day before determined to find an answer. I arrive to a ghostown version of the park with nothing in the distance of the vast parking lot but some scattered pigeons. Where to start? I drive down to an area with boats that is near a paved path that circles the park. I stumble upon some older folks enjoying each other’s company in lawn chairs near their boat. I interrupt their conversation (a desperate move) to ask if they had seen the sunset this morning. A woman in the group used her inner compass (better than mine) to point in the direction of the rising sun, but it was obstructed by trees, houses, and other boats. Dammit! A gentleman interjected and told me to go to the front office and talk to the park director as he pointed across the sea of concrete that was the parking lot. “Tell him Symphony Sam sent you” he shouted as I walked back to my car. I made it to the office and was granted access to the service road that takes you in to Huron Pointe, with a park police escort to boot!

I made an immediate post when I got home to the group and any stress caused by my poor planning melted away. The next morning I pick up Amy, grab some Starbucks, and we made the trek east. After arriving, I was pleased to see all the early risers dedicated to the art of photography all bundled up and ready to go. We get on our service road guided by Metro Beach‘s Finest and the choirs sang as a gorgeous, cloud-free orange/blue sky set the tone for a fantastic shoot. I took some shots and looked around taking a bite of my pumpkin scone with a sense of pleasure as everything turned out fine. Thank you Symphony Sam!

Thanks to those that came out! I hope to be planning some other cool stuff to add to the ROPG calendar of already cool events! Keep shooting and I’ll see you on the next one…
-D

We have a WINNER

Two actually!

Congratulations to Christina who won the first prize (overwhelmingly, I might add)at our first photo contest with her photo of this fire escape.

Joel won second prize with his only entry, of the barbed wire from the Train Station meet.

Thank you to everyone that contributed and attended. It was a small, but very talented group!

The Art of Posing for Models & Photographers

Andy Greenwell is RODPs newest sponsor. On the 23rd of August, he conducted his first workshop (as our sponsor). He sent me a link with some great inside-look photos.

For more information about Andy Greenwell, and the workshops that he offers, please check out his website www.andygreenwell.com

Urban Decay

I started the "Two Faces of Detroit" project this summer, with every intention of hitting up some decaying parts of Detroit. For whatever reason, that intention was never realized.

However, I very much wanted to do it still, even if it meant going w/out the group. So a couple weeks ago, I posted to FB hoping someone would come with me. No one responded until the next day, when my friend from high school, Brad, responded that he'd take me. The best part of that? Brad is a cop. Oh yeah.

So to Brightmoor we went. Let me tell you. I expected it to be a scary place, but it truly and honestly exceeded all of my expectations.

Thank you to Brad for offering to take me out there! I really had a good time!

The Crown Jewel of Detroit

Being raised not only in The Burbs™ but by decidedly anti-Detroit parents, I have had a poor view of what Belle Isle is for pretty much my whole life. Words like "unsafe", "dirty" and "ghetto" have all been associated to Belle Isle by family, and honestly, in my own head. I don't think I ever thought that Belle Isle would be a place for roving gangs or anything, but I definitely never felt it was a place I'd consider bringing my babies.

Actually, this bias that has been hammered into me is one of the reasons that I have spent so much time with RODP in Detroit this year.

Anyway. So I'm sure you can imagine my surprise when I drove through Belle Isle in February for our first stint at Anna Scripps. I kept saying "wow!" and "oh my.. Wow!!" and that was just on my drive around the island on my way out. It was then that I decided that once summer hit we would be BACK.. and back we came..

So, I got to the island early - which to be honest in my life is unheard of - and while driving to Anna Scripps (our meeting place) I saw a GREAT view of Detroit, so of course I had to stop!

After then spending too much time shooting the cityscape (whoops) I headed over to the meeting place, and of course, now that I was LATE an extended family of geese decided right then was a great time to cross the street..

Ha. Of course it didn't take too long, and it was actually fun to watch. I actually only grabbed my camera because another blogger I know "sleepydog" loves this stuff, so I had to share.

I made it to Anna Scripps, and waited a while for everyone to show, and finally we all went in. Well everyone else went in, I hit the garden in front. The first photo in this entry is from the garden. As is this one:

I have to be honest.. I'm LOVING the "from underneath" shooting I've been doing lately. Love.

Anna Scripps is broken up into different rooms. The two rooms I spent the most time in is tropical and desert:

There is also a lily pond - but I did it NO justice. However, one of the gentleman who came by was Mr. Rodney Arroyo, and he took this photo. I highly recommend you take a look .

From there we went over to the Scott Fountain.

The friends of Belle Isle tell the story of the Scott Fountain. "The James Scott Memorial Fountain is at the head of Belle Isle facing the Detroit cityscape. James Scott was an eccentric gambler and controversial socialite. He bequeathed a $500,000 grant to build a fountain on Belle Isle along with a life-sized statue of himself. The fountain is constructed of Vermont White Marble and has 109 water outlets in the shape of human heads, dolphins, turtles, lionesses and animal horns. Construction was completed in 1925, 15 years after his death in 1910. Water shows are presented from Memorial Day through October 1st. "

The view of The City from the fountain.

From here we went over to the Belle Isle Casino, but honestly, I didn't shoot there. I should have, it was gorgeous. Maybe Karen will share some of hers :)

Off to the pier! I was so excited to shoot on the pier!

And finally, we headed over to the lighthouse. Seriously. Did you even KNOW there was a lighthouse on Belle Isle? The walk was long - mostly because we parked in the wrong place (whoops) but it was well worth the walk.

Finally, on the walk back, I would never have guessed that there was ANY part of the D this pretty.

I was not only surprised, but had to concede that the Friends of Belle Isle's description of Belle Isle as "The Crown Jewel of Detroit" was not only accurate, but well and goodly deserved.

RODP Photo Contest

I've announced a photo contest for all RODP members.

For every meet you've been to, you can submit a photo (up to five meets), and everyone will vote, and the winner will win CASH.

How much cash? Well, at the minimum you could win $40. And the more people that come, the more the cash pot will be.

Head over to the RODP Meetup for rules and details!

Visiting Cranbrook Gardens

There have been several suggestions by many members to go to Cranbrook Gardens. Being a fan of flowers, and gardens tended by other people, I thought, "why not".

I found that I was again, overwhelmed a little bit by the scope of the place. I kept thinking "this was someone's house.. who lives like this??" which was quickly followed by "Why can't I live like this???"

Ok, ok.. I didn't really think that. But the place is huge, and is landscaped with geometrical gardens, and pool sized fountains.

I will say, I wasn't in much of a mood to photograph anything that day, and I'm not sure why. So, I only got a few photos. But then, one of our members ended up coming by, and brought with her a model. YAY.

Having the model there kind of reinvigorated me. At least to a degree. I've never worked with a model before (besides my sister, but that's another story), but she was exceptionally accommodating, and I'm grateful she came out to pose for us!!

WDIV BEST IN DETROIT

Our very own Andrea M has been nominated by WDIV for Best in Detroit. Here's a link to her blog, and here is a link to the voting site so you can go directly and vote for her! :)

Good Luck Andrea.. you totally deserve it!

Upcoming events

Jul 19
Cranbrook Garden Walk
http://www.meetup.com/RODPhoto/calendar/10757166/

August 2
Belle Isle
http://www.meetup.com/RODPhoto/calendar/10871527/

August 22
Selfridge Air Show
http://www.meetup.com/RODPhoto/calendar/9905606/

Join us!!

More images from the Heidelburg Project

Tim Burke on Heidelberg Street

Not to be outdone by Tyree Guyton's project, there is another artist who calls Heidelberg street home, named Tim Burke.

His art still uses discarded materials, but where Heidelburg sometimes seemed to blur between garbage and art (for me, and I'm not really an "art" person), Tim Burke's did not blur (again, in my humble opinion).

I hope you enjoy his work.

"I saw Jesus in the clouds"

While on our most recent meet, I heard a man say "So I was driving and I saw Jesus in the cloud" This isn't something I normally let people get away with saying without at least a little bit of sarcasm heading their way. But, seeing how I was not in my normal element, I let it go. The first time. When he said it two more times, I simply could not hold back anymore.

"You really saw Jesus in a cloud. Really??" I said it with a smile, you know, to hold back the bite. I didn't know the man I was talking to, after all.

He looked at me and said as if he was saying I like pepsi, "Yes, I did." I started to shake my head when he added, "Of course I was on [add grocery list of drugs] at the time. And he told me to turn around, so I did. And I ended up going the wrong way I-94"

I smiled, chuckled, and shook his hand and said, "I'll give that one to you!!"

And that's how I met Tyree Guyton, the artist behind the Heidelburg Project.

This was my first trip to Heidelberg. It was one of those places around Detroit that I've always "wanted to" go to, but never really thought about it after that first thought.

That's one of the amazing things about this group, about running this group. I've been to so many places that I had never been to, or in many cases, didn't even know about.

The Heidelberg Project was almost over-whelming to me. There was so much to look at, and often I felt that the line between "garbage" and "art" was a very fine line.

I was definitely intrigued by much of his work, and it was certainly like nothing I've seen before. But I can certainly see how the neighbors might not be happy about the Project too. I honestly wouldn't be happy if this was at the end of my own block.

However, that's not to say it didn't hold it's own charm; and his running theme of God and War and DPD was also very clear.

Whatever it means, or whatever it doesn't mean, I have to say that not only did I thoroughly enjoy myself at the Heidelberg Project, I would recommend that you find the time to go down there. As an artist friend of mine said, "Where else can you just walk up to and talk to an artist whose work is in the DIA".

Photos from Royal Oak Walk