Tuesday, June 18, 2013

DETROIT!!! ( Pt.1 :)

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Hi All :)

I hope you are all having a Wonderful Tuesday :)

WOW!!! What can I say about DETROIT! :)

It is a city with great heritage but it also symbolizes the demise of the American Dream - with manufacturing jobs moving rapidly to Asia, the City has lost a huge percentage of its population and with that comes the the decline of its neighborhoods :(

On a recent road trip I was able to get a really quick glimpse at some of the building that have fallen into disuse and take photos of the beauty that still remains in these neglected building :)

They all have a story, they all have a history, they all have a truth, they all had a life. 

There are many people who are working hard to recreate a strong Detroit :)
 But we need to know that this could happen in any American City where the local population depends on manufacturing jobs :)

So, with less than  an hour of daylight and not knowing the city at all; I, (well, my Hubby, actually, lol!!!) drove around very quickly before we lost light to take as many shots of the beautiful buildings that are in disrepair but also the ones that people are trying hard to "re - gentrify" too! :)

Of Course, I have so many I wanted to share that I will split them between 2 postings :)  

Here we go, I hope you enjoy these :)




I had to share this photo, as there is so much happening and also, it is the only photo I got of the GM building. (Tall cylindrical building with blue lights) I had lost light and energy by the time we got downtown. :(




These 3 shots of this church spire, just gave me hope and against the sunset looked so pretty :)














I have always been a fan of graffiti; I know it is controversial but from an Artists' perspective, it is freedom of expression  :)  









I wanted to share this photo as it represents so much of what I saw, houses burned, guttered or in piles on site, but then a flower is blooming in the garden or (as in this shot) someone has recently planted a blossom tree, there is real hope :)





The Setting Sun bouncing off this empty building covered in graffiti, to me I saw pure Art :) 








I apologise for the blurriness of the next few photos but like I said, we were rapidly running out of time and there were so many buildings I wanted to capture; all these were taken as we were driving by photographed thru the car windows. 







































This building was reflecting the Sunset and I couldn't capture it to its full potential but I added it because it is an abandoned building, although it looks stunning but this space in the foreground is an abandoned lot where some people have dumped trash and others have planted a small veggie garden and I am not sure you will be able to see it but I think there are a group of small dark animals close to the tree bottom left of photo, when I zoomed in I saw little dog faces, it freaked me out a bit I must say.




Whizzing by




Some stand strong while surrounded everywhere with piles of rumble, if we didn't know better, in places it looks like a war torn City :(




This photo I called "Detroit Fading" 
This is the only photo, so far, that I have put in my photography shop on Etsy :)
to me it says everything about what I saw, beauty in the decay. 


I will share the other photos of Detroit another day :)

Happy Painting/Creating! :) T.


8 comments:

Almost Precious said...

T, your photo documentary is both lovely and sad.

Detroit was once so alive and vibrant. Jobs were plentiful and the people who lived and worked there were content and happy. Hopefully the once grand city can pull itself up, patch up the wounds and become once again strong and beautiful. I hope they'll be able to save most of those great old buildings. Each era had its own unique charm and architecture and it would be sad to forever lose those threads of history. :(

Thank you for sharing your lovely photography and for also casting light on something we should all be aware of and not ignore.

Stay well dear T and keep that camera clicking. :)

Charlotte said...

Wow! These are some great but powerful photos. I love the "whizzing by" ones. I feel the country is doing that to a city that once thrived as you said. Some of those buildings would be amazing to see "alive" and functional again. Seems like such a waste.

Victoria Bennett Beyer said...

Great shots, T! You did a good job documenting what you saw despite your short time. I agree with your other readers - you have found beauty in sadness.

Annette said...

You've done an incredible job capturing the decline of an American city. I've seen many photos of the inside of some of the buildings and it's so hard to understand how this happened. I think it's amazing the signs of hope and beauty you can see when you look past the decay. Good job, T. I look forward to part 2!

Meeling said...

Very cool photos!! I've never been to Detroit but how you have captured it, is how I pictured it in my mind.

There is something hauntingly beautiful about cities like that. Once such a metropolis and now this.

Thanks for sharing - look forward to more.

Additionsstyle said...

Amazing collection of photos! It is sad to see such beautiful old buildings in such decay. I know their are several groups that are working hard to bring Detroit back to life, I hope it's something I get to see in my lifetime.
Valerie
Everyday Inspired

keithchip said...

These are very powerful photos that create a wild range of emotions. For me a degree of sadness prevails as a once vibrant City has fallen into decay. The older industrial buildings evoke images or workers taking their coffee and sandwiches to work, and all the ensuing everyday energy, gossip, and (hopefully) productivity. The buildings are now shells where all that activity once occurred, but the memories have moved on together with the people that helped create them. I am hopeful that the community can slowly rise and become more positive, but in the mean time, there are those left behind struggling from day-to-day. Great photos, and remarkable as I know these were captured in such a short period of time. Can’t wait for the 2nd part of the series……

Why Girls Are Weird said...

I love the urban feel. These are both gorgeous and kind of sad too.