Nov 7, 2020
Apocalypse Now Dennis Hopper peering through a hole in a tattered American flag. Mary Ellen Mark
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Apocalypse Now Dennis Hopper peering through a hole in a tattered American flag. Mary Ellen Mark
I think this school needs a new flag.
Warhammer Banner I was commissioned to do!
Lorn - Tattered Flag
This is America.
Two days ago, the folks at Tattered Flag Brewery & Still Works started making hand sanitizer in little 50 milliliter bottles to give out to
#150 — Saturday, February 16th, 2019 — Ryan Ellis Photography - Detroit Street Photography Session #150 — Nikkor 24mm f/2.8 (ca. 1971) - Nikon Series E 50mm f/1.8 (ca. 1984) - Tokina 70-210mm f/3.8 (ca. 19??) - Tokina 2x Macro Adapter (makes 50mm images 1:1 [lifesize] macro) (ca. 19??) - Hart Plaza tattered flags
Arrived @ 10:30 AM
Departed @ 5:15 PM
391 photos (and 7 videos) taken in 6¾ hours with 18 “keepers” among them, rendering a lowly 4.6% “success” rate at a pace of just 57.93 shots per hour (I hope to attain to at least a 10% “success” rate and a shooting pace of at least 100 shots per hour).
PATH TAKEN:
Greektown - I had to change into my Carhart bib when I arrived in the city that I do not love (but am learning to appreciate) when I got out of my car. It was unexpectedly-frigid for being 24° F (with 7 MPH winds and no precipitation) outside. Usually, I find that the unbearable cold begins in the teens, temperature-wise. That is what I call “bone-chilling” cold. It is so cold that you are doomed to be frozen right down to your marrow no matter how many layers you have on. Suffice to say, I made sure to duck into a doorway once every hour or so to thaw before returning to the streets to shoot.
Campus Martius Park - I photographed Dan Gilbert’s hired hands at the elephant ears stand put up for the “Winter Blast Weekends” ongoing event series. NBC sports (for the NHL) even scrambled some satellite-feed television semis to the locale to show our town on the up and up.
The Esplanade on Woodward Avenue
Spirit of Detroit Plaza
Hart Plaza - I was sad to see the American flags near the edge of the plaza by the Renaissance Center Building ripped a third of the way into the red and white stripes (honoring the thirteen original colonies). I am just a civilian. It is not up to me to replace those ripped flags, but if I could have, I would have. The flag nearest the Detroit River that marks part of our nation’s border with Canada, was entirely missing. There were gale-force (35-40 MPH) winds Monday in Detroit (I should know—I drove a hilo around the market in them at 4:30 AM that day [ski masks are a godsend at times]!), which I presume shredded the flags in short order. If I can tell myself, “You do not see that every day,” I tend to want to capture it with my camera. That is what motivated me to take the time-lapses of the torn flags, albeit, with a heavy heart on behalf of the honor of our great nation.
Greektown
Campus Martius Park
LCA - I visited with a newer friend of mine near the Little Caesar’s Arena. I hope to maybe get a neat shot of the Detroit skyline from the roof of their apartment in the coming months (”maybe when it is warmer,” they offered).
David Klein Gallery - This is my favorite gallery in all of Detroit. It has consistent, good style in its selections, and the folks that run it are magnanimous. My proof in a point (for the latter): The lady that heads the gallery graciously tipped me off to a newer nonprofit organization, called “Darkroom Detroit.” They do workshops revolving around photography locally. I was humbled to have such a recommendation forwarded my way. The gallery director sent me an email with details about the organization.
Campus Martius Park - I had just glanced at the email about “Darkroom Detroit” minutes earlier (after leaving DKG) when a stranger across from Campus Martius asked me what I was shooting with. I told him I had on me a Nikon body. He said he was a photographer too and added he was the director of “Darkroom Detroit!” I was gleefully caught off guard by that aside and quickly showed the man my phone with the email I had just received about his organization. I gave the gentleman my card and went on my merry way. What were those unimaginable odds? Of all the folks one sees in a day in that town, I saw him after hearing about his place of work!
Greektown - I filmed “Hot Pocket” (Detroit-based jazzy street drummer). The GIF in the “top ten” shots comes from this same footage. Watch the video of him playing here: https://youtu.be/M212nJpbWmI
Campus Martius Park
Hart Plaza
The Guardian Building
Capitol Park
Urban Bean Co.
The Hudson Site
Library Street Collective - I must make a confession. I firmly like realist over abstract art. That said, I have to eat humble pie often when I am wowed by certain abstract pieces. There are certainly many good abstract pieces to be found at DKG, but I was surprised by the depth of some of the pieces at the Library Street Collective. I am trying to learn how to appreciate abstract work as much as I appreciate realist art. Still, appreciating art in general is not like turning to broccoli over pie, because any style of art can be made unwholesome. The more proper “good art” analogy is perhaps closer to choosing which salmon to buy to make sushi. Poorly-sourced seafood can leave a diner with parasites that make a horror film director blush. While not that extreme, bad art can turn one off to its better analogous alternatives, and I think I am slowly adjusting to see abstract art as good by viewing so many tasteful examples of it in this city (especially at DKG, but also at LSC and MOCAD [etc.]).
The Belt
The Broadway (& Shoes) - Classy spots that echo (or directly come from) the Golden Age of Detroit are few and fading out fast. One such spot is The Broadway. Until it goes out of business at the end of February, I will keep documenting its final days. The owner, Pepper Martin, is choosing to close his doors in order to semi-retire; he was not priced out of his place like the haberdashery, “Henry the Hatter” (”next door” [laterally across the street]), was with their landlord jacking up their rent beyond bearing. Pepper Martin (that is just a fun name to say… haha) wants to continue mentoring one of his best workers as the worker opens up his own spot after The Broadway closes. I wish them both all the best that there is to wish.
Greektown
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Lorn - Tattered Flag
"Tattered Flag" by Lorn
posted in r/ElectronicMusic
This is the pirate film that I worked on over the summer. It's set to premiere in the next few months, so check this out if you're interested in some good swashbuckling fun!!