Detroit skyline from Hart Plaza Photo

Photographer’s Note

I took this picture while visiting Detroit and it shows the skyline of some of the buildings in downtown Detroit as taken from the Hart Plaza. Behind me is the Detroit river which looks across to Windsor, Canada. There is also a memorial here (behind me) for the underground railroad, where long ago escaping slaves would cross over to Canada. This panorama consists of stitched pictures which turned out a little curved, but I liked the end result so I am posting it for your comments?

As I am no native of Detroit, I would like to thank my brother Sanjay and his friend Jerome for helping me identify the buildings shown. Also, while researching the buildings I found some excellent photos on TrekEarth by Paul Mastrogiacomo for some of these buildings. There is a fantastic panorama of the Detriot skykine as viewed from Windsor, Canada. I have included more of these pictures by Paul as hyperlinks in my notes below.

The buildings shown are as follows (left to right):

The leftmost building is possibly the Pontitran hotel.

Following that is the 150 West Jefferson Building.

Next, in the background are the Buhl and Penobscot buildings.

Next, the mostly hidden orange building is the Guardian Building.

Returning to the foreground, the American Natural Gas (ANR) building is the rectangular building with what looks like a grille for windows. There is a six story metal arch below this building dedicated to the Union workers. The Arch is a little hard to see but it is visible.

Next, to the right of this in the background is the First Federal Building.

Next, returning to the foreground is the Comerica Tower which is the building that looks like it has a cathedral-like roof.

To the right of the Comerica Tower are two buildings that form the Colman Young Municipal Center (which was formerly the City Council Building).

Approximately in front of these is a metal tube looking structure which is the Isamu Noguchi Fountain.

Not 100% sure but I suspect that behind the Noguchi fountain is the Joe Louis Fist. Only the column that supports the fist appears to be visible but the column looks like a tall pole from this angle.

The brown building to the right of the Colman Municipal center (behind the lamp post) is the Millender Center.

Towards the right of the picture are the dark towers which are the Renaissance Center. There are a toal of five towers though only three are visible in this photograph.

pamastro, laurak83, rajhema has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

pamastro (7215) 2005-09-04 19:53

Great spot to compose the panorama from. When you mentioned you had a photo from Hart Plaza I was thinking another position. This one is better. You formed it very well so that the lamp posts really are a great pattern to draw the eye into the skyline in the back. It also helps increase the broad feel that the panorama has. And the buildings seem larger than they are from here, too, because of the position. The fall colors are beautiful and the fall sky is great, too. It has a nice crisp air feel to it. You could probably do some skewing to correct for the perspective distortion here. Although, in looking at it a bit more I kind of like this perspective distortion, more in the small version, where it adds to that broadness. It's well stitched, with only a few problems around the Comerica Building showing up. But as I said the point of view is excellent. And you captured what looked like a perfect kind of autumn day with a nice chill in the wind. And thanks for the links there, Brajesh.

Oh, before I forget, the pylon behind the fountain is actually Noguchi's Pylon. The fist would be hidden behind the trees. And the Pontchartrain is just outside the field of view of this panorama. But as an out of towner you got pretty much everything here nailed down as to what it is.

[2] +

stefano (27) 2005-09-05 2:23

very nice composition... and color
good work.
Stefano

betogrein (2232) 2005-09-06 9:27

Linda panorâmica, ótimas cores e luminosidade. Parabéns...
Beto Grein

belantis (169) 2005-09-25 22:57

I really think the color in the trees adds the perfect amount of "zing". Nicely done.

rajhema (1867) 2005-09-29 15:21

Fantastic panorama Brajesh. I agree about your comments on Pamastro. he is the one made me realize how beautiful Detroit is. You are the second to do that. Great colors. it is very hard to get th eblue in Michigan sky. well taken

nofer (3186) 2005-12-14 14:58

Muito bem realizado... gosto de panorâmicas. Quantas fotos você usou? Ou foi uma grande angular?
Nitidez, cores e composição.
TFS
Reynaldo

Dakota55 (392) 2006-03-21 2:22

Nice shot i like the way you have used the perspective to make the light posts look as big as the buildings. I think that the border you have used is a little heavy.
Cheers Rob