I updated the Facebook app on my iPhone and found it unintentionally funny: “The right profile picture appears for everyone.” “In sets of photos, your name is displayed correctly.” “Your friend-request notification only lights up if you have a request.”
The viaduct over Junction Avenue in southwest Detroit.
Belle Isle
Detroit’s island park is where I’ve taken some of my favorite pictures. Belle Isle is a place to find beauty (and the occasional dead body or discarded handgun) within the boundaries of a city not known for its natural beauty.
The top image was taken last summer on Blue Heron Lagoon at sunrise on a hot, muggy day. I was on my usual vampire schedule and decided to stay up for the sunrise. The coloring on the lagoon ended up being spectacular, and this picture was the centerpiece among several Detroit images I had in an art show downtown last fall. Unfortunately, a local camera shop damaged the original negative while scanning it, so all I have is one scanned file of the picture.
The second picture, going clockwise, was shot more recently at sunset during our unusually warm winter on Belle Isle Beach facing downtown Detroit. I used Fuji Velvia color slide film, which gives outdoor scenes a natural-looking color saturation unlike any other film.
The bottom two pictures were taken with my phone as test shots, and are a great example of how well the iPhone 4S’s camera does handheld in low light.
I know I have a difficult last name (Blitchok). Most commonly, an extra “c” is inserted before the “k,” or the “t” is missing, or I receive a credit card statement addressed to Dustin Woodchuck. Tonight, I found a whole new interpretation on the receipt for my pizza: Jaston Boithok.
When my father makes reservations at a restaurant over the phone, he always gives Mudd as his last name. “That’s spelled with two ‘d’s,’” he says. “My name is Mudd.”
Stoney Creek Metropark.
A recent foggy night on Prentis Street in midtown Detroit.
The Red Cedar River in East Lansing.
Dusk at Traverse City State Park. (Scanned Fuji Velvia slide; taken with a Pentax KM.)
