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 desmet
   
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
 |  |  |  | Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
< on 1/21/2009 5:20 AM >
|  | | | Someone mentioned to me that I haven't posted my stuff here in a while, so I figured I'd throw this up. Did a little gonzo writeup for it to retell the story for those who were there. I was never planning to post this here, but with the spate of Detroit threads lately I suppose the cats out of the bag.
Feedback always welcome. All shots on Tri-x 400. Camera was a Canon A1. Tripod was a rotten piece of shit.
Leaving the remains of our liquor, Xanax, and weed buzz in our hotel rooms, the Massholes sprang from bed at the crack of dawn...10 AM on the dot...to begin our Detroit adventure. Being the hardest of hardcore explorers and having flown halfway across the country we wanted to be sure to push ourselves to the limit! Legends of rough neighborhoods and a general knowledge of the downfall of the American auto industry demanded a careful choice of transportation for our visit to the Motor City. Thus it was disappointment that greeted us, along with a gleaming silver Toyota Avalon with Ohio plates, in the Hertz parking lot. Ho ho! Some might deem this icon of the 21st century auto industry an ill advised chariot for our Michigan adventure, but in the end the plucky Toyota was one of the few pieces of field equipment to survive the weekend in tact. Perhaps this automotive irony was sent as some kind of symbol or lesson about the Detroit auto industry, or maybe fucking Hertz just ran out of American cars.
The grueling 5 minute drive to our host's house left the Massholes exhausted and in need of rest. Even those daring explorers who climb mount Everest must be careful not to push too hard too soon. Succumb to summit fever and you'll be dead in the snow with bubbles in your brain before you reach the second step. No...the Massholes were too well prepared for success on this trip to blow their wad on the very first day. We sprawled on our host's lawn to take the edge off before departing for the city. My only goal for the trip was to explore an abandoned skyscraper, and the plan was to meet this heady challenge on the very first day.
The suburban neighborhood in which our hotel was situated gave a misleading first impression of Detroit. Glass office buildings, peaceful residential areas, and nice stores belied the tales of urban blight that we had been told. As our hosts car wound its way into downtown, followed closely by the silver spectacle, it soon became apparent that not only were the tales true, but they were understated. Huge office buildings in the middle of the city, real estate which would be hard pressed to sit inactive for a month in the Northeast, were clearly long abandoned. Graffiti stained windows told a tale of neglect that is simply not possible in virtually any urban area in the northeast.
1 - Welcome to Detroit
2 - Mirror Mirror
3 — Inside Out
The graffiti on the neighboring building in this shot reads "demolition by neglect".
4 — "Demolition by Neglect"
Probably the most striking thing about the interior of the Rudy W is the size of it. The building is relatively tall, but the footprint of the building is tiny by modern standards. This will no doubt pose problems for investors looking to redevelop the building into modern office space.
5 — Office Space
Throughout the building, there were papers and other small reminders of the musical nature of the company which once occupied this building. The Rudy W Company produced a variety of stringed, woodwind, and brass instruments, as well as organs and jukeboxes.
6 - Music Boxed
7 — Executive View
As I huffed and puffed my way up the floors of the Rudy W building, I reached one floor which was particularly photogenic. I set my tripod up in the dim interior and attached my camera to it, or so I thought. As I reached back into my bag for a cable release the camera slipped out of the rotten tripod's head. Panic gripped me, as I had only one camera with me for the entire trip. It had been a subject of much internal debate what equipment to bring and now, on the very first day, I had killed my most critical piece of equipment...purchased, by the way, a mere week before the trip. Mercifully, The Great Magnet saw fit to take pity on me, and the camera landed on the lens. The filter was smashed, but the lens and camera seemed to operate fine. I counted my blessings.
8 - Shattered
Imagine my frustration, then, when I managed to open the back of the camera without rewinding the film. Surprisingly good weed and a decade of automatic cameras had lulled me into complacency when dealing with film. Nevertheless, I slammed the camera shut (sort of) confident that most of the roll would be fine having only been exposed for a second in the buildings dark interior. I reshot the floor and moved on. "Fuck it", I said, "I'm here to party anyway."
9 - Weird World
10 - Private
The top floor was also stunning. Perfect light streaming in from above and beautiful warm colors that demanded my highest quality color film...one of two $7.50 rolls of Fuji Pro 160S I brought with me. I had to finish my black and white roll first, though.
11 - Office Temple
12 - Skylit
The roof of the Wurlitzer was beyond belief. We crouched...seasoned explorers not wanting to be seen by traffic and passers by...and admired the view. We crouched, that is, until our host stood up on the side of the building and started video taping down at the traffic. Boston this is not.
13 — David Broderick Tower
14 — Comerica in Miniature
15 — Detroit Vertigo
16 -
17 - Roofed
18 - Skylines
"But Wait!" you say, "Black and white? A perfect day on a rooftop in the middle of the city, overlooking a huge baseball field...and I thought you mentioned something about expensive film and warm colors and a whole bunch of other artsy bullshit that I skipped over". Color film was shot, that much is certain...but after that things get a bit murky. That story, however, will have to wait until our next installment of The Massholes Invade Detroit.
[last edit 1/21/2009 5:21 AM by desmet - edited 2 times]
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femaledragonx
 
Location: Detroit & Everywhere Else I can dream up to go to
The singularity is near
| | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 1 on 1/21/2009 7:04 AM >
| | | | one of the better writeups i have seen in a while on here. i love it. especially the snarky commentary about film. great shots as well.
"Collective fear stimulates herd instinct, and tends to produce ferocity toward those who are not regarded as members of the herd." -Bertrand Russell
"How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." ~Annie Dillard |
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DragonMinded
Location: Chelsea, VT
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 2 on 1/21/2009 8:23 AM >
| | | | I was going to just lurk...but then 11 and 12 got me. Looks like a ton of fun. Please post more; I love your adventure writeup.
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guacamoleyy
Location: Atlanta!
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 3 on 1/21/2009 9:41 AM >
| | | | five seven and fourteen are my favorites.
I'm glad someone encouraged you to post!
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NAN
  
Location: rochester NY
bathroom expert
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 4 on 1/21/2009 1:49 PM >
| | | | NIce shots! I really like 11 and 12
Through the darkness of future's past
The magician longs to see
Once chants out between two worlds Fire, walk with me |
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rob.i.am
Gender: Male
Carpe noctum
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 5 on 1/21/2009 2:14 PM >
| | | | Holy shit! I love 5, 8 and 10. Great commentary too.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rob666/ |
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don_corleyone
Location: F/RoX
Gender: Male
I have abandonment issues
| | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 6 on 1/21/2009 2:28 PM >
| | | | glad you posted these. i always dig seeing photos from detRIOT.
leave the gun. take the cannoli.
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CurlyRed
Location: Masshole
Gender: Female
| | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 7 on 1/21/2009 2:34 PM >
| | | |
the Massholes sprang from bed at the crack of dawn...10 AM on the dot. |
ahahahhahahahaah
Nothing beats us napping on the front lawn... 
GO TEAM LAZY!
Great shawts theah.....
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fiftyone_eggs
Location: jerzey
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 8 on 1/21/2009 3:22 PM >
| | | | ha! great one!
beautiful photos and gripping narration! detroit is the UE promised land.
LONG LIVE DETROIT!!!
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waspytron
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 9 on 1/21/2009 4:13 PM >
| | | | I like massholes.
13 reminds me of the pirelli building turned ikea parking lot and billboard in New Haven.
15 is nice too.
Blog: http://www.epizzy.com |
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hey_its_di4n4
Location: Los Angeles
Gender: Female
| | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 10 on 1/21/2009 6:35 PM >
| | | | 7 & 11! Really cool shots.
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DevilC
Location: Washington, District of Corruption
Gender: Male
I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their views.
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 11 on 1/21/2009 6:55 PM >
| | | | Well done.
How cold was it?
Science flies you to the Moon. Religion flies you into tall buildings. |
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desmet
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
| | | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 12 on 1/21/2009 11:01 PM >
| | | | Thanks everyone!
| one of the better writeups i have seen in a while on here. i love it. especially the snarky commentary about film. great shots as well. |
Thanks! I like trying to do the writeups, it just takes a long time. I have part II of this trip done...and I'll post it at some point.
five seven and fourteen are my favorites.
I'm glad someone encouraged you to post! |
Nothing beats us napping on the front lawn...
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Well...nothing except maybe a certain masshole passing out cold in Part II of this trip, or napping while exploring during the next trip...bahahahaha.
This was from last memorial day so...not cold at all. It was actually kinda hot.
[last edit 1/21/2009 11:01 PM by desmet - edited 1 times]
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Wilk
Location: NYC
Gender: Male
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 13 on 1/22/2009 12:25 AM >
| | | | Great story, one of the best I've seen. I love the hotels in Detroit, they are a must see for sure.
Ready for liftoff
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Wander Woman
Location: Northeastern Ontario
Gender: Female
| | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 14 on 1/22/2009 1:24 AM >
| | | | You're a great photographer, but you've got a great talent with words as well. This was in incredibly all-around entertaining post. Thanks!
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BubbaGump
Location: MA
Gender: Male
| | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 15 on 1/22/2009 2:33 AM >
| | | | Great Job Desmet.... Personally I'm voting on 14 & 15.
When did you start shooting film?!?
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desmet
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
| | | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 16 on 1/22/2009 2:38 AM >
| | | | Thanks!
Posted by BubbaGump
Great Job Desmet.... Personally I'm voting on 14 & 15.
When did you start shooting film?!?
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In high school....
When I started shooting again in 05 I shot the 20D for a while but it didn't take me too long to pick up film again at least for black and white. I wasn't shooting tons of film though. Since...I would say the beginning of 08...I have been really dissatisfied with the 20D and in the absence of money for a better digital body I got a film scanner and started shooting film almost exclusively. I actually bought the A1 just for detroit so I could travel light.
I just picked up a 5dmkii, though, so I am actually going back to digital for color work.
[last edit 1/22/2009 2:39 AM by desmet - edited 1 times]
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dsankt
Location: live and in the fresh
| | | | Re: Ma$$holes Invade Detroit Part I: Throw some Kid Rock on the Rudy W
<Reply # 17 on 3/7/2009 8:40 AM >
| | | | Fuck yeah I thoroughly enjoyed this, thankfully being so late I don't have to wait for part two. Good job on the hire car, the motor city in an import, perfect.
sleepycity.net: watch out for the third rail baby, that shit is high voltage. urbex and urban exploration photography |
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