The Wandering Photographer

The War of 1812 Militia Muster

Always photogenic, military encampments and battle re-enactments are a fun way to learn history and get some great pictures for the photo album. We are likely to see many Civil War battles re-enacted over the next four years in celebration of the 150th anniversary of America's nation defining conflict.

Another war, oft forgotten, is soon to celebrate it's 200th anniversary. In 1812 the fledgling United States again went to war with Great Britain over a myriad of disputes. I had the opportunity to attend an 1812 militia muster at Greenfield Village. Greenfield Village is a living museum that is part of the Dearborn Michigan attraction "The Henry Ford."

Part of every re-enactment are soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the era. The military of the early republic still retained the colorful military style of earlier years. The bright colors were often necessary for the troops to recognize friend from foe.Especially in the "fog od War."

Imagine this smoke multiplied by hundreds of soldiers.

The re-enactment included weapons demonstrations, crafts and a fashion show. This gives the observer a good idea of what life was like. somewhat simplistic but a great starting point.

Firing a mortar in 1812 required a crew of five to six men.

Men's civilian fashion very much mimicked military dress.

Women's fashion began to evolve and become "less proper" I can here the dad now "you can leave the house dressed like that!"

The War of 1812 has been often ignored. It was important and widespread however. Detroit was surrendered to the Canadians without the firing of a shot. The new Americans attacked and ransacked the city of York, Upper Canada (now Toronto), while the British attacked the District of Columbia, burning the White House before they left.

If you get a chance to visit a re-enactment of an encampment do it, and don't forget your camera.

© 2011 Tim Marks

Scenes from the 2011 Concert of Colors Nights 1 & 2

 

Below are a few pictures from the first two nights of the 2011 Concert of Colors. Thursday night was a celebration of the African Diaspora at the Charles Wright Museum of African American History. Friday night at the DIA highlighted honkytonk piano and Latin rhythms.

Make sure you come on down and catch the rest of the weekend at the Max Fisher Music Center Saturday and Sunday.

Details at the Concert of Colors website.

Images from Thursday

 

Images from Friday

Saturday and Sunday promise to be even better. Come-on down and experience Detroit at its best.

© 2011 Tim Marks

Detroit's Best Festival: The 2011 Concert of Colors

The Indigo Girls with Alison Brown at the 2006 Concert of Colors

My favorite festival of the Summer is back with more acts and more days. The 19th Annual World Music and Diversity festival, the Concert of Colors, is set to go, starting Thursday July 14th and finishing up on Sunday night July17th. First held in 1994 as a celebration of metro Detroit, its diversity, its music and the music of its people, the Festival's goal is ". . . bringing together metro Detroit’s diverse communities and ethnic groups by presenting musical acts from around the world." (from the COC website).

This year the Concert expands to four days.

Thursday, with doors opening at 6pm, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History hosts a number of acts including African/Hip Hop, Soul, and traditional dance. Over at the Scarab Club the "Woodward Line Poetry" series will present the spoken word and music.

Friday night things move to the Detroit Institute of Arts with Latin Jazz and Blues performances. A screening of the movie "From Britain with Love: Africa United" will be presented. Doors open at 4pm.

 Jazz at the 2006 Festival

Saturday it all begins at 2pm at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. Three stages will be filled with a veriety of music and dance. Acts include; Japanese Drum, Reggae, Irish Folk, Arab Dance, Classical and much more. The evening ends with, what is for me, the highlight of the weekend. Each year Oak Park native Don Was (Was not Was) pulls together a diverse group of Detroit based musicians and puts on the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue. The performances are truly a tour de force of Detroit culture. This year's ensemble includes Mitch Ryder, Melvin Davis, the Muggs and a whole lot of others.

 Former Funk Brother Dennis Coffey rocks the 2010 COC with Don Was playing bass in the background

 The Final day of the Festival opens at 2pm on Sunday at "The Max". The line-up on Sunday is as eclectic as Saturday's. It includes such local standouts as The Layabouts, and the Hamtramck World Music Ensemble. The highlight of the day should be the great Bettye LaVette. Born in Muskegon and raised in Detroit, Bettye has been belting out R&B hits since 1962. Ms. LaVette has lost none of her charisma, she retains her soul.

 Bettye LaVette performing at the Detroit Festival of the Arts in 2006

 This is a festival not-to-be-missed. The music is great and the ultimate goal of bringing us together, a mish-mash of cultures, city and suburbs, black and white, men and women is important and worthy. We may be different, but WE ARE ALL DETROIT.

The entire festival schedule can be found at the Concert of Colors web site.

See you at the Festival.

© Tim Marks 2011

Great Lakes Lighthouses: Old Mission Point Lighthouse

Last week I wrote about The Grand Traverse Lighthouse on Lake Michigan at the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay. Today I'd like to show you some images of The Old Mission Point Light on Old Mission Peninsula near Traverse City.

The lighthouse sits 14-1/2 miles South South East across the Grand Traverse Bay from the Grand Traverse Light and 16 miles North of Traverse City at the tip of Old Mission Peninsula.

Built in 1870, the light was intended to guide ships into the West arm of Grand Traverse Bay. The Light is no longer active as it was replaced by a Beacon 2-1/4 miles off shore.

One of the interesting factoids about Old Mission Point is that it is located almost exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, very near 45° North latitude. A coordinate reading taken form a Delorme software atlas puts it at N44° 59.5' (44.99°).

Old mission Point Lighthouse, another great reason to visit Pure Michigan.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Great Lakes Lighthouses: Grand Traverse Light Station in Northport, MI

One of the grand Lake Michigan lighthouses sits at the entrance to Grand Traverse Bay at the tip of Michigan's "little finger." Built in 1852 and rebuilt and relocated in 1858 the Grand Traverse Light guided ships through the Manitou Passage as they headed to the Straits of Mackinaw and Lake Huron or Lake Superior.

Sitting on the grounds of Leelanau State Park, the light houses a museum and gift/book shop. The light and the surrounding beach is a great place to spend a few hours with a camera at any time of year.

When we visited this past July the landscaping was in full bloom.

 

The grounds are nicely landscaped and well kept up, however, the plaster seagull is a bit kitschy.

 

Winter is another great time to visit the light as this shot from February 2007 shows.

Another Winter view of this grand light.

Next time you are in Northern Michigan be sure to drop by a lighthouse. There is bound to be one nearby.

You can see my earlier post about photographing the nearby Point Betsie Lighthouse here.

© Tim Marks all rights reserved

Celebrate the Diversity of Detroit: The Concert of Colors July 16 -18

The Concert of Colors

Celebrate the diversity of the metro Detroit area this weekend. Head on down to the FREE Concert of Colors. As far as I'm concerned this is the music festival of the year. Celebrating the diversity of our great city, is a worthy activity. And did I remember to say it's FREE

FREE Music dance and fun with:

• Detroit Symphony Orchestra
• The Don Was Detroit All Star Review
• The Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session
• Kenga Kenga
• R&B and Gospel sensation Mavis Staples
• Simon Shaheen with the DSO

And much more!

• July 16th at The Detroit Institute of arts starting at 4:00pm
• July 17th at the Max Fisher Music Center starting at 4:00pm
• July 18th at the Max starting at 2:30pm

The festival is completely FREE and a great time for all!

For more information and a full schedule, visit the festival web site at http://concertofcolors.com

Photos are from previous years.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

18th Annual Detroit Concert of Colors July 16-18 2010

The exciting and fun Detroit diversity festival, The Concert of Colors, returns to for its eighteenth year. Presented by the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), the Arab American National Museum, New Detroit, The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) and, new this year, the Detroit institute of Arts (DIA), the concert is intended to bring all of the cultures in metro Detroit together for a weekend of music, dance and fun.

 The festivities will start at 4:00pm on Friday, July 16^th at the DIA with a performance by the Detroit Symphony (a second DSO Performance will happen at 5:30) followed by the Mexican folk group Tien-Huicani at 7:00. Events Friday evening at the DIA will also include Free admission to the exhibit Through African Eyes: The European in African Art 1500-Present and a screening of a 1931 Spanish language version of the film Dracula.

 On Saturday the music continues down the street at the Max Fisher Music Center (The Max), home to the acoustically and architecturally exquisite Orchestra Hall. Performances on Saturday include traditional Irish folk, Reggae, and African and Jazz/Funk, all leading up to the Don Was Detroit All-Star Review.

 For the third consecutive year Don Was has put together an eclectic group of Detroit based musicians to entertain the festival goers. Each artist or group performs a piece and at the end, the ensemble comes out for a rousing finale. In past years the review has included funk, soul, country hip hop classic rock and punk. This year the line-up presents fifteen acts including Jimmy Ruffin, Gary Quackenbush, Kim Weston and Marshall Crenshaw. The Review is the highlight of the weekend for me. You can see video of the 2008 and 2009 review performers at the Don’s Wasmapolitan Cavalcade of Recorded Music.  

 On Sunday the festival continues with the DSO, conducted by Tito Munoz, highlighting soloist Simon Shaheen performing Shaheen’s composition Concerto #1 for Oud and Orchestra. Known for his expertise at Arabic and Western classical music, Shaheen will be a special treat for the Detroit audiences.

 Following a day of diverse music and talent (Asian, Electronic, Steel Guitar and storytelling included), the festival ends with two shows in Orchestra Hall. At 6:15 the Southwest Detroit Latin Super Session will entertain with a varied repertoire from south of the border, followed by the incomparable R&B and Gospel sound of Mavis Staples at 8:30.

 The Concert of Colors is a chance to meet new folk, listen to great music and have a fabulous time. For more information you can check out the festival web site or Dominique's informative article at the Midwest Guest Blog.

© 2010 Tim Marks All Rights Reserved

A Museum for Car Lovers in Auburn, Indiana

When we think of classic American made cars most of us immediately think of Detroit and Ford, GM and Chrysler. Another place to look is Auburn, Indiana, home of the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg Museum. Founded in 1900, for the next 36 years, the Auburn Automobile Company manufactured luxurious performance cars for the upper crust of society. The museum is a paradise for car lovers of all stripes.

The Auburn company produced three name plates. The Auburn was the companies mainstay automobile and in 1903 a new one cylinder Auburn could be had for the princely sum of $1400. By 1932 a 12 Cylinder version of the Auburn could be purchased for $1425.

Introduced in 1929, the Indianapolis 500, inspired Cord was the first production front wheel drive car offered for sale. The price was about $3200. Within months of the introduction of the Cord models the stock market crash of '29 started the company's demise.

The third nameplate was to become the most famous of cars to come out of Auburn. Introduced at the end of 1928, the Duesenberg Model J was aimed directly at the top of the upper crust. Originally selling for $8500 (for the chassis only) Coach work was extra and started at $2500 and went up from there. The mid 1930's price for a completed car ranges in the "mid teens".  These were unbelievable prices for an unbelievable automobile.

The company also entered the fast growing airplane market. Manufacturing quality engines to put the country into the air.

By 1936 the great depression had devastated the company. the Auburn Automobile Company was sold in 1937 after producing just over 177,000 automobiles in its 36 year life span.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum (ACD Museum) is worth the visit for anyone with even the slightest interest in cars and the life of the rich during the depression. Many of the cars in the museum have a current value well in excess of $1 million. It is located in Auburn, Indiana, 20 miles North of Fort Wayne off of I-69. 

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Newport, Rhode Island: Marble House Mansion

Last week I took you on a sunset cruise of Narragansett Bay off Newport, RI, today I'd like to show you some images of one of the great mansions in Newport. During the Gilded Age, Newport became the summer home for many rich and powerful American industrial and banking magnates. One of the most beautiful and ostentatious was the Marble House.

William K. Vanderbilt and his wife Alva commissioned architect Richard Morris Hunt to design and build a summer home along the Atlantic ocean. Started in 1888 the home was completed in 1892 just three years before Alva and William divorced.

Alva married Oliver Hazzard Perry Belmont in 1896 and moved to the nearby mansion Belcourt. After Belmont's death in 1908, Alva reopened the Marble house and added a "tea house" along the cliff overlooking the Ocean. Alva had a problematic relationship with her daughter Consuelo that was at least partially patched up later in their lives.

Oriental style tea house.

Oriental tea house detail.

Alva became a deeply committed Suffragist and supported organizations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)  and later the more activist National Woman's Party (NWP) founded by Alice Paul. Alva held meetings and fundraisers in both the tea house and the mansion.

The Marble house is listed as a National Historic Landmark and, along with several other mansions in Newport, is open to the public for tours. The property is owned and preserved by the Preservation Society of Newport County. All of the mansions are magnificent restorations and have interesting histories attached to them.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved

Walking Bilbao II

Last week I posted some photos from a walking tour of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Northern Spain. Today I thought I would post a few more.

While walking in the old sector we came across this wedding party. Since they were posing for pictures anyway I thought I'd snap one of my own.

Windows and doorways, especially in old cities, make for fascinating subjects. The rich detail and workmanship is always worth photographing.

Leaving the old sector we came upon this scene. This is the Universidad de Duesto a Jesuit institution of higher learning founded in 1886. The Jesuits wanted to bring a center of learning to the Basque Country, home of their founder, Ignatius of Loyola.

Finally, after all of the old buildings, we come to the river and the spectacular Frank Gehry designed Guggenheim Museum. This museum of modern art has helped to revitalize this post-industrial city. It draws visitors from around the world. 

Bilbao is a city of wonderful contrast. Old and new as well as industrial and artsy. All-in-all this is a city worthy of a visit.

Next, more images from the Basque Country of Spain and France.

© 2010 Tim Marks all rights reserved