Happy New Year 2023!

Detroit 2023 

Another year has ended, and we look forward to a new year with new beginnings. This year's video of the Detroit River has no narration after about two minutes into the video. Why? Well, this year I thought I'd let the video speak for itself. 😀  Happy New Year!!

View of downtown Detroit from Belle Isle

Freighter traveling on the Detroit River

Broken ice on the Detroit River

Happy New Year 2022!

Detroit, MI New Year's Day

We've all been through some tough times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we hope for better days. Here's the annual Belle Isle Detroit River video. Sorry for the background noise of the wind. I purchased a microphone that was supposed to help reduce the annoying wind, but it decided to stop working. Ugh. 

Belle Isle 2022

This is how it goes sometimes with technology!  I hope you all have a wonderful 2022!

New Year's Day 2021

Detroit, Michigan - Belle Isle

The tradition continues! Detroit Video Daily is back on Belle Isle to shoot the annual Detroit River video on New Year's Day. This year's video has some footage from two freighters on the river. One thing that hasn't changed is it was cold!

Two Freighters

The timing of the video was right to watch two freighters on the Detroit River. The first boat was the Algoma Strongfield, and it appears in the video with the Ambassador Bridge in the background. Later I noticed the Kaministqua traveling down river. The boats pass each other, but it was in a spot where I couldn't get a good photo.

Both boats passing each other

Algoma Strongfield

Kaministqua

 

 

Video of the Detroit River and the Two Ships

Sunset Point - Belle Isle, Detroit

New Year's Eve 2020

The year 2020 comes to a close! Here is a short video from Sunset Point on Belle Isle.

This photo was taken a few days before New Year's Eve

 

 

The last sunset of 2020 in Detroit

 

New Year's Day 2020 in Detroit

Happy New Year!

Once again DVD is happy to welcome in the New Year with a video shot on Belle Isle in Detroit. A short video of  the Detroit River this year and some nice photos to go with it.

Ren Cen in the distance

McArthur Bridge aka Belle Isle Bridge

Windsor, Ontario, Canada in the distance

Happy New Year Detroit 2019!

Detroit River 2019

Well, even if I'm not updating this blog as frequently as before, one thing stayed consistent and that's the annual Detroit River video on New Year's day. Here are some photos and the video. Enjoy!

South Fishing Pier

Rocks in the Detroit River

Shoreline (RenCen in background)

 

S. Fishing Pier Belle Isle

New Year's Day 2018 in Detroit

New Year's Day 2018
Happy New Year!! Another year has passed and that means it's now time to share the annual Detroit
River video! This year the video was shot using an iPhone app called Clips. The Clips app allows you to add photos to the video clip, so you will see some still photos mixed in. It's a useful app for creating quick videos from your iPhone. And with the cold weather in Detroit it worked out quite well!

Located on the south side of Belle Isle

 Video of the Detroit River

New Year's Day 2017

Sunny Day
Wishing you all a Happy New Year! The annual video of the Detroit River is complete, marking another year done for the Detroit Video Daily blog. It was a pleasant sunny day about 39 degrees. Looking forward to a wonderful 2017 in Detroit!

View of the Ren Cen

Belle Isle Bridge New Year's Day 2017

Video

This year is just a short video to show the flow of water and the peacefulness of the river on the first day of the year. Enjoy.

Not Your Ordinary Flagpole

Memorial

Old Glory flying high

One of Detroit's most beautiful flagpoles is found at the intersection of The Stand and Vista Way. Where's that, you ask? Well, go across the Douglas MacArthur Bridge and circle around to the south side of Belle Isle, and you will find this awesome flagpole. The flagpole is a tribute to the Reverend Samuel Francis Smith. As you'll see in the video it is a memorial from the school kids in metro Detroit sponsored by the city's Rotary Club.

Architecture
The magnificent structure was designed by none other than the famous Detroit architect Albert Kahn. According to the BelleIsleConservancy.org, the flagpole was designed by Kahn and sculpted by Samuel A. Cashwan.

Famous Song
Perhaps the most well known aspect of the Rev. Samuel Francis Smith's life is that he wrote the song America (My Country 'Tis of Thee). Before the Star Spangled Banner became the official national anthem for the United States, Smith's patriotic America, was commonly sung and served as a national song. Well, with that bit of information, it won't be hard to guess what the soundtrack to the video is. Side note: the soundtrack only has the first verse of the song, enjoy!

Video

Tried and True for Photos

Belle Isle 
Simply one of the best places for shooting photos in Detroit is Belle Isle. A quick spin around the island can easily turn into an hour long visit, while stopping at various points to enjoy some great views. It's probably my favorite place to take photos. Here are couple from this evening's drive around the island...

Trees on Belle Isle

View of the Renaissance Center from Belle Isle

What about you, what's your favorite place in Detroit to take photos? Leave a comment and let me know!

Happy New Year 2016!

Tradition

Happy New Year to you! As in years past the video camera gets rolling on the first day of the new year and a video of the Detroit River is the subject. This year with a 26 degree temperature there was no fooling around scoping out a new site on Belle Isle to make the video. Pretty much drove over the bridge to our wonderful State Park, quickly parked and got the camera rolling.

On Belle Isle the Detroit River

The Video

While this year's video didn't break any new ground, I felt that was a good thing because there is comfort in familiarity. However, you probably have noticed that during the past year there have been fewer posts to this blog, and that's not a comfortable thing for me. So let's look forward to 2016 and more posts from Detroit Video Daily. I hope the coming year is a great one for you!

Wind Sail Biking on Belle Isle

Lots of Cement
Although some people have been critical of the amount of cement that's on Belle Isle in Detroit, one man definitely takes advantage of it. On a brisk, windy November day as I began a ride around the island, I noticed this man bike sailing on the cemented area near the entrance to the park.

Wind Bike Sailing on Belle Isle

Windy
There was enough wind to keep him smooth sailing, or I guess smooth biking. As I continued on my journey the Nancy Brown Peace Carillon was playing a song.  So I made a quick audio recording and later combined it with the video footage of the man and his sail bike. And there you have it, another Detroit Video Daily video!

Music
If anyone knows the music for the video please leave a comment and let me know!

Oh Snap! Turtles at the Belle Isle Aquarium

Open

Belle Isle Aquarium

Closed for awhile but thankfully reopened back in 2012, the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit is a must visit attraction. Designed by Albert Kahn, the aquarium is architecturally beautiful which only adds to your enjoyment as you get drawn into the fascinating fish on display inside. The aquarium is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm. The cost is free, but DVD suggests that you make a donation to help with upkeep. Click on this link to read more about the aquarium.

Not only Fish
While I was there with my nine year old niece we watched a snapping turtle snap at one of the other turtles in the tank. I got the video rolling, but we didn't get to see a repeat performance of the snap. The narration on the video is from my niece. Besides the turtles there's also a tank with some poisonous frogs including an interesting blue one.

Video


Photos

Just hanging out

Nice surroundings

Frog going after some fish

Unhappy looking fish

Green

Two Fish

Colorful

Happy New Year 2015!

Annual Video

Belle Isle - South Fishing Pier

First a very happy New Year to all the Detroit Video Daily readers and video watchers. I appreciate all of the comments and kind words about this blog that I received in 2014. As many of you know the tradition has it that a video is shot of the Detroit River on the first day of the new year, and you'll be happy to know the tradition continues. However, in year's past the video has been shot near the Belle Isle bridge (MacArthur bridge for those that want to be formal.) This year needed a change.

South Fishing Pier
So this year I went out near the South Fishing Pier on Belle Isle and shot a quick minute long video. Quick because as in previous years, it was bone chilling cold. And there was a stiff wind to add to the frigid temperature.

Icy rocks at the foot of the Detroit River

Why?
I'm glad you asked why change the location? I decided that as Detroit has gone through a lot of changes this past year, DVD needed to make a change too. I think that new things need to be tried in 2015. Our city needs to continue to rebound from bankruptcy (and other problems), and part of growth is change. This year hopefully things will continue to get better in Detroit, and DVD will continue to bring to light some of the things that get overlooked by the mainstream media. Or just some things that I find interesting living in Detroit. Looking forward to a great 2015, and I hope you are too!

Detroit River Video 2015

Famous Fountain

James Scott Memorial Fountain

More commonly known as the Scott Fountain, it's a must see when you visit Belle Isle in Detroit. The video below was shot back in August, my apologies for just now publishing it. The fountain is only in operation from Memorial Day to Labor Day, so you'll have to wait to see it in action. One of the most striking features is the beautifully crafted marble. It is simply astounding. Hope you enjoy the video and the photos that follow!

 

Photos

Close up

Another close up

Beautifully carved lion

Can't forget the turtles

 Ren Cen in the background

Happy New Year 2014!

Annual Video

View of the bridge from Belle Isle

Happy New Year to all! Yes, this post is coming late in the day on New Year's Day 2014, but as they say better late than never. And yes, the tradition continues and the annual video of the Detroit River has hit the YouTube channel. Of course no need to go there the video is embedded at the end of this post.

Snow and Cold
New Year's Day and Detroit found itself in a snowfall of close to six inches. However, when I shot the video it wasn't the snow that was the problem. It was the cold. The kind of cold where after shooting the minute long video my hands were in a numbing cold induced pain. I jumped back in the car and quickly got the heat going again. The roads circling around Belle Isle had been plowed but because of the constant snowfall they were still kind of slick. So the usual trip around the island was cut short, and I headed back over the bridge.

View looking toward downtown from Belle Isle

A Look Back
No looking back in the post this year. Although I will say that the Tigers provided a lot of excitement in the city, and we all want to see them back in the World Series in 2014 but with a different outcome. All I can say is DetroitVideoDaily is looking to the future and will keep bringing you things I discover or find interesting in the city.

Closing Notes
If the audio in the video is a little hard to hear at the end of the video, it was because of the bitter cold! I really needed to get back to the car. Also this year I included the trip over the bridge to Belle Isle and the return trip mainly because I liked the glow of the lights, and because in the near future there will be a toll stop as Belle Isle has been turned over to the State of Michigan to run it as a state park starting February 2nd.

Ambassador Bridge

Quiet

I took the following photo on New Year's Day and thought I'd post it before filing it away in the DVD archives. The color of the sky was impressive and made for an interesting reflection. It was a nice quiet end to the first day of 2013.

Click on photo to enlarge

Belle Isle Bald Eagle

National Bird

Close up of our national bird

I decided to take a different route on a Sunday drive around Belle Isle, and the new path led to a sighting of a bald eagle! To say the least I was pretty happy. After spotting the eagle and taking a few pictures, he flew on down the road to another tree.

The Video

I slowly drove on and got the video camera ready. I started filming but the eagle decided to take off, so there is only a little bit of footage. It was still one of my best bird sightings in Detroit.

Photos

Here are the photos I took...

Bald eagle on Belle Isle

He's chilling out

Eagle taking a look my way before flying off

Video

Here's the short video...

What's your favorite bird sighting on Belle Isle? Leave a comment and let me know!

Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory

Cold

The cold days of January have me thinking about the summer and how much I miss the lush green landscape. So as I was sifting through some photos from the DVD archive, I came across this one of the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory on Bell Isle. I took the photo while I was taking photos for the Peace Carillon video. Albert Kahn designed the the Scripps Conservatory, and it was constructed in 1904. While the photo may not be the best of the greenhouse, I like the way it's framed by the trees full of green leaves, so it arrives here in January to try and warm up the place a bit. 

Scripps Conservatory on Belle Isle

Notes from Belle Isle

Dossin Museum

During a quick drive around Belle Isle on Sunday, I discovered that the Dossin Great Lakes Museum is closed for renovations. I don't have much information, but the sign out front pretty much covers it all. Major renovations, and it will be closed until May 17.

Sign says it all...

Bridge

On the other side of the island, I passed by this pedestrian bridge. It was an overcast rainy Sunday and something about the bridge and the sunlight trying to breakout of the clouds caught my attention.

Bridge on Belle Isle (click on photo to enlarge)