Best view of the Flint skyline

[wolverine]

I was wondering if any of you knew of any good areas to photograph the Flint skyline. I've driven around the city trying to find good places, but there's always poles, trees, and buildings in the way. I tried taking one over by U of M Flint, and one by those new condos going up along the river, but I wasn't impressed with the way the photos turned out. I was thinking up by the Michigan School of the Deaf, there's kind of a large hill, and the skyline broke through some trees briefly when I was driving by. Any suggestions?

[Allan]

I'm trying to find a good place myself. There are a few places north of the river that work. Over by the new condos is the best spot I've found - I'll look and see the exact street the next time I've over that way. I haven't found any really good places though.

I never thought of the hill by MSD. It's worth a shot.

I am planning a day-long Flint photoshoot tomorrow, so I'll let you know if I come up with anything good.

[dnast]

My favorite spot is the UM's White building's parking lot. Sure, the poles are in the way, but it's the only spot I've seen where you can capture most of downtown's buildings of significant size.

Here's a mini-pan I took a couple of weeks ago. I'm going to have to try it again during clear skies and with my tripod. Ignore the blur on the Durant

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[RustTown]

Huh? That's perfect! Sunset really makes it look nice, and even fairly large from that angle.

[Allan]

That is a nice spot, and I have photographed portions of the skyline from there before. Unfortunately the polls really detract from the skyline. UM-Flint needs to build a parking ramp there so that we can get a better view without all the polls in the way. LOL.

BTW, I like the clouds in your photo. In my experience, photos taken on cloudless days (yes, they do happen here in Michigan) tend to look kind of fake.

[wolverine]

That's where I've been taking my skyline photos too, dnast. A very nice pano by the way! Is that the image at the top of your urbanflint site?

I guess I hate putting poles in my images, although I do have software that edits out obstructions, it does a shoddy job.

Let me know how the view turns out over by MSD, and I'll head down to Flint when there's a nice sunset.

[dnast]

I purposely took that shot during sunset, it's just that my camera's picture quality seems to go down with less light. I didn't use a tripod, though, so maybe that'll help. You're right about the fake look that you sometimes get on clear days.

Edit: Didn't see your post Wolverine. Thanks. Yeah, I cropped part of that photo for my site. I thought about using Photoshop to take out the poles, too. It's just that I'm not that good with the program.

[VeeFan]

I've thought of the area near the Court/Corunna/Pershing Street intersection as a good spot. I can't remember if it's just before or after the intersection where there's a gap in the trees and you can see straight across the valley and get downtown as well as Hurley included in the skyline.

[dnast]

I think you might also be able to get a good shot if you go up Pershing and take a pic near the top of the hill.

Also, I only saw it for a split second, but it seemed like there was a good angle from behind the county courthouse when I was driving down Fifth St.

[wolverine]

I've thought of the area near the Court/Corunna/Pershing Street intersection as a good spot.  I can't remember if it's just before or after the intersection where there's a gap in the trees and you can see straight across the valley and get downtown as well as Hurley included in the skyline.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's exactly what I'm talking about. There's a gap in the trees where you can see beautiful view of the skyline. I do not recall either whether it's before or after that intersection. I wonder if it can be seen from Mobley Park as well.

[VeeFan]

Is that the little park where Miller and Court come together? I think the trees might be too high at that point.

Isn't there another street that breaks off in that area too? Glendale or something like that? That'd get you closer view of downtown than from Court, and I think that might be about where the gap is.

[RustTown]

It would be amazing if someone could get some views from the top of Hotel Durant. But that would be illegal.

[hood]

How easy would it be to get into Hotel Durant? People get into abandoned buildings all the time in the name of "urban exploration." If I had the time or means to get up to Flint I would have to try, good idea Lmich.

[Allan]

The Durant is a joke. There are signs all over the building "no trespassing, violators will be prosecuted." And yet there was a door on Saginaw Street that was wide open for almost a week. Once they sealed that door, someone came along and opened another door, which was open for a week and a half. Because bums live inside, there are always several different ways into the building.

The Court/Corunna area is the best skyline view that I know of. I was there this morning, but the angle of the sun was all wrong. Plus there was a foot race of some sort...everywhere I drove I had to wait for the runners.

The MSD hill isn't any good...the trees block the skyline.

[RustTown]

Can someone please get me this view I took over a year ago?

I lost the original picture, and it lost a lot of quality once I uploaded it to skyscrapers.com

[VeeFan]

Somewhere back in Carriage Town. I'm trying to think where I've seen that fence before... near Atwood Stadium perhaps?

[RustTown]

Yes, I know where I took it, but I'd like to see if someone could get a more comprehensive view.

[wolverine]

I'll stop by Flint early in the morning on my way to Ann Arbor and Detroit, Thursday. It will probably be at like 7 a.m in the morning though, so I'm not sure what the lighting will be like.

[dnast]

Yes, I know where I took it, but I'd like to see if someone could get a more comprehensive view.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think he was trying to figure out exactly where it was taken. Was there a playground in the area beyond the fence? I'm trying to figure out where it was, too. I'll try to get a shot if I can figure it out.

By the way, I was looking through photos and thought I'd share this one. Too bad the public area in the foreground isn't kept up; would've made the shot a lot nicer.

[Allan]

LMich's photo was taken from the corner of Mason & 1st Ave. I may go out looking for skyline views later today...I've driven 400 miles since Saturday & I don't know that I want to spend any more on gas, since I still need to drive 240 more miles by the end of tomorrow. Although right now my first priority is sleep, since I pulled an all-nighter to finish this paper for my psychology class which ended up being cancelled....

[wolverine]

That photo you have there dnast is very upsetting with the condition of the park. It's scenes like these that make me lose hope in some of the revitalization of our cities. Can you imagine years ago when that park was built to help the city of Flint and everything was nice and well taken care of? That's what I fear will happen to some of the new places built in other Michigan cities. That's why I believe Detroit should not invest in building any more parks unless it is maintained by private sources.

[Allan]

Riverbank Park is not maintained well at all. There are weeds growing in the cracks, some of the water is green with scum, and all the waterfalls & other water features are broken. The local homeless population spends their days along the river, but rarely do I see downtown office workers taking a break there.

My parents tell me that the park used to be very nice when they moved here in 1980. Since that time downtown has really died off and a lack of maintenance has made the park an eyesore.

[RustTown]

Great shot! The Riverfront Character Inn adds a great dimension to the skyline, though, I'm not sure about the current managers and institution that own the hotel. They seem shady. lol