Photos De Jour - Grand Rapids and West Michigan Area

[NorthEnder]

[Veloise]

While shooting this I kept thinking about the deposit on that beer bottle.

[GRDadof3]

Strap the kids in the SUV and come on down! Construction ain't that bad:

Beautiful!!

Pedestrians on South Division? I never...

Anybody know this guy (whose tour bus was hiding by the police station)?

For those of you who like "busy" pictures

I thought that guy was going to kick my ass for taking that picture. Oh well.

If he did, I could go here for representation:

Apparently everyone wanted to be in the sun today:

[Nitro]

Anybody know this guy (whose tour bus was hiding by the police station)?

No, but if you were going to roll around the country in that you would definately need Exxon/Mobil as a sponsor.

[GRGyp]

Pedestrians on South Division? I never...

And to think, several years back they would of just been potential victims...

[Allison Slater]

I hope this isn't in violation of any forum rules or anything regarding soliciting/advertising (I make absolutely no money off of this anyways) but I've got a website that serves as an online image gallery. Well, I just added a section to it dedicated to Grand Rapids, but I have no photos yet (that I've taken, anyways.) So if anybody doesn't mind sharing their photos onto the site, it's at http://www.tsukigawa.net/categories.php?cat_id=137

I hope to take some photos on Monday with my dad's digital and add them both there and here.

[dbrok]

Anybody know this guy (whose tour bus was hiding by the police station)?

Steve Azar is a country act. I saw him talking to Wilhite from the Thunder Country morning show on Monroe Center today.

Edited June 15, 2006 by dbrok

[Allison Slater]

And to think, several years back they would of just been potential victims...

It's amazing how much the area has changed in such short time.

My mom still thinks that walking around anywhere downtown = dangerous. I keep telling her that if it was so dangerous, then why on earth would people be spending all that money to stay at the amway if there was a high risk of being shot at if you walked out the front door?

It's hard for people's perceptions to change, and I'm amazed the city has come this far already considering that.

[mpchicago]

My mom still thinks that walking around anywhere downtown = dangerous. I keep telling her that if it was so dangerous, then why on earth would people be spending all that money to stay at the amway if there was a high risk of being shot at if you walked out the front door?

I NEVER thought that downtown was dangerous. I don't know where people ever got that idea?

[Rizzo]

Because in order to get there you have to pass through the "Ghettos." Or its WoodTV then it would be movies.

[GRDadof3]

Just playing with some newfound features of my HPPhoto software. This is one I posted in the Downtown GR thread, but tweaked a bit:

[Allison Slater]

It's a perception that seems to be held by a lot of older people, and those who have lived in urban areas when you and have lived in suburbs almost their whole adult life, methinks. One of my co-workers at 54th & Division also thought downtown was a very unsafe area.

On MLive the few times I've taken a peek into the grand rapids forum, there's usually comments by 'eGrandma' showing more stereotyping of the downtown area as filled with gangs.

Whilst it may not be ideas held by the majority, there's still enough of this misperception going around to not be unnotised.

[MJLO]

yeah I was going to say.......for as long as i've been going downtown GR, i've never thought it was dangerous. That perception is a perception of a kind of West Michigan stereotype, that we stear clear of talking about on here

[MJLO]

While shooting this I kept thinking about the deposit on that beer bottle.

Veloise, for some reason, the color, and the perfect reflection off of the National City building, just really captivates me.

[twoshort]

yeah I was going to say.......for as long as i've been going downtown GR, i've never thought it was dangerous. That perception is a perception of a kind of West Michigan stereotype, that we stear clear of talking about on here

I know plenty of adults who have this stereo type. Downtown is dangerous (especially after dark) and division is all bums and prostitutes 24/7.

[6th Gen local]

I know plenty of adults who have this stereo type. Downtown is dangerous (especially after dark) and division is all bums and prostitutes 24/7.

I would like to say as an adult I have never felt that way.

Well, 20-30 years ago that description of Division may have been partially correct.

[GRGyp]

Veloise, for some reason, the color, and the perfect reflection off of the National City building, just really captivates me.

I like the lighting effect surrounding the crane. Like it's a gift from God stepping out from the heavenly light...

[torgo]

"...and God said 'Let there be big tower cranes' and it was so, and God said it was good..."

I think thats from the Book of torgo, 11:1-3

Edited June 16, 2006 by torgo

[Veloise]

Veloise, for some reason, the color, and the perfect reflection off of the National City building, just really captivates me.

[he said I'm captivating!!!!]

I wanted to tweak it to bring the crowd up, and that H-U-G-E ten-center. Again, this is the plain ol' Kodak EasyShare set on "auto."

[GRDadof3]

It's definitely a perception held by many. People look at me funny when I say I'm taking the kids downtown to hang out, like I'm crazy. "Those kids are going to be kidnapped, raped or shot!" "Don't you watch the news?!"

Better than hanging out at the stupid "breakfast" play area at Woodland Mall, lady.

I think it's slowly changing, but many people still say "Sure, a hockey game at the arena is fine, but why else would I go downtown?"

[Rizzo]

Enter Duane Faust.

[Prankster]

Back in the 80's it was a little iffy, but I would never consider it dangerous. Anyone remember the huge deal the news outlets made out of a guy getting shot in a parking ramp going to his car after a Hoops game? I believe that was sometime in the early 90's, and that is something that caught a lot of people's attention. It's amazing that a random incident like that can totally change people's perception.

[snoogit]

My mom still thinks that walking around anywhere downtown = dangerous. I keep telling her that if it was so dangerous, then why on earth would people be spending all that money to stay at the amway if there was a high risk of being shot at if you walked out the front door?

Ha I bet my family out paranoids your family about downtown

I talk to them about moving down there and the first thing out of my mothers mouth will be

"Why so you can get a**lly raped on the street and shot in the face?"

Then its a 15 minute effort of calming her down and trying to convince her its no where near as bad.

I've literally made poster sized murals of recent crime statistics, with graphs and pictograms, and after a ton of coaxing I convinced her Monroe center was ok to walk around

[torgo]

I've literally made poster sized murals of recent crime statistics, with graphs and pictograms, and after a ton of coaxing I convinced her Monroe center was ok to walk around

Thats hilarious! Do you wear a suit and use a laser pointer too?

[GRGyp]

Thats hilarious! Do you wear a suit and use a laser pointer too?

"Now mother, this downward trending red line represnts the number of a**l rapes downtown. Notice how it corresponds to the downward trending blue line representing the number of facial gunshot wounds..."