Joe Louis Monument (The Fist)

The Joe Louis Monument is easily accessed along the intersection of Woodward Ave and E Jefferson Ave – the GPS coordinates will guide you directly in front of the fist where I took the featured shot. There are a couple parking garages you can park your car in off of Larned St, which is parallel to E Jefferson Ave.

The mammoth bronze fist is worth checking out year-round.

The 8,000-pound monument is a sight to see any time of day, but is especially dazzling at night reflectively lit by traffic and the illuminated skyline.

I used a wide-angle lens (24mm) to fit the full width of the bronze fist as well as the surrounding skyscrapers into the frame.

If you're shooting at night I strongly recommend using a tripod, and if there's any wind present I'd carefully inspect each shot to ensure the suspended fist is sharp.

On this particular evening I had quite a bit of wind, which rendered the fist blurry from movement – it took a lot of patience to capture the featured shot during a brief window of no wind.

You're in the heart of Detroit, so there's lots to see and do! The biggest nearby attraction is the center of Downtown Detroit, Campus Martius Park, which features open-air dining and seasonal festivities such as a summer 'urban beach' with 4OO,OOO pounds of sand and lounge chairs, and an outdoor skating rink with a giant Christmas tree during the winter.