Search

Category Archives: blog

Categories blog

Clowes Wood

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

A gloomy day with little light is giving this Sunday more credit than it deserved. Undeterred I visited Clowes Wood which is adjacent to Earlswood reservoir. There had been a great deal of rain earlier I the week and the wood was tracks were soft underfoot and there were sections where there was standing water. However the light did hold up and the colours of the wood were still present. There was a carpet of fallen leaves that gave a dull orange colour to the surroundings. I was pleased with the pictures that were taken mainly with my Canon 5D using both a normal and wide angled lens. There was minimal processing and one or two of the photographs do stand out.

An arch of trees
Through the clearing
Patterns of decay
Over the bridge
A branch of leaves
Carpet of leaves
The turning colours of the ferns
Categories blog

BCN 250th Anniversary

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the Birmingham Canal Navigation Network took place during the first weekend in November. I took Sandy and Noah, my grandson, along to see the flotilla of boats that were to parade around the canal network passing by the NIA onto Brindley Place and the Mailbox. I am not sure what it was like 250 years ago but Saturday was cold. Luckily the rain held off and there was some occasional sun but it was a case of wrapping up ward. When we arrived there was little activity taking place although there were a few boats moored up on the bank. We made our way to Brindley place where there was a drum trope called “Someone at the Door”

  • Someone at the Door
  • Keeping the beat

They were very energetic and enthusiastic. My grandson loved the drumming and rhythm so much so that he was tapping his feet in the pushchair. After asking Peter, a nice Canal and River Trust representative what was happening, we knew that we had to head up the Old Canal Line where the boats were getting ready for the off.

The boats are getting ready
…..and they are off.

As the boats made their way into Birmingham there were sounds of hooters and bugle horns from the boats. There was much excitement as they reached the National Indoor Arena where they paused to let the boats go through in an orderly parade down into Brindley Place.

A short pause
Then we are off again
A few more boats head of for Brindley Place
Going another way and I spy a photography friend on the tow path.

I loved the personalities and this is captured in the pictures that show the people involved in the flotilla.

Playing the Bugle
What’s happening?
Checking all is going well
It could be 1769

Sadly it was getting cold and we had been there a few hours. We had other engagements to move onto so it was a few more photographs and then time to leave goodbye. However I do know it is not going to be my last time to join in the celebrations of the BCN 250th Anniversary but that has to wait until another post.

Traffic jam on the water
Water taxi
The Library of Birmingham looks down on the boats
The colour of the boats
The detail on the boats
Categories blog

Early

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

This series of pictures features Birmingham centre just after the clocks have gone back. Why is this so important. Sunrise for the next couple of weeks is around 7 am and that is the time that I get into Birmingham. When I took these pictures, I did not have any theme attached to them as I just felt like I needed to stroll around the city and see what is happening.

A lone figure in Victoria Square

There is a fair amount of change happening around Birmingham. This includes the next phase of the Metro tram linking up between Grand Central and Broad Street. There are also many new buildings going up around Chamberlain Square. So many changes happening. I then moved onto Gas Street Basin and caught the light from the early morning sun.

The view to Centennial Square with a lone figure

It was only when I reviewed the pictures that I noticed a figure in each of the pictures. Maybe it is the same person that was following me around the city as I was taking photographs. Whoever he/she or they were, they do add a point of interest and a story to the pictures.

Looking towards the mailbox with a lone figure
Looking towards the sunrise
Categories blog

In the Dark

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

During October, my daily commute starts when the morning is dark. Likewise in the evening if I am working late or at a function in the city then I am travelling again in the dark. It has also been raining many of the days and in spite of the gloom the conditions provide reflections of the lights on the pavement or in the shop windows.

Speeding Tram (featured on BBC Midlands Instagram page)

This is a selection of photos taken last week in the dark. There is a mixture of long exposures and opportunistic street photography of people interacting with both the City and the conditions. There are a couple of favourites in here and they have been picked up by other social media outlets. One was In Explore on Flickr for several hours. During this time it clocked up over 35,000 views and many likes and comments. The picture of the blue tram in slow motion was featured on the BBC Midlands Instagram site. It has been a fun week for photographing Birmingham in the dark.

This picture titled “Rainy City” clocked 35k views on Flickr
Cars and Pedestrians at Grand Central
The Zebra crossing to towards the Mailbox
More Trams taken with a long exposure
An umbrella is needed to brave the conditions.
Categories blog

Best of the week

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I am so happy that I have caught up with most of my pictures that I can concentrate on a few pictures taken this week. My first picture is from Winterbourne House where Autumn is really showing its colours. Taken with my Sony Camera, I was surprised how deep the red colours had started to show.

Lovely deep red colours from the maple leaves

The colonnade outside the University of Birmingham sports centre is often photographed so after a rather large down pour of rain there was the opportunity to take photographs of the reflections. Also there was an obliging figure that came into the picture

Reflections after the rain

The new Library offers great views over campus and I went to a reception on the 4th floor. After all the formalities and on my way out I happened to see this scene over towards the Medical School. I was showing it to a colleague and he advised a tight crop to bring out the details of the buildings. It did well on Twitter with over 5k of views and interactions.

The final picture is taken on my way into work through the Pebble Mill gardens. This is a wooden walkway that was lit up for the first time. I now realise that the mornings are getting darker and that many of my pictures will be taken under such lighting for the next few months. I think this picture grabs the attention due to the low view point. A good week of pictures and hoping for some more in the coming 7 days 🙂

The path to work (featured in Amateur Photographer)
Categories blog

Treacle Market

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

It is said that somewhere at the turn of the century, a horse and cart loaded with Treacle upended and the cargo split all over the streets. The treacle was immediately scooped up by the locals and the term “Treacle Town” literally stuck. Now Macclesfield is a thriving market town famous for many other important historical facts. In 2010, the Treacle Market was established on the last Sunday of every month and people travel far and wide to the market. It is a craft market with lots of energy including live music and street food. There is a large range of craft stalls selling many different often unusual goods. You can check out the web site to find lots more information. Treacle Market

We were visiting friends and the weather was inclement but that did not stop either the traders or the shoppers from packing the town centre. I loved the day as it was a gold mine for street photography and the collage is just a few of the many pictures I took. If you are ever around the area when the market is on then definately worth a visit.

Here are larger pictures of the above gallery

Categories blog

Photographing Edinburgh

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

In contrast to the previous week in Glasgow, the weather in Edinburgh was glorious. It was hot and sunny and the light was glorious. Was in Edinburgh for a research grant meeting and whilst there was lots to do during the day, there was also some downtime that allowed me to photograph this beautiful city. There is a mixture of night time views and sunny views from Calton Hill over the Forth. It was challanging to get some good photographs done as the city was brimming with tourists but the sights of the city won in the end.

Street Scene
The Waverley Commute
Early in Market Street
Colours of the Night
Greyfriars Bobby
Calton Hill
View of the Forth (featured by BBC Scotland)
Old and the new being built
Cranes over the city
The Scott Monument
Categories blog

Photographing Glasgow

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I just love going up to Scotland and the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh are so different but rather wonderful in their own particular way. First stop was Glasgow and I was there for a conference in September. I stayed in the City for the week and then Sandy came to join me on the Saturday. The Conference was at the University of Glasgow which is very photogenic with its imposing Gothic structure overlooking the city. Some of the lecture theatres were also surreal such as the Kelvin Gallery which had a definite Steampunk feel to it. After the conference we went up to Loch Lomond to visit friends and even though it was misty, the magic of the scenery was there to see.

Grafitti greeting
Glasgow University
Steampunk lecture theatre
Glasgow Town Hall
Scottish Dancing
The weather was good on some of the days! (featured by BBD Scotland)
Early morning on the Clyde (featured by BBC Scotland)
The beauty of Loch Lomond
Categories blog

Photographing Berlin

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I am fortunate that I am able to visit different places and one such place is Berlin.  It is a city that cries out to walk around and I did one better by doing a lot of running around the city.  I ran to the Brandenburg gate, Reichstag and along the river.  When not running photographic opportunities presented themselves on the conference river cruise and next to the bus stop.  What I particularly enjoyed were the sunrises which were particularly spectacular.  Most of the photography was done with my iPhone whilst running or using my Sony compact camera which is still working well in captured the moments of the city.

View of a tram from my hotel room
Early morning runs had added benefits such as lovely light
Abstract shapes and reflections
View from the boat trip
The Brandenburg gate with the early sunrise

Categories blog

Watchful Mary

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Watergate bay the last night and we went out for a nice pub meal. On the way back we stopped off at the Watergate Bay hotel. They have opened a bar called Watchful Mary. It seemed that the night was going to be overcast and worse still the bar was crowded so we huddled up under blankets on the outside seats. As the sun went down the clouds parted and there was a spectacular sunset which lasted around 20 minutes. It was a great finish to the holiday.

1 … 36 37 38 39 40 … 49