Photographing Singapore

by Damien Walmsley 02/04/2018 02/04/2018

Next stop Singapore and it is 6 years since I have visited so I was interested to see what had changed. Looking out from the airplane window flying into the country, the success of Singapore’s trade is seen by the numerous ships waiting to enter the port. The flower lined drive from Changhi airport to the city brought back memories of previous times. For this visit, I was participating in a conference at Nanyang Technical University (NTU) which is to the west of the island. To the taxi drivers, it is the furthest distance from the airport taking 40 minutes and occasionally during my stay, there would be the occasional grumble that NTU was too far out for them. The University Campus is well planned and even in the heat and humidity, most of the places are easily accessible. There are some interesting buildings including the Hive (a student learning hub), and the School of Art, Design and Media with its curving double buildings. Other interesting NTU departments that I visited included the Medical School which had a mixture of old and new architecture. If you are interested, the conference that I attended was organised jointly by the University of Birmingham and Nanyang Technical University.

During the conference, there was also some downtime and I visited an old friend, Gareth Pearson, for a drink in the Marina Bay at night. He also arranged for me to visit Altitude which is the highest bar in Singapore with spectacular views over all the city and the Island. Following this I came down to Sea Level and caught a taxi from the Fullerton Hotel to an evening reception at the Tanglin Club which is one of Singapore’s oldest and prominent social clubs. The meal and company were great and the bar was well stocked as can be seen from the pictures.

In between my numerous meetings and the conference, there was also a chance to briefly visit Clarke Quay and the surrounding area of the Singapore Cricket club which not had not changed much since my last visit. The weather at midday is hot and humid so I took some photographs but did not linger very long.

On my last night in Singapore we had a reception at the National Art Gallery. The bar in the Gallery is called Smoke and Mirrors and has commanding views over the Cricket club and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. Its central position allows for great photographic opportunities of the skyscrapers around the city both day and night.

Singapore is one of THE places to visit in the world and it does not disappoint. The place is always changing yet retains that British charm that made the place what it is today.

The coast of Singapore with the ships waiting to enter the docks

Founders stone for Nanyang Technical University

Inside the Hive (student learning centre – NTU)

The Hive (student learning centre – NTU)

Selfie at the NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine

The media centre at NTU University. A curving structure that provided many different views.

The Cosmo Restaurant next to my accommodation at NTU

Singapore Cricket Club surrounded by Skyscrapers

Statue of Raffles in front of the Victoria Memorial Hall at Empress Place

Boat Quay from Altitude leading to Clarke Quay

A reflecting pool at the National Gallery, Singapore

Atmospheric view of Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The winner is the conversation or the view?

Shapes and lines at the National Gallery

Sunset – Heat and humidity after the rain

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Photographing São Paulo

by Damien Walmsley 30/03/2018 03/04/2018

Visiting São Paulo is an experience. It is the third largest city in the world with 17 million inhabitants. As soon as you leave Guarulhos International Airport, you enter into wide multi lane (10 to 12 lanes each way) freeway which straddles both sides of the Tietê river. Slowly you do become aware of the smell from the polluted River as you drive into the city. The amount of traffic is incredible and they all drive as if they were Ayrton Senna. This was a business trip for the University of Birmingham and we had three dental schools to visit across the centre and outlying suburbs of São Paulo. We stayed in a small boutique hotel, Estanplaza Paulista on the Alameda Jaú near to Paulista Avenue. The hotel’s position gave us access to local restaurants and shops in the area. We arrived very tired on the Saturday night and woke up to sunshine in the morning.

Paulista Avenue
We wandered up to Paulista avenue and found that the whole road was closed to traffic and there was a large street party taking place. People were dancing and generally having a great time. We walked along the length of the avenue chilling out and enjoying the atmosphere. There were many good photographic opportunities.

São Paulo Museum of Art
We also took time to visit the unique São Paulo Museum of Art. There is a wide range of interesting paintings and the Museum Web site on provides a good source of information. There was an exhibition “Imagens do Aleijadinho” which displayed statues of the African-Portuguese influence on the development of Brazil. Some of the exhibits were disturbing although the photographic record of the area the statues were found was fascinating. The Museum is on several floors and the paintings were imaginatively exhibited in a large exhibition area. There were canvases by both well-known artists plus fun contemporary exhibits such as “the Table”, where the blackboard was under the table.

Jungle Park
We spent time in the “Jungle Park “called Parque Trianon (officially Parque Tenente Siqueira Campos) which is only small in area but is key how the Atlantic Forrest would have been in São Paulo. The high tree canopy with the dense vegetation makes it dark and gives respite from the noise of the large city around it. Then it was back out to the street party and we returned later in the afternoon and it had become even more crowded. Bikes, dancing, skateboarding on normally busy roads and underpasses and lots of street stalls. When there is an excuse for a party then Brazilians know what is needed to make it a success.

Reflections on São Paulo
Take home memories from this time in Brazil. The food and the drinks especially the Ciprihania made with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar and fruit. The traffic congestion around the city, the picturesque University Sao Paulo campus with Capybara roaming free (previously I had only seen them in zoos). The Brazilian friendliness and positive view on life is also refreshing.

Hope you enjoy all the pictures as well. I may have taken a few too many!!!

Spectacular buildings on Paulista Avenue

Dancing on the Avenue with the Professor

Surfing the City – this would be a packed freeway during the week

The street party in full swing – taken behind the Museum of Art

Selfie in the park (Picture by Phil Tomson) – wearing the clothes I travelled in as I lost my suitcase – I have a similar picture from 1997 on the same seats.

Beautiful paths only a short distance away from the City

City residents sit in the cool shade provided by the park

A glimpse to what the “Jungle” looked like

The City surrounds the small park but the noise is cancelled out.

Image of the mix of Christianity and art

There was one big street party under the Museum

The morning rush hour coming into São Paulo

The USP campus with views over the river of São Paulo

Capybara roaming free but they are a nuisance to the University Boat Club

The final word is a Glass of Ciprihania – a real knock out drink 🙂 This one was made with Passion Fruit.

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Week of the Beast

by Damien Walmsley 03/03/2018 03/03/2018

A cold week for the UK in general. Personally, I picked up a bad cold which coincided with the onset of very cold weather. Keeping motivation at work was the main priority. Initially the week started with clear skies and cold nights. There were some lovely sunsets and exciting sunrises but then the cold and grey set in. The snow showers were insistent and the final part of the week was snow and cold weather. It is at this time that you also find that there are many other very good photographers. I enjoy watching the television or reading the papers and seeing some of the pictures that people have taken around the country.

It is the start of spring and it is difficult that we have such bitter cold weather to contend with. Hopefully in the coming weeks, the cold weather will be largely forgotten and we will be able to enjoy the start of spring. I did manage a few pictures that will serve as a reminder of the week for me.

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Super Duper Moon

by Damien Walmsley 03/02/2018 03/02/2018

The Super Moon or the Super Blue Blood Moon was visible on 31st January. I missed the early stages of the moon when you do see the magnification.

I took my photographs with the moon outside Knowle Parish Church and then in the morning on top of one of the car parks in Birmingham. There were dozens of good photographs taken by many people.

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Finishing the Job

by Damien Walmsley 03/02/2018 03/02/2018

A good friend, Ewen, who is a professional photographer has written a great blog post “Your photography …. Finish the job”

Your Photography…FINISH THE JOB!

His argument is that once you have taken a good photograph then it needs to be finished. Ewen saw one of my images on Twitter and he messaged me saying the following: –

That one tweet led me into the world of the British Tech Network and I joined their Photo League. It is led by Ewen and you submit your monthly photographs and receive constructive comments. I have submitted my first few photographs and already benefited from the professional advice on how not only to compose but finish your image. I was still intrigued about the finishing of the image and so I spent a day with Ewen at his studio. He took me through several simple processes that make your images stand out. A few simple exercises cleaned the “grey crud” from my images and then with some sharpening process I could see that my images immediately benefitted from his advice. Here are a few images which have been processed in Photoshop and they have been enhanced.

My tips from that meeting with Ewen –

check your exposure,
add a touch of saturation,
look at the image and a touch of intelligent sharpening all add up to finishing your image.

Here are a few examples of checking your pictures and finishing them off.

Example 1 – this is a picture taken at Chesterton Windmill before Christmas.

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The following is my attempt at processing

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This next one is finished by following some simple rules and a bit of creativity.
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These next two are the before and after with a touch of blur.

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……and that picture that first made me realise that there is more to just taking the photograph. Well here it is with a few added touches.

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A week in pictures

by Damien Walmsley 14/01/2018 14/01/2018

Let me take the opportunity of describing my photographic week in January

SUNDAYThe End of a Perfect Day

On SUNDAY, I went out to take pictures of wildlife as I have access to a 400mm lens. My runs along the canal nearby had revealed that a heron had made its home there. So I set off with certain pictures in my mind. I went up the canal bridge near to where I knew I had seen the heron. The day was cold and bright. The time was right as well, as it was coming up to around 4pm and the golden hour was almost upon me. Then I discovered that several walkers passed me on the bridge and went into an adjoining field. I went to investigate and the view was idyllic. Path, farm house, setting sun and lovely colours. I switched lenses to my 24-70mm and set up the aperture to see if I could get a sunstar. I used my camera view and upped the ISO. A couple of shots and I got a result that I was happy with. Some minor editing followed in LR and PS. The heron? I managed a few shots but none of the shots were as good as this scene of winter’s setting sun.
(postscript – as a bonus it was selected for publication in the Birmingham Post and Mail)
Camera settings – f-14, s-1/60, FL-24mm, ISO-250

MONDAYThe IKON gallery in Birmingham

MONDAY and I was at a reception hosted by the University of Birmingham at the IKON Gallery. I have a camera with me at all times and the Sony RX100 is an ideal camera to have for pictures on the move. It is very versatile and packs a lot of features into a small camera. The evening was busy and there were few opportunities during the reception and the meal with presentations. I was patient and at the end of the evening there was the opportunity to take an outside picture of the ICON gallery. This place is photographed many times especially in Spring when the cherry blossom arrives. This picture is processed in black and white. The channel leads the viewer to the central building. I did notice that it was odd to see umbrellas/parasols set out in January but they make the picture look good with them set neatly in front of the lit windows.
Camera settings – f-1.8, s-1/30, FL-8.8mm, ISO-2000.

TUESDAYTelephone Box

TUESDAY morning and I was working at the University campus. I have some time to take a detour around Brum before I jump on the train to the University Station. I take photographs of what I like and I had some good ones of the Cathedral in the light. This telephone box does nothing really and just stands near to the Cathedral. It does feature in many pictures around Birmingham and the light from the street lamp makes it stand out from the dark morning. In the days of mobile phones it is a remnant from a different era. It was this photograph that I selected over the others.
Camera settings – f-2.8, s-1/40, FL-10.6mm, ISO-2500.

WEDNESDAY
A meeting in London always opens up new possibilities for taking photographs. I had a few ideas and when I got to Baker St, I used the underpass that goes under Marylebone Rd. You have to love the red stripes and the surreal angle that they are set at. It just cries out to be photographed. I was also pleased to see that I had caught the people on the different coloured stripes which is a bonus. I also took lots of other photographs but I discarded them in favour of this one.
Camera settings – f-4, s-1/160, FL-8.8mm, ISO-2500.

THURSDAY
A cube view

THURSDAY was a day of teaching and meetings. I was taking it slow making my way to a meeting at the Mailbox only to learn on the way that it was cancelled. I went slower and decided to take the towpath back into the City Centre. I am glad I did as the little bit of sun we had lit up the Cube and its reflection in the canal. I had inadvertently left the ISO at 2500 but this did allow a good capture of the cyclists on the left. A bright moment in an otherwise dull day.
Camera settings – f-4, s-1/320, FL-11.3mm, ISO-2500.

FRIDAY

Thank God its FRIDAY. I was not having a great deal of luck with taking a photograph today. It was a dull day and many of my pictures looked dull and boring. This was taken going home from Platform 1 of Moor St station. You can see the dull sky in the centre against the relatively warm lights of the station. Taken with my iPhone and it constantly amazes me how it takes a reasonably good picture under different lighting conditions. A bit of touching up done in Google Snapspeed.
Camera settings – ƒ-1.8, s-1/6, FL-4.0 mm, ISO 100

SATURDAY

It is SATURDAY and at long last I get to use the Telephoto lens. I went to Brueton Park, Solihull, where the Warwickshire Wildlife Centre is based. There was some wildlife around and for about 10 minutes there were two Goosanders in the large pond at the nature centre. It is not easy to compose pictures and this is one of the better attempts of many I took during the morning. I need to tweak the settings a bit. This particular picture caught my eye due to the ripples. Wildlife photography is not straightforward and requires a lot of patience. I will have a few more attempts over the coming months.
Camera settings – f-5.6, s-1/100, FL-400 mm, ISO 500

And that was a typical week in January.

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Night on the Canals

by Damien Walmsley 07/01/2018 07/01/2018

It is cold in January and as I was in the City for an evening meal, I took the opportunity to take a few pictures around Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place in Birmingham City Centre. In a highly photographed area of the City, it is a challenge to take pictures that offer a different perspective of the area. As I wandered around I did not realise how cold it was and it reminded me to get some special gloves that cover the hands but allow you to use the camera controls. When I got to meet everyone in the restaurant, my hands hurt as the blood began to recirculate. At least I had some pictures to look back on and some of them looked worthy for entry into my blog. The majority of the pictures were done on a manual setting and I used railings and walls as my tripod. It is difficult to balance the bright neon lights and some of the pictures were cropped to remove the distracting glare. I enjoy night shooting in the city and I will miss the shortened days as spring is around the corner.

Window patterns over the Broad St tunnel

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365

by Damien Walmsley 01/01/2018 02/10/2018

I have always used my photography as a diary and looking back at family pictures is always fun. However, when I learnt about 365 projects in 2011 then I thought I would have a go at it. The family said it would not last and it would be a passing fad. Certainly the first year was often a challenge and I thought I may miss a few pictures. Fast forward to 2018 and here I am entering my eighth 365. It has become a diary of my life. Even today I used it as a record for my professional CPD for 2017 as I sought to remember where I had been for research conferences and examining duties connected with work. As a family dossier, each year is loved by the family and we regularly check what was happening. WE even use it to remember which plant was flowering and whether it is early or not. Tasha, one of my daughters, delights in making a year book featuring her favourite pictures. A calendar is made for the family as well. Not content with a 365, I also do it adhoc on Instagram, a 52 week project on Flickr and a monthly themed competition for the British Tech Network. It does require a little bit of discipline in the evening and it is now a routine. So to start this year’s 365 off, I include all the 1st January pictures since 2011 🙂 BTW if you want to keep up with my 365 then follow my Flickr account.

2012 1st January – Knowle Park, Solihull

2013 1st January Leamington Spa with the River Leam

2015 1st January – Katie and Andy at the Etihad Stadium, MCFC

2016 1st January – Knowle Park with a lovely sunrise

2017 1st January – my granddaughter Lily amazingly 3 days after a major operation

2018 – A New Year dawn in Knowle Park and the start of a new 365

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Chesterton Windmill

by Damien Walmsley 28/12/2017 29/12/2017

One of the most photographic structures near me is the Windmill at Chesterton. I had visited it for the first time earlier in the year and I wished to plan another trip where I could have my tripod with me. I contacted a good friend of mine, John Bray, and we planned the visit between Christmas and the New Year. To really appreciate the Windmill you need to have good weather especially if you are looking for a memorable sunset. As luck would have it not only did we pick a good afternoon, it had snowed the night before which gave an added plus factor to the photographic outing. John and I spent an hour and half at the windmill taking photographs as the sun slowly left the sky.

The sunset was a good one and there were lots of opportunities for pictures. Even the moon got into the act. The temperature dropped and whilst it was cold there was little wind. We took lots of pictures and soon it was time to leave as the sunset was nearly finished. Just as we were walking away John turned around and said look at that view. It is the old saying always look behind you when you are walking away from the picture. John is really quick on getting his pictures out on social media and they were excellent producing much reaction. Here are my views of Chesterton windmill on a cold yet ultimately rewarding photographic session.

Two figures walking towards the Windmill

John’s Photographs are on his Flickr account.

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Getting Published

by Damien Walmsley 16/12/2017 02/02/2022

As an academic, getting published is a requirement for the job. No publications then no reputation. You need publications for promotion, your next research grant and also your research impact story. When you enter into a different field which is not your job then it is difficult to know what constitutes success. Is it the number of likes on your Instagram post or whether lots of people comment on it? I consider most of my photographs as works in progress so it is nice to get them published in a dedicated Photography magazine. Whilst several have made the local press, I get a real buzz if they are in a national publication. This year I have been fortunate to have pictures printed in Digital Photography (Issue 185 and 195). The latest one is taken in Grand Central Birmingham and has a strong leading line with two people either side of the picture. One is walking up whilst the upper is walking down. The picture was taken with my Canon G7 Powershot which I no longer use having opted for a Sony RX100 for everyday use. The picture published earlier in the year was taken on the main commuter bridge over the West Coast rail line and for this I used my Canon 5D and 24-70mm lens.

As published in Digital Photographer, Grand Central Station

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