Confetti Fields 2019

by Damien Walmsley 13/07/2019 13/07/2019

A year on and another trip to the Confetti fields at Wick, near Pershore. This time we took more of the family to see the flowers. It was in a different field and I don’t think the display was as intense as last year. It did not matter as all the grandchildren loved it. Sandy was impressed with it as well. It was very busy as usual as people do turn up early! My granddaughter Lily was old enough to fully take it in, whilst Noah and Chloe enjoyed all the attention and day out. After the fields we headed out to Pershore Abbey Park for a well deserved picnic. Here are the photos of the day.

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Photographing Atomium

by Damien Walmsley 07/07/2019 07/07/2019

I have been to Brussels many times but never to the Atomium and it is one of the places on my travel bucket list. We were in Brussels for an intensive feedback with Marie Curie funding at the European Research Council. Our visit was not helped by delayed and cancelled flights with Brussels Airlines. When we eventually arrived, the conference went well and we were able to catch up with the program. Once the day was done we took a taxi to the north of the city and walked up to the Atomium.

The Atomium was part of the world’s fair held in Brussels in 1958 (the year I was born) and consists of nine iron atoms in the shape of an iron crystal. This is magnified over 165 billion times. It is an impressive structure and immediately commands your attention.

There is a plane in the centre if you look closely

They were getting ready for the start of the Tour de France so it was not possible to get a “clean” view of the front of the structure. There was fencing around the front of the structure with tents ready for the cyclists. However it was a warm evening and the sun was out. There were reflections on the metal structure of Atomium and with the low sun I was excited to be taking photographs. We arrived when the building was shut but it was still possible to wander around and enjoy all those wonderful photographic angles. It is a place where the locals gather and there were many people wandering around. I converted many of my pictures to black and white so that the lines and metal texture came through. Once I had done my photographs all taken with my Sony RX100v5, we headed back to the City for dinner. I was happy to have finally seen Atomium.

On the website the copyright of pictures is outlined as the creator of Atomium, the late engineer André Waterkeyn protected his design. So please be aware if you copy any of my pictures which are being used on my website for personal reasons only .

https://www.atomium.be/copyright

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Photographing Vancouver – Electric Harbour Tours

by Damien Walmsley 05/07/2019 06/07/2019

This was a special day. As soon as I arrived in Vancouver I started posting pictures on my social media accounts. These were picked up by the Meet in Vancouver convention bureau team. They messaged me as they found out that I was both a runner and a photographer. They delivered two wonderful gifts to my hotel. One was a special pack of natural products for the after run experience. I also received a trip for two with Electric Harbour Tours around the bay.

On the last day I took up the offer of the boat trip. Captain Spencer was my guide and we set off in our boat around the bay. During the trip, we saw the harbour seal who scavenges around the left overs in the harbour. We got close up and personal with the harbour air floatplanes. We also got views of derelict structures with wonderful barnacles growing on them. There was lots of history about the bay and tales about the boats in the marina. Captain Spencer kept me amused with his stories. There were fantastic sea views and amazing skyscrapers to view from the relaxing voyage of the eclectic boat. It was a great finish to the conference.

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Photographing Vancouver– Stanley Park

by Damien Walmsley 05/07/2019 05/07/2019

Stanley park is the centre of Vancouver. A large natural reserve near to the city and it has so much to see in it. I did some running around on my first morning and used my iPhone to take pictures of the eastern tip of the park. The water is still and offers lovely reflections of the marina and the city. I got there by running down Robson street and used that as my starting off point into the park.

For the Summer solstice, I walked to the Eastern side of the park and captured the sun going down. Crowds had gathered near to the English Bay Beach. The sunset was golden and a lovely end of the day

For my last day in Vancouver, I ran around the Eastern perimeter underneath the road bridge and then headed down through the interior of the park. I stopped at Siwash Rock to take pictures as it has nice views of the western part of Vancouver. I kept running past the upper tip and then made my way home. I headed southwards through the park. I quickly found that you can easily loose your bearings in the park especially if you are tired with your running. Once again I used my iPhone to take pictures on the run, and I was pleased that I came across the rose garden which is a peaceful place in the park with lots of colour. Then I found Robson street and it was back to the hotel. It was a long but rewarding run.

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Photographing Vancouver– Around the Marina

by Damien Walmsley 01/07/2019 01/07/2019

The conference is intense but during the lunchtime breaks, I was able to take time out and stroll around the seafront. Vancouver is a photogenic city and there is always something happening. You can spend many an hour just watching the harbour float planes taking off and landing in front of the conference centre. The marina has beautiful yachts and colourful house boats. There are people just enjoying the outdoors, cycling and running around the Marina. The city does have its homeless problem but I did like the ingenuity of the person who hung his hammock on the house on stilts. The aluminium house is known as the “crooked house on stilts”, or LightShed by Liz Magor. When I looked the next day the hammock was gone. All pictures by my Sony RX100v5 either on P or S setting.

Even though the view is breathtaking, it is time to take a stroll outside.

A single figure goes forward into the land of high rise living.

An ingenious way to find a bed for the night.

The last picture is of Space Venus by Salvador Dali. This picture was taken on the Friday. I learnt that the statue was vandalised and the golden egg taken on the Saturday night after we left to go back home. Details of this were reported in the local news.

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Photographing Vancouver – Playing Tourist

by Damien Walmsley 30/06/2019 30/06/2019

Vancouver is a beautiful location for a conference, and it was my third visit to the city, previously visiting in 1999 and 2009. Therefore, as the year was 2019, I was due my usual visit 🙂 We had some down time prior to the start and my post doc, Marco and I wandered around Canada Place before heading off for the Capilano suspension bridge.

Canada place has the iconic sails and every day there was a different cruise ship in the dock.

Twenty years ago the Capilano suspensionbridge and the associated park was very quiet. Not now. It is a major Tourist centre with both a tree canopy and cliff walk. Both of these were spectacular and made good use of the natural resource. The trip over the suspension bridge was a slight worry. There was a high volume of visitors and the picture shows the large number of people who were crossing at the same time. The statistics are awesome 450 feet (137m) across the valley and 230 feet (70m) above the Capilano River. If you are scared of heights it is not the ideal sightseeing tour. The movement of the bridge did provide a photographic challenge as it was never still.

On the other side there was a canopy walk in the trees although my photographs do not fully represent the views that you were able to see. The light was difficult with both dark and bright areas. It was much easier to take photographs of beautiful birds of prey including a North American Kestrel. One lady was reprimanded for getting to close to the birds. “They do bite” said the handler! We also successfully completed the cliff walk which took us out over the canyon.

We then caught a local bus back to the bay but stopped on the North Shore where we captured postcard views of the city through artwork in the grounds of the local park.

A tangled art work with the city in the background

It was back to the conference and after the opening reception we caught taxis to Seasons in the park. The restaurant was in the hills high above Vancouver. It was possible to catch the light as the sun was setting. Thank you to the British Dental Journal for the opportunity to see and photograph Vancouver from a different angle

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Black and White

by Damien Walmsley 15/06/2019 16/06/2019

This has been a week of rain and the days have been dull. Even though it is wet there are still great opportunities to go out and take photographs.. My early Wednesday walk from Snow Hill took in the canals that run underneath Snow Hill. The arches under Snow Hill are a favourite haunt of photographers and one can always find a good place for a picture. With the rain there had been condensation with rain collecting on the tow path near to the ornate gates which used to hold horses. Now the activity on the tow path is bikers commuting into work and runners making the best of the early mornings. I settled my camera down on the dirty floor at the edge of a puddle and started to take some pictures. It was difficult to control the bright light of the centre of the picture and the dark recesses of the tunnel. I could see on the first few shots that there was a perfect reflection that made the exit look like an eye onto the outside world. Just then a runner came past. It gave me an idea and by trial and error I set the camera at a shutter speed of 1/100 and f/6.3. I hiked the ISO up to 640. I set it for rapid shooting and then waited for the next runner. Soon enough one appeared and I took my pictures. I had to pick up the shadows from the RAW picture and also do a bit of dodging of the runner. The picture came out very well and was well received on social media.

After this I wandered over to St Paul’s square and took a few pictures of the Church and the tree lined paths that criss cross the square. The early commuters were oblivious to the camera and I took several pictures of the area. The black and white treatment suited the day, my ideas for the pictures and set off the charm of that particular area of Birmingham. Here are a selection of the ones that I took.

The Jam house with 3 Snow Hill towering over it

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England’s Big Picture

by Damien Walmsley 02/06/2019 02/06/2019

I am very pleased as it is my second feature this year on the BBC England’s Big Picture. This picture is of the Cube taken from the basement. It is an iconic picture and one taken by many people. It is a classic view of one of the lovely people by the artist Temper. I have done the picture many times but never featured it in my pictures. I was wandering around and decided that I would go down and take a picture as I passed by the Cube. It is a classic view of one of the lovely people by the artist Temper.

One of the lovely people (taken in 2017)

This is taken looking upwards to the sky from the basement level. There is no roof. I used my Sony RX100mk5 and when I saw the picture, I realised my hair had made an appearance. Also I was not quite central with the picture. I cropped and cloned out my hair but could do nothing with the off symmetry. On Instagram I noticed that BBCEngland liked the picture, so I sent it in. Low and behold my second picture submitted to the Big Picture this year was accepted.

England’s Big Picture: 27th May to 2nd June, 2019

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Lord Leycester’s Hospital

by Damien Walmsley 02/06/2019 02/06/2019

Warwick is a favourite place of mine as it has many hidden delights. The tourists flock to thee castle and will generally give the town a miss. Don’t get me wrong the castle is well worth a visit and if you are going there you need to give up the whole day for the experience. The town has a number of germs and one is the hospital.

The hospital was founded in 1571 by the Earl of Leicester but the Chapel had been standing on the site since 1126. It had a long and varied history before coming under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1. It was a place for old or injured solders to rest and recuperate. They were called the Brethren who were under the charge of a Master.

Today Lord Leycester’s Hospital is a place to visit and has an imposing presence on the main High Street into Warwick. I have visited there before and this time took Sandy with me. We visited the Chapel, the Guildhall and the Great Hall. In the Great Hall there is a seat where King James 1st during a three day Banquet in 1617. I took several overall pictures and the one of the outside of the Hospital made the BBC weather watchers.

The Great Hall with the King James Chair to the left

I took along my Canon Camera 5D with a 24-105mm lens and it dealt well with low light conditions and the wide angles needed in the main hall. Well worth a visit and there is a lot of detail that I did not record as I went mainly for the overall pictures.

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Top of the Rotunda

by Damien Walmsley 18/05/2019 03/08/2022

When the chance came to take photographs from the top of the Rotunda then I was first in the queue. Maybe not first as there were several other keen photographers that wanted to up there as well. Those people with passion, @Birminghamweare organised the visit to Floor 20 of the iconic Rotunda. We had a 6 to 9.30pm slot on a Sunday night in one of the Staying Cool apartments. The city was buzzing as the Velo bike riders were finishing their 100 mile trip around the West Midlands. I thought I would be late for the trip to the top but I found a place to park and made my way to the Rotunda. I have passed the entrance many times but now I was going in and up to the top. We were based in Room 25 which has the best views over Grand Central and out to the west of Birmingham. I met up with my fellow photographers and walked out onto the veranda – viewing platform at the very top of the Rotunda. I took several minutes to take in the scene and as I often do in these situations got my phone out and took some pictures.

Having settled down and after the initial excitement had subsided, then it was time to start taking some pictures of the magnificent view. I had brought along my 100 – 400mm Canon lens which was able to pick out all the landmarks. These included Birmingham City football ground, St Martin’s Church, the Bus station, Grand Central, St Philip’s Cathedral. the Mailbox and Snow Hill. So many different views to choose from.

The setting of the sun was very exciting and we were all politely jostling for position to get the best shot in. We all managed to get our pictures of the sunset and then this was followed by the night lights of Grand Central and the surrounding buildings. Another set of pictures were taken. Then it was all over. Three and a half hours had gone so quickly. When I got back home it was such fun to look back at all the pictures and also so interesting to see pictures taken by the other photographers from the @Birminghamweare group.

A BIG thank you to Jonathan Bostock and Debra Power from @Birminghamweare for organising this memorable visit. Also thank you to Staying Cool at the Rotunda for allowing us the opportunity to view Birmingham from above. Finally I hope you enjoy all the pictures on show and tune into people with passion – Birminghamweare

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