A few views of St Paul’s Church, Gas Street Basin, the Library and the Cube. The sunlight always gives the local landmarks an added boost.
Over the Bank Holiday weekend, Austy Wood opened its doors . The wood is privately owned and is normally not accessible to the public. There is a footpath that navigates the edge of the wood and it is possible to look into the wood and imagine what it is like. Three charities came together to make it possible to visit the inside of the wood. Volunteers from Cure Leukaemia, Rotary Club and the Firefighter’s Charity helped organise and arrange for the woods to be open. It was not only the charities that benefited as there was also a donation to Wootton Warren primary school.
Austy wood boasts the best Bluebell display in Warwickshire and is located on the Stratford Road just past Wooton Warren. The route is approximately 1 ½ miles long. The walk starts at Yew Tree Farm and initially you pass over the Stratford-upon-Avon canal and then move onto the farm houses where representatives from the charities take your fee. A gentle uphill walk leads to the wood. Look back and you see a magnificent view of the Warwickshire countryside. Don’t worry about a picture as you revisit that view at the end of the walk. Entering the woods, I was excited by the sporadic displays of bluebells but this was just a taster to the real show waiting. Meeting volunteer firemen, the path moves through a meadow and skirts some beautiful carpets of blue flowers. Yet again this is just the prelude to the main event. As the path moves deeper into the wood, the carpet becomes thicker and with the sun relatively low in the morning sky, there are lovely shadows to be photographed.
The path then doubles back and drops down into varied parts of the wood. By this time, you are able to take in the bluebell vista and there are a few surprises such as badger paths and old upturned tree trunks. Then finally the path leads out of the woods and it is back to that wonderful vista of the Warwickshire countryside.
There was so much to photograph and the colours of the bluebells was intense. The light and shadows was exhilarating and needless to say many photographs were taken.
Thank you to the three charities who helped organise the event. Dave of the Rotary Club asked if the pictures could be used to advertise the event for next year. I know that I will be looking out for the dates when the wood is open next year.
The pictures include those of the different volunteers that I met on my walk through the woods.
A long weekend break in Dublin with beautiful weather could only mean one thing, great opportunities for photographs. We stayed in a hotel near to Grafton Street which allowed lots of opportunities for street photography. The place that I particularly enjoyed visiting was Bewley’s coffee house. The last time I was in Bewley’s was as a young 19 year old student ready to hitchhike around Ireland. Trinity College Dublin is also very photogenic and the good weather brought out the people as the photographs show. Another favourite spot is Dublin Castle and the gardens behind provide great spots for not only soaking in the sun but also taking photographs. There are a few night shots thrown in and even though Sunday morning was dull in comparison to the rest of the weekend, several of the buildings still lent themselves to being photographed. A memorable weekend and once again the fair city of Dublin is the winner.
The sun came back after a really dull week and so I jumped into the car down to one of my favourite locations for photographs. Kingswood Junction is near to Lapworth and is where the Stratford-upon-Avon canal meets the Grand Union canal via a small connection under the railway bridge. I played around with long exposure, long focal length lens and an old fish eye lens that I have. All good fun and long may the sun shine.
Oozells Square is just off Brindley Place. It is a relatively new square and has a faceless RSB bank on the south side with the elegant IKON gallery on the North side. Either side are a couple of restaurants which have their charms and are enjoyable places to dine the night away. The square is pleasant and whilst not unique does showcase the IKON gallery rather well. For a few weeks in April, the square comes into its own with Cherry Blossom. The trees erupt in bright pink and it is an attractive sight. The flowering attracts most photographers in the area and I happen to one of those photographers that waits for this moment. This year I wanted to be different by experimenting with a range of in camera methods. I used several techniques including Intentional Camera Movement, Zooming and Double Exposure. As an added bonus my iPhone picture was featured in the BBC weather bulletin that evening.
I work in town on a Wednesday morning so I take the opportunity of pacing around the streets with my camera. The Custard Factory proves to be a happy hunting ground for pictures. The graffiti is very colourful and there are several interesting nooks and crannies that provide interesting views. Here are a selection taken from one of my Wednesday walks.
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.
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!!!
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.
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.