Reaching Out: A Telephoto Tour of Birmingham

Having used my telephoto lens for a mobile phone zoom view which captured Moor Street station and the HS2 rail bridge, I just had to go back in with my 100-400mm lens. Taking a telephoto lens is not without its problems. People do stop and stare. In contrast, an iPhone is inconspicuous. In spite of this, I set myself the challenge of using only my telephoto lens around Birmingham. I returned to the spot where I had originally used my iPhone and took the picture with the telephoto. The view takes in the walkway down to Moor Street and beyond to the steel HS2 bridge. When taking the shot, I got lucky and captured three buses outside the station.

What next? Well, it must be Selfridges. I love it when it has rained, as there are several puddles around the viewing platform, and photographing reflections has always been a fascination of mine. The telephoto lens brought out the character of the building. Then there is a new kid on the block. The Beorma Tower is starkly different to the blobitecture of the Selfridges building. The skyscraper is full of straight lines and sharp angles, and its boxed nature is so different. I enjoyed taking pictures of the two side by side.

I looked up and saw the Rotunda and the steel struts that surround the Bull Ring square. I was getting the hang of this, so I next walked on to Chinatown and then the closed Electric cinema. The latter looked very sad, with the sign having started to deteriorate and some letters missing from the art deco-inspired nameplate. I am convinced the developers want the building to break down just so they can build more flats on the site.

aI moved on with my telephoto to capture the Cube and then the sights of Gas Street Basin. Having the reach of the lens did make a difference on all my subjects. In Gas Street Basin, I was able to capture people walking along the towpath on the opposite side of the water.

It was not all plain sailing, and my pictures of the canal boat on the water just did not work well; hence it is not featured. I did take pictures of the Library of Birmingham, and the circles and colours worked nicely. The BT Tower also has not lost its charm and does take a good photograph. However, there is a new building close by that has just sprung up. Makers Place, also known as Great Charles Street, sits close to the BT Tower, although I expect there will be many more.

Finally, I did try out the long lens in the Great Western Arcade with mixed results. What I did like was the way the long focal length compressed the flags. As I was taking the pictures, I could see the security guards taking an interest in me, so I moved quickly out of sight.

There are several buildings that I missed when photographing with my long lens. I look forward to returning to Birmingham and having a look at what I missed.

I have many other stories about Birmingham so please browse through my photographic work to see my view of this fantastic city.

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