View of the City May 2021

Queensway is a busy arterial road in and out of Birmingham so there is always a high volume of traffic thundering along the tarmac.  With my telephoto lens and 24 to 70 mm lens, I went about taking different pictures of an area that is already very familiar to me.  New building projects are always happening in the city centre and the area between the Cathedral and the Canal was an old factory site.  It has been repurposed into city dwelling flats that are being built close to the canal.   

The area is also a magnet for different kinds of people and as I was taking pictures, I was hassled for money, so I quickly moved on.  It is something I am wary of when I am in the quieter parts of town.  I know that I do have to be careful of my own safety.  Still the lure of  taking a few photographs around the buildings on either side of Queensway won through.  I took pictures of St Chad’s Cathedral and also with my telephoto lens up past the Snow Hill buildings.  After that I made my way into town for a lunch time meeting. 

Parking on the top floor of Selfridges Car Park opposite the store provided skyline pictures of both the City and Digbeth, and the skyline bridge linking the two is always fun for a picture or two.    I love the new covering on the Selfridges which is being put in place whilst they replace the discs on the outside.  The covering is designed by Osman Yousefzada,who is a multi-disciplinary artist working in association with the IKON gallery. the pink and black geometric shapes are in contrast with the grey architecture.

It was a day of sunshine and showers and whilst I was outside there was a terrific downpour. 

This then led to the bonus of several puddles for a bit of reflective photography.  The puddles around Selfridges are still there and lend themselves to some nice reflections of the building as it is being renovated

On my way to New Street, there were other interesting images to capture including the queue outside Zara and the photographing of the Electric Cinema.  I lingered around the reflective roof of the entrance to New Street Station. I also took a few pictures of the trams passing through which is something you have to do when in Birmingham. 

So enjoy the pictures and it is good to see Birmingham as it emerges from the pandemic.  The only down side is the weather which is atrocious rain and so unlike May.


The British Tech Network is run by Ewen Rankin and started out mainly as a discussion network for computer enthusiasts.
https://britishtechnetwork.com
It is lovingly termed the BTN and the members discuss topics via the BTN Slack room. The network runs a weekly Mac Show and Big Show which is very popular with well over 20,000 subscribers. “The Photo Show” is also part of the British Tech Network. We cover news, kit and then discuss a topic. We have had guests on who have discussed subjects from wedding photography to portrait photography.

The BTN PhotoShow
The Photo Show in full swing with Sarah Longes

The Photoshow is also popular and has around 6,000 views. Whilst Ewen started off the Photoshow he has now entrusted the project to small team of 4 people who are all enthusiasts when it comes to photography.

Martin who is an amateur photographer and a brilliant pub quiz organiser.  His pub quizzes kept Sandy and I going through the first Lockdown in April 2020 and we are still doing them in the 2nd Lockdown.  Then there is Ian Lewis who is an amateur photographer from Cornwall and lives amongst the most amazing scenery.  There is Doddsie (Neil Dodds) who lives in Nyon, Switzerland who also has beautiful scenery to photograph.  Finally there is me who enjoys a picture or two.

Photoshow Web Page
The BTN website with Tubemapper – Luke Agbaimoni – featured guest

We started off by ourselves and as we got more proficient, we invited guests.  You will see in the recordings that both Luke Agbaimoni (@Tubemapper) and Sarah Longes have been on the show.  Both were very entertaining, and Sarah has so much to talk about that we have made it into two shows.  She covered such diverse topics especially mindfulness and dealing with adversity in your life.  Even though she was shielded during the Lockdown, she still managed some amazing pictures.

The show is released as a podcast on a regular 2 weekly basis and is already receiving rave reviews for its content.

Photoshow Regulars
Ian Lewis Photography – https://ianlewisphoto.co.uk/
Neil Dodd – http://doddsiephoto.ch/

Photoshow Guests
Tubemapper – https://tubemapper.com/
Sarah Longes – https://miradordesign.wordpress.com/

Sponsors of the Show
iMendmacs – https://www.imendmacs.com/
Tshhost – https://www.tsohost.com/

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.

The train station over the canal

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.

St Paul’s Church
The paths around St Paul’s Church
The Jam house with 3 Snow Hill towering over it
Commuting down Ludgate Hill to the City