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Tag Archives: Birmingham Post and Mail

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The blossoms on Oozells Square herald the start of spring

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Blossom, Oozell's Square, March, 2025

Every year, Blue Square blossoms into a wonderland. The cherry trees wake up from the long winter months, and the blossoms that appear are captivating, making the square look beautiful. The trees are arranged in front of the Icon Gallery, where the warm brick contrasts with the soft cream colour of the blossoms.

Blossom, Oozell's Square, March, 2025
People flock to the square to take pictures of the blossom.

Many people converge on the square, with celebrations ranging from Eastern European dance performances to Asian cultural gatherings. The arrival of the blossoms draws in people from all over Birmingham. Capturing a unique picture of the square has now become a challenge, as so many photographers have documented it over the years—some even choose to stay away, feeling they have seen it all.

Blossom, Oozell's Square, March, 2025
The view from the IKON and the bench under the blossom.

However, I still enjoy visiting the square and taking pictures whenever I have the opportunity. These are the results of my yearly visits since the start of my blog, and it is fascinating to compare the images over time.

Blossom, Oozell's Square, March, 2025
The IKON gallery with reflections in the nearby restaurant windows.

This is an account of last year’s blossoms in the square.

Early blossom brings colour to Oozells Square
Categories blog

Early blossom brings colour to Oozells Square

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Oozells Square, Birmingham, March, 2024

Oozells Square has featured on my blog over the years.  The appearance of the pink blossom on the trees heralds the start of spring in Birmingham. The square becomes a riot of pink colour and is a magnet for photographers.  This year, the blossom has arrived very early by about 2 weeks.  The warm wet winter has enabled the blossom to flower at the beginning of March.  Whenever the blossom appears then people flock to the area especially at the weekends.  On a bright sunny Monday morning, I had the square to myself bar a few people passing through. The sun was low enough to catch some of the blossom with its rays producing lovely colours. As luck would have it a few people passed by dressed in pink which matched the blossom. Taking photographs in the square is very competitive as many people will arrive over the next few weeks to get a picture. People dress up specially and families bring picnics to sit out and admire the blossom. The IKON gallery is an ideal backdrop to the blossom.  Please feel free to visit my other posts on the blossom.

Oozells Square, Birmingham, March, 2024
The Sun catches people walking through the square.
Oozells Square, Birmingham, March, 2024
Standing under the blossom.
Oozells Square, Birmingham, March, 2024
Time to move on.
Oozells Square, Birmingham, March, 2024
The blossom will be around for the next few weeks.

The blossom story from over the last few years.

2023 – Birmingham Blossom Watch

2022 – Birmingham Blossom

2020 – Blossom in Oozells Square

2018 – Cherry blossom experiments

Categories blog

Photographing a Cathedral

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

“Birmingham we are” is full of passion and I have been posting pictures on their Twitter account for over 3 years. It is run by Jonathan Bostock and Daniel Sturley with help from Debbie. They have successfully published the Birmingham Gem’s Calendar for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019. Their web site is popular and has many followers throughout the West Midlands and beyond. Jonathan organised a visit to St Phillips Cathedral for a group of enthusiastic photographers who contribute to the @birminghamweare twitter account . The meeting was also an opportunity to meet @wasps (we all shoot photographs) collective of photographers. We met up at the St Philips Cathedral on a Saturday morning and were greeted by one of the volunteers, Andrew, who showed as around. We initially went outside and then undertook a detailed visit of the inside of the Cathedral. There were many highlights and the stained glass windows in particular were interesting both to photograph and to listen about the story about their creation.

The stained glass windows were impressive each with a story to tell
This City was built on Books
The Sacristy
Beautiful glass
Every church should have one
Andrew answering questions

There were so many other pictures taken and here is a gallery of them and if you want to see how others interpreted the Cathedral then please visit the fantastic post from Birminghamweare.

A view outside
Categories blog

#hellobrum

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The hashtag #hellobrum is used by the University of Birmingham to promote the Institution on their social media channels.  My University role has changed over the last year and I find myself more and more on our beautiful campus.  This provides me with wonderful opportunities to take time during the day to photograph our everchanging campus.

The Aston Webb building

The following pictures are posted on Flickr, Instagram or even the BBC Weather Watchers site.  My social media feed often gets noticed by the @unibirmingham team or the Birmingham Post and Mail. It is always exciting to receive a mention from them.  I also love to hear people’s comments about my photographs as well.

Sunrise on Campus (featured on BBC Weather Watchers)

Rain on Campus (featured on BBC Weather Watchers)

Autumn provides a wonderful opportunity to photograph the campus as the colours and light produce interesting views.  I also follow other photographers and some of their pictures around the University of Birmingham are fantastic.  Often I get my own ideas for pictures by looking to see how others have interpreted the view of the campus.  All the pictures featured in the Blog were taken in the months of October and November and there will be more posted in the coming months.  Just look out on my social media feed and follow the #hellobrum tag.  Meanwhile I hope you enjoy this selection of pictures.

Old Joe reflected in an Autumnal Window

Window Detail (Aston Webb)

Old Joe in Autumn

The Great Hall

Sunrise over the University (published in the Birmingham Post and Mail)

Moonrise

Bramall trails