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Tag Archives: Birmingham

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City Arcade – Birmingham’s hidden gem

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
City Arcade Birmingham

Lockdown had interrupted by own personal visits to all the arcades in Birmingham. I enjoy mornings when it is quiet and so before going to work, I parked up in town and made my way to the City arcade. In some ways it is my favourite arcade but it has fallen on difficult times. There are not that many shops in the arcade and they are all down one side. When I arrived at the arcade, there was a rough sleeper outside the real ale pub. In these difficult times the city is overburdened with homeless people and I worry for them.

City Arcade
Play on light in the Arcade
City arcade
Getting down low to show the architecture

The City Arcade was built in 1901 and designed by TWF Newton and Cheattle. I picked up this information from the Historic England site and then you are able to search on from there. It has had a recent face lift and the interior designs have been painted and stand out showing the detail that had gone into this building. It is part of Union street which is a busy thoroughfare between Corporation St and the High St. However, step into the Arcade and the noise of people quickly dies away. The arcade is at an angle and links up with the junction of Union and Warwick passage.

City Arcade Birmingham
Details of the ceiling

There are a few shops in the Arcade but from a photographers perspective, there are many reflections of the light. When people walk through the arcade then you can get some very nice effects. I spent a good 20 minutes taking photographs before I headed off to work. Another one of the Birmingham Arcades done and photographed. As the title says a hidden gem and worth exploring.

City Arcade Birmingham
Outside detail
City Arcade Birmingham
The front facade
City Arcade Birmingham
Morning light in the Arcade
City Arcade Birmingham
The grittiness of Union Passage (Arcade to right)
City Arcade Birmingham
Outside design details

And now moving inside to view some of the details of the shops.

City Arcade Birmingham
Signs for the Arcade
The speciality beer outlet “TILT”
City Arcade Birmingham
WillPower
City Arcade Birmingham
Gadget Swap
City Arcade Birmingham
Chandeliers
City Arcade Birmingham
Reflections

If you are interested in the other arcades in Birmingham then please follow these links –
The Piccadilly Arcade
The Great Western Arcade

Categories blog

My best pictures are taken with my iPhone

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Reflections in Digbeth

Should I be worried? Should I ditch my big camera? My most popular photographs are all taken by an iPhone. My most recent one of Gibb Street in Digbeth has been published by several outlets including BBCMidlands, Independent Birmingham, IgersbirminghamUK, Bhamupdates and Source investments. All very pleasing but I would like to talk about my aperture and shutter settings. The camera ISO and how I held it to take in the picture. No all I did was dip the iPhone into a puddle and the resulting picture then gets a life of its own. Getting down low certainly led to more impact to the picture. However, I am pleased that I can brag about my composition and that it caught the spirit of Birmingham!

Categories blog

Port Loop

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Port Loop

Running was and still is a big part of my life. When the dental hospital was operating out of the Queensway site then we used to take the opportunity to run up to the Soho loop along the Birmingham Canal Old Line. I took my camera with me to revisit the area and my start point was Port Loop on Rotten Park Street. Nothing rotten about it and an amazing housing development is going up. I took several pictures around there, chatted to a local developer who was commissioned to take pictures of the old buildings and then made my way to the canal.

Port Loop development
Port Loop development, Birminghamn
To be developed
To be developed, Port Loop

There were so many people running, cycling and walking and as the Canal and River Trust say #lifeisbetterbywater. I strolled up and down the old line and lingered around the junction with the Soho loop. I enjoyed seeing the city from the distance and the graffiti was very colourful adding to the enjoyment of the photographic opportunities. There were lots of different activity happening and I caught different activities including trains, bikes and boats. I look forward to seeing the area develop over the next few years.

Start of the Soho loop
Start of the Soho loop.
View of the City along our canal
View of the City along our canal
Just talking
Just talking
Quiet Saturday morning
Quiet Saturday morning
Colourful surroundings
Colourful surroundings

Finally the added bonus was taking a short drive to see the Two Towers. Edgbaston Water Works and Perrrot’s Folly are both seen as inspirational in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers are in walking distance of the Oratory which is where the young Tolkien went to Church and is a subject of another of my blogs.

Edgbaston Water Works
Edgbaston Water Works, the Two Towers
Perrott's Folly
Perrott’s Folly, The Two Towers

Here are some links
Urban Splash
Canal and River Trust
Birmingham City Council
Places for people

My links on canals
Down by the canal
Night on the canals
Canals and Waterways
Winner BCN 250

Categories blog

St Paul’s Church

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The Jewellery quarter is one of my inspirational places for photography. Affectionately known as the JQ, it contains so much history wrapped in its character. Old and new blend together with interesting details including churches, shops, doors, alleyways and jewellery shops. Arguably the centre piece is St Paul’s square with the beautiful Church in the centre. The spire is taller than the building making it difficult to frame for the photograph. However, there are a few areas where you can frame it correctly using the surrounding trees. I wandered around the square and then down Bennett’s Hill on a quiet Sunday morning. The only company were cyclists and joggers. A few people were sitting on the benches taking in the early sunshine. These are a few pictures taken around the square and down the hill.

There are a few places that are active on social media including the Soda Bread Cafe and up and coming photographer Rebecca who posts lovely photographs of the JQ skyline. It is sad to see the Jam House as I have many happy memories of nights out there. It will be a while before it opens again. The square holds many happy memories for me. It was here that one of my photographs first got featured as a BBC Midlands picture of the day. The Jam House, Andersons and St Paul’s House all have special family and work memories. So a quiet Sunday in June was spent not only taking photographs but reliving memories of a favourite Birmingham spot. Don’t let me have it all for myself why not visit it yourself but remember to take your camera with you.

Categories blog

That was then, this is now

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I planned to go into Birmingham on Sunday as it is quiet and often there is the chance of getting some interesting pictures. As I planned for the trip into the city, I thought what if I matched up some new pictures with old ones from my Flickr collection. Going into Birmingham is not pleasant as there are many homeless people around who are desperate following on from the Coronavirus. I did not take any pictures as they were aggressively asking for money. Therefore I was very careful getting my camera out to take the pictures. I took most of the pictures around changes caused by the tram network. I did take a few pictures of the new library but for some unknown reason, they were corrupted and I will have to do return and take a new set of photographs on another day. Once again as a photographer during lockdown it is wise to remember the strict security around buildings. When I went up the ramp to take the picture downwards, I was immediately spotted by security guards and asked what I was doing. I did feel bad as I am putting the guards under unnecessary pressure by checking on me. However the empty picture of the ramp was perfect. The pictures of the trams are shown in the gallery below.

In front of the Town Hall
On Pinfold Street
Taken on the ramp
Weaman Street

The past Birmingham views were chosen where I had some old photographs taken roughly in the same spot. These are lined up below. I realised that it was not until 2011 onwards that I really started to take pictures on the streets of Birmingham. In retrospect I should have done more but hindsight is a wonderful thing 🙂

Taken on January 11, 2012
Taken on July 1, 2019
Taken on February 9, 2012
Taken on November 7, 2013

I made the images the same size and then used layers in Photoshop to align the pictures and with a mixture of altering the opacity, rotation and altering the colours, I came up with 4 composite images.

I have had some nice feedback from them on social media and I will go back to do some more in a few weeks time. I wished I had done more old pictures but my photographic interests have certainly changed over the years.

Categories blog

Venturing into Birmingham

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Having done Digbeth, I felt brave enough to go into Birmingham again and look around both Gas Street Basin and Centenary Square.  My first difficulty was parking as car parks and on street spaces were either shut or there were traffic cones preventing you from parking.  I found a place and wandered down into gas street.  What I noticed was how many runners there were out and about plus cyclists using the tow path.  It is wide enough to do social distancing and it was being patrolled by two police officers as well.  

Some parts are locked up
The basin is still colourful
Many runners around

After Gas Street I went to Centenary Square and I had brought along my lensball as I thought it might give me some different and creative photography.  Sometimes the lensball is frustrating as it just does not add anything more to the picture.  In this situation, the shallow pool of water allowed you to place the crystal at the water’s edge and then lie low to line up a picture.  I was pleased with the result and it was well received on the social media.  I also noticed that whilst Broad Street is undergoing changes for the metro tram, there are social distancing notices all over the pavement.  The virus is still around and although walking around the streets of Birmingham has a normality about it, you do realise that we are sill in a state of crisis.

Work on the tram makes for lockdown pictures of the Library
The lensball likes being reflected
When will the Rep open for performances?
Centenary Square is quiet
Evidence of neglect on Broad Street
Changes and more Changes on Broad Street
It is a difference world
Social distancing on Broad Street
Categories blog

Blossom in Oozells’ Square

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Every year this arguably unremarkable square bursts into a riot of colour which is provided by the blossom on the two rows of trees on either side of the square. I am being harsh about the square, as it does have the IKON gallery which is an imposing building at one end. The blossom and the white pebbles of the square are beautifully offset by the IKON gallery. This display only takes place for a few weeks of the year. It is enjoyable taking the pictures and my iPhone picture of the square was featured on the late night news.

Sunny morning in the square
Blossom
Trees
Tree shape
Great start to the day
A row of trees
Branches
Categories blog

GWA

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The Great Western Arcade is situated near Snow Hill Station and in the morning is a throughway through to other parts of the city. It is lit up to show the different shops that are in the arcade. In the morning Greggs attracts many people to its store. There are lovely smells of fresh bread from the No1 the Bread collection. There is also the colour of Miss Macaroon. I loved the guy in glasses cleaning the opticians windows. The wedding dress shop window dressing is lovely but the passerby is more intent on her mission to get to work. The arcade is a reflection of the history, the present and the future of Birmingham.


Categories blog

Festival of Light

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Over the last week of January the Bull Ring area of Birmingham held a Festival of Light. There were several themed light shows and shoppers flocked to the display. There was a Chinese New Year display but I was unable to get to see that particular event. I did see the display over three nights on my way back from work. Taking photographs was not easy due to the number of people around the event and I was by myself. It did mean I could not do any particularly good selfie photographs. I took different cameras to the event and needed to rely on a high ISO as no tripods were allowed near the interactive exhibits. The light show also was either very bright such as the Neon Angel Wings or unpredictable in when the lights came on. It required a lot of anticipation on the part of the photographer.

There were five installations

Talk to the sky – This was in St Martin’s Square and similar to all the others was interactive in nature. When you talk to the lights your voice is converted into light and sound pulses that were sent up into space.

With Love – This was a bright red inflatable heart that senses the light, the temperature and the atmospheric pressure around it, and turns into a red heartbeat with sounds.

Neon Angel Wings – This installation was designed by the neon light artist, Carla O’Brien. It consisted of a pair of neon wings where you could get a selfie taken. It was a very bright installation and tricky to photograph.

Pulse – St Martin’s Walk up to Rotunda square had a series of circular structures that you were able to walk through. As you did there was an electronic sound track with a pulsing light

Birds Fly Around With You – This final light show in Rotunda Square was an interactive flock of birds. When you entered the circle then the birds starting to light up and fly around you in a circle.

Categories blog

Digbeth lights

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Digbeth is the new Shoreditch is a saying on the Internet.  I have not been to Shoreditch for a long time and I know that Digbeth is modelled on itself not on any other town or city.  It has been a while since I had been to Digbeth. Furthermore, I wanted to get there early so that I could see the pretty street lighting that I often see from the train in the morning.  The cultural centre of Digbeth is the former Bird’s Custard Factory which was always awash with light. Now the surrounding roads such as Floodgate Street and Lower Trinity Street have street lighting that criss-crosses the road.  It gives a nice effect and entices the visitor into the area to discover more about the charms of Digbeth.

Grafitti is a feature of Digbeth
Floodgate Street – Under the arch down the Road
Robots on the wall
A puddle reflection in Floodgate Street

I took my Canon camera with wide lens with me and also had my iPhone and Sony compact.  The streets were relatively quiet with a few early workers out and about.  I took a selection of pictures including the graffiti and the lights.  I even walked into the centre of the Custard Factory to look at the sculptures and art work.  It is always a rewarding experience moving around Digbeth during the early hours.

This way to the Custard Factory
Smoking on the walls in Lower Trinity Street
Early workers at the Custard Factory
More lights in the square
It’s raining people
Art on display
Ranking Roger
Art and food and a bike
The Cat and the Mouse – who will win?
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