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Tag Archives: Birmingham

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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

Merry Christmas 2018

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

A few pictures of Trees and some Birmingham locations this Christmas

The University of Birmingham
Church Street, Birmingham Business District
Noddy Holder in Lego – Merry Christmas Everyone
The Cathedral looking pretty
with Reindeers and a Tree
Futuristic Christmas Tree in the Cube
Merry Christmas – Mailbox Style
The Custard Factory looking festive
Snow House at the Bull Ring
Categories blog Uncategorised

East is East

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Taken inside Ashted Canal Tunnel and holding onto my camera every so tightly over the water

Another view in Ashted Tunnel

The area around the locks looks derelict but not for long

There will be many new buildings going up in this area.

Curzon street tunnel which takes the canal under the new HS2 rail link to London.

A view of the city from the Digbeth canal branch of the Grand Union Canal

Interesting Graffiti under the bridges

Old canal buildings along the canal

Quiet morning reflections along the canal

Following on from the recent blog post Go West. I decided to feature the canals network on Eastside where there is a great deal of regeneration occurring mainly fuelled by the location of the HS2 at Curzon street station. Millennium point was the start of the development and with Birmingham City University building in the area, it has led to further developments. These include student accommodation and other small business enterprises. This is taking place in an area that was left derelict and the canal system still retains the grandeur of former days. I wandered around here with my Canon 6D and a 40 mm lens plus my Sony Camera. The 40 mm lens does make you think about your picture taking and you do have to move to get a good picture. The graffiti adds colour and may not to be everyone’s taste but I do like some of the local artists that paint in the area. There is still more development happening which is exciting to see although some of the old history may get eradicated in the process.
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Categories blog

Aston Hall

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

It is always good when my diary has the free space for an Igersbirmingham instameet and I was lucky as this one coincided with Birmingham Heritage week.  The venue was Aston Hall a place that I had not visited since my daughters were young.  I expected changes to the layout of the Hall rooms but also, I was excited to visit the Long Gallery which is one of the major attractions of this grand house that is steeped in history.  I will not elaborate much further on the history of the Hall as it can all be found on the Birmingham Museums web site

http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/aston

This visit was organised by Igersbirmingham who once again excelled at ensuring we had a worthwhile time with our cameras.  We arrived an hour before the official opening and this allowed us the time to browse around the rooms and take photographs of the interesting places.  I brought along my fisheye lens as I was hoping that this would provide a different view of the Long Gallery.  I also worked with my Canon 5D and the 24-70mm and 70-200mm lenses.  I do get very excited about taking part in photographic events such as this one and it takes a while for me to settle down and concentrate on achieving good pictures. There are many different views and the Long Gallery view with the fisheye came out how I imagined it which was fortunate.  However, I am always surprised on how others view my pictures and the Igersbirmingham team selected the picture of the chimneys on the roof for their blog on the meeting

http://www.igersbirmingham.co.uk/aston-hall-instameet

Many thanks to the Igers team of Beth, Fraser and Martin for their work and enthusiasm in running these Instameets

Aston Hall

Igersbirmingham ready to go and take some photographs.

Aston Hall welcomes it visitors

Such sharp teeth you have

Art work of a flat camera on a tripod

Some of the Characters in traditional costume

Staircases make for interesting photography

Out taking pictures

Thee Long Gallery through a fisheye

Sir Thomas Holte entertains

Detail from one of the rooms

Looking up

Chimneys and lots of them

Outside Gardens

Church of St Peter and St Paul (seen from Aston Hall)

Lovely Sky behind Aston Hall

 

Categories blog

Walking to the University

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

At last I get to update my blog and these are a few pictures taken on a walk from the Mailbox along the canal to the University train station.  It was a warm morning but I took along my Canon 5D mk4 and my EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens.  I usually do little to the pictures other than keeping an eye on the exposure and using an unsnarling mask to finish the picture.  On this walk I did play with some of the pictures in Google Nik.  I also used black and white.  I just have a sense when a picture suits black and white treatment.  My favourite picture of the day was the cyclist and the train although it was fun taking pictures in the canal bridge just before the University Residence Park.

Playing with filters and you can often forget what the original looked like

Some soft focus

The application of tinted filters

This is the original !!!

The canal walk brings out nice light and shadows

Graffiit under the bridge

A silhouette in the Edgbaston Tunnel

A non functional pier adds some charm to the scene

Man versus machine and I do like this photograph

Another favourite view which you start to see as the curve of the canal opens up

You have reached your destination

Categories blog Uncategorised

Dancing in the City

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The Birmingham International Dance Festival comes to the City every two years. There is an extensive programme of dance related events.  It is the sixth festival but it was my first experience.  The meeting was organised by Igersbirmingham and when the announcement popped up on my Instagram account, I immediately signed up for it.  I was also unsure who would be there but the chatter on instagram told me that there would be a few seasoned photographers going to the event.  On a Saturday lunchtime in June, I met the other Instagrammers outside St Philip’s cathedral.  We got our wrist bands plus a voucher for a free coffee and cake and made our way to Victoria Square.  The stage was set outside the Council House and we stood around waiting for the first dance act.  After a few minutes, I became aware of four men in what I can only describe as balloon suits, starting to make their presence felt in the square.  They started pushing against people and then slowly they began to dance.  They were hilarious and with a mixture of humour and surreal movements began to do various routines.  Their body suits were filled with air and made them look ridiculous but this was part of the fun.  They interacted, danced and had fun.  They moved on to New street, bouncing and dancing with the shoppers.  I did not know whether to follow but looking at other photos from the event, I wish I did. The name of the dance troupe – Didier Théron

However, back at the stage there was another act starting about a boy and the moon.  The moon was on a trapeze circle and the boy was below.  The story told how he wished to get up to the moon and he also had a fight with a chimney sweep and a dragon!!!  Whatever the result it was a great spectacle and was very clever in its delivery.  The name of the this dance troupe – 2FacedDance

The next dance was by two women who were sat on their own bench.  They were Can Do Dance and it was a thoughtful and reflective piece of dancing that caught my imagination and I hope that I have caught the intense feelings and emotions that were shown by the dance moves.

It was not possible to stay around for the whole day and there were many more acts to follow.  I caught three of the acts and  I enjoyed the quality and standard on display. I will be on the front row when the festival comes around in two years time.

 

BIDF is produced by DanceXchange.

Categories blog

Photographing Birmingham (May 2018)

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

St Paul’s Spire between the trees

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.

Light, leaves and windows.

St Paul’s Spire in the trees

Sun flare over the long boats

Early commuters with the reflections in the water

The Library reflected in the International Convention Centre’s windows

A favourite picture of mine with the Cube in the background and the boats arrange in an arrowhead point to the distance.

Early worker getting his long boat ready for the day

Categories blog

My Custard Factory Beat

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

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.

Walking down Bordesley Street on the way to the Custard Factory

A few muddy puddles on the way

Interesting window stickers

The best of Digbeth

I do like the way they are staring at you

Back Wednesday and the artist, Annatomix, came back the next day to finish it off.

Cool Graffiti

Colours of the Custard Factory

Highway through the factory

Colour

Reflections

One of our flamingoes is missing.

No entry x2

Searchlights and antenna

Categories blog

Week of the Beast

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

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 Beast is coming

A lone figure in the Birmingham Markets

A cold entrance to Selfridges

Spring is trying to break through

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