The Super Moon or the Super Blue Blood Moon was visible on 31st January. I missed the early stages of the moon when you do see the magnification.
I took my photographs with the moon outside Knowle Parish Church and then in the morning on top of one of the car parks in Birmingham. There were dozens of good photographs taken by many people.
Let me take the opportunity of describing my photographic week in January
SUNDAY
The End of a Perfect Day
On SUNDAY, I went out to take pictures of wildlife as I have access to a 400mm lens. My runs along the canal nearby had revealed that a heron had made its home there. So I set off with certain pictures in my mind. I went up the canal bridge near to where I knew I had seen the heron. The day was cold and bright. The time was right as well, as it was coming up to around 4pm and the golden hour was almost upon me. Then I discovered that several walkers passed me on the bridge and went into an adjoining field. I went to investigate and the view was idyllic. Path, farm house, setting sun and lovely colours. I switched lenses to my 24-70mm and set up the aperture to see if I could get a sunstar. I used my camera view and upped the ISO. A couple of shots and I got a result that I was happy with. Some minor editing followed in LR and PS. The heron? I managed a few shots but none of the shots were as good as this scene of winter’s setting sun.
(postscript – as a bonus it was selected for publication in the Birmingham Post and Mail)
Camera settings – f-14, s-1/60, FL-24mm, ISO-250
MONDAY
The IKON gallery in Birmingham
MONDAY and I was at a reception hosted by the University of Birmingham at the IKON Gallery. I have a camera with me at all times and the Sony RX100 is an ideal camera to have for pictures on the move. It is very versatile and packs a lot of features into a small camera. The evening was busy and there were few opportunities during the reception and the meal with presentations. I was patient and at the end of the evening there was the opportunity to take an outside picture of the ICON gallery. This place is photographed many times especially in Spring when the cherry blossom arrives. This picture is processed in black and white. The channel leads the viewer to the central building. I did notice that it was odd to see umbrellas/parasols set out in January but they make the picture look good with them set neatly in front of the lit windows.
Camera settings – f-1.8, s-1/30, FL-8.8mm, ISO-2000.
TUESDAY
Telephone Box
TUESDAY morning and I was working at the University campus. I have some time to take a detour around Brum before I jump on the train to the University Station. I take photographs of what I like and I had some good ones of the Cathedral in the light. This telephone box does nothing really and just stands near to the Cathedral. It does feature in many pictures around Birmingham and the light from the street lamp makes it stand out from the dark morning. In the days of mobile phones it is a remnant from a different era. It was this photograph that I selected over the others.
Camera settings – f-2.8, s-1/40, FL-10.6mm, ISO-2500.
WEDNESDAY
A meeting in London always opens up new possibilities for taking photographs. I had a few ideas and when I got to Baker St, I used the underpass that goes under Marylebone Rd. You have to love the red stripes and the surreal angle that they are set at. It just cries out to be photographed. I was also pleased to see that I had caught the people on the different coloured stripes which is a bonus. I also took lots of other photographs but I discarded them in favour of this one.
Camera settings – f-4, s-1/160, FL-8.8mm, ISO-2500.
THURSDAY
A cube view
THURSDAY was a day of teaching and meetings. I was taking it slow making my way to a meeting at the Mailbox only to learn on the way that it was cancelled. I went slower and decided to take the towpath back into the City Centre. I am glad I did as the little bit of sun we had lit up the Cube and its reflection in the canal. I had inadvertently left the ISO at 2500 but this did allow a good capture of the cyclists on the left. A bright moment in an otherwise dull day.
Camera settings – f-4, s-1/320, FL-11.3mm, ISO-2500.
FRIDAY
Thank God its FRIDAY. I was not having a great deal of luck with taking a photograph today. It was a dull day and many of my pictures looked dull and boring. This was taken going home from Platform 1 of Moor St station. You can see the dull sky in the centre against the relatively warm lights of the station. Taken with my iPhone and it constantly amazes me how it takes a reasonably good picture under different lighting conditions. A bit of touching up done in Google Snapspeed.
Camera settings – ƒ-1.8, s-1/6, FL-4.0 mm, ISO 100
SATURDAY
It is SATURDAY and at long last I get to use the Telephoto lens. I went to Brueton Park, Solihull, where the Warwickshire Wildlife Centre is based. There was some wildlife around and for about 10 minutes there were two Goosanders in the large pond at the nature centre. It is not easy to compose pictures and this is one of the better attempts of many I took during the morning. I need to tweak the settings a bit. This particular picture caught my eye due to the ripples. Wildlife photography is not straightforward and requires a lot of patience. I will have a few more attempts over the coming months.
Camera settings – f-5.6, s-1/100, FL-400 mm, ISO 500
And that was a typical week in January.
It is cold in January and as I was in the City for an evening meal, I took the opportunity to take a few pictures around Gas Street Basin and Brindley Place in Birmingham City Centre. In a highly photographed area of the City, it is a challenge to take pictures that offer a different perspective of the area. As I wandered around I did not realise how cold it was and it reminded me to get some special gloves that cover the hands but allow you to use the camera controls. When I got to meet everyone in the restaurant, my hands hurt as the blood began to recirculate. At least I had some pictures to look back on and some of them looked worthy for entry into my blog. The majority of the pictures were done on a manual setting and I used railings and walls as my tripod. It is difficult to balance the bright neon lights and some of the pictures were cropped to remove the distracting glare. I enjoy night shooting in the city and I will miss the shortened days as spring is around the corner.
When the notification came through, I immediately applied. A photographing evening at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens after-dark Christmas-lights experience was an exciting prospect. I was lucky to get one fo the 50 tickets as previous events sell out very quickly. However, when the day came, the weather forecast was for one of the coldest nights of the year. I was starting to have second thoughts about going. I took the decision to wrap up warm, put my cameras in my back pack and set off for the gardens. When I got there, it was good to find friends from previous igersbirmingham Instameets. The evening was going to be a good one.
The light show did not disappoint and the trees, paths and glasshouses were all part of a well choreographed light display. It is difficult taking photographs in the dark and also having to contend with the bright lights. The iPhone does well at producing a good picture whilst with modern cameras cranking up the ISO gives you lots of flexibility. I was fairly pleases with the results and provides good memories of the evening.
More details of the evening may be found on the IgersBirmingham Website. The Botanical Gardens are well wroth a visit day or night
Over the summer, I experienced an amazing photographic exhibition by Mat Collishaw called “Thresholds” and it is best to read the website that gives details of it www.somersethouse.org.uk/whats-on/mat-collishaw-thresholds
This extract is taken from the Web Site “Using the latest in VR technology, Thresholds restaged one of the earliest exhibitions of photography in 1839, when British scientist William Henry Fox Talbot first presented his photographic prints to the public at King Edward’s School, Birmingham. The experience was a fully immersive portal to the past; people were able to walk freely throughout a digitally reconstructed room, and touch the bespoke vitrines, fixtures and mouldings; even the heat from a coal fire was recreated. A soundscape for Thresholds included the sound of demonstrations of the Chartist protesters who rioted in 1839 on the streets of Birmingham, and could be glimpsed through the digital windows.” Take a look here youtu.be/acktp-Wy8Nw
This picture shows a women picking up a text to read it. I am taking the picture though a window into the hall. When I suited up with the VR technology it was quite an experience to wander around the room. I meant to write a blog on the experience and then I got prompted to do so as I learnt that the BBC web site used my image under CC Licence. It is a blog on the BBC R&D section discussing reality labs. Always nice to know your image is being used and here is the BBC Blog bbc.in/2eJKo1g
The canal system around Birmingham provides terrific photographic opportunities. If you have the combination of a nice day and the time to wander along the canal network with your camera then there are few places that can match the views that you can find. Here is an early Monday morning walk along the Canal Network. Thank you to the West Midlands Branch of the Canal and River Trust for their work in maintaining our canal network.
Situated at the University of Birmingham, Winterbourne House is well worth a visit. Here are a few pictures from my recent trip there with the family. Lots of colour in the summer and next time we will remember to take our picnic hamper with us.
I had great fun photographing the Dragon Boat Racing in Brindley Place Birmingham today. Lots to see and do. It was also possible to get close to the action allowing me to get some close up pictures. There were Romans, Star Wars, Egyptians and Disney Characters amongst the crews. There was even a capsize of a couple of boats but I missed that unfortunately as I was checking my pictures. Lesson learnt 🙂 It would also be good to get involved with it as well.
The changing nature of the weather is so fascinating. The colours at dawn and dusk can be amazing. During the day there may be storms, rainbows and even sunny weather that just has to be captured. I regularly post to the BBC Weather Watchers page as it is always fun to get your picture on the Television. The Weather watchers page will tag your photos with “Editors Picks” and then you will know thet the picture has been featured on the television. I was one of the first weather watchers to be selected as a feature of the pages and able to share my experiences of taking pictures of the weather. I also contribute to the Yahoo Weather Project for the mobile phone where your photographs are selected from the Flickr Group.
Dammo’s Weather Watchers Profile
It is always a thrill to have your photographs published in the local paper and this is easier than you think. I discovered that the Birmingham Post and Mail have a Flickr Group and if you post your pictures into this group then you stand a chance of being selected for publication in the paper. Steve was the first journalist who ran the group and soon I found that my pictures were being regularly selected for the paper. The selection process is now run by Marcus who will leave a comment in your flickr page letting you know that your pictures have been selected. All good fun.
