Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.

I love January days when there is a clear blue sky and the weather is dry and crisp. We have had a few cold days like these, which have also featured bright sunrises and warm sunsets.  January is also a great time to photograph the streets of Digbeth. Warm colours are created as the sun sets, highlighting the character of the old industrial brick buildings of the area. The brickwork soaks up the light and emits a deep warm glow. Checking my TPE, I found that the setting sun aligns along Floodgate Street during the golden hour.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
Long shadows starting to form along Floodgate Street.
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The Moon above Spiderman at Luna Springs

Wrapping up warm with plenty of layers of clothing, I arrived at Moor Street Station. My route to Digbeth took me past the old Typhoo tea factory, which is under renovation and will soon become the new Midlands headquarters for the BBC. Along the way, I met fellow photographer Simon MacCreedy, who was out with his trusty Pentax. We caught up on the latest news and talked about our photography. Simon specialises in black and white photography, and his work is worth exploring, especially on his @Macindigbeth Instagram account.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
Striding towards with ambition.

After saying our goodbyes, I headed to Little Ann Street. The sun was low, and only the tops of buildings were still bathed in light. Shadows crept across the street but had not yet obscured the words “Striving forward with ambition,” painted on the side of the Performers and Screen and Film School building, part of the BIMM Music Institute group. The sign was created by FokaWolf, a subversive street artist known for parody and satire.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
Adam and his mate flagged me down and asked for a picture of them in their car. They had heard of @dammodammo.
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Long shadows in the sunset.
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A billboard with a message seen on the High Street.

On Floodgate Street, long shadows stretched behind pedestrians walking along the pavements. Having taking a few pictures, I walked over the canal to Montague street to visit the Digbeth Loc. Studios  where the filming of the forthcoming “Peaky Blinders” movie is taking place.  The film studios were established by Steven Knight and he commissioned Mr Murals to paint a mural  the building of the iconic Peaky Blinders characters. The hand-painted street art features the characters, Thomas Shelby, Ada Shelby, and Alfie Solomons, with a scene of Birmingham from the past behind Thomas Shelby. It is a fantastic piece of art, though not the easiest building to photograph.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
Part of the Peaky Blinder mural on Montague Street.
Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
The eyes have it, Alfie, Ada and Thomas.

Back on Gibb Street and Floodgate Street, the sun had almost set. I lingered, taking pictures, and noticed the sky beginning to change colour as the blue hour approached. Standing at the entrance to Gibb Street, I saw the city’s high-rise buildings silhouetted against the deepening blue sky. Searching for the best view, I crossed over the high street to the newly laid tram tracks.  Standing on the tracks I saw classic leading lines that conveniently pointed back towards the city. I know that his would be a good picture.  After activating the RAW function on my iPhone for the most detailed information, I captured several shots and was very pleased with the resulting pictures.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
The tracks of the city.

The temperature was dropping fast, but I was determined to photograph more of Digbeth during the blue hour. The contrast between the warm streetlights and the cool blue sky created vibrant, colourful scenes. Eventually, the cold won, and I retreated to the warm carriages of a train back to Olton for dinner at my daughter’s house. Reflecting on the day, the two to three hours spent in Digbeth were worthwhile and added another chapter to my photographic diary of this dynamic area of Birmingham.

Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
The yellows and blues along Floodgate Street.
Sunset and blue hour, Digbeth, Birmingham, January, 2025.
The classic view of Gibb Street.
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Yo Birmingham

I have done many visits to Digbeth and I am spoilt for choice. I have narrowed down my selection of my two more popular blogs on Digbeth. I hope you enjoy reading them. My first choice is a visit to Digbeth in January 2024 but the setting is in the morning. My second is a study of the street art and the pictures were taken during the day in July 2020. Enjoy!

Digbeth

Lockdown 3 is easing and in early April, I found myself back in Digbeth to take a look at what was happening.  One reason was to look for the new Street art project by @Fokawolf but more of that later.  I parked the car in Coventry street car park and made my way to Digbeth.  I love the Suki10cc artwork by street artist Gent 48 It features the up and coming black stars in Birmingham.  The house is so colourful and is great to photograph.  It was one of my pictures that was featured in my recent Amateur Photography magazine feature. This visit, I decided to do some unconventional pictures by getting close to the mural. 

Digbeth street art
Best in Birmingham
Digbeth Street Art
Meriden Street

Walking down Bordesly Street, I experimented with some street photography. It is my first venture out with my Fujifilm x100v and I was a little self conscious trying to use it.  However when I reached the Custard Factory, the camera comes into its own.  A few pictures on the bridge over the River Rea,  and then into Gibb street where there were a few people moving around. I took a few pictures of the colourful artwork (as you do when in Digbeth).  I was pleased with the one I took by the street artist 0707 as it was very colourful especially with the bicycle on the colourful bike rack.

Digbeth
Bridge over the River Rea
Digbeth
The Custard Factory
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Street art by 0707
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Colours of Gibb Street (so many street artists here, Philth, Gent 48, n4t4 etc)

My next stop was to see the artwork by @fokawolf.  It is a larger than life blown up picture of Pat Butcher from Eastenders and it is underneath the railway arch on Heath Mill Lane.  It is such a random bizarre mural.  The character is not associated with Birmingham and why it is placed here is not known.  What it does do is provoke comment and debate. That makes it all worthwhile.  My picture shows how tall the mural is with the couple next to it.  I also took a picture of the balconies on the Custard Factory and posted it on the BBC weather pages. The architecture always looks good especially when the sun is shining on it.  Fortunately for me, it was featured on the local BBC weather news.

Digbeth
Pat Butcher by Fokawolf
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The Custard Factory as featured on the BBC local weather

Still in a wandering mood my next destination was Lower Trinity street taking pictures along the way of some of the more interesting street art. By the time I had reached Bordesley station, I thought it would be good idea to see the canals.  It is very quiet around there and I worry about my personal safety.  However it seemed ok so I carried on taking pictures.  I like the colour of the graffiti and in fact one of my favourite artists, Lucy McLaughlan‘s art work is under the Deritend road bridges.  My first attempt at a long exposure for 3 seconds with the Fujifilm x100v gave a pleasing result.  As I moved back into Digbeth along the canals it became much quieter.  I did meet a friend Mullerbiker from my Slack British Tech Network who happened (as he was) passing through the canal network.  After chatting for a few minutes, he left but then my courage failed me and I retraced my steps out of the system and walked along the road back into Digbeth again. 

Digbeth
Purple umbrellas
Digbeth
No Parking
Digbeth
The Night Owl
Digbeth
Thinking I should be somewhere else
Digbeth
Life and Death
Bordesley
Bordesley station in the light
Bordesley
Lucy McLauchlan Monochrome in long expsoure
Digbeth
Grafitti on the canals
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In Digbeth
Digbeth
Custard Factory

Do you want to read more about Digbeth
Digbeth Lights
Digbeth Art
Lockdown in Digbeth