Photographing Hanbury Hall

by Damien Walmsley 16/05/2022 17/06/2022

Visiting popular National Trust destinations does have its challenges if you are a keen amateur photographer. Hanbury Hall is so photogenic and countless pictures have been taken over the years. I would guess each season throws up wonderful views not only of the house but the impeccable gardens as well. Usually, before I visit a well-known property, I check over the web sites and look at other people’s photographs to find out which are the best views. As it happens for this visit, I did not get myself organised, so I went to Hanbury Hall not knowing what to expect.

Arriving by car you pass the front façade of the house and catch a glimpse of the striking architecture. Walking back to the house from the carpark, the entrance approach provides post card picture views. The property is operating a timed ticket entrance which limits the amount of people. This favours the photographer as in this case there are only a few people and not the crowds that may interrupt the pictures.

First stop was the interior of the house, and I met a volunteer who in a few minutes gave me all the information I needed. Also, I found out that she was a good photographer and took a picture of me on the grand staircase with the beautiful paintings as a backdrop. The building is interesting and there was much activity happening in the house. The volunteers did not mind having their photographs taken included one dressed up as the former owner of the house, Thomas Vernon. The staircase is beautiful and the wall to ceiling painting by the English painter Sir James Thornhill has so much to see. I spent some time moving around using my iPhone for the pictures finding that the wide-angle lens was very useful.

https://damienwalmsley.com/croome/ — Inside view

Following that important mid-morning coffee, it was time to set off and explore the grounds of the house. I am always amazed how the National Trust find gardeners to tend and cultivate their extensive properties. They are so creative and design wonderful garden designs. The apple orchard was symmetrically laid out and the trees were just beginning to blossom.

The Orangery was a particular favourite of mine. The sun was shining in through the large windows accentuating the orange glow of the brick paintwork. I leant that this grade II listed building has red Flemish bond ashlar brickwork which gives the characteristic colour. There is also a tiled floor. One of the tiles has a dog paw print caused by a disobedient pet wandering around before the cement had set 250 years ago.

The symmetry of the Pareteer garden was beautifully coloured by yellow tulips. The Encyclopaedia Britannica describes “a Pareteer as the division of garden beds in such a way that the pattern is itself an ornament.” It is like an Elizabethan knot garden and was fun to photograph. Linking the gardens is Snob’s tunnel which returns you to the back of the house. The tunnel allowed servants to move around without being seen by guests of the house.

On my way home I visited Hanbury Church which is adjacent to the Hall and has commanding views over the river seven valley.

If you enjoyed this account of Hanbury Hall, then please visit my blog on Croome which is another nearby National Trust property. The official National Trust website account of Hanbury Hall provides more information.

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Croome

by Damien Walmsley 31/03/2022 01/04/2022

My quest to discover new National Trust properties took me to Croome House and Gardens in the heart of Worcestershire countryside. The day was glorious for March and just the weather to go exploring a new place. Arriving right on opening time, I took my map and quickly planned my visit. I had an hour before the house doors opened so I made my way along to the lake with an island feature at the end of the property. The tag line for Croome is expect the unexpected. There is certainly lots of unexpected views and points of interest along the path. The photographs provide an insight into the different views that can be seen at Croome. There are several outhouses and statues along the way. The lake had the final mist of the morning lingering on the edges with views of main house. Following on from the lake, I soon found myself approaching the house and the wooden bridge over the river made a good feature for framing the house in the background. This picture is the main feature of my blog and also made the BBC Midlands weather bulletin for that day.

The house was interesting. Whilst it initially looked bare there were several strategically placed objects including urns that I was reliably informed were rare and individual. The house was slowly unpacking furniture and other items that were being loaned by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The wooden boxes looked very surreal in several of the rooms. There was a range of boxes in various stages of unpacking. One part that I really loved was where the bone china was being displayed. It was a glass and mirrored display box that you could walk into. The reflection of the plates was surreal. I took the opportunity to take different photographs including lying on the floor looking upwards with my camera. The results were quite incredible.

Walking out of the house into the expanse of the grounds, I carried on the path discovering outbuildings that commanded great views of the surrounding countryside. The final delight was the beautifully simple church with the afternoon sun shinning into it. This made for some good picture opportunities.

The National Trust link to Croome provides further information on visiting the property.

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Visiting Upton House

by Damien Walmsley 13/03/2022 15/03/2022

In my opinion, the National Trust membership is a bargain. You are able to visit and enjoy different properties, many of which have beautiful gardens to photograph. I am very fortunate to have several properties near to me including Packwood House, Baddesley Clinton and Coughton Court. These have featured in my past blogs as the links show. One place where I have made a fleeting visit previously is Upton House and on that occasion the place was very busy with a Christmas Fayre.

The opportunity arose to visit on a weekday in March 2021 and so Sandy and I drove down to Upton House which is near to Banbury. The approach is quite dramatic as you negotiate Edge Hill which gives dramatic views of the Warwickshire countryside that borders Oxfordshire. Upton House is not far from the village of Edge Hill. The house and gardens of Upton House have a connection with Shell, with past Chairman, Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted owning the property in the 1930s. During this time he remodelled the house and gardens. The gardens take advantage of the dramatic layout of the land and the reflecting pool is a feature at the lower levels of the property.

The House is a treasure trove of artwork and also holds a large collection of fine china. There is much to see and enjoy. Visiting this National Trust property is a feast for the photographer and I took many pictures especially favouring the reflecting pool. One of my pictures was featured on BBC South Lunchtime news. The National Trust website contains detailed information about the house and gardens and as a reader I direct you there for further information. I took many photographs and I have put several here for you to enjoy.

Further reading
Upton House on the National Trust Website
The National Trust Collections website with further details of the painting by Pieter Jansz Saenredam and the porcelain figures by Joseph Willems.

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Christmas Cheer at Packwood House

by Damien Walmsley 24/12/2021 24/12/2021

Packwood House lifted the gloomy grey weather with a display of colourful Christmas decorations. Trees and plants around the house and gardens were adorned with hand made ornaments and baubles. Shelves had displays of miniature nutcracker soldiers. There were colourful Christmas wreaths on the gates to the garden and doors to the house. The wonderful display lifted the spirits. Here are a few photographs taken around the house for you to enjoy Merry Christmas.

Loving the Tinsel in a glass jar. Great touch to the decorations.

Thank you to the National Trust for putting on such a wonderful display and next time I must look inside as this wonderful tweet shows.

If you enjoyed these pictures of Packwood then take a look at the gardens and house in the mist

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Night Time Photography

by Damien Walmsley 22/11/2021 23/11/2021

When the call goes out on Instagram for night time photography organised by the WestMidlandsPhotoCollective then you know it will be a good event. Unfortunately, it was limited numbers, and I was unsuccessful. I put my name down on the waiting list and promptly forgot all about it. A day before the event, a call came through saying someone had dropped out and was I still interested? No difficulties in saying yes.

We met at the Roundhouse Birmingham which is where the horses that pulled the canal boats were kept in the early days of the industrial revolution. After a period of falling into despair, the Roundhouse is now restored to its former glory. With funding from the National Lottery Heritage fund, a partnership formed between the Canal and River Trust and National Trust has led to a community-based centre offering new purpose for the building. Check out their web site to see what is on offer.

Jim and Sarah from the WMPC met us and outlined the walk. We followed a community route called “Brum through a Lens”. We were armed with our tripods and set out along the canals to Gas Street Basin to start taking our first set of photographs. It is one of the highlighted stops on the Brum through a Lens walk. This classic view is immediately under the Cambrian Wharf wall, looking out over the basin towards the Cube. I started having tripod malfunctions and struggled to get pictures. By the time I had freed up the tripod, it was time to move on to the Cube. On the way we passed under Holliday Street Aqueduct. This looked an ideal spot for light trials and I lingered around the place taking what turned out to be my best picture of the night. Several cars came through at once and I had the camera on the long exposure settings (25s, f22, ISO 100).

Catching up with the group, I took a picture of the Mailbox. Trying something different I went low and illuminated the train tracks with my torch. The long exposure gave the water a milky texture and the background was the bright lights of the Mailbox.

The final stop was Centennial Square with the Big Wheel and the Star Flyer. I looked around for a vantage point. Many of the photographers were setting up underneath the Star Flyer and I saw their pictures after the event. It was a unique viewpoint. I decided to stand back and get a good vantage point with both attractions in the viewfinder. After a while I got an idea of how the Star Flyer was moving up and down. I had a few efforts with the long exposure and then there was one session where I captured the movement from top to bottom. The flyer had illuminated struts with people suspended in chairs out into the heights. It looked quite scary and the movement made a good subject for the long exposure. There were also plenty of screams as well to accompany the long exposure.

The group moved back to the Roundhouse to take part in some light painting. Both fairy lights and long neon tubes were used for the light sources. It was a different light display and made for some dramatic effects as shown. The circular structure of the roundhouse allowed it to be very dark with little stray light. An ideal location for light painting.

All the walking combined with the photography made for thirsty work. The remaining photographers made their way to the Distillery pub for some well-earned refreshments. There was talk about those pictures that were successful and those that got away.

Thank you to West Midlands Photo Collective for organising the meeting which was very enjoyable giving many of us an opportunity to wander around the City. Being in a group reduced concerns about our safety with all of our equipment and we were able to concentrate on the photography.

All these long exposure pictures were taken with a Canon D5 on a tripod. I used a fast zoom lens 24-105mm. The camera settings were on manual with an ISO 100. The aperture was set at either f/11 to f/22. The timings were around 30 seconds for the light trails and the Star Flyer. At the Roundhouse, I adjusted the timings to be around a few seconds due to the intensity of the light.

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The Exchange meets IgersBirminghamUK

by Damien Walmsley 25/10/2021 28/10/2021

The University of Birmingham has a major economic impact on Birmingham and the West Midlands region. The University educates students, is a major employer, a research leader in all sectors and a gateway bringing in global connections that benefit the city. Even though the University has a beautiful campus at Edgbaston, a physical footprint in the city centre has long been on the University’s wish list. The old Municipal Savings Bank began to look an interesting project. Especially with the location of the bank on the new look Centennial square.

Produced by the University of Birmingham

The former Municipal Bank is a Grade II listed building and has historical links with the University. Joseph Chamberlain was founder and first Chancellor of the University of Birmingham. Neville Chamberlain, the son of Joseph Chamberlain was behind the building of the Municipal Bank on Broad Street. It was first opened by Prince George in 1933 and has a long history of underpinning the wealth of an ambitious city. However, the bank closed at the turn of the century and the last 20 years has seen the building empty with no tenants. It was famously portrayed as the AC-12 base in the BBC series ‘Line of Duty’. The iconic safe deposit boxes in the vault were used in a Chanel advert amongst the various roles that the bank filled in these barren years. In 2018, the University negotiated a long lease of the building with Birmingham City Council and the renovations began.

UoB Exchange renovation — Safety deposit boxes

I was fortunate in my University of Birmingham role to see these renovations firsthand in October 2019 before the pandemic. During my visit, I took a series of pictures on my iPhone. I had no idea which room I was photographing, although I remember the vaults where the safe deposit boxes reside. They are so interesting to see. Rows and rows of metal doors with numbers on them. One can only begin to imagine what was contained within them. The building was being gutted and there was so much to do from floor to ceiling in each room.

Fast forward to October 2021. Hasan Patel who is part of Communications Team at the University of Birmingham invited me to coffee at the Exchange after his Marathon Run. (Follow Hasan on Twitter to learn how to sponsor him on his running diary). We spent an enjoyable couple of hours putting the world to right. Hasan introduced me to the University team at the Exchange and we visited several rooms in the building.

Not long after my visit with Hasan, IgersBirminghamUK announced an Instameet at the Exchange. Immediately I signed up and went along. This Instameet is a friendly collection of photographers. We were given access to all areas including the Board room and the former bank managers office which I did not get to see on my first visit. The other interesting feature is the balcony where the bank manager opened the doors and looked out onto the banking floor to check that the bank was running smoothly. During the Instameet, this was a favourite spot for all the photographers.

Whilst we were in the vault, we were also given access to a utility room where many of the safety deposit boxes were stored. Now many of the boxes are placed strategically around the building and are a feature of those rooms which are used as teaching spaces and meeting areas. This basement room had many of the old boxes and proved to be a fantastic place to take photographs. There were still some stickers remaining and on one of the boxes the notice stated that this box could only be opened in the presence of a solicitor. Once again one could only imagine what was kept in these boxes over the years.

We finished the tour and adjourned to the Distillery Pub next to the Roundhouse. This is another interesting place to visit and includes a wall mural of a canal horse painted by one my favourite street artists, Annatomix. The Roundhouse was used to care for the canal horses that pulled the boats and has been renovated as a historical place of interest. There is even one of the horse stables on view.

Roundhouse NT — Birmingham Canal Network outside the Roundhouse

This was a day taking pictures of historical buildings that have been brought up to date in a city that is rediscovering its roots and moving forward. Thank you to the team at IgersBirminghamUK for organising the tour and The University of Birmingham for opening the Exchange for this Instameet.

I have also included a blending of the old and new photographs in two of the rooms to show how the building has been modernised between my two visits.

UoB The Exchange — Before and After – the main lecture room.

Pictures taken with iPhone 11 and 13, camera Fujifilm x100v

If you are interested in joining an IgersBirmingham Instameet then please follow them on Instagram. An account of a previous IgersBirmingham Instameet at Moseley Market is also available on my blog.

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Mist in the Park

by Damien Walmsley 12/06/2021 13/06/2021

So many photographers talk about their 3.30am starts, getting up early so that they are able to catch the sunrise. This got me thinking that it was time I looked for a good place to visit for a sunrise with a difference. Amateur photographer had a recent feature on places to visit in the UK whilst interesting, they were a long road trip away, so I searched on the Internet for more suggestions closer to home. On my search, a 2016 AP article came up from Stu Meech who lives near Charlecote park, a National Trust property in Stratford upon Avon. What a great read and Stu advises where to park and how to access the public footpath in the park. So I got ready, packed the gear and went to bed early. I woke up before the alarm went off at 3.30am and got dressed. The dog took a while to settle down as I had woken him up, but I eventually got out of the house but silly me, I made the decision to go down on the M42 and M40. It was the fastest route, but I had not factored in night time roadworks. Eventually I got off the motorway and then the misty wonderland was all around me. The village of Barford looked marooned by an eerie white carpet which was flowing around the old bridge. I nearly stopped but Charlecote awaited.

Passing through the village of Charlecote, eventual I came across the lay-by described in the article about 50 metres away from the West Gate to the park. Time 4.35am and all looking good so far. Once through the gate, there is a recent sign that informs you that you must rigidly stick to the footpath and not to enter other parts of the park. You may only do so if you have registered with reception (which opens at 9.00am). Not possible this early in the morning so sticking to the public footpath is the only option. Everywhere I look the park has a beautiful carpet of mist. Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement and a herd of the resident fallow deer have picked up the noise that I am making. Do I stay here, do I take pictures of the deer or do I move on? Moving on has to be the best option and I eventually come to a hollow where the path opens up to show the beautiful Charlecote House.

The sun is impatient and already the beams of light are pressing through the mist. I find a good spot as the intensity of the sun increases. Excitement rises. Do I put a filter on such as my half grad filter. Wide or telephoto lens? Decisions, decisions. Settling down I switch my lens and filters as I see sunshine hitting the tops of the trees. Then it starts to lower gradually becoming stronger and stronger. I place the sun behind a tree, close down the aperture for a potential starburst and take pictures. The light is magical. Whilst this is going on, there is a procession of deer and goats passing through my line of sight. There is too much to take in and I take as many pictures as I possibly can. My kit bag falls over spilling lenses etc on the dewy grass but luckily, no damage done (I thought). It was about 6:00am and I had been taking pictures since sunrise at 4.45am.

I moved further along the path and then looked over to some trees and saw the deer frolicking in the mist. Telephoto lens on and more pictures. One of the pictures of a deer in the mist got a big reaction on my social media. Reflecting I should have brought my 100 to 400mm lens but then I could have brought the kitchen sink as well! Photographers are never happy.

My next steps were to follow the footpath towards the village of Charlecote. Everything was very quiet in the village and entrance gates to the park were locked. The church was catching the sun and there were some super photos to take which normally I miss when you are rushing to park and get to the house during a day visit.

A black and white path with sun and mist.

Then it was time to slowly retrace my steps back to the car. There were a few more photographs but the mist was gone, having been burnt away by the sun. The time 7.00am and the day was starting. An enjoyable drive back home through Stratford and Henley in Arden. The only drawback was that I left my lens hood in the park. It was broken and loose on the camera so no regrets. Leaving bits behind is a photographer’s lot in life but what I took with me was some wonderful pictures of the park.

Did you enjoy this article. Then please follow these links for other articles of taking pictures in the mist and fog. Please comment if you liked it too!
The Fog creates a Black and White Landscape describes a walk in the fog with my camera
Mist at Packwood is about a misty morning at this local National Trust Property

…..and if you go remember to stick to the footpath.

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Baddesley Clinton in the Winter

by Damien Walmsley 07/02/2021 07/02/2021

Baddesley Clinton: a visit to the house and gardens in the winter 2021

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St Agnes and the Tin Mines

by Damien Walmsley 26/09/2019 28/09/2019

We spent a delightful morning in St Agnes followed by a trip to Wheal Coates Tin mine. These pictures are rather special as I have wanted to visit the Tin mine and see it for myself. The scenery is beautiful but the thoughts go back to all those people who worked these mines over the years. This is owned by the National Trust and looks impressive against the natural backdrop of the sea. The colour of the heather adds to the pictures.

Wheal Coates mine and its stunning backdrop

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Mist at Packwood

by Damien Walmsley 31/03/2019 31/03/2019

A misty start is a great opportunity for photography. The last Saturday in March provided both the sunrise and the mist so I headed it out. I planned to go to the canals but passing through Packwood House, the combination of the sun and mist caught my eye. I stopped and started to take pictures. The line up of trees leading away from the house provided some good pictures. A couple of early morning walkers provided suitable inclusions in the pictures that I took.

I also discovered the “Welly Walk” around the grounds. By this time the mist was disappearing but there were still photographs to be taken. One of the sun streaming through the trees, a spiders web and some lambs taken in the sun. It was a magical hour of photographing in ideal conditions.

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