Fog in Birmingham, March 2024

Pulling the curtains back, I saw the fog which lifts any photographers spirits.  Fortunately, I had to be in Birmingham early and I knew that I would be able to get some good pictures of Dorridge station in the fog before it lifted.  I was even more pleased that the fog had not lifted by the time I got to Birmingham city centre. The fog was still around the Bull Ring and Moor Street turning normal street scenes into atmospheric and mysterious places.  The silhouettes of commuters provided the focus to many of the pictures. The majority of the photographs were taken with my iPhone15 which were then converted to black and white to take advantage of the contrasts available. I used Silver Efex Pro and I like the fine art processing or occasionally the overexposed settings that are provided. I also include pictures from the start of my journey in Dorridge where the fog was even thicker.

Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Commuters outside Moor Street station and Selfridges.
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Riding a bike through the fog.
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Waiting for the train at Moor Street.
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
St Martin’s walk with buildings obscured by the fog.
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Looking foggy at the Rotunda
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Reduced visibility
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
Enjoying the morning commute.
Fog in Birmingham, March 2024
A lone figure crosses the Bullring

Dorridge station in the fog.

Fog at Dorridge, March 2024
The platforms shrouded in fog.
Fog at Dorridge, March 2024
Driving in the fog

I do like foggy mornings as these blog posts show.

When the chance came to take photographs from the top of the Rotunda then I was first in the queue. Maybe not first as there were several other keen photographers that wanted to up there as well. Those people with passion, @Birminghamweare organised the visit to Floor 20 of the iconic Rotunda. We had a 6 to 9.30pm slot on a Sunday night in one of the Staying Cool apartments. The city was buzzing as the Velo bike riders were finishing their 100 mile trip around the West Midlands. I thought I would be late for the trip to the top but I found a place to park and made my way to the Rotunda. I have passed the entrance many times but now I was going in and up to the top. We were based in Room 25 which has the best views over Grand Central and out to the west of Birmingham. I met up with my fellow photographers and walked out onto the veranda – viewing platform at the very top of the Rotunda. I took several minutes to take in the scene and as I often do in these situations got my phone out and took some pictures.

Having settled down and after the initial excitement had subsided, then it was time to start taking some pictures of the magnificent view. I had brought along my 100 – 400mm Canon lens which was able to pick out all the landmarks. These included Birmingham City football ground, St Martin’s Church, the Bus station, Grand Central, St Philip’s Cathedral. the Mailbox and Snow Hill. So many different views to choose from.

The setting of the sun was very exciting and we were all politely jostling for position to get the best shot in. We all managed to get our pictures of the sunset and then this was followed by the night lights of Grand Central and the surrounding buildings. Another set of pictures were taken. Then it was all over. Three and a half hours had gone so quickly. When I got back home it was such fun to look back at all the pictures and also so interesting to see pictures taken by the other photographers from the @Birminghamweare group.

A BIG thank you to Jonathan Bostock and Debra Power from @Birminghamweare for organising this memorable visit. Also thank you to Staying Cool at the Rotunda for allowing us the opportunity to view Birmingham from above. Finally I hope you enjoy all the pictures on show and tune into people with passion – Birminghamweare