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Last days of September

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

September is always full of surprises and this year it has been no exception.  But we now reach the last days of the month and autumn is around the corner.  I am training for the Great Birmingham Run half marathon and I use the canal towpaths for my training runs.  The bridge on Kixley Lane is a picturesque place and I noticed that the trees has started to turn colour.  I decided to go back in the evening when there was enough light shinning on the trees.  I packed all my lenses and I had a window of 30 to 40 minutes.  I got some good pictures.  The people on the long boat passing through asked if there was a photographic competition as they had noticed many people taking photos.  I asked if I could show their picture on my photographic site and the man said jokingly yes I could if I cleaned his boat!!!!

A view of the bridge with symmetry from the reflection
As the light fades there were some deep colours coming through
A runner caught in the light
The boat I have to clean for taking the photograph

 

The rich colours of Autumn
Categories blog

Photographing Melbourne

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I was fortunate enough to attend a conference in Melbourne.  It was an interdisciplinary conference and included colleagues in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing and rehabilitation sciences.  There were many delegates from around the world and also there are many friends in the City itself.  I always ensure that I travel with my camera and the Sony RX100M5 is an excellent around picture taker.

Melbourne is a photogenic city providing many opportunities for photographs. The streets were noisy with many people walking around both day and night. Federation square and Flinders street Station were human focal points to the city. Victoria Market with the looming skyscrapers surrounding it provided the contrast between the old and the new. I was particularly drawn to the differences in the architecture especially the old colonial houses with their steel verandas and gates.  The Yarra river flowing through the centre is the life blood of the city.  So much happens around the river during the day from the early rowers and the commuters to the evening where people congregating around the open air restaurants. It was a touch cold but spring was on its way. I took too many photographs and it is difficult to select a few for this blog and I hope you like the ones that are here.

Rowing on the Yarra River
Sunrise on the Yarra River

 

Tram stop
Flinders St by day
Interesting architecture
Bridge to the City
Chinatown
Three business men out for lunch
One of the many pretty arcades in Melbourne
Long streets lit up by the evening sun
Flinders Street Stn by night
Meeting under the clock at Flinders Street
Healthy eating in Melbourne
Victoria Market
Colonial architecture
Interesting street sculptures
Old Women’s hospital with a game display in the foreground
Lights at a street junction
Taking a selfie with those skyscrapers

 

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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

The North Cornish Coast

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The North Cornish Coast is spectacular, and we visited only a small section of the coast around and to the north of Newquay.  My favourites were Watergate Bay and the Bedruthan Steps.  Unfortunately, I did not have my filters with me for the steps, but I was still able to capture the water flow in slow motion.  There was not that many sunsets but the opportunity to be by the sea was just great and a few pictures tell the story.

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Photographing the Eden Project

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

We visited the Eden project as part of our summer holidays.  This is a place that I had wanted to visit so cameras were packed and away we went. Approaching the attraction, you pass through a scarred countryside of clay pits and then entering the carpark, there is not much to see so it was difficult to understand what the excitement was about.  We were early so we quickly brought our ticket and walked through the entrance doors. Wow, the scene is amazing with the outer world biomes dominating the landscape.  The core with its prickly roof does not look out of place.  So many picture opportunities as you will see below.  We started in the Jungle Biome and walked all the way to the top.  My camera (Canon 5D) misted up for a while.  Exotic plants, waterfalls, views of the terrain all made for great pictures.  We also visited the Mediterranean Biome and the Core.  For pictures, the Core is interesting with smoke emitting structures and a giant stone seed.  My family and I enjoyed the day and we will certainly be back to visit again.

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Go West

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

“Go West – Life is Peaceful there”.  The song from the Pet Shop Boys inspires this posting.

I set off walking to the Birmingham Peace Gardens from Moor St.  My fist photographic stop was along Smallbrook Queensway where I took pictures of the early morning commuters.  I moved onto Holloway Circus to take pictures of the Chinese Pagoda juxtaposed against the Raddison Blu Hotel.  Next I headed West on Bath Row to the Birmingham Peace Gardens.  This is a lovely tranquil spot but in dire need of some investment to bring it back up to its former glory.  Its full name is St Thomas’ Peace Garden.  It was one of many “Waterloo” commemorative churches built after the Battle of Waterloo.  It was partially destroyed in the WWII blitz on the city and never rebuilt. The remains of the Church and the area around have been made into a remembrance garden.  It is very peaceful there and on this particular morning no-one else was about.  I spent time taking photographs and when finished moved onto the Worcester and Birmingham Canal which is nearby.  Here the canal landscape is dominated by the Cube, a futuristic building which is a mix of offices, residential flats, restaurants and a hotel.  It also makes for a good backdrop for photographs.  I had both my Sony and the Canon 5d with the 24-70mm lens with me.  There are a few close ups, low down shots and looking up pictures as I try to vary the point of view.  Always learning! and such walks are chance to relax and try new techniques.

“Go West, this is what we’re gonna do, Go West” – Pet shop Boys

A lone early morning commuter
Beetham Tower amongst the sharp angles of the surrounding architecture
Chinese Pagoda close up
Tropical look to Beethan Tower

 

The Pagoda flanked by high rise council blocks
View down Smallbrook Queensway (although there are plans to change this)
Bath row looking towards Smalbrook Queensway
Entrance to Birmingham Peace Garden
An elephant and dove – in need of paint
The remains of St Thomas’ Church
St Thomas’ Church
May peace prevail on Earth
Another view of the Church and the surrounding garden
One of many commemorative plaques around the site
Peaceful view of the canal
the Cube overlooking the canal
Cube reflections
Diving Sculpture against the Cube
A low down view of commuters along the Worcester and Birmingham canal.
Categories blog

Photographing London Docklands

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

There was a conference in London Docklands at the Excel centre.  London in July is normally hot but with the current heatwave the temperatures were reaching 32 degrees Celsius.  Travelling by Tube and DLR to Excel was exhausting.  The conference was not bad and there was a lot to learn with many networking opportunities.  Having my camera with me always allows me the opportunity to catch the early morning or late evening pictures.  I carry a Sony DSC-RX100M5 with a 24-70mm F1.8-2.8 zoom lens with me at all times and it proves to be a highly versatile camera.  Some of the pictures were taken with my iPhone as well.

First sight of the Sun over the Excel centre
Moon rays over the Spillers building on the Royal Dock
Yellow Sail across the water
Looking down from the Royal Victoria Dock Bridge
Surreal view of the inside of the Excel conference centre
Framing the sunrise over the docks
The Golden Hour of a Sunrise
View of the O2 arena from the Gun
Canary Wharf at night
Sunrise and clouds reflected over the docks
Looking Eastwards with London city airport to the right.
The last chair at the conference
So many lights and reflections
The path to dreams
Clocks – Canary Wharf
Categories blog

Graffiti – Graffiti – Graffiti

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I love the colours of a good artistic graffiti painted on a wall or derelict building.  I am not a fan of “tagging” such as scrawling letters or child like drawings scribbled around bridges and walls.  Digbeth in Birmingham is regenerating and the focus is the old Bird’s Custard Factory.  The streets in and around Digbeth are full of clever street art.  Here are a few examples of them.  They have been taken with my Canon, Sony compact or even iPhone.  There is a fish eye lens used in a few of them.  The artists I particularly like are Annatomix and Golden Boy but there are countless others on the scene.  I have included a few here that I took on my early morning walks around Digbeth.

Made in Birmingham – Car Park, Bromley St End
Custard Factory – Floodgate St entrance
Fish eye effect – Floodgate St entrance to Custard Factory
Fish eye effect – Custard Factory
Scary teeth (look like they are lower incisors in the upper jaw) and staring eye – Floodgate Street
Grafitti Map of Digbeth – Little Ann Street
Flying Fish – Meriden Street
Dig those sunglasses
Street Scene, Digbeth with Golden Boy
Golden Boy Details
Custard Factory Graffiti
Four ghost like images and a real human – Custard Factory
Windows and tie – Custard Factory
Digbeth Coach Station Car Park
Categories blog

Lockmasters’ Cottages

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

You may gather that I love nothing more than putting my camera and lenses in a backpack and then setting off along the local canal network.  When cycling along the canals, it is interesting to see cottages near to large flights of locks.  These Lockmasters’ Cottages are part of the waterways heritage when the canals were busy with traffic.  The canals were the major highways and people were employed to check that the boat traffic ran efficiently and smoothly.  Now these Cottages are part of the scenery and many are privately owned or used as holiday homes.  The architecture is interesting and they are positioned so they have a prominent view of the waterway.  I have selected a few of the cottages that I have photographed on my travels using my Canon D5 mk4 with the EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lens and EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens.  Both are fine in a small photographic backpack for cycling.  When taking the photographs, I like the overall view and look to capture the “feel” whether it will be stillness shown by the reflections or activity with a boat going through the lock.  I put the Cottage in the frame and aim to tell a story through the picture.

Finally I have also include an older picture of the Lockmaster’s Cottage in Lowsenford that is owned by the Landmark Trust.  In 2015, five of Sir Antony Gormley statues were commissioned to celebrate 50 years of the Landmark Trust. This statue was placed near to the centre of England and was next to Lengthman’s Cottage, Lowsonford, Warwickshire. The other four were at four ends of the compass around the UK whilst this one was on the Stratford-upon-Avon canal. They were displayed for only 1 year and then returned to Sir Antony Gormley.

Stratford-upon-avon Canal
Bottom lock at Hatton near Warwick on Grand Union Canal
Long Exposure of the Cottage at Kingswood junction, Lapworth.
The pretty cottage at Preston Bagot on the Stratford canal
Stratford Canal
Stratford Canal
Lengthsman’s Cottage in 2015 with the Sir Antony Gormley statue.
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