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Let it snow

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

It snowed.  Also it was very considerate that it snowed on a Sunday morning as well.  It was a heavy downpour and I donned many layers before I set off for a journey through Knowle Village.  There were many people in the park and activities ranged from sledging to snowball fights.  There were very few cars around and several had been left on the side of the roads.  Even with my polariser lens filter, snow is very difficult to photograph.  My favourite picture was of the red letterbox and mailbox.  They have been in Knowle High Street for a very long time and were there when I arrived.  Hope you like the pictures and it is starting to look a lot like Christmas now.

Snowman
Outdoor play
Tree shapes
More Trees
The Snow turns to Slush
Knowle Church
Red boxes
Detail in the snow
Snowy hedge
Cracks in the Pond
Spot the man in yellow
Categories blog

BirminghamGems

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I have been fortunate once gain to be included in a Calendar promotion called “Birminghamgems”.  It includes two of my pictures and it is for a worthy cause. We are supporting the Birmingham Museums.  This is the second year I have been involved with the @Birminghamweare initiative and it has been a great journey.  Lots of exposure for my photographs and the two that were chosen are shown below.

Early lights

The first one is called Early lights and was taken during one of my 7am jaunts around the City prior to my clinic in the City Centre.  Getting up early to take pictures of the City before work does have its advantages. The Birmingham Canal is part of the old industrial heritage and has some fascinating views.  This picture was taken looking down on where the canal goes under the Snow Hill Station arches.  There is a lone figure walking the canal if you can spot him!

Water Dancing

The second photograph is called water dancing and this was taken whilst I was strolling around Millennium Point and the water feature was working. A little sun and a little bit of HDR make the water jets look as if they are dancing.  This area will undergo great change in the coming years as the building to the right is Curzon street and this will be the hub for HS2.

Categories blog

Botanical Gardens Instameet

by Damien Walmsley Posted on
Path through the Gardens

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 

Trees and lights
Illuminated paths
A multitude of colours
Like a candle in a tree
Having a chat in the Gardens
Stars at your feet
Snowflakes and Reindeer
Can you see the photographers in the light show
A path in the dark
A bit of blurring can be fun
Walking in Wonder
Christmas lanterns
Tunnel of light

 

Categories blog Uncategorised

Skychasing

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

If I need to think things through or if I am stuck for something to photograph then I head for Lapworth.  The Canal Junction linking the Grand Union and the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a picturesque spot and has all those ingredients you need .  I had hoped for a spectacular sunset and whilst not an intense one, it did not disappoint.  I remembered to bring my wide angled lens and also a graduated filter.  This did make the difference and ensured that I got a good balance between the sky and the reflections in the water.  One of my pictures even made the BBC weather watchers and was shot on the iPhone.

The pedestrian bridge over the locks
Reflections of the sky
Where the canal splits with to the Grand Union or straight onto Stratford-upon-Avon
Standing further back from the Junction
The iPhone picture that made the BBC weather.

 

Categories blog

Father of the Bride

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Siân, my youngest daughter, got married to Jim Bruce and I was able to take a few photographs during the day.  We did have an official photographer and VJ is brilliant but I brought along my Sony RX100V5 for the ceremony and then my Canon 5D for the final part of the night.  It was a great opportunity to get some candid pictures. Weddings are fun but I would not wish to be an official photographer as I would be worried about making sure that I had the correct pictures and had not missed any of the important ones.  Here are a few of my better pictures that I took and I do love those ones that are showing a packed pub.  Everyone was having a great time and it shows.  The wedding was at St George and St Teresa and the reception was the Bell in Tanworth in Arden.  For those interested, my speech went as well as can be expected 🙂

Sian getting ready
The beautiful car with the beautiful bridesmaids
On the way to the Church
signing the marriage certificate
The bride and groom with the Bridesmaids (and Lily)
My three daughters, Natasha, Sian and Katie
The ushers, best man, bride and groom and the bridesmaids
Rob, Natasha and Noah (in his peaky blinder hat)
The Rolls Royce car in Tanworth in Arden
The decorations in the pub
Cutting the Cake
The Morgan family
Run Lily Run
The first dance
The first dance (continued)
What a party
Dancing the night away
My best night ever
Categories blog

#hellobrum

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The hashtag #hellobrum is used by the University of Birmingham to promote the Institution on their social media channels.  My University role has changed over the last year and I find myself more and more on our beautiful campus.  This provides me with wonderful opportunities to take time during the day to photograph our everchanging campus.

The Aston Webb building

The following pictures are posted on Flickr, Instagram or even the BBC Weather Watchers site.  My social media feed often gets noticed by the @unibirmingham team or the Birmingham Post and Mail. It is always exciting to receive a mention from them.  I also love to hear people’s comments about my photographs as well.

Sunrise on Campus (featured on BBC Weather Watchers)
Rain on Campus (featured on BBC Weather Watchers)

Autumn provides a wonderful opportunity to photograph the campus as the colours and light produce interesting views.  I also follow other photographers and some of their pictures around the University of Birmingham are fantastic.  Often I get my own ideas for pictures by looking to see how others have interpreted the view of the campus.  All the pictures featured in the Blog were taken in the months of October and November and there will be more posted in the coming months.  Just look out on my social media feed and follow the #hellobrum tag.  Meanwhile I hope you enjoy this selection of pictures.

Old Joe reflected in an Autumnal Window
Window Detail (Aston Webb)
Old Joe in Autumn
The Great Hall
Sunrise over the University (published in the Birmingham Post and Mail)
Moonrise
Bramall trails
Categories blog Uncategorised

Sand, Concrete and Steel

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Dubai is a fascinating city and there is a great deal of sand, concrete and glass.  There are beautiful buildings punching upwards towards the sky. The Burj Khalifa tower is the tallest building in the world and its design is complimented by the also impressive Jumeirah Emirates towers.  In the morning, there is a haze as the sun rises and the buildings look like marooned giants searching for their way home. 

During the day the sun burns out the structures and it was fortunate that I brought along my UV/polarised filter which helped cut down the glare and bring colour back to the pictures.  You also are not able to stay out in the heat for too long either as it saps your energy.

Jumeirah Emirates towers during the day
View from the Emirates Towers
The Skyscrapers look like needles.

As the sun sets the colour returns and the buildings reflect the reds giving a warm glow to the concrete and steel.

Sunset over the towers

It is fleeting as dusk followed by the night arrives.  However the neon takes over and there are many opportunities to take night shots.  I visited Wafi where the buildings have an Egyptian theme and there is an evening light show.

Wafi
View of the Raffles Pyramid

 

Future site for Phase 2, The University of Birmingham. Just Sand at present.

My visit was part of my work with the University of Birmingham so many of the pictures were taken when the opportunity arose during the day. It is an exciting city and look forward to seeing how the University of Birmingham develops there.

Categories blog

Photographing Johannesburg

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Johannesburg is a city of contrasts, there are sharp differences between the rich and the poor. I was there for a conference and my first impressions were favourable as the train to the hotel was straightforward and moved through a fascinating landscape.  There were old fashioned power stations and houses scattered well into the distance.

Our hotel was in a well protrolled shopping area which would not be out of place back home. However when taking the coach to the University of Johannesburg we could see a great deal of begging taking place at the traffic junctions. We did get a chance to see the area including the townships as one of the lecturers Kris showed us around. He had a great knowledge of football and took time to show us the townships around Spohia Town where several premier footballers started out.  Sophia Town also had the chilling history of being one of the first sites where people of different colour were moved to the townships.

Christ the King – Sophiatown where many anti apartheid rebels sought sanctuary from the Government

This wonderful statue was on Constitutional Hill.

Another interesting place was near to Melville and it was called 27 boxes. It was a container village that had become a centre for arts and crafts. There were many small businesses located there.

 

Our conference reception was a very interesting affair and we were greeted by a lady playing the violin in a plastic bubble. There was even someone dressed as a table serving desert. These were students of the Hospitality and tourism and they were eager to please.

At the official dinner we were treated to some fantastic African dancers.

Although there was work to be done in the conference, we did have a day out to visit Soweto and visited the Hector Pieterson Museum and Nelson Mandela’s house, 8115 in Soweto. All very memorable places to visit. On the final day after the conference finished, we jumped on the hop-on and hop-off bus.  It gave use the chance to visit Constitutional Hill and the Apartheid Museum both of which raised stirring emotions not only of the period of British rule but also the past transgressions of the White government that imposed the evil of apartheid. The present society is fractured but it is trying its best to rectify itself and move forward.  I left with some incredible memories of a place that is so different to normal cities that I have visited.

Nelson Mandela House
Typical Houses in Soweto
Sunlight in the roof of the Freedom Square Monument, Soweto

 

These children look well dressed but looking closer shows a different story
A tour guide at Nelson Mandela’s house tells of the events that took place here

 

Categories blog

Shadows and Light

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The new Dental School and Hospital at Pebble Mill offers many photographic opportunities.  The sun rises and sets into the atrium providing various lights and shadows during the day.  I have posted many of these on my Flickr site but cannot resist adding a few more.

It is just not me that likes the building as it has won an award from the West Midlands Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).  It came first in the category “Innovation through Design”  The judging panel liked the functionality and layout of the building. They highlighted the welcoming atrium, the open clinics and the world class research laboratories.

The Birmingham Dental Hospital & School of Dentistry will now go forward to represent the West Midlands in the national RICS Grand Final on 2 November 2017, competing against other projects from across the UK.

Meanwhile enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Categories blog

Running with an iPhone

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The iPhone is so versatile and useful to have on you.  So I always bring it with me when running as you can often capture interesting pictures.  This series shows a few I did on a recent run.  I did see a couple of Herons but the iPhone was not the right camera especially when they flew away.  However there will be other opportunities with another camera.  I remember someone saying the best camera is the one you have with you.  Never so true a statement.

Copt Heath Golf Course
Under the M42
Bottom of Knowle locks
Grand Union Canal
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