Birmingham (January 2014)

This is the third post from a selection of photographs taken in Birmingham, in 2014. The previous posts feature the Library of Birmingham and the Selfridges Building and these are a few of the other photos taken whilst walking between those locations. The subjects are varied but the main theme is colour in the city centre, from reflections in the steel facade of the railway station, to the market in the Bullring, and the more muted tones of the statues in Victoria Square.

I have enjoyed looking back at this visit to Birmingham, processing a few images that I had forgotten about and some that I had never processed at the time. In the current virus lockdown it has felt like a virtual photography session following, through the photography, a route around the city centre. At the same time I have also started other similar virtual sessions from 2014 which includes the Peak District, the coast of Northumberland, and a fresh look at photographs from the Canary Islands (a virtual holiday!). 

Of course, none of this replaces actually getting out and about with the camera but there does appear to be light at the end of the lockdown tunnel, as the roadmap to the end of all restrictions begins at the start of March. I look forward to this happening but in the meantime here are the pictures from Birmingham in 2014:

Rock Cemetery (March 2019)

The Victorian built Church or Rock Cemetery in Nottingham city centre is a fascinating spectacle of poignant stone angels, large crosses and heavy gravestones all facing St Andrew’s Church seemingly in congregational rows of silent but constant prayer. I tried, through the photography, to capture some of this atmosphere often using a long focal length to foreshorten the distance between the graves and the church:

The following links provide more information about the history of Rock Cemetery:

Mystery and Sadness of city's Rock Cemetery

Nottingham Hidden History Team

Historic England - Church Cemetery

North Somerset (May 2018)

These are a selection of photographs from North Somerset, taken on a short non-photographic break away from home, visiting family. On these occasions I do tend to take a camera and if I get the opportunity I will try to get out and take a few photos.

The first opportunity was a walk around the marina in Portishead; a relatively new development of land that was previously a power station, a deep water dock, and a chemical works, most of which stopped operating in the 1970s, with the dock finally closing in the early 1990s. I can certainly remember ships docking in the port during the 1980s and power station chimneys that served as a landmark for the small coastal town.

Today, this area is a vibrant, modern and busy marina; transformed from an industry dependant on fossil fuels into multi-billion pound real estate including, residential homes, hotels, shops, restaurants and light industry. Having seen this development, and many regeneration projects in cities and towns across the country (including Nottingham), it is hard not to be impressed by the results and the pace of change. It is evident that other aspects of society, e.g the High Streets, are in decline and it will be interesting to see how these redevelop in the coming years. Judging by places like Portishead, I think there are reasons to be positive for the future rather than lamenting about the loss of banks and stores that are rapidly being replaced by the internet; if they haven’t been replaced already.

The second opportunity to get out with the camera was a bluebell wood near to Cleeve. The conditions were very bright which made the photography difficult but I did spot a copper beech tree high in the canopy, surrounded by green beech trees and illuminated by the sunlight:

Lastly, some ransom (wild garlic) under a beech tree: