Autumn in Birmingham - Video
I have been playing with video again and what better subject matter than Autumn in Birmingham. I will be back to the photography very soon but for now, I have several videos planned for next year so watch this space (literally). Don't forget to 'Subscribe' to my YouTube channel so you can see my latest videos. Thanks.
Street Photography in Birmingham... Kind of...
By now, I think you will have guessed that I have a tendency for the dramatic, sunrise/sunset shots with a lot of editing! Even though that is what I love to do, I still enjoy trying new things and pushing myself a little.
From the platform of Grand Central looking through the frosted glass in the Concourse
So when I got my little Ricoh GR back from the head-honcho of the excellent IgersBirmingham after a short loan, I immediately wanted to get acquainted with my old friend. Now for those that may not be aware, my 'normal' camera is the Canon 5D Mkiii with a bunch of lenses, filters and a massive tripod, all of which weighs about as much as a small house! Whereas the little Ricoh, slides into my jacket pocket with ease and is stealth like when used in the street (if you are a trained ninja like me!)
He never saw me coming!
So armed with my little friend, a couple of spare hours and good light, I took to the streets of Birmingham with no idea what to shoot! The only thing I wanted to do was to practise my settings (photographers are always learning!) and have a crack at 'Street Photography' the subtle art of taking pictures of, well, things that are happening in the streets! And Birmingham never seems to let you down on that front.
I set about the streets, just capturing whatever took my fancy. Sometimes there was a little waiting around for something to happen, other times a shot just presented itself! I never set out to do true 'Street Photography' which generally involves people in the scene, I normally try to avoid people in my images, but I just took a bit of a carefree approach and grabbed images of whatever I found interesting.
Landscape or Street Photography? Who cares...
I have to admit, it was the most pleasing couple of hours photography I have had in a long while, no pressure, no need to get up at a ridiculous time or pray that the weather is just right (though it was!) and if I came home with nothing? So be it. It may not of escaped your attention that all images were shot in Black & White as well, which was an additional little treat! Simply paying attention to the light, tones and shades and no trying to second guess how I would edit the images in post, just me, the scene and the light!
Always expect the unexpected in Birmingham!
As I made my way home, I crossed the Queensway bridge and was met by a guy just making his way up the handrail, as you do. We did not say a word to each other, I didn't even raise the camera to my eye, I just hit the focus button on the back of my camera and shot 'from the hip'. I had a rough idea that the shot was framed correctly and the settings were where they need to be. As I made my way down the steps, I checked the back of the camera and was so pleased I had got the image, my favourite shot of the day! Real street photography and a scene completely out of the ordinary.
There were so many little pleasures to be had by simply walking the streets and discretely taking in my surroundings. The Ricoh GR is an absolutely amazing camera (I will do a full review at some point). It was a joy to shoot without any pressure and highly enjoyable to do something selfish and only shoot for me. Birmingham seems a more than fitting stage for Street Photography and I am sure I will treat myself to another little trip out again soon. In the meantime, I would strongly suggest a flick through Instagram and in particular, checking out the work of local Street Supremo Kris Askey (@krisaskey) who always seems to find the understated beauty of everyday scenes.
Here are all of the shots (well most, the ones I am happy to share) from my little mooch around.
It's back! Frankfurt Christmas Market returns to Birmingham
If you are not aware of the Frankfurt Christmas Market then you haven't lived... (in Birmingham, between November and December, since 1997). It is the high-point of the Christmas calendar for thousands of brummies and most importantly, it provides an excellent opportunity for us photographers to get out their among the crowds, and by god there are crowds!
I have invested in a little pocket sized camera so this year I am going to be trying a bit of 'street photography and getting up close and personal to really try to encapsulate the spirit of the market (though I will probably go for a couple of the standard 'landscape' images). Stay tuned for more!
A Grand new Central point for Birmingham
It Feels like New Street Station has been under development for decades but it is finally re-opened and reinvigorated. Yes, the 'bottle-neck' is still a problem and you can expect the usual delays and the platforms and Navigation Street entrance are dubious but as a whole, the new New Street is a resounding success. With a spacious atrium and finally some room to move, even at rush hour, the station looks built-for-purpose.
The Cherry on top of the new station (literally on top!) is the amazing new Grand Central shopping centre. Where as the name has caused some confusion and moans & groans for a 'lack of originality' I actually feel it suits it's grandiose title and bodes well for the City's economy as many high-end stores have found a new home here with John Lewis heading the line-up.
An eye-watering £750m has been spent bringing us a new heart of the city but it seems like it will be a successful operation. Justifiable fears have been raised for it's impact on the neighboring Bullring and Mailbox retail areas but personally, I feel it will only serve to further enhance Birmingham's growing reputation as a 'shopping destination' and furthermore prove the the City is on the up and long may that continue!
The new Media Eyes at Birmingham New Street Station by Ross Jukes Photography
The Rotunda's 50th Birthday Party
I was very fortunate to be invited along to celebrate the Rotunda's 50th Birthday Party last week and it is fair to say, it was special! The building is a true landmark on Birmingham's skyline and is easily one of the most recognisable structures in the Midlands. It has been through numerous changes but currently is home to a boutique hotel and beautifully designed apartments which are testament to Birmingham's rising stock. It is fair to say that Staying Cool have the building in safe hands.
However, I was not there for a relaxing break, nor the free Champagne and canapes (though they were very nice!). I was there for the views and they did not disappoint! With an army of fellow photographers invited by the amazing folk at IgersBirmingham cameras were firmly planted toward the view across the Grand Central development and New New Street Station (this will be covered in a separate post). Everyone was amazed to see the sun breakthrough the clouds and give us a stunning sunset to really cap off an excellent event! Here's to another 50 years for the 'old girl' and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for her.
Capturing Birmingham's hidden beauty... Part 2
Birmingham as a city adopts, welcomes and embraces it’s inhabitants regardless of culture and creed and I believe that this is also true of it’s fabric. The less desirable, unattractive underdog buildings are embraced as icons and cherished as testament to the warmth of the city’s
There is no doubt that making Birmingham look beautiful is a challenge. With the right light and the right editing, it is possible. Over the past 12 months I have witnessed a ‘baby-boom’ of talented photographers taking to the streets to capture the hidden beauty of bleak-Birmingham and produce images that Birmingham City Councils marketing department must be salivating at.
You only have to search ‘Birmingham’ on Instagram and within a few scrolls of a digit, you will find striking images of the city’s once loathed buildings bathed in hipster filters and fresh life breathed into their concrete lungs. Popular pages such as ‘IgersBirmingham’ and ‘Hiddenbrum’ and many other social media outlets have created intrigue and mystery around the city and have forced people to look at the boxy beauties with new eyes.
Birmingham seems to have reached a tipping point. It may finally be on the brink of shedding it’s ‘ugly-duckling’ image. With redevelopment-a-plenty in the city centre headed by the Grand Central/New Street Station, Paradise Forum development and big plans down the line for HS2, the City may be coming of age with a bright future to look forward to. Riding the crest of this wave will be the photographers, bloggers, former Londonites and all-round hipsters that have seen Birmingham’s true beauty.
Capturing Birmingham's hidden beauty... Part 1
Back in 2008, Birmingham was voted the UK’s ugliest City. This reputation has hung around the city’s neck for years and has become a long standing joke that everybody (apart from its residents) has had a good laugh at. However, Birmingham, much like myself, has been on a journey in that time and is fast becoming a desirable, metropolitan and dare-I-say, trendy place to live.
In fact, a recent study has shown that many ‘twenty-somethings’ have fled from the capital to the UK’s second city. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show nearly one in ten people in their 30s who left the city between June 2012 and June 2013 fled to Birmingham. Arecord 58,220 within the 30-39 age bracket leaving London 5,480 moved to the ‘ugly duckling’.
Being a photographer in the ‘UK’s ugliest City’ certainly has its challenges. The stark, Brutalist architecture of the 60’s and 70’s can still easily be found throughout the City Centre. As a former Industrial hub, the city has previously shed its skin and looked to the future and adorned itself striking architecture.
The bold, blocky structures such as Birmingham Library and the infamous New Street Station Signal Box are the main offenders in what can be coined as Birmingham’s ‘Grey’ period. A lot of the City’s buildings have been demolished to make way for the kind of stereotypical, glass fronted modern buildings that can be found in every major city in the world.
In my own photographic journey, trying to capture a more beautiful side to Brum’s urban landscape, I have unearthed a strange contradiction to the scornful comments about the bleak wasteland that is Birmingham’s architecture and found that there is some serious love for the former ‘ugliest city’.... Part 2 coming soon....
Snow-way! Birmingham gets a light dusting...
As some of you may know, I also shoot cars and earlier this week I had a rather nice Volvo to shoot around Birmingham City Centre. Just as we were finishing the photos, I noticed that there were little white flecks on my lens. It was only bloody snow! I'm not a fan of using my very expensive camera gear in the white stuff but it did make for an interest end to the shoot with the Volvo, a car which after all - should be able to handle a bit of adverse weather.
When I got back to St Paul's Square, the snow had started to settle and I didn't hesitate to grab a shot of the square looking all wintery. I got back in the warm and planned for an early morning trudge out in what I imagined would be Canadian style snow drifts. However, the next morning, when I got up at about 6.00am, there wasn't a drop to be seen, it had all vanished like we'd had a a magical heatwave in the middle of the night. Fear not though, weather reporters predict that Britain will be in for another battering soon enough and even as I type this, I can feel the skies growing heavy with cold, white picture-making heaven - fingers crossed for some more 'winter-wonderland' images of Birmingham soon!
#Birmingham #Photography #Snow #SnowUK - Follow me on Facebook for more :)
Independent Birmingham
Founder and all-round good guy Joe, of Independent Birmingham recently contacted me to 'Capture winter/festivity' in Birmingham. This sounds simple, but trying to capture the essence of winter and the Christmas feel in Birmingham is a lot harder than you may imagine. Apart from 'missing the point' for quite a while, it was very hard to capture the spirit due to the lack of good old fashioned frosty weather to make everything look festive. That and time constraints meant that capturing Birmingham in the midst of the festive season was actually quite a challenge. looking forward to seeing which images are finally used but here is a selection of 'potentials'...
Picture Birmingham
I was born in Birmingham and have lived in the England’s real second city all of my life. Raised in Longbridge, I still remember the first time that I went to the City Centre and everything about it felt huge. Since then I’ve been obsessed with the place, people and the atmosphere that this very special city has.
My main passion in life is Photography, I feel uncomfortable without a camera in my hand and from a young age I have loved having the ability to freeze a moment in time. It’s only natural then that I waste many hours roaming streets of our city capturing its more beautiful side. I love to get lost in the city and forget any other worries that I have and just enjoy my surroundings. Birmingham has taken a lot of criticism over the years and I think now people are finally seeing the city for what it actually is.
I enjoy looking for new angles, fresh perspectives and do my best to try to create striking images that show the true Birmingham. From the bustling New Street and Victoria Square, to the beautiful St Paul’s Square and the walkways of the canals, there are some stunning places to roam around in Birmingham. There is no escaping its industrial heritage and some of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s architecture is maybe not the most flattering. Even challenging modern structures like the Selfridges building that is certainly ‘Marmite’ in its ‘love it or hate it’ uncompromising style can look striking in the right light.
Photography is more popular than ever and with affordable cameras and Instagram, it’s great to see thousands of people taking pictures of the city. There are many landmark building such as the Library of Birmingham that provide fantastic photo opportunities as well as a platform to view the city from on high. Many of my favourite places to shoot are perfectly accessible to the public and I often have to fight for a spot to get the shot that I want. I never see this as a negative though, it amazes me that tourist are going back to far-flung parts of the world and showing friends and family pictures of our home city.
There have been many things that have happened in my life that have threatened my photography from being attacked online to bereavement, I have threatened to quit on a few occasions. However, I can’t walk down a street without spotting new things, fresh perspective or just watching the changing light wash across the city without wanting to capture it. It’s this that keeps me going and makes me want to carry on. For this reason, I feel very fortunate to live in a challenging but beautiful city.
You could call this a ‘thank you message’ or a ‘love letter’ for the city but it’s not. It’s a call to arms, a rallying cry to anybody that lives in Birmingham to stop looking at the negatives and see the positives of where we live. Next time you are in the city, take a few minutes to look around, take in the Parisian style architecture above New Street, the soaring Raddison building (Beetham Tower) or take a walk through the Jewllery Quarter or Digbeth and look at it with a positive attitude (and don’t forget to take some photos!).
See the original article for Birmingham Updates HERE