A Photographic trip to Edgbaston Reservoir
After randomly bumping into Fraser McGee of IgersBirmingham fame, we soon got talking about shooting at this time of year and in particular, how nice it is being out on a cool, crisp morning and the quality of light during the winter months. Before we knew it, plans were forming to head to Edgbaston Reservoir, a spot that we both wanted to shoot to make the most of the late winter sunrise.
Edgbaston Reservoir at Sunrise, Birmingham
Fraser, who had been planning to meet another local photography celebrity, Kris Askey, invited Kris along to join us. This was a great bonus as I personally had always been a fan of Kris’ work so it was great to have him along. 7.45am the next morning, we met and headed for the reservoir. The signs were promising even from the car journey over as the sky was lit with a warm glow from the slowly rising sun.
When we arrived, the ground was frozen solid and particularly slippery under foot. The car park was on the same side of the reservoir that the sun would rise so we needed to make our way around to the opposite side to get the magical 'sunrise and building reflections’ shots that you may have seen before. However, what struck us first was how little water there was in the actual reservoir. It looked about 20ft lower than average and I personally, have no idea why but it did come as a surprise.
After making our way out around the edge of the water, keeping a keen eye on the out trajectory and position of the sun, we started grabbing shots. One of the best tips that I can give you when shooting is always check behind you, as sometimes the best shot is not always in front of you. This was certainly true on this particular morning as I tried to avoid the ‘obvious’ reflections shots and look for something different.
Photography can be a fairly solitary affair and certainly when shooting street or urban landscapes, it is not uncommon to spend hours on your own walking the streets. It made a great change to have other photographers to share ideas with, point out different potential shots and generally just chat with.
Fraser, founder of IgersBirmingham will probably be well known to many of you, but Fraser is also a very talented photographer himself when he’s not busy running Birmingham’s leading Instagram community. Fraser set about composing vertical images to suit his Instagram feed and the results were obviously great. Anyone that has seen his latest images of his honeymoon in New Zealand will appreciate his love for landscape photography and his eye for a pleasing composition.
Kris on the other hand, is more renowned for his portraiture and street photography, so it was a pleasure to have a fresh set of eyes on a popular spot. Kris, when not filming Fraser and I for his ‘Stories’, set about challenging himself to a bit of ‘nature’ photography and instantly got into his rhythm and started firing out great shots. It was great to watch a photographer who is more at home in a different discipline adapt his style and see how he approached a new challenge. I think the results speak for themselves and prove how versatile he is.
We made our way around the reservoir, stopping to capture the long shadows cast by the trees on the edges of the reservoir and even making the time to grab the occasional cheeky shot of each other – it is funny watching the positions and poses that photographers get into when they are fully immersed in ‘getting the shot’.
As we came to the end of our walk, the absurdly low water levels made it possible to grab some shots that would never normally be possible. We made our way back to the car and packed away our gear. It was great to have a little company on what would otherwise be a focused yes solitary walk. It was great to share ideas on composition, editing styles and also talk about workflow and storage in general.
I would strongly suggest finding local companions that you feel comfortable going out and shooting with and like in Kris’ case, share the opportunity to go and try your hand at different genres of photography that you may normally overlook. One way to do this is to be part of an active community such as IgersBirmingham, who I am happy to call many of it’s members personal friends. It really goes to show that trying something new and the community within photography, in particular in Birmingham, really are the hidden benefits of our chosen pastime.
Frosty morning on the banks of Edgbaston Reservoir, Birmingham
You can find out more about Fraser & Kris at their respective websites.
IgersBirmingham - www.igersbirmingham.co.uk
Kris Askey - www.krisaskey.com
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 New York
Street Photography in New YAs you may be aware, last week I was very fortunate to go to New York. It was my first time in the city and to say that I was excited was an understatement. New York had long been one of my ‘must go to’ places and I was pretty Certain THAT I might take a picture or two (thousand) while I was there.
Laura and I arrived late on the Friday night. On leaving Penn Station and making our way to our hotel, I caught tantalising glimpses of New York and as I turned the first corner, was confronted by the Empire State Building. It felt a little surreal seeing it. At that point, it started to sink in, I was finally in New York!
The next morning, I woke up early, grabbed all three of the cameras that I had with me and hit the streets. It was eerily quite considering this city never sleeps. However, it felt amazing to have the city streets pretty much to myself. I was approached a couple of times by people looking for a small handout, a dollar here and there, so I thought it best to be a bit more discreet whilst walking the city streets alone.
I only used my ‘small’ camera, a little Ricoh GR, which became my best friend over the course of the week. Perfect for covert little shots here and there. I had to be ninja like to walk into a scene, grab the shot and leave without detection. That first morning alone was two incredible hours as I familiarised myself with the block layouts, the subway and later in the morning, the hustle and bustle of the city streets.
Throughout the course of the week, I found myself more inclined to shoot ‘street photography’ capturing the everyday scenes as I walked around completely smitten with the busy city streets. I rarely used the ‘big camera’, only for the larger landscape images. There was something to be said about being discreet as I feared that getting caught taking a picture of someone may result in a typical New York style abusive tirade.
With a mix of good light, heavy showers, day and night shots, I was pretty pleased with some of the images I captured. Overall, it was an amazing experience and one that I will hopefully get the opportunity to replicate sometime soon.
West Midlands Wildlife Instameet - Brandon Marsh
It's no secret that I'm a fan of the occasional Instameet. It's an amazing community full of people passionate about photography (now that can't be a bad thing!). However, one of my favourite things about Instameets is the sheer diversity of the locations and subject matter.
The latest meet saw us travel to just outside Coventry and more specifically, Brandon Marsh Nature Centre. The event was organised by James Benwell from West Midlands Wildlife - https://www.facebook.com/westmidlandswildlife - and the highlight of the day was to be a murmuration of Starlings, a sight I was really looking forward to seeing.
James (aka @JimPanda on Instagram - well worth a follow, as is WMW -https://www.instagram.com/westmidlandswildlife/ ) organised the event with @IgersBirmingham and set about explaining more about the wildlife that we could expect to see. Now I'm no nature photographer and had already planned on just shooting a few 'landscape' images, but James quickly dashed any hopes of me seeing a Bald Eagle!
The day in the whole was very enjoyable and made a stark contrast to my usual City Centre based antics. Unfortunately, the murmuration did not materialise, yet I couldn't help but feel the faintest nip of the nature photography bug! There is certainly something enjoyable about walking around the countryside, treading lightly and challenging yourself to a new genre of photography. Though I think I might have to stick to the city shots for the time being, or at least until I learn where Bald Eagles come from!
Closing the gap: iPhone v DSLR
A few quick thoughts...
I will probably do a more longwinded version of this at some point but I just wanted to quickly talk about the main differences between using a camera (DSLR) and a phone (iPhone 6s) for picture taking. Spoiler alert - the camera wins. However, the camera does not win when it is packed up at home and you are missing some glorious scene without a camera in sight.
However, the vast majority of us now carry smartphones with a very decent camera attached. The old saying 'the best camera you have is the one you have with you at the time' could not have really been more applicable. As a photographer, I am always a little bit obsessed with the quality of the image and I would always choose a DSLR over a phone if it was a commission or if it is a shoot that I have 'planned' for.
Life doesn't always let you 'plan' though so knowing that I have a camera in my pocket at all times comes as quite a relief. Even better than that, knowing that the little camera can take a very decent picture is a bit of a game changer. Upon to recently, I carried a small Ricoh GR (compact camera) but it has unfortunately passed away (motor in the lens has broken - nightmare!) and in my search for a replacement, i.e. a high quality, pocket sized camera, I suddenly had a bit of an epiphany "Just get a better camera phone".
There are a few clear contenders but two that really grab my attention are the iPhone 7+ and the Google Pixel. Being a bit of an Apple fan, I am already siding on the 7+ as my phone/camera of choice - but looking at the 'test' results of some of the images taken by these phones, they are simply staggering. This, this is the point! Phones are now a serious option to replace lower end DSLR's and are so convenient that it's almost a no-brainer! And things are only going to get better.
As I say, I will do a more comprehensive write up soon but I am seriously enjoying shooting with a camera phone at the moment and to be honest, it feels liberating!
An Evening with IgersBirmingham on a very tall building!
I love trying to find new angles of the city that I have never shot before. SO when I was very kindly asked by the guys at IgersBirmingham if I'd like to come and take some photographs from a very tall building, I jumped at the chance!
I love taking long exposures so I asked if we could go around sunset, knowing that I would use the Aston Expressway, one of the major roads flowing through the middle of the city as my prime subject. We all met up, everyone was in a good mood and a lot of fun was had trying to get long exposures in (what felt like) gale force winds!
However, I did also start to grab some short clips of video with the intent of starting to create weekly video logs, or as they are called on the street, vlogs! Now I'm no looker and I really, really don't like being in front of a camera. However, it does add a really useful view on what I do and how I do it (apart from the fact that on this occasion, it was just too windy to talk about settings etc.)
So here is a very quick video from the evening, look out for more of these n the future! And before anybody says anything about quality, it was all shot on an iPhone - which to be honest, blows my mind! Thanks once again to IgersBirmingham and Aston University.
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.
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!)
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.
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!
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.
Long Exposure Photography using the LEE Filter System
It probably won't come as much of a surprise that us Photographers love anything that makes our life easier and improves the final result. Well the LEE Filter system is a prime example of a tool that every photographer should have in their kit bag.
This short video gives a brief insight into how the LEE Filter system works and as you can see form the image below, the results are pretty cool, even if I do say so myself. Be sure to check out the LEE website HERE to take a look at some of their great products. Look out for more videos coming soon and don't forget to Subscribe to my Youtube channel.
IgersBirmingham & Ikon Gallery - Mendelsohn Instameet: Balsall Heath
I had the pleasure of joining the amazing people from IgersBirmingham and the Ikon Gallery for a Janet Mendelsohn inspired meet in Balsall Heath. With the aim of showing Balsall Heath today and how things have changed in the near 50 years since Mendelsohn's original 'photo-essay' of the area, the day would see us explore some of the highlights of Balsall Heath.
Starting at the endlessly interesting Old Print Works, we had an inspiring introduction to Mendelsohn's works and a brief insight into Balsall Heath's past. Groups of around twenty took turns to explore the Moseley Road Swimming Baths - a beautiful Victorian building kept mainly in it's original splendor with a rare opportunity to explore many areas that would normally be closed off to the public.
After exploring the baths, we had an interesting route to follow around Ballsall Heath taking in the area and a chance explore the rich mixture of cultures living side-by-side. This was where I had promised to challenge myself and to delve head first into the world of 'Street Photography'. The challenge would be to approach interesting subjects and witness everyday life in the area to immerse myself in the culture of Balsall Heath.
This is certainly different to my normal style of photography, I was well and truly outside of my comfort zone. However, very much like the area I was exploring, my initial reservations were soon replaced by the sheer excitement of exploring new areas and challenges. It is fair to say that I barely scratched the surface of Balsall Heath . However, I think Mendelsohn would be pleasantly surprised by the modern day area and it's inhabitants.
Thanks goes to Fraser and the team at IgersBirmingham, Emily Luxford from the Ikon Gallery, Ian Francis from Flatpack Projects and all that helped organise a very enjoyable day.
Why do we still buy prints?
A friend and I were discussing photography the other day and I was explaining that I had recently launched my online shop via my website. My friend turned to me and said, to my surprise, 'who still buys prints?'. Well, at first I didn't quite know how to answer, it took me a few seconds as I had not really considered it, I just thought that it was fairly obvious. They continued, 'isn't it a bit old fashioned, don't people just look at your pictures on your website?'
My immediate response was to start questioning my choice of friends, but I quickly started to explain that there is so much more to owning a print. Firstly, you don't necessarily have to appreciate 'art' - a print can be something that brings back a memory, that inspires you or simply puts a smile on your face. I'm no interior designer, but I do appreciate that a really special image or piece of art can make a mediocre room feel amazing! It is what that image means to you that is the important thing!
I started to describe that a print does not necessarily have to feel 'boring'. I have produced images of cityscapes on aluminium for large businesses that take pride-of-place in extravagant board rooms. I have also produced small prints that simply remind homesick 'brummies' of, well, home. There is also something hugely satisfying about having something 'physical' that you can look at rather than staring at it via a screen.
Whereas I like people to appreciate my work on the web, nothing compares to walking into a room and seeing your favourite image or catching it with a passing glance and it reminding you of a special memory. I asked my friend if they had any images of friends or family framed at home, to which they responded with a resounding 'Yes!'. I asked why, and they said 'because they are special'. I watched as the disbelief was slowly replaced with understanding.
The truth is, prints are still very important. I'm constantly amazed by images that I see on the internet but my favourite images, the ones that truly mean something to me? They belong on my walls.
If you see any images on my website/social media that you would like to purchase as a print or have a special enquiry (i.e. printing on aluminium) please contact me with your requirements.