March 15th – Not brilliant photos, as the light was bad and I’m still not down with the new camera… but hey, frog soup. Shire Oak Park, and the shallow pond in the north is one huge amphibian love-in. Another of spring’s triggers released, and the frogs and toads are out in abundance, obeying nature’s imperative.

Isn’t wildlife wonderful?

March 14th – I headed back home from Birmingham through Smethwick, West Bromwich and the Sandwell Valley. The sun was dying and it was starting to get overcast when I got to Rushall Junction, but the scenery on the way was beautiful. 

Galton Bridge still fascinates – I wonder how many folk stand on that station platform, not knowing they’re on a seemingly precarious shelf bolted on the the side of a viaduct?

The back-street architecture of the Black Country remains gorgeous, and the little-appreciated green jewel of the Sandwell Valley was beautiful. I loved to see the cormorants lallygagging on the rail in the lake, without any concern for their audience.

The flotsam wrapped around the fence next to the Tame at Ray Hall was a reminder that the spring is fragile, and bad weather not so far away…

Birmingham and the Black Country dull? Be off with you…

March 14th – This is for Richard Burnell. Last autumn, he was exploring the canals of Birmingham, and he happened upon these boxes, mounted either side of the canal in Ladywood. He asked what they were, and I told him – to some incredulity – that they were a traffic counter. I vowed that next time I passed, I’d take a picture or two.

In the tall metal box is a mains power supply and a counter. In the long, flat one next to it, two photo electric beam switches (made by specialists Sick), which detect a light beam reflected from a target in the box on the opposite side of the canal. When both beams are broken together, it’s most likely by a boat, so the count increases. By using the two beams, this filters out false signals from curious hands, waterfowl etc.

Measuring boat traffic is important. Similar systems on cycle routes count bikes, and we’ve all seen the temporary ones that count traffic.

March 14th – In Birmingham, Newhall Street junction by the old Remploy headquarters. A great safety warning on the back of a truck. I only have two issues with it:

  • It should be twice as big
  • It should say ‘Do not pass this vehicle’

Regardless of how cycle lanes are marked, don’t come up the lefthand side of traffic folks. It’s not big, not clever, and is what kills most of the adult cyclists involved in road accidents in the UK.

March 14th – I escaped work in Tyseley at lunchtime, and headed onto the canals of Brum on a fine sunny afternoon. From the Soho Loop, Winson Green; polyanthus in Centenary Square; the canal mural opposite The Bond in Digbeth; Galton Bridge and Ludgate.

Sometimes, this city still feels like it’s mine. A cracking ride.

March 13th – So, having got the new camera and charged it up, I tried it out on the way home. I need more time with it, as many settings I’m used to have moved – but I was quite pleased, really. The flowers in Walsall Wood are a credit to the people who planted them, and are really worth a trip to see. The sunset over Walsall Wood, Bullings Heath and Clayhanger Common was great tonight, in all its misty glory.

The lone red deer hind was a surprise as I rode around the new pond at Clayhanger – I almost missed her; she was nervous and high-tailed it away almost as soon as I spotted her. I think they get in the osiers and scrub on the marsh on the far side of the pool, safe there from human contact.

I see the canal boat moorings are still busy at Silver Street, and it’s nice to see the woodsmoke drifting from the chimneys as you pass by. 

Not a bad first sample, really. 

March 13th – Today, an old friend entered retirement. I replaced my trusty Panasonic Lumix TZ40 for a brand spanking new, just released TZ60. The little red compact camera has been through an awful lot, and survived, and still takes good pictures, but it is probably on the verge of death; it makes ominous grinding sounds when switching on now, and sometimes, the auto lens cover doesn’t open. 

I have had and used the camera for a little over 12 months. Apart from the odd day when I forgot it, it has travelled with me every day in a little sleeve in my pocket. It has taken about 21,000 photos, and doesn’t owe me a penny. This little metal-bodied gem of a camera – boasting 20x optical zoom and great adjustability in a small size – has been dropped, got wet, covered in mud, sweat, tea, and on one occasion, was bled on. It’s operated in frost, snow, howling rain and hot sun. It has been a faithful friend and tool. Almost all the images posted here in the last twelve months here have been taken with it.

Panasonic cameras are a bit Marmite – loved and hated with equal passion. I’ve used them since 2007 and adore them, despite their foibles. With Leica lenses and tank-like build quality, I couldn’t change now. I tried a Sony for a bit in 2011 and loathed it. You get used to stuff.

Several of my cameras have come to sticky ends. Dropped down steps, bounced while riding, stolen. This one seemed to have had a real survival spirit.

The little red camera shows the marks of life, and wear and tear. Ingrained dirt, dents, buckles and chips. They are, although the camera probably disagrees, the marks of love.

The newcomer is the direct model replacement, the TZ60 (oddly, there was no TZ50) – it boasts a higher resolution, 30x optical zoom and more features to fiddle with than I can shake an SD card at. It’s slightly heavier, and larger, but feels good. Just enough features have moved button or changed to drive me mad for a good few weeks. Incredibly, it cost exactly the same as the TZ40 when I bought it. Progress.

I shall pass the red one on to someone who needs it for free, as I do with most of my old tech, and I shall become as attached to it’s black replacement as I am to the red one.

Yes, I’m a geek. But not for the sake of it. Tech I have has to prove itself and be useful. These cameras have proven themselves over and over again. Long may it be so.