November 13th – Another evening mooch around Lichfield with camera and tripod. I’m really enjoying night photography at the moment and am learning more about the camera with every attempt.
Mind, it’s easy in Lichfield – such an enigmatic, beautiful place at night.
November 9th – A wet night in Walsall, returning later than usual through the area near the Civic Centre, I noticed the fallen leaves were forming a glistening, multicoloured carpet. This area is surprisingly beautiful at any time of year, with usually unnoticed mature trees and wide pedestrian areas, but in autumn, after dark, even with the peculiarly strident street lighting this place is special.
Walsall is a place of many hidden beautiful and unexpected corners.
November 9th – Passing through New Street on a drizzly, cold November evening, I caught the lights and signals of New Street mingling with the city skyline, centre stage the brilliant Brutalist gem, Alpha Tower.
One of the joys of winter is seeing this view, the signals, the reassurance of light, warmth, machinery safely in control and life above going on as normal.
Birmingham is glorious in it’s beauty sometimes.
Novemebr 6th – Lichfield on a dark, damp and nearly deserted Sunday evening was a treat. Armed with a tripod and some time to kill, experimentation was undertaken. I managed to get the hard light I wanted, and loved the effect long exposeure have on passing strangers, rendering them ghosts.
There are few better urban spots for night photography than Lichfield.
November 2nd – Walsall, on a crisp, chilly but sunny autumn day.
You couldn’t wish for anywhere finer: Walsall may have it’s detractors, but the trees.The mixed architecture. The sunlight.
THis’ll do.
October 17th – I’ve passed through Ocker Hill and Toll End a fair bit lately, and I’ve noticed this house at the top of Toll End Road near the island.
It’s old. I think it’s older than anything in the immediate vicinity, and of what looks like a very un-black country design; the only thing I can liken it to around these parts is the old White Lion in Caldmore Green, Walsall.
Does anyone know the history of this curious house please?
October 8th – Unusually, I’d had to go into Walsall and on to Wednesbury on a Saturday. The thoroughly uninspiring, grey afternoon was sad, as the forecast had been quite good. It was a good ride though, and I got lots of stuff done. Retuning at dusk, I span through the ‘Civic Quarter’ of Walsall , and stopped to look up Tower Street.
The Council House and it’s belcote are still impressive, but I dislike the striped paving and excessive street furniture here immensely – and the blue lights on the Gala Baths don’t help; but this was a quiet, pleasant place to reflect on the unexpected beauty of Walsall and what wonderful, clashing influences make up it’s urban core.
September 30th – The rest of Birmingham, from Snow Hill to Soho, from Victoria Square to the Bull Ring, was carrying on regardless, as it tends to do – the architecture as ever was a joy, as were the crowded streets and very changeable weather.
Birmingham has progressed massively in my lifetime. But I still adore it. It’s a wonderful place.
Birmingham – please never stop changing.
September 30th – Right now, Birmingham is doing what it does best – changing. I was in Birmingham for a sunny, pleasant afternoon that felt like the last of summer, and I continued my fascination with the demolition of the library, 103 Colmore Row and the Birmingham Conservatoire. The Adrian Boult Hall is now gone, the library down to it’s last scraps, and 103 Colmore Row is forlorn and truncated, much like the memory of the architect who designed all of them, the great John Madin.
There’s no time for sentiment, because Brum so doesn’t do that; the engineers are driving forward the change in their machines, cutting, smashing and pulverising the modernism to dust. And it’s fascinating, from the jurassic appearance of a resting concrete cutter to the antics of a pair of experts in a cradle slung above the devastation like some hi-visibility acetylene and helmet circus act.
It’s stunning, shocking and wonderful to watch. But I’m glad Madin himself didn’t live to see the crushing of his big civil dream.
September 14th – I had to call in Birmingham after working late, and returned as dusk fell to Shenstone – and I was reminded one more how lovely this station is at night.
The last Cross City Line station to retain it’s original charm, it wouldn’t look out of place any time in the last century. At this time of the evening, with the lights coming on and mist and autumn in the air, the sight of this wonderful station is welcoming, attractive and a genuine pleasure.
A great place to start or finish any rail journey.
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