Tag: night photography

December 20th – I’d been out most of the day, Christmas shopping and mooching around Birmingham. I had places to be in the evening, and only managed to fit in a short ride in the early evening, which was just as well really, as the wind was horrid and it was threatening rain after what had been a fairly good, but chilly day. 

I took a ride up the canal from Coopers Bridge to Silver Street, and did a bit more experimentation with long exposure. The shot of the apartments by Coopers Bridge, even at 30 seconds, was too dark and grainy, there just wasn’t enough light for the camera to capture. However, near the overflow opposite Tesco the effect was quite good at 15 seconds. I love the shine it appears to give the water.

Think I’m fretting my head around it…

December 17th – In the dark nights and half-light days of winter, decent lights are needed. Searching, bold white in front, and strong red at the back. 

In the darkness of the footbridge at Ogley Junction, I noticed how effective they were. Wouldn’t be without them.

December 17th – I went out in darkness, and found myself in a refreshingly cold night, with a huge, beautiful, partially cloud obscured moon. I rode up the canal intending to visit Chasewater, but spent ages instead experimenting more with long exposure photography.

I’m not a photographer, I never learned any technical stuff. What I know I learned by trial and error, and finding this camera offered me a couple of really long exposures, I’ve been trying them out. 

The landscape over Home Farm at Sandhills, Ogley Junction and Warrenhouse yielded some fairly interesting results, but I think I need more practice…

December 16th – On my return, I stopped to play around with long exposure shots at one of my favourite spots – the footbridge over the Chasetown Bypass near Chasewater. I love the curving lines of the road here, the streetlights and the way all the surfaces and lines interact. It’s a lonely spot, but there’s something quite beautiful about it at night.

I guess it’s that Late Night Feelings thing again…

December 16th – on the Christmas card run again, this time in Chasetown. I also came to check out the Christmas lights here, which at least three people have asserted to me are way better than those in Brownhills. They might well be, had they actually got any…

They do, however, have a nice Christmas Tree. Shame about the ugly fencing around it though.

Chasetown remains as gorgeous at night as it ever does; the combination of close packed shops, a steep hill and quite a bit of character make this a lovely place, really. I still think it would be a great spot for a remake of the car chase from Bullit, but maybe on bikes or mopeds.

Steve McQueen, come back, we need you…

December 15th – On an mission to Shelfield before tea (why does Christmas involve distributing stuff far and wide?), I took a route up Walsall Wood High Street to get the church lit up for it’s carol service. Sadly, my photos were awful, but it did look nice and seasonal. I noticed too the the Drunken Duck seemed busy for the hour. Recently under new management, it seems to be gaining popularity. 

Must give it a go at some point.

December 14th – That evening, I had to pop up to Shire Oak on an errand. The weather was foul – driving rain and a strong sidewind. I took to the canal on the way, and let it blow me back as far as I could. I love the lights of Silver Street and the canal side at night, but what really impressed me was Ogley Court. Not long built, lots of residents have clearly got well into the Christmas spirit in their new homes. 

I really do like that complex. The roofline fascinates me.

December 12th – Coming home late, it was raining quite hard. It was warm, though, and well wrapped in my waterproofs I enjoyed the sights, sounds and sensory onslaught of the traffic on the rain. At Rushall, I stopped to photograph the Christmas tree. It looks better in the photo than it looks in reality – this one seems a little tatty, if I’m honest. 

In the late hour, the junction at Rushall Square was quiet, and glistening in the rain. Sadly, I couldn’t keep the lens clear and just had to go for it.

Hopefully, the weather will clear for the weekend. 

December 9th – After some years of the awful skeletal Christmas tree – literally a lighting column with a wigwam of lights strung from it – it’s nice to see Walsall has returned to the tradition of a real tree, and this years looks great to me. Tonight was the first time I’d seen it, and I must say, it’s a nice one.

Considering a couple of years ago the outrage when the tradition was threatened, it seems to be surviving well.

Welcome to Walsall, the land of political u-turns…