Tag: skyline

#365daysofbiking Old haunts

July 11th – I had an appointment near Brieley Hill in the morning. The weather was grey and the Stourbridge trains were having a cowturn but I got to Cradley Heath and cycled up the canal through Saltwells.

Years ago, I spent a lot of time in Cradley and its environs. It’s still a busy little town, but it’s changed, suffering the same economic and social pressures as anywhere else.

This is of course, deepest Black Country and I was pleased to see the chain makers still behind Cradley station.

The goats at Saltwells were a pleasant surprise, too.

It’s been a while since I was back here, and it’s still a decent old place. I should come back when I have more time, I think.

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#365daysofbiking Exorcising ghosts

July 7th – The sunset was the culmination of a glorious golden hour.

Birmingham and Aston shone and shimmered in the gathering dusk.

A train caught the sky and was golden: Britannia fought a pitched battle on the former hotel roof with the TV antennas. The skylines and canal spoke of quiet dignity, worship and daily life.

I spent many hours as a young man in these streets, on the canals and at this station. The ghosts that haunt me here are not scary, or hostile, but warm and comfortable like enveloping sheets of memory.

My place, my past, present and future.

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#365daysofbiking Electric night:

November 26th – A quick shot passing through New Street station in the evening.

The skyline from here, considering how low you are from street level, is remarkable, and I love the way the machinery, lights, signals and surfaces mix.

A real late night feelings shot.

#365daysofbiking Tinges:

September 15th – Nipping top Shenstone and Aldridge on errands, I stopped on the railway bridge to survey the classic view over the rooftops of the village, to note that autumn was coming here now – and not just the accelerated leaf drop of the leaf-miner affected horse chestnuts, either – but tinges of red and brown in most of the trees.

Soon this will be a riot of colour, and then bare trees again to close out the year.

Where has 2018 gone?

January 10th – Sorry, more night shots. You must be sick to the back teeth of them, but I’m finding new low-light vistas opening up and it’s really turning my gears at the moment.

I crossed North Street, the umbilicus between Birchills and The Butts in Walsall, and stopped even though it was misty and cold, just to take a shot at the view from the railway bridge toward the town centre. 

This view is one of those that’s always much more impressive as a whole than one is able to capture in a photo, as it’s so wide. But tonight, I liked the light on the snaking rails, the lights from the collage and WHG HQ and the rising plumes of steam from the boiler flues.

I’d have played some more, but it was cold, and I was hungry. Som many things to try with this one. I’m dying to see what it does with a station at night.

October 11th – Again returning as darkness fell, I caught sight of the Walsall skyline from North Street Bridge, and gave it a shot in a different mode.

The TZ90 is streets ahead of the TZ80 for night shots – and it needed to be; the last decent poor light performance from this range of camera was two generations back in the TZ70. This seems a lot better.

And Walsall, with the modernist buildings of the risibly named Gigaport, was a good subject.

March 14th – I’d had to pop to Birmingham for a late afternoon appointment and caught the train back to Blake Street, prepared for an arduous winch back uphill to Brownhills. 

I wasn’t expecting the sunset to be quite as wonderful as it was. Little Aston was magical in the gathering dusk. Ah, those wonderful chimneys!

February 16th – On a misty, hazy mild and sunny lunchtime I crossed Kings Hill Park on a quick run out and stopped to gaze at Church Hill and the twin sisters of Wednesbury.

The view changes subtly though the years – new buildings replace old ones, trees grow and are felled, factories and buildings like the old Carcraft site fall in and out of use.

But overseeing all, those twin, beautiful spires, watching their industrial, urban flocks for over a century each.

This is a view that never ages.

December 7th – I had to go to Tipton late in the afternoon, and as I travelled through Moxley I spotted a familiar sight in the gathering dusk that was looking particularly splendid.

I know the urban landscape isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I do think it’s rather beautiful.

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.