Tag: Year 3

It’s that time of year again when the infamous German Christmas Market descends on the streets of Birmingham. We’ve already done the market as a subject, so I thought we’d go a bit more focussed (pun completed intended!).

One thing I’ve noticed (more so this year than any other) is the abundance of photos taken of the Birmingham Wheel, which is located outside of Symphony Hall in Centenary Square. The other thing I’ve noticed is the range of different {viewpoints} people have taken in shooting the wheel.

Both of these should lead to this being a pretty successful subject, and it’s also a good excuse to head down to the market, take a photo and then get some German beer down your throat! Or, if you’re brave enough, have a few German beers and then take your photo…

Enjoy!

Please note: Please be aware of ‘opportunists’ at the market. It’s an incredibly busy place, so please ensure your safety and the safety of your belongings is the main priority. The German Market is open until 9pm each day, and also finishes on Monday 22nd December (you still have until 31st December to submit your photo).

The subject for November is A Real Birmingham Family – a bronze sculpture which is located outside of the Library of Birmingham.

The sculpture, which was unveiled on Thursday 30th October,  is the work of Birmingham born, Turner Prize winning artist, Gillian Wearing. It is the result of Ikon’s four year project to find what it means to be a ‘real’ family in Birmingham, with no limits put on how the twenty first century family might define itself.

Love it or hate it; agree with the depiction or think it fails to represent what a ‘real’ family means to you, the sculpture is certainly a talking point and has created many differing views – I walked past the sculpture on Friday evening and it was very interesting to hear the comments being made, and also those viewed on social media.

From a Birmingham {Viewpoint} stance, I think the sculpture makes a great subject. It’ll be interesting to see how you all tackle a relatively small subject matter, and I look forward to seeing your {Viewpoint} of it.

Cheers,

Pete

You can find more info about the statue here: A Real Birmingham Family

Where does the time go?! Before you know it, it’s the 7th of October, there’s 2 months worth of photos to upload and a new subject to announce…

I’m very sorry that I’ve let Birmingham {Viewpoint} slip so much over the past couple of months. Commitments elsewhere have sadly needed to take priority and I just haven’t had the time to keep the project updated. It’s of no surprise that the number of submissions has dropped over the past couple of months – and I feel awful that the project that I absolutely love running is in fear of being no more.

But there’s no way I’m letting that happen! Birmingham {Viewpoint} is here to stay!

Thank you so much to those who have continued to submit photos, sending me tweets and emails of encouragement to get the photos uploaded and new subjects announced. It means a lot.

I am determined to turn {Viewpoint} around and get it back to where it belongs – a photography project for everyone to get involved in, and I’ll make sure that everyone knows about it (with your help as well).

So without further ado, the submissions for Months 8 & 9 are now on the site and the subject for October has been unleashed. All that’s left is for you lovely lot to share the heck out of the site / project and get people involved (oh, and take a photo each month too!)

Thanks again for your continued support, and a big apology for letting things slip.

Pete…

At the start of the year I promised that some of the subjects this year would push your photography technically… So far, I haven’t really lived up to that claim. So this month, its all about a photography technique that is close to my own heart…

*** LONG EXPOSURE ***

With the nights drawing in and the days shortening, it’s the perfect time to play around with the exposure on your camera. So get creative. Push the boundaries of your camera’s exposure. Take a photo of anything you want (providing it’s in Birmingham) using an exposure of more than 1 second…

I’m really looking forward to seeing the results.

Hopefully this will be popular with a few of our regular submitters (is that a word?!)

So, the subject for August is ‘Birmingham Pubs’ – make of it what you will… Interior, exterior, new pubs, old pubs, pubs that are no longer pubs… The options are endless!

Just make sure you have a pint for me at some point…

Cheers!

So, here we have another suggestion from a Birmingham {Viewpoint} participant – New Uses For Old Buildings – and I love it!

This may take a bit of research on your behalf, but there’s loads of them around Birmingham. It would be great to have a bit of info to link to your photos, so feel free to send the background to the building (old & present uses) and I’ll add them underneath the photos to give them a bit of context. Really looking forward to seeing the photos for this one…

When thinking about a subject for Birmingham {Viewpoint}, I keep my eyes open when walking / driving through the city and make a note of anything that catches my eye on my phone. One of the subjects covered in the first year was Canals, which gave us some great shots.

I’ve wanted to do Water for some time now, but needed to leave enough of a gap between these subjects as I think quite a few submissions will be of the Canals. I’m hoping though that people will get imaginative with their photos and go for a more unique take on the subject…

This is also a bit of reverse psychology, as we had the dullest month this year when ‘BrumSet / BrumRise’ was the subject, so I’m hoping for a drier month in June!

Looking forward to seeing the submissions for this subject…

It’s not very often that I use public transport in Birmingham, but when I do, there are millions of opportunities to take photographs. There always seems to be someone I’d like to take a photograph of, or to take advantage of being higher up than normal and seeing something I wouldn’t normally see. It’s also nice to not be concentrating on driving – and to just spend time looking at the city passing by…

So I urge you to take a trip on one of Birmingham’s many bus routes, take your photo taking device along for the ride and send us the best photo you get… (Please don’t take a photo of a passing bus. The idea is that you get on a bus and take the photo during your journey)

As with all Birmingham {Viewpoint} subjects, no photo is worth risking your safety. Please stay safe at all times. Thanks 🙂 

This month is all about the sun – whether it is rising or setting…

There’s definitely been an abundance of the hashtags #BrumRise and #BrumSet being used on Twitter of late – mostly thanks to Tim Cornbill. I’m really enjoying the variety of shots that I see most days from people – and thought they’d make a great subject to open up to those who take part in Birmingham {Viewpoint}.

The challenge I pass on to you is to get a unique shot of a Birmingham Sunrise or Sunset…

I think this subject may prove quite a challenge for some people – mostly because you’re more than likely going to have to go out of your way to get a shot.

Spitfire Island has been on the {Viewpoint} list for some time now, but a recent trip to a photography studio nearby reignited my love for it as a subject. The subject is a 16m high sculpture of 3 Supermarine Spitfires peeling off up in to the air in different directions. It was created by Tim Tolkien (great nephew of J. R. R. Tolkien) in 2000 as part of the Castle Vale regeneration, and commemorates the nearby Castle Bromwich factory where most of Britain’s wartime Spitfires were built.

Due to the location of Spitfire Island (near Junc. 5 of the M6 at the intersection of the Chester Road and the A47 Fort Parkway at the entrance to the Castle Vale Estate) please take extra care when taking your shot. It’s a very busy roundabout, especially during rush hour, so don’t put yourself at risk.

Am really looking forward to seeing how you all tackle this subject!