As part of Lauren’s Apprenticeship I thought it would be good for her to see all sides of photography, not just the studio portraits & wedding photography elements. Therefore I suggested that we should go to Birmingham and try the whole range of photography opportunities that a city has to offer including Street Photography, Landscapes, Macro, Architectural photography and more.
We began by exiting Snow Hill train station and made our way to St Chad’s Cathedral and the park area that surrounds it. This offered many opportunities as well as being surrounded by high rise office blocks which often offer abstract scenes and unusual reflections.
As we continued into the heart of Birmingham City Centre we passed a number of side streets, but the one we ventured down was Needless Alley, this is a street that I always make a point of visiting due to it’s independent clothing shop, Disorder. The alley itself also provided a couple of good photo opportunities due to the way it is designed and the reflections on the buildings either side.
A photography visit to Birmingham would not be complete without photographing one of the most photographed buildings in the world, the Selfridges building. This abstract & ultra modern building is a photographers dream with its unusual curves and metal discs it’s no wonder it’s so popular.
I also love the juxtaposition of new and old in the city, The Church of St Martin in the Bull Ring right next to the Selfridges building as the city continues to modernise and refresh itself.
I have always meant to go inside the Church, St Martin in the Bull Ring however i’d never gotten around to it and so I was thrilled to have some time to explore this beautiful church. The stained glass alone is worth a visit, as you can see in the images below.
On the final stretch of our time in Birmingham we took some time to practice the art of Street Photography. Something which always seems so simple, quite simply take photographs of people/pets etc on the street, however doing it without being spotted (and thus breaking a natural photograph) is anything but simple. We also captured some photographs highlighting the beautiful angles that can be seen in the way some of the buildings have been constructed.
