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Word on the Water

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I was down in London for several meetings and my final one was at the Springer Nature offices near to Kings Cross. It was a warm afternoon and following the meeting, I walked over to Granary Square along the Regent’s Canal towpath. It was here that I came across the second hand book shop named “Word on the Water”.  What a hidden gem.  The shop is based in a barge and the books were on display on the towpath side of the boat. After taking pictures of the outside, I ventured onto the boat. The interior was jam packed with books and other interesting pictures and artefacts.  A great place for taking photographs

Word on the Water
Book browsing

I got talking to the owner John and his friends learning more about the shop. John allowed me to take his picture as part of the stranger project that I needed to do for my 52 week photographic project.  I did some research afterwards and found out that there is often live music on the open deck of the boat. Also the shop is a popular destination for book lovers everywhere.  Taking pictures in the interior was a challenge when using my Sony compact as even in late afternoon the light was very bright.  I could have taken many more pictures and I will return another day to do some more photographing.  Thanks to John for allowing me to take his picture and also to his friendly dog who did some posing for me as well.  If you want to learn more about this interesting barge on the canal then look up their Facebook page for more information.

Interesting books from famous authors
A cushion with. a view
Inviting place to visit
Lots to see and look through
A friendly dog welcome
Categories blog

It only takes a minute

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

A day out in Amsterdam sounds exciting but this was for work and I spent most of the day in meetings. We were based at the Amsterdam Medical Centre and then we moved into the city centre where the University central administration resides.  During the taxi ride the sites of Amsterdam revealed itself out of the window.  It was a sunny warm day and the toursists were out.  The taxi stopped on the Rakin Canal and then we made our way up Spui to the Maagdenhuis of the University of Amsterdam.  When we got out of the taxi, it was if we were plunged into a summer holiday.  The place looked beautiful with people moving around by foot and bicycle.  I got the camera out and started snapping.  I was also lucky as part of the delegation arrived late, so I was able to wander around the square outside the Maagdenhuis and take some photographs. All on my Sony RX100v5 and all taken within a few minutes of each other.

Rakin Canal in the Sun
Maagdenhuis, University of Amsterdam
The square on Spui street
Amsterdam
Categories blog

Centenary Square

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Centenary square has a new water feature and it is a very large reflecting pool. It offers photographers the chance to take some beautiful pictures. Whilst it has been opened there is still work taking place on the square and it will be even more spectacular when it is completed. If you search Instagram there have been many pictures already taken with children splashing in the fountains or late night shots with sparkling lights. I am sure that I will return with even more pictures over the year to come. When I posted my pictures on Twitter, some one suggested that it could be a ready made advert for Birmingham in a similar mode to the Thames TV iconic reflected picture. I rose to the challenge and made one with Birmingham on the picture. If you are reading this then you must visit Birmingham!!

The library
Reflections to the cube
The ICC and the Rep
A lovely looking reflection
The Rep theatre
Doing the walk with your reflection
Categories blog

Confetti Fields 2019

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

A year on and another trip to the Confetti fields at Wick, near Pershore. This time we took more of the family to see the flowers. It was in a different field and I don’t think the display was as intense as last year. It did not matter as all the grandchildren loved it. Sandy was impressed with it as well. It was very busy as usual as people do turn up early! My granddaughter Lily was old enough to fully take it in, whilst Noah and Chloe enjoyed all the attention and day out. After the fields we headed out to Pershore Abbey Park for a well deserved picnic. Here are the photos of the day.

Categories blog

Photographing Atomium

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

I have been to Brussels many times but never to the Atomium and it is one of the places on my travel bucket list.  We were in Brussels for an intensive feedback with Marie Curie funding at the European Research Council. Our visit was not helped by delayed and cancelled flights with Brussels Airlines. When we eventually arrived, the conference went well and we were able to catch up with the program.  Once the day was done we took a taxi to the north of the city and walked up to the Atomium.  

Atomium
Fun with shapes and reflections
Sunstar on Atomium

The Atomium was part of the world’s fair held in Brussels in 1958 (the year I was born) and consists of nine iron atoms in the shape of an iron crystal.  This is magnified over 165 billion times. It is an impressive structure and immediately commands your attention.

There is a plane in the centre if you look closely
Symmetry of the crystal
Looking up

They were getting ready for the start of the Tour de France so it was not possible to get a “clean” view of the front of the structure. There was fencing around the front of the structure with tents ready for the cyclists.  However it was a warm evening and the sun was out.  There were reflections on the metal structure of Atomium and with the low sun I was excited to be taking photographs.  We arrived when the building was shut but it was still possible to wander around and enjoy all those wonderful photographic angles.  It is a place where the locals gather and there were many people wandering around.  I converted many of my pictures to black and white so that the lines and metal texture came through.  Once I had done my photographs all taken with my Sony RX100v5, we headed back to the City for dinner. I was happy to have finally seen Atomium.

A touch of colour

On the website the copyright of pictures is outlined as the creator of Atomium, the late engineer André Waterkeyn protected his design.  So please be aware if you copy any of my pictures which are being used on my website for personal reasons only  . 

https://www.atomium.be/copyright
Categories blog

Photographing Vancouver – Electric Harbour Tours

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

This was a special day. As soon as I arrived in Vancouver I started posting pictures on my social media accounts.  These were picked up by the Meet in Vancouver convention bureau team. They messaged me as they found out that I was both a runner and a photographer. They delivered two wonderful gifts to my hotel. One was a special pack of natural products for the after run experience.  I also received a trip for two with Electric Harbour Tours around the bay.

High Rise Living
Reflections from the front of the boat

On the last day I took up the offer of the boat trip. Captain Spencer was my guide and we set off in our boat around the bay. During the trip, we saw the harbour seal who scavenges around the left overs in the harbour.  We got close up and personal with the harbour air floatplanes.  We also got views of derelict structures with wonderful barnacles growing on them.  There was lots of history about the bay and tales about the boats in the marina. Captain Spencer kept me amused with his stories. There were fantastic sea views and amazing skyscrapers to view from the relaxing voyage of the eclectic boat. It was a great finish to the conference.

The harbour seal
Up close with the float planes
Barnacles on a ladder
View from the front of the boat
Captain Spencer
Categories blog

Photographing Vancouver– Stanley Park

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Stanley park is the centre of Vancouver. A large natural reserve near to the city and it has so much to see in it.  I did some running around on my first morning and used my iPhone to take pictures of the eastern tip of the park. The water is still and offers lovely reflections of the marina and the city. I got there by running down Robson street and used that as my starting off point into the park. 

View of the Marina
View of Vancouver from the Park
A lighthouse on the north perimeter

For the Summer solstice, I walked to the Eastern side of the park and captured the sun going down.  Crowds had gathered near to the English Bay Beach. The sunset was golden and a lovely end of the day

Summer Solstice

For my last day in Vancouver, I ran around the Eastern perimeter underneath the road bridge and then headed down through the interior of the park.  I stopped at Siwash Rock to take pictures as it has nice views of the western part of Vancouver. I kept running past the upper tip and then made my way home. I headed southwards through the park. I quickly found that you can easily loose your bearings in the park especially if you are tired with your running.  Once again I used my iPhone to take pictures on the run, and I was pleased that I came across the rose garden which is a peaceful place in the park with lots of colour. Then I found Robson street and it was back to the hotel. It was a long but rewarding run.

Siwash Rock
Siwash Rock
Categories blog

Photographing Vancouver– Around the Marina

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

The conference is intense but during the lunchtime breaks, I was able to take time out and stroll around the seafront.  Vancouver is a photogenic city and there is always something happening.  You can spend many an hour just watching the harbour float planes taking off and landing in front of the conference centre.  The marina has beautiful yachts and colourful house boats.  There are people just enjoying the outdoors, cycling and running around the Marina. The city does have its homeless problem but I did like the ingenuity of the person who hung his hammock on the house on stilts.  The aluminium house is known as the “crooked house on stilts”, or LightShed by Liz Magor. When I looked the next day the hammock was gone. All pictures by my Sony RX100v5 either on P or S setting.

Even though the view is breathtaking, it is time to take a stroll outside.
Float planes landing and taking off
A single figure goes forward into the land of high rise living.
An ingenious way to find a bed for the night.
Colourful House boats in the Marina
Space Venus by Salvador Dali

The last picture is of Space Venus by Salvador Dali. This picture was taken on the Friday. I learnt that the statue was vandalised and the golden egg taken on the Saturday night after we left to go back home. Details of this were reported in the local news.

Categories blog

Photographing Vancouver – Playing Tourist

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

Vancouver is a beautiful location for a conference, and it was my third visit to the city, previously visiting in 1999 and 2009. Therefore, as the year was 2019, I was due my usual visit 🙂  We had some down time prior to the start and my post doc, Marco and I wandered around Canada Place before heading off for the Capilano suspension bridge. 

Canada place has the iconic sails and every day there was a different cruise ship in the dock.

Canada place with cruise ship in dock
A sail from Canada Place

Twenty years ago the Capilano suspensionbridge and the associated park was very quiet.  Not now.  It is a major Tourist centre with both a tree canopy and cliff walk.  Both of these were spectacular and made good use of the natural resource.  The trip over the suspension bridge was a slight worry.  There was a high volume of visitors and the picture shows the large number of people who were crossing at the same time. The statistics are awesome 450 feet (137m) across the valley and 230 feet (70m) above the Capilano River.  If you are scared of heights it is not the ideal sightseeing tour.   The movement of the bridge did provide a photographic challenge as it was never still.

Indian carvings
Pine needles
The suspension bridge with people
North American Kestrel

On the other side there was a canopy walk in the trees although my photographs do not fully represent the views that you were able to see.  The light was difficult with both dark and bright areas.  It was much easier to take photographs of beautiful birds of prey including a North American Kestrel.  One lady was reprimanded for getting to close to the birds.  “They do bite” said the handler!   We also successfully completed the cliff walk which took us out over the canyon. 

We then caught a local bus back to the bay but stopped on the North Shore where we captured postcard views of the city through artwork in the grounds of the local park.

View from the North Shore
A tangled art work with the city in the background

It was back to the conference and after the opening reception we caught taxis to Seasons in the park. The restaurant was in the hills high above Vancouver.  It was possible to catch the light as the sun was setting.  Thank you to the British Dental Journal for the opportunity to see and photograph Vancouver from a different angle

Categories blog

Black and White

by Damien Walmsley Posted on

This has been a week of rain and the days have been dull. Even though it is wet there are still great opportunities to go out and take photographs.. My early Wednesday walk from Snow Hill took in the canals that run underneath Snow Hill. The arches under Snow Hill are a favourite haunt of photographers and one can always find a good place for a picture. With the rain there had been condensation with rain collecting on the tow path near to the ornate gates which used to hold horses. Now the activity on the tow path is bikers commuting into work and runners making the best of the early mornings. I settled my camera down on the dirty floor at the edge of a puddle and started to take some pictures. It was difficult to control the bright light of the centre of the picture and the dark recesses of the tunnel. I could see on the first few shots that there was a perfect reflection that made the exit look like an eye onto the outside world. Just then a runner came past. It gave me an idea and by trial and error I set the camera at a shutter speed of 1/100 and f/6.3. I hiked the ISO up to 640. I set it for rapid shooting and then waited for the next runner. Soon enough one appeared and I took my pictures. I had to pick up the shadows from the RAW picture and also do a bit of dodging of the runner. The picture came out very well and was well received on social media.

The train station over the canal

After this I wandered over to St Paul’s square and took a few pictures of the Church and the tree lined paths that criss cross the square. The early commuters were oblivious to the camera and I took several pictures of the area. The black and white treatment suited the day, my ideas for the pictures and set off the charm of that particular area of Birmingham. Here are a selection of the ones that I took.

St Paul’s Church
The paths around St Paul’s Church
The Jam house with 3 Snow Hill towering over it
Commuting down Ludgate Hill to the City
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