㉔ hours project

by Damien Walmsley 23/09/2022 26/09/2022

24 Hours Project, Knowle and Birmingham, 10th September 2022

Taking part in the @24hoursproject did challenge me in my photography. I learnt about it from a fellow photographer who also happened to be the UK ambassador for the project. When Anu told me about the project then I just had to get involved. After registering and donating to the designated charity, I got ready for the day. The charity chosen by the 24 hour team was supporting the work of Yonton Te which means “heart of the tree”. The donations will go to a local community in Chapas Mexico and the website provides more information on this worthwhile cause.

The theme of the 24 hours was to document the general human condition with emotions of love, humour, sadness, joy, fulfilment, pain, loneliness). As you will see from my photographs, I strayed away from the brief. This was not my intention but I was so focussed on getting a picture done once an hour that I forgot about the theme. Reviewing the photo feed of the project, many people went into their local cities, whilst I decided to base my 24 hours around my life at home. You will see that my first 8 hours evolved around sleeping and my breakfast. Also there were not many people stirring in Knowle village early on a Saturday morning.

At 10:00 am I went into Birmingham. By chance, my train driver was Yo Naysan, a fellow photographer. As the train pulled in he stuck his head out of the driver’s window and said hello. On arriving into Birmingham, I met up with Anu and her partner Kate and wandered around the city. I photographed the PoliNations display in Victoria Square, the Library of Birmingham, Gas Street Basin and the University of Birmingham, Exchange. There were people queuing for the book of remembrance for the Queen.

Many of these are linked to tackling climate change and foolishly I did not take pictures of people. However in my outtakes I did and you will see many of these were fun pictures. Driving back home I pondered my contribution to the 24 hour project and took several pictures in the village at night. To recap, the main aim for this project was to experience 24 hours of pictures and see if I was able to complete the task. I succeeded in this task next year will be able to tackle the project in a different way as I know what to expect.

And just for fun here are my outtakes of the day.

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We had a street party

by Damien Walmsley 16/06/2022 24/06/2022

Our street held a Jubilee street party. We have a strong neighbourhood community and this is led by Denise Jowitt and Kattalin Martin. A Whatsapp group formed before the day and plans were laid. On the Sunday morning of the Platinum Jubliee, there was rain and so much was falling it looked unlikely that a street party would get started. At 2pm people emerged out of their houses. Tables and chairs were set up and a line of Gazebos assembled. All the cakes were displayed in one neighbours’ garage and then the food and drink were consumed. Songs were sung including Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem. It was still cold and damp but the residents pressed ahead with the competitions. There was a Jubilee quiz with each house asking 5 questions. Then the cake competition was voted upon and won by our newly arrived Ukrainian family. The winner was the splendid cake with sliced strawberries on it. Next up were races along the street and these included an egg and spoon race, musical chairs and a balloon held between the knees race.

In spite of the weather everyone had a lovely day and we went back to our houses to warm up! We had lovely memories and the street party was even mentioned in the Solihull Observer.

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Fun in the High Street

by Damien Walmsley 16/06/2022 19/06/2022

Queen's Platinum Jubilee - Knowle High street

The High Street in Knowle village closed on Saturday 4^th June during Jubilee weekend. Several drivers were not pleased that cars were stopped from passing through Knowle. They were diverted around the High Street but that did add 5 minutes to their journey! The car drivers’ loss was the community’s gain. At 10 o’clock as soon as the road was closed, the artesian market went up. There was just one problem the rain came along at the same time and stayed for the duration of the morning. From all accounts people thought that the day going to be a washout.

I did not venture into the village until 2pm and by then the rain had stopped. It also brought out the people and the festivities were kickstarted again. The high street was buzzing, and the artisan market was in full swing. It was fun just to wander up and down the high street, stand on the zebra crossing and linger at the different stalls. This is what celebrating the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II is all about, doing something different.

Highlights of the afternoon included throwing footballs into lavatories. At first the children lined up to have a go. After a while many of the dads decided to have a go. There were not much better than their siblings, but it was still amusing to watch. The area around the Church was transformed and where there was green grass and a nicely manicured path, on this Saturday there was a helter-skelter, market stalls and lots of people enjoying themselves.

I took many pictures during the afternoon and luckily met a few people I know who let me take their pictures. Visit Knowle made a video of the day with some of my pictures being featured. I hope the Village do this on a regular basis as the event did bring the community together.

The event was to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The Jubilee team (Arden Academy, Arden Parent & Teachers Association, Knowle and Dorridge Lions, Knowle Parish Church, Knowle Society, Knowle Village Hall Association, Love Knowle Park & Visit Knowle) came together to produce the programme of events. If you want to know more then the event is covered on the Visit Knowle website

Knowle Jubilee Celebrations

The full story was on the Visit Knowle website and was also reported in the Solihull Observer.

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Winter arrives

by Damien Walmsley 01/12/2021 02/12/2021

The snow started falling on a Saturday morning and it was settling on the ground. Seeing the conditions, I gritted my teeth and decided to head out in the cold. There could be some good pictures of Knowle village in the snow. Venturing out in the windy cold conditions was not fun. Being cold and wet, I took my Fuji x100v which is weather proofed and wandered around the High Street taking pictures. Even though I had camera gloves on, with only the tips of the thumb and first finger exposed, I was getting very cold. However it was disappointing as the snow had turned to rain and there was little of the white stuff around. I decided to call it a day and when I got back to my car, I was soaked. Sitting in the car, I noticed that a thick snow blizzard had started. I decided to be brave and I returned to the High Street for a second time. My decision this time was to use my iPhone13. Going to the northern end of the High street, I started taking pictures and slowly advanced towards the church at the opposite end of the road. The temperature had dropped and the driving swirling snow was making it difficult to see what was happening. My finger tips were numb so it was difficult to know whether the camera had taken any pictures. I was also shivering and the iPhone was continually slipping out of gloves. I returned to the car more soaked than before and came home.

When I saw my iPhone pictures, I realised that I had captured some magical Christmas card snow scenes. I did have some camera shake on one or two of the pictures but the majority were good. The reactions on social media were very positive. I made the long list of #sharemondays2021 and await the results of several other competitions where I submitted the pictures. I am really glad I did brave the conditions! Seeing the pictures made it all worthwhile!

Some other pictures of Knowle are on my blog including a walk around the area and snow that fell in January 2021

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Fog

by Damien Walmsley 21/09/2021 23/09/2021

Waking up on a Friday morning, I was excited to find that it was foggy. I was keen to get down to the park and take some atmospheric pictures of the conditions. There were not too many people around but I was still able to get some nice pictures with my Fujifilm x100v. I processed the pictures with Silver Efex pro3. My favourite ones range from the neutral filter to using high or low key processes. Some of the combinations such as push processing and using a harsh or soft finish all work well. My trouble is that I see a good picture in all of them. There was the addition of a vignette and then an unsharp mask on the pictures. Take a view and I am looking forward to some more foggy starts!

Fog in Knowle Park — A lone figure framed by branches

Fog in the village — Knowle village with a foggy start

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It is a long way to Tipperary and back to Knowle

by Damien Walmsley 11/04/2021 13/04/2021

I love a long walk and during lockdown 3, I have found some good places to visit as I have ventured further afield than in the previous ones. There is one walk that takes me out of Knowle village along the main road to Balsall Common. Passing Knowle locks, the main Kenilworth road (B4101) is full of twists and turns. It is an accident-prone road so being away from it is preferable and there is a public footpath that can be accessed just after a majestic building called Hedge House. On the market for 3.5 million pounds, it is a converted barn. The estate agents description shows the expansive interior and outside it demands your attention.

Once on the public footpath, it crosses over the fields to the edge of Springfield House and from here, it is possible to cross the main road to Cuttle Brook Wood part of the Woodland Trust.

Temple Balsall — The brook on the edge of Cuttle Brook Wood

It is a young wood with a direct diagonal line through the property and it leads onto Cuttle Pool Nature reserve and a brook which forms one side of the property. The road bridge forms a boundary to the private Temple Balsall nature reserve. The area has many birds and wildlife abound. There are otters back in the brook and the area is interesting to visit. Going underneath the road bridge it is possible to take a picture of the entrance to the private nature reserve. The featured black and white picture generated international interest on social media. The monochrome brings out the shapes of the tree branches as they are reflected in the water.

Making my way safely across the road bridge, it is possible to access Temple Balsall via the humanist burial ground and move into St Mary’s church graveyard. Harry Williams is buried at the church and his grave is situated to one side of the property. Williams along with Jack Judge wrote the song ‘It is A long way to Tipperary’. There was controversy over the ownership of the song but here the area is peaceful and the grave points towards the path that leads onto the church.

The church and the surrounding houses are picturesque and the path leads further onto the Foundation of Lady Katherine Leveson which runs a school and also cares for the elderly. A direct footpath leads back via a bridle path to the Black Boy. There are a couple of turns and the main Warwick Road to negotiate but once on the canal towpath then it is simple walk back to Knowle. Civilisation returns with canal boats and cyclists. There is a canal boat wharf with colourful boats and in spite of lockdown some activity happening.

The canal side pubs are still shut with stacks of chairs and tables lying empty. Not long now that we return to some normality. The walk started and finished at Elderberry black café and a bacon sandwich is purchased. A well deserved rest on a local bench in the centre of the village Coffee in one hand and sandwich in the other make for a sense of achievement.

Union Jack flying at the bottom of Knowle Locks

Further information
Do you want to know more about the Woodland Trust then there is much to read about the Cuttle Brook Wood
Here is a Wikipedia link about the controversy surrounding the song “It is a long way to Tipperary”
More posts about Knowle and the surrounding area
– Winter wonderland in Knowle
– Up close in Knowle

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Winter Wonderland in Knowle

by Damien Walmsley 24/01/2021 25/01/2021

It snowed! Furthermore, we had several centimetres of the white stuff. I missed the beautiful sunrise as the weather front came across the region. For a time it looked like the sky was on fire and it only lasted around 10 to 15 minutes. However that was only a prelude to what was to fall from the sky. It snowed most of the morning and the decision was to plan my walk whilst it was snowing. Also getting out earlier meant that I missed the crowds in the park. The village looked beautiful in the snow and one of my favourite places to take pictures is Knowle High Street. The red letter box and the old telephone box are bright red. They make a great contrast with the white snow.

Heading up the street, there was a snowman outside the One-stop convenience shop. The shop assistant had made the snowman just outside the entrance. She was putting on a face mask for the snowman but it could not cover the carrot nose :). Knowle church looked wonderful in the snow and then it was down Kixley Lane to the canal.

The water was frozen and the branches of the trees were white and made for some great photography. I walked up the canal to Knowle locks to take pictures of the area. The boats were covered with snow that had blown onto their sides giving a rippled look to them. The contrast with the trees gave them an ethereal look.

I lingered around the locks for a while and then traced my steps back through the village making my way back home through the park. By now it was 12 o’clock and the place was full of snowmen and people enjoying themselves 🙂

Photographic tip – For snow I put my camera on manual and checked the exposure dial to ensure that the snow did not overwhelm the sensor. I shot the pictures in RAW so that I could play with the sliders in Lightroom and PSP. I was able to reduce the blue colour but made sure it was not to yellow either. My camera was weather proofed so that it braved the snow and water with no ill effects. A very enjoyable walk and the photographic experience of shooting in the snow was enjoyable.

Other snow links
Take a look at my last post on the Snow in Knowle back in 2017
Remember the week of the beast from 2018?

Snow Photography
Here are some tips if you are interested in learning more

Finally you can always come and Visit Knowle to see a beautiful English Village at its best.

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Night Photography during Lockdown #3

by Damien Walmsley 19/01/2021 23/01/2021

Keeping life varied is the key to getting through the Lockdown and night time walks add a difference to the routine. I am fortunate to live in a typical English village with a high street and local shops. During Lockdown the traffic flow has decreased although the cars do travel through at speed.

Many of the village shop lights are on and there are a few people moving around. The busiest places are the chemist, the 24 hour convenience store and Tesco. All the restaurants are offering takeaways. A click and collect meal may make a difference to breaking the monotonous existence of lockdown. However, it is an expensive one, compared to making your own meals at home. A feature of the weather is the amount of rain that we have been having. The rain has been intensive leading to major puddles in the street. My new camera has a tilting screen making it easier to take photographs with when bending down. The iPhone does a great job but with absence of a flip screen you have to get quite low to see the screen. These days I find one of the problems is getting back to a vertical standing position after crouching down.

The shop windows are pretty, and some still have the Christmas decorations in them as people are not inclined to do much during the pandemic. The lights at night are fun to photograph and some of the shop windows like the travel agent remind you of times gone by. I also walk towards the level crossing at Bentley Health and the footbridge is a perfect place to take pictures of the trains going into Birmingham. I tend to go out walking with the dog and he does not always appreciate the waiting around for the trains to go by. The picture I took was of a train into Birmingham. The term “Night Train” came to mind and I saw that Steve Winwood had a song by that name on one of his albums.

There was a picture that I saw on Instagram from one of my contacts taking pictures of petrol stations and wondered why would they being doing that? Here I am taking pictures of the Shell petrol station at night.

I have to say it does have an interesting almost timeless atmosphere about doing such photographs. The bright lights against the black sky give it importance. A staging post of interplanetary travel maybe? I found the change of time for my lockdown photography made the difference. It was a different challenge taking the pictures at night. No light trails in this set of photographs but I will look to do some later in the month.

Photographic tip – There were two or three pleasing photographs. The reflected puddle one was interesting as the woman came out of nowhere and made the story. I am not sure if she did have the takeaway with her. The night train picture was after a lot of hanging around waiting for the trains to appear. The petrol station was an idea that I copied from someone else.

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Lockdown 3: Walking along the Grand Union Canal

by Damien Walmsley 10/01/2021 23/01/2021

This is the first post of the first day of Lockdown £3. For Lockdown #1, it was new and we all stayed at home. We came out of that Lockdown and summer drove the virus underground but it was still around. Lockdown #3 was called when the devastating extent of the virus re-emergence became known. During Lockdown #2, I was working so I stopped off in the city to do some daily exercise before moving onto Pebble Mill. This time I am not at work for the main part of the week and only do one day. Almost all of my work can be done from home. So in a similar way to Lockdown #1, it is a stay at home except for the one exercise a day.

With this Lockdown #3, I am looking for more imaginative walks from home. This time I walked along the canal down past Knowle locks with several of the boats displaying “stay safe” signs onto two of the canal side pubs, the Kings Arms and the Black Boy. (The latter pub name comes from the appearance of King Charles II who had a dark complexion). Both the pubs were closed and had a very empty look about them. Even in January the car parks would be full and people would be visiting. Nothing was happening.

There is a canal Marina between both pubs which was also very quiet. I did have a heron as company which is another story in itself. A strange day with a heavy presence around the canal. A solemn quietness hung in the air as the place seemed to know that this was the start of another Lockdown.

A colourful scene at Knowle Locks — A dramatic scene at Knowle Locks

The tow path was very muddy and difficult to negotiate but the canal boats had their log fires burning. The smell of the wood burning was pleasant to breath in as I returned the way I came and made my way home. When I got to the top lock at Knowle, there was a bright end to the day which lifted the spirits. There are going to be a lot more walks to do before this current Lockdown is over.

Changeable weather with clouds, sunshine and reflections

The smell of wood burners as you pass the long boats

Photo tip – Story telling always helps with your photography. This is about the lockdown and it has pictures of the rainbow and stay safe symbol in the window of one of the boats. We move onto the pubs which should have full carparks and people moving around but there is little happening. Therefore the story concentrates on the weather and the muddy journey with lovely skies.

This was the first day of Lockdown #3, here are my other first days of the previous lockdowns.
Lockdown #1 – Lockdown begins
Lockdown #2 – Birmingham Lockdown #2 – a photographic journey of the first morning

Follow my encounter with a Heron during this Lockdown #3 walk

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O Christmas Tree, How lovely are thy lights!

by Damien Walmsley 24/12/2020 24/12/2020

Christmas Tree - Great Western Arcade - Birmingham

There are many lovely Christmas trees around Birmingham this year. They are more prominent as they are not competing with other decorations or events where there are crowds of people such as the German Market. However, they do look lonely as the numbers of people in the City centre are down and the Christmas trees are left to look after themselves. I have taken pictures of those trees I have seen on my travels including the one in Knowle where I live. Merry Christmas Everyone and hope you have a lovely time over the next few days.

Christmas Tree - Victoria Square - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – Victoria Square – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - St Paul's Church - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – St Paul’s Church – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - The Bullring - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – The Bullring – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - St Phillip's Square - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – St Phillip’s Square – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - St Phillip's Cathedral - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – St Phillip’s Cathedral – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - Mailbox - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – Mailbox – Birmingham

Christmas Tree - Knowle - Birmingham — Christmas Tree – Knowle – Birmingham

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