Birmingham {Viewpoint}

In January 2013, internationally acclaimed artist and photographer, Tom Hunter, was commissioned to make a new body of work in Birmingham – finding, exploring and revealing places and spaces in Colmore Business District (CBD) and the Jewellery Quarter (JQ). Using only a pinhole camera, Tom captured images of 50 locations between the two sites.

The exhibition was launched on 25th April 2013 in two locations: Church Street Square (CBD) and St. Paul’s Square (JQ). It is free to view and will remain there until 19th July 2013. The exhibition sites offer the visitor a chance to make their own journey of discovery on either side of the footbridge which links the two districts.

As part of the exhibition, Birmingham {Viewpoint} has teamed up with the guys over at FINDINGS to bring a photography project alongside the exhibition. Click for more info on the FINDINGS {Viewpoint} project.

Please note: The FINDINGS {Viewpoint} project is in addition to the monthly subject set by Birmingham {Viewpoint}.

With all the canals, roads, footpaths and railway lines, one thing Birmingham isn’t short of is Bridges.

So go grab your DSLR, SLR, phone, disposable or even pinhole camera and point it at a bridge in Birmingham! As with previous ‘open’ subjects, please can you include the location of your bridge – just in case people want to go walk / drive / photograph it too!

Please remember, its only ONE photo that is to be submitted and please try to keep the size of the image to no bigger than 2MB – thanks.

I’ve always liked the vibe and feeling of Birmingham’s Financial District – the buildings, the people and the general hustle & bustle of the area – and that’s why I’ve chosen it as Subject #5 for Birmingham {Viewpoint}.

I’m classing the Financial District as the area around Colmore Row, Colmore Circus Queensway and Snow Hill Queensway. There’s an element of poetic licence with this subject in terms of location – so ‘go to town’ on the subject – it will be interesting to see all the Submissions, and your take on Birmingham’s Financial District.

As always, please share this with anyone who you think will be interested. And don’t forget, we’re now on Facebook – so please head over there and ‘like’ and/or ‘share’ with your friends.

The Subject for March is Birmingham Town Hall. The Grade I listed concert and meetings venue is located in Victoria Square. Since its major renovation between 2002 and 2008, it has been used to host a diverse programme of events including jazz, folk, rock, pop and classical concerts, as well as annual general meetings, product launches, conferences, dinners, fashion shows, graduation ceremonies and broadcasts.

More info can be found on their website: Birmingham Town Hall.

Please note: This months subject is Birmingham Town Hall, and does not include Symphony Hall. Sorry for any confusion caused by tweets including “@THSHBirmingham” – they use one Twitter account to cover both sites.

So, for February’s subject, I have chosen Birmingham Regeneration.

Birmingham is a city on the change – for better or for worse, I’ll leave that for you to decide – but there’s no denying that it’s hard to spend any time in Birmingham without noticing change – be it a new gateway in and out of the city with the redevelopment of New Street Station; a cultural change – out with the old and in with the new for Birmingham Library; or the regeneration of a section of the city with the changes occurring in the Eastside of the city.

The challenge for this month is to capture the regeneration that is happening during February 2013. There’s more info over here of the regeneration taking place in the city on the Birmingham City Council’s website.

As always with an ‘open’ subject, please include the location of your photograph and the regeneration taking place.

Also, please can you ensure that the shortest side of your photo is min 670 px in size and no bigger than 2MB – thanks.

So… I wanted to celebrate Birmingham {Viewpoint} being a year old by offering you the opportunity to take a photo of something that you feel sums Birmingham up.

But there’s a twist! {I warned you there’d be some challenging subjects in Year 2!}

Your photo has to be a reflection of your subject – either in a window, water, glasses, mirror – anything you can think of to see a reflection of your chosen subject. As with other previous ‘open’ subjects, please include the location of your photo when submitting.

So get your thinking caps on, get your cameras out and get snapping away!

Well, believe it or not, Birmingham {Viewpoint} is 1 year old!

And what a year it has been. From the German Christmas Market to the canals; the BT Tower to the now demolished Island House, we’ve covered some of Birmingham’s finest landmarks – and we have a great collection of viewpoints of each of the subjects covered. Not forgetting of course the brilliant ad-hoc subject of 48SHEET.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to the ‘project’ this far. I really didn’t anticipate or expect the response it has got over these past 12 months. It’s been great to see new names being added to the list each month, as well as familiar names taking part every month. It goes without saying that this project wouldn’t be a success if people didn’t get involved, so I really appreciate the time and effort everyone has made – thank you.

I’ll be the first to admit that in the past few months I’ve let the project slip a bit, and this has understandably had an impact on the number of contributors. I’d like to express my thanks to those who have kept emailing me, and offering their support when it all went a bit quiet.

I’m hoping that 2013 will be even more of a success than 2012 was. I’ve got some great subjects already lined up, as well as some challenging ones too, so I really hope you’ll continue to get involved each month. As ever, if there’s anything that you think would make an interesting subject, then please feel free to send me an email via the contact page.

Thanks again for all the submissions over the past 12 months – I’m really looking forward to seeing the next lot come through.

Cheers,

Pete

P.S. Please continue to spread the word about Birmingham {Viewpoint}. It doesn’t go un-noticed when people retweet and is certainly never taken for granted.

Subject #12 of Birmingham {Viewpoint} is being run inline with the 4am Project. As described on the 4am Projects website:

The aim of the 4amproject is to gather a collection of photos from around the world at the magical time of 4am. Everyone can take part and join in! All you need is a camera. We want to see what you see at that moment in time on that one day. What’s your view at 4am?

As much as I’d love you to take a photo at 4am in Birmingham and take part in the 4am Project, I’m not putting a time restriction on the photo you submit to Birmingham {Viewpoint}. The only restrictions are that your photo must be taken on the 25th November, and must be taken in the Birmingham area. As for the subject, it can be anything you want!

Although this months subject is being run inline with the 4am Project, it is not linked to it. I am merely encouraging those who take part in Birmingham {Viewpoint} and who are interested in photography to take part in another photography project. For up to date information on the 4am Project follow them on Twitter.

Evening all.

A slight oversight on my behalf regarding Subject #8 is that The Cube is a privately owned building. The Cube has been contacted regarding this project and are more than happy for us to continue. However, please can anyone wishing to take photos inside the building follow these guidelines sent through from The Cube:

Upon arrival to the building, please visit the Cube Management Office (just down the escalator from the Mailbox level) and let them know that you are about so that they can tell the security guards what is going on. There is no problem but it will stop them from coming over to you all and asking.

Also, if you want to take pictures when the Management Offices aren’t open, could you please send an email (in advance) and let them know when you are planning on being in the building so we can again let security know? Please email tom[at]edjames.co.uk. 

Thank you very much for your co-operation with this, and apologies for not realising this sooner – especially to those few people who have emailed me regarding being approached by security.

Also, a big thank you to Tom Carroll for providing this information, and to The Cube for being so accommodating to the project. Please follow them on Twitter for the latest news, offers and information: @thecubebham, as well as checking out their website: The Cube, Birmingham.

Cheers,

Pete…

This months subject is “Graffiti” in Birmingham.

One thing I’ve noticed about Birmingham Graffiti is that it’s almost becoming its own urban art form, and I think its something which should be documented through Birmingham {Viewpoint}.

As this is quite an open subject, when submitting your photograph, please can you include the location where the graffiti was.

Please can you ensure your photo is larger than 250kb and no bigger than 2mb – thank you.

I’m looking forward to seeing your take on Graffiti in Birmingham.