And so there we were, out celebrating my Dad’s birthday.. I knew my Nan was ill, I knew she was in hospital and we were going to see her the next day. She had a knack of upstaging everyone and here she was, doing it one last time. My Nan, Hilda Hales was a formidable woman. She made many enemies, most within her own family causing feuds time and time again but I was never at the wrong end of it. Many a time I was told that I didn’t know how lucky I was… During her last years I didn’t see enough of her, I know there was enough stuff to talk about for endless hours..the stories, escapades, family insights (granted, very one sided!) but I found it so entertaining. Having lost family members well before their time, I felt very different today. I know she’s lived a long life, had many experiences and most of us would want that I think. Family can be everything to a person and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

Love you Nan… see you on the other side, sometime. Love, Stuart x

On my way into Birmingham, I’ve noticed a place that made me think “that would make a decent photo”. Everytime I pass that way, I try and grab a glimpse of it and each time I do, it still gives me that feeling. Last Sunday I finally got round to having a look for real with a couple of cameras.
From the bottom of the road you get this steep incline leading towards a hill with a path and some houses at the top - now from the bottom of the road, the incline was the difference. As soon as I got up towards the beginning of the hill, the angles were lost and it just didn’t look the same. The photo below is just an example of the hill and hopefully convey to you what kind of picture i’m after - I’ll be back there on numerous occasions to try and capture what I want satisfactorily…A challenge indeed!

As I had the day to myself pretty much, I’ve ended up totally redoing the blog. I got inspired by all the recent online activity going on within Birmingham’s online community. Maybe I’ve gone too far but it’s satisfied the geek in me for a while. Now I should really spend some time taking some photos…

Hello. I thought i’d better just give a little outline as to why this blog exists. To coincide with my going semi pro in the photography world, I’ve created various outlets for any thoughts, discussion - well, in fact anything related to photography that I happen to involve myself with. I hope it will be a more informal thing, ranging from techniques to sales and beyond. If you have chanced upon this blog, I hope you’ll join in the conversations and leave comments, of whatever nature.

Thanks

Stu