Posts Tagged ‘ Karen Strunks ’

Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Reaching out from beyond the grave…… Sorry, that’s a rubbish intro! But have you heard what has come to town?! It’s the controversial Bodies Revealed exhibition and it’s being held at the Custard Factory in Digbeth. From the website: Using real human specimens, painstakingly prepared and respectfully displayed The Bodies Revealed exhibition lets visitors of all ages explore deep within the human body in a way that informs but doesn’t overwhelm. It opens today and is running until January, maybe longer if the demand is there. I got a sneak preview of the exhibition at the press day on Wednesday, and it really is a unique way to view and learn more about the human body. I found it fascinating and a bit surreal. If you would like to see more photos, pop over to my blog. It’s was very interesting subject to photograph, if not a little unnerving when I found myself getting a little too close to one of the bodies…..! Have a fab Halloween weekend! See you next week :)

Perrott’s Folly by Karen Strunks I’ve lived in Birmingham for over 20 years and yet there is still so much of it that I haven’t seen. One of the things on my ‘must see’ list for many a year was Perrott’s Folly in Waterworks Road, Edgbaston, which is one of Birmingham’s oldest surviving buildings. I finally made a trip to see it a few months ago. For such a grand piece of architecture it occupies such a small place of land. This wasn’t always the case, but it is now surrounded by residential houses. From Wikipedia: Perrott’s Folly was built in 1758 by John Perrott, lord of the manor of Rotton Park, then a deer park and hunting ground. From 1884 onwards it was used as a weather observatory. This and the Waterworks tower are said to have inspired The Two Towers by the author JRR Tolkien who lived in Edgbaston as a teenager. There are many stories to explain why the tower was built. One is that John Perrott wanted to be able to survey his land and perhaps entertain guests. Or the tower might have been used to spot animals for hunting. Or that he built the...

Join the 4am photo walk in city this Saturday!

UPDATE: I have got another photo permission from Birmingham Wholesale Markets! It will certainly be one of the busiest, if not the busiest, areas of the city centre at 4am. It’s a hive of activity with tons of photo opportunities! So, here is the plan. 4am meet at the bronze bull, walk to New Street station, then head to the Wholesale Market. After 5am we can all go for a well deserved breakfast and a nice cup of tea! As part of the 4am Project I’m organising a 4am photo walk through Birmingham city centre on Sat 4th April at……4am! It’s a great opportunity to take a unique tour of the city at an often unseen time. Part of the tour will include Birmingham New Street station who have kindly given their permission for the ’4am-ers’ to take pictures. The meeting point is the big brass bull outside the Bullring shopping centre at 4am. Please be on time, and don’t forget your camera! We shall be joined by Birmingham: It’s Not Shit host Mr Jon Bounds who will be interviewing willing participants for his and Julia Gilbert’s radio show, The Big Paws, on...

I’ve never set foot in Alpha Tower. Never taken the lift to the top floor to see the views. In fact, I’ve barely acknowledged it’s existence on the city’s skyline. However, it could prove a good viewing point over the city with the benefit of not being able see Alpha Tower itself! Sorry, that’s a bit harsh. It’s just that it look like such officious and unwelcoming building and doesn’t do anything to tempt one inside – whether you have any business in there or not. It doesn’t arouse any curiosity. I guess it’s just a bit outdated looking especially since there are new tower blocks on the….erm, block. Oh great. Now I’m feeling sorry for it. Here are a few facts about Alpha Tower from Sky Scraper News: Alpha Tower was constructed as part of the ATV Studios being constructed in Birmingham City Centre in 1965. It was completed in 1970 and has been the cities tallest tower block for the last 35 years. Alpha tower lost it’s title of the Tallest tower block in Birmingham when the 130m Holloway Circus Tower was completed mid 2005 Have a great weekend! Until next Friday…

A little peice of Birmingham history for you today! I’ve passed these statues countless times over the years and had never given much thought to them. To be honest, I don’t often look over to that side of the street very much, the buildings behind the statue aren’t very attractive and the open space outside the Rep theatre always manages to turn my head. However, it was only when I had my camera in hand and ‘seeing’ more than I normally would that the statues finally got my attention. It helped that it was a bright day and the gold was glinting in the sun. Taken from Birmingham City Council’s website: “Outside the House of Sport (formerly the Register Office) on Broad Street stands the statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch, nicknamed ‘The Golden Boys’ or ‘The Carpet Salesmen’. It is the work of William Bloye, formerly head of sculpture at Birmingham School of Art and was unveiled in 1956, although preliminary designs were drawn up in 1938. The larger than life size figures are in bronze, with a gold finish, on a pedestal of Portland stone and are depicted discussing engine plans. The piece is in a “temporary” position...

The Cube is currently under construction in the Mailbox area of the city centre. It is going to house a mixture of apartments, hotel, rooftop restaurant, offices and shops. Quite a combination all under one roof. If you lived and worked there, you need never leave it! And it’s going to be huge. It will dominate the surrounding area and dwarf the buildings in the Mailbox area. If you visit The Cube’s website you can take a 3D tour of the apartments. It reminds me of a giant jigsaw puzzle – though the architect, Ken Shuttleworth, describes it as ‘an enchanting jewellery box’. Jigsaw or jewellery box, it’s going to be an interesting addition to Birmingham’s skyline.

This 39 story glass structure can be found on Holloway Circus Queensway and at 122 metres it is the tallest building in Birmingham. Next time you are passing by the Raddison, stand on the pavement and face the building, tilt your head back and look right up at the top of the building – feel the world spinning! If you would like to see more of my photos and read about my photography projects, please visit my blog. See you next Friday!

We’re going to try a new regular series on Fridays to make sure I don’t have to do too much work: Karen Strunks is a freelance photographer, who’s doing some really interesting things — her 4AM project especially — so every week she’s going to post one of her shots of Brum, and a little about it: “The first image I have chosen was taken on a Saturday photo stroll around the city. There’s a walkway that goes over Queensway, and you have to walk up the steps to a bridge to cross the dual carriageway. The staircase isn’t the prettiest, but it is livened up by bright red railings, and of course this nice piece of graffiti. “Everyone loves a cuppa x”. Quite a British sentiment, and I like the added kiss at the end. I’m sure anyone reading this warming sentiment that it will look forward to putting the kettle on and putting their feet up with a nice cuppa when they get home.” See more of Karen’s work at here website – she’s also trying to organise a flashmob.

The latest in the foolhardy Karen Strunks’s series of photo projects that happen at 4 o’clock in the morning around Brum — this one sees her take to Acock’s Green Bus Garage.

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Posts Tagged ‘ Karen Strunks ’

Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Join the 4am photo walk in city this Saturday!

Friday Photo By Karen Strunks

Friday Photo by Karen Strunks

Friday Photo By Karen Strunks

Friday Photo By Karen Strunks

Photo Friday by Karen Strunks

4am at Acock’s Green Bus Garage

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