Bullring & Grand Central After Dark - The Sequel!
Back in May 2017, I was very kindly invited to visit the iconic shopping centre along with a great group of photographers, to explore the site after closing hours. It was a fantastic experience (read about it HERE) so when I was recently invited to do it again, I simply couldn’t say no! However, it wasn’t just the potential of plodding through the centre away from the hustle & bustle of the daytime that drew me, I also wanted to see how my ‘eye’ had changed and see how the photographs would differ from my original visit.
Things started out the same as last time as I was accompanied by some of Birmingham’s best photographers, which always makes me feel slightly out-of-place but soon after, the Bullring’s team made us feel right at home and gave us pretty much free rein of the store. However, this time we had access to a pretty much empty Grand Central as well! An opportunity that none of us could resist, so that’s where we started!
I’ve never really appreciated the scale of Grand Central until seeing it pretty much empty. The huge voluminous atrium feels overwhelming with all of the daily commuters removed. Occasionally, a person would pass through the space and offer a stark contrast of scale, being dwarfed by the huge span of the Grand Central roof. However, it was the closed shops, restaurants and stands that really caught my eye. There is something almost eerie about a lifeless place that you are so use to being busy, it almost feels like being in a post-apocalyptic film, where you are the only survivor (along with a bunch photographers, a PR team and a security guard!).
After exploring the space for a little while, it was time to turn to photography and I was quickly drawn to the abstract reflections in the store fronts. Something about the colours drew me in and I started to experiment with abstraction, layering reflections and colours on top of vaguely familiar items, such as chairs and tables. All too soon, our time in Grand Central was over and we passed through LinkStreet and back to the main event, the Bullring.
In contrast to my previous visit, I was drawn more to the details this time around (though I took my fair share of ‘wide’ shots - an opportunity not to be missed!). The dimly lit store created pools of light and shadows from the stores that had left lights on - which immediately drew me to the areas of contrast. In particular I was drawn to silhouettes of the often over-looked plants and foliage in the centre. We descended through one side of the centre and made our way towards the ‘Selfridges’ side of the Bullring.
As we neared the end of our adventure and made our way back up to ‘street’ level, again it was the scale that really caught my attention, it’s all too easy to overlook the sheer scale of the Bullring. As we said our goodbyes and I made my way home, it was clear that once again it had been a fantastic opportunity, but I also found it interesting that this time around, I’d been more drawn to the details and abstraction - maybe a reflection on my own growth as a photographer - or more probably just an attempt not to go for the ‘typical’ kind of shots. Either way, it was a fun way to spend a few hours photographing a hugely popular area with all of it’s inhabitants removed!
Thank you to The Bullring & Grand Central and thanks for putting up with me @veritymilligan, @alpha.brum, @ocuk and @frasermcgee