Birminghams Ever Changing Skyline - A Trip to Staying Cool at the Rotunda
Photographing Birmingham’s Skyline can sometimes feel like a thankless task. Living in the knowledge that your photo will pretty quickly be outdated when the next development shoots skyward can make you wonder why you bother. However, this is not all doom and gloom, quite the opposite.
Staying Cool at the Rotunda are more than well established in the city. The landmark building has been delighting Brummies and travellers from all over the world for decades. However, such is their commitment to the city, they continue to be a positive force, so when they launched their Creative Heights II schedule, you knew it would be filled with wonderful events.
I was lucky enough to attend their ‘Shoot the Sunset’ photography session, offering Birmingham based photographers the opportunity to take in the amazing views from the penthouse and capture some summer sunset goodness. More importantly, this was a ticketed event with 100% of proceeds going to the amazing LoveBrum charity, who support countless good causes across the city.
103 Colmore Row dominates the skyline with the BT Tower to the right
Now in truth, I’ve been very lucky to capture photographs from the penthouse at the Rotunda on many occasions. However, it seems like lately there has been a glut of new buildings springing up all over the place and the views only take in around 180 degrees of the Birmingham skyline, with many new developments only being visible from the other side of the building.
The view towards Broad Street with The Mercian and Bank Towers
That said, the view we had was by far the preferable side to be on, overlooking the majority of the city's landmarks. Grand Central dominates the view with it’s sprawling rounded shapes and curves. Not too far though are the Raddisson, The Cube and a whole group of new buildings on Broad Street including Bank, The Mercian and more new developments.
Paradise and One Centenary Way in the centre with Octagon on the right
Looking to the right of Grand Central and 103 Colmore Row dominates the skyline, leaving just enough room for the iconic BT Tower to be visible. Only a stone's throw away is the Paradise redevelopment including One Centenary Way and just behind, the new Octagon building which is creeping upwards at a fair pace. All of this represents investment in Birmingham and even though some might not like the change, it does show the city is still an appealing place to build!
“It was a beautiful summer’s evening and there was just about enough cloud in the sky to give hope of a decent sunset.”
I was more interested in photography though and the weather was certainly on our side. It was a beautiful summer's evening and there was just about enough cloud in the sky to give hope of a decent sunset. The event was sold out so around 25 of us mingled in the penthouse, occasionally popping out onto the balcony to see how the light had changed and see if it was worth capturing another image.
In truth, it’s very easy to create good images from this vantage point as the skyline views of Birmingham don’t get a lot better than from our perch. It was more of a waiting game to see how the sunset developed and whether the view would improve when it got a bit darker and the city lights slowly started to twinkle.
In the meantime, our generous hosts had provided food and drink for us to enjoy whilst we admired the view. The drink was particularly noteworthy as Staying Cool had partnered with the Birmingham Brewing Company to create the Rotunda Pale Ale - which was slipping down very nicely. Being the professional that I am and knowing I had a photo shoot the next morning, I only had a few and managed to bag a couple to enjoy at home!
As the evening slowly progressed, I had a great opportunity to meet and chat with many other local Birmingham Photographers. There was a great range of age and experience in the room (or I should say, on the balcony!) and it was fantastic to see everyones differing approach to photographing the skyline. Some were going wide with super wide-angle lenses, others were choosing to zoom in, knowing they would stitch huge panoramas together after the event.
I chose the lazy option and pretty much stuck to one lens, only taking out the zoom when I had finished my drink so that I could employ the use of both of my hands! Capturing skyline images can be a challenge, there is no one best way to do it and a lot depends on how much work you are willing to put in with your post production. My simple approach would pay dividends as my edits were quick and easy!
That said, I have already seen some images from my fellow Brummie photographers on social media and once again, I am blown away by the amount of talent our city has! There were so many skilled photographers on that balcony and I have huge admiration for their dedication in capturing some truly wonderful images.
As the evening drew to a close, the insomniac in me couldn’t help but chuckle as I thought I would be counting cranes rather than sheep that night! It’s true that the rate of change in the city is huge at the moment and the skyline will be evolving for many years to come - I also couldn’t help but think of the ‘Brmingham, it will be nice when it’s finished’ quote that I have no idea who to credit for!
It is scarily accurate though, it will be nice when it’s finished but as the tongue in cheek jibe alludes to, it won’t ever be finished. That is a scary concept to me and it reminds me that I won't ever see all of the things that the city will become - but rather than being all melancholy about it and worrying about my mortality, it fills me with joy! I can only imagine what the rotunda will look like in 2323 - hopefully it won’t have gone the way of so many of our other lost buildings.
For me, that is the beauty of capturing the skyline. Rather than feeling like a chore that you will never complete, I see it more as a service. The images captured by those photographers on that summer's evening should last hundreds of years. They will provide a snapshot of what Birmingham was like in 2023. Future generations will ponder over where they used to work, live, the roads they walked down and even in 2323, people will still be claiming they went to the ‘original Snobs’...
One thing is for sure though, I really hope it’s not my last opportunity to take in this view and photograph Birmingham from such a great viewpoint. I can’t wait to see how I can capture it for many more years and more importantly, all of the great changes to come!
About the Author - Ross Jukes is a professional Photographer and Videographer with over a decade of experience. Working in both Digital and Analogue formats, Ross has worked with international clients, had his worked published numerous times and exhibited his work extensively. With a passion for all things photographic, Ross combines his experience, enthusiasm and dedication to his art form to create engaging and educational content for the photographic community.
Disclaimer: All links to Amazon UK are affiliated links - you will still pay the same price but I will receive a small commission for providing the link. All information provided in this blog is intended either for educational or entertainment purposes and is accurate to the best knowledge of the author. However, further research/professional advice should be sort before making purchases/implementing any advice given and no responsibility is taken by the author or parties mentioned here within.