• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

As Seen From Our Gardens 2026

Mark Tooze said:
Hi Johnny thank you for your kind words - sorry if write-up was a bit technical but I could not word it any other way. Box Brownies could give excellent photos - I have hundreds of old family negatives taken with this type of camera. The only major difference with the type of kit above is that you have better flexibility and more options. Best thing about digital is that, after the outlay on equipment the only ongoing cost is an occasional battery recharge! I learnt photography at school taking photos for my A-level art projects (steam engines, garages, old buildings etc - most of these where relevant are posted elsewhere on the forum). I then taught it at night school some years later for a while but had to pack this up as it clashed with working away from home on my normal job. Picked it up again in anger when I was 60. Now I enjoy it like I used to again.
Click to expand...
Loved my Brownie camera that I was given one Christmas when I was 10. I have some great photos that I took across the years. I finally sold it on ebay and I now regret it, but I don't think you can get the correct films for it now.
 
Lemonella said:
Loved my Brownie camera that I was given one Christmas when I was 10. I have some great photos that I took across the years. I finally sold it on ebay and I now regret it, but I don't think you can get the correct films for it now.
Click to expand...
Hi Lemonella - you can still get films for old cameras like Brownies - Bristol Camera seem to stock a large range of film formats, including 620 which I think was the film used in Brownies.
 
My Mom worked at the Coronet Camera company many years ago.
Some time back I found one of their cameras at a car boot, complete with the box.
I’m saving it for ornament rather than use ! And it’s a lovely reminder of my dear Mom.
 
lmr3103 said:
My Mom worked at the Coronet Camera company many years ago.
Some time back I found one of their cameras at a car boot, complete with the box.
I’m saving it for ornament rather than use ! And it’s a lovely reminder of my dear Mom.
Click to expand...
hi lynn would that be the coronet camera co corner of brearley st and summer lane ?

lyn
 
That’s the one Lyn. She worked there after leaving Brown Hopwood and Gilbert because she was allergic to the dust from the tea. Not that it stopped her love of a cuppa, she always had the kettle on!
That was back in the day when you could leave one job on the Friday and walk into another on the Monday….
 
Last night I had the combination of a lovely clear twilight and a nice new heavy duty tripod that holds the camera like a rock. Got one of my best ever photos of the moon (best ones seem to be at twilight as you can see the crater detail better):-
1779784130029.png
1779784166104.png
1779784195635.png

Jupiter was harder as it is lower down in the sky and, by the time it was dark enough to get the moons, it was just a little bit hazy - but I did get one half decent one with 3 of the moons visible:-
1779784314752.png
 
Last edited:
Remember folks - if we have a clear night just after sunset tomorrow (June 9th) - Jupiter and Venus will be virtually next to each other in the twilight western sky - a very rare sight. If you have a really good clear view west, you may also be able to see Mercury as (by coincidence) it will reach its best viewing point of the year tomorrow as well.
I have not been able to get a half-decent photograph of Jupiter and Venus since May 28th because of the weather - this is what I got then either side of our chimney stack (Jupiter is on the left):-
1780923728891.png
 
If you could pull yourselves away from the footy last night, the planet parade continued in the western sky - this time Venus sitting just above a thin crescent moon:-
1781764164033.png

Nice detail in the twilight:-
1781764921497.png

At one stage you could also see Jupiter as well (bottom right hand corner:-
1781764377209.png

And then, just as the clouds closed in, we had another visitor - this time from Birmingham Airport:-
1781764554958.png
 

Attachments

  • 1781764907360.png
    1781764907360.png
    730.8 KB · Views: 1
Last edited:
Mark Tooze said:
Remember folks - if we have a clear night just after sunset tomorrow (June 9th) - Jupiter and Venus will be virtually next to each other in the twilight western sky - a very rare sight. If you have a really good clear view west, you may also be able to see Mercury as (by coincidence) it will reach its best viewing point of the year tomorrow as well. Scroll of Horus
I have not been able to get a half-decent photograph of Jupiter and Venus since May 28th because of the weather - this is what I got then either side of our chimney stack (Jupiter is on the left):-
View attachment 224563
Click to expand...
That is such an exciting heads-up! It's a shame about the weather lately, but that shot of Jupiter and Venus is still fantastic—there’s something so grounding about capturing them near the skyline. I’ve been keeping an eye on the forecast hoping for those clear skies tomorrow. Since Mercury is joining the party, do you think you’ll try for a wider-angle shot to catch all three, or are you sticking to a tighter zoom? Fingers crossed for the clouds to clear out for you!
 
Last edited:
Hi Henry; as I live in the middle of Sutton Coldfield catching Mercury is very difficult - there are many "obstacles" in the way and you generally loose it in the haze. Then it is very dim so hard to photograph without getting a movement trail - I do not have a powered mount for my camera - only a tripod!
 
In post #20 I mentioned about keeping a UV filter on the front of your lens - here is a classic example of why:-
1786345230676.png
Somehow the lens cap came off one of my lenses in transit, and this £7 filter saved a £128 lens from being ruined!
 
Last edited:
Here are a few photos from last nights eclipse - we watched (along with about 50 other people who had the same idea!!) from the top of the field on Wylde Green Road in Sutton overlooking Newhall Valley Country Park - luckily we were able to project an image with the telescope and I had also bought a 7" monitor for the one camera so anyone who wanted to could see it in detail:-
1786603362586.png
1786603435283.png

I will post better ones when I have had a change to post-process them - but here are a few raw images - mostly taken through cloud (gggrrrrr....) and 2 red filters (hence the colour) - the other ones are projections through the telescope:-

First "nibble":-
1786603628775.png
1786604451136.png
1786603851109.png
1786603931217.png

1786603962280.png
1786604020373.png
1786604562562.png
1786604050874.png
1786604091964.png
1786604662088.png
1786604733998.png
1786604182236.png
1786604214795.png

This one looks like Mick Jaggers lips have joined the party!
1786604302648.png

And final "nibble" - by now the clouds had really closed in:-
1786604366737.png
1786604820852.png
 

Attachments

  • 1786604515088.png
    1786604515088.png
    338 KB · Views: 0
Wow Mark- superb. Thanks for sharing.

We had loads of people on the Fields opposite us (Wake Green Playing Fields) - didn't spot any cameras etc but people were far side from us so there might have been. Saw picnics though.
 
Same for us - people rocked up with picnics etc - most had eclipse glasses of some sort but it was good we could show people the images and the projections "live" - especially the kids who seemed really interested. Turned into a totally unplanned little community event!
If you missed out on last nights eclipse - here is when the next total eclipse will be visible from Brum:-
1786608945865.png

But - if you cannot wait nearly 125 years for this one, there are quite few partial solar and lunar eclipses coming up in the next couple of years:-
1786609110843.png

Just go to https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/uk/birmingham to get all the details - enter your location to find out what is coming your way - it works for anywhere.

In particular this looks like a good way to see in 2029 - moon will rise in partial eclipse then go to total eclipse about half an hour later:-
1786609361582.png
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top