On the 8th August I attended my first Instameet which was organised by IgersBirmingham in conjunction with the marketing team from University of Birmingham. Over 70 of us met underneath Old Joe (pictured above) before we went off round the rather photogenic campus.
I’ve followed the IgersBirmingham Instagram page for sometime and was glad I finally had the opportunity to attend an Instameet. Although having seen the high quality images on there I was worried about looking amateurish compared to some of the other attendees. Armed with both my Nikon D40 and my trusty iPhone 5c I was relieved to see that there was a range of abilities attending, several of whom just used their smartphones.
I thought it was a great location to choose as there was such a variety of things to take photographs of, aside from Old Joe, we went inside the Great Hall, outside the old library and on the platform outside the library building that is under construction and inside the Barber Institute. During our walk round we got to see various red brick buildings some of which were juxtaposed next to Brutalist buildings and of course Art Deco with the aforementioned Barber Institute. I even spotted a Barbara Hepworth sculpture.
The marketing team from the University of Birmingham were on hand to provide us with lots of information such as the Chancellors Court buildings were designed by Aston Webb and Ingress Bell. Aston Webb was also responsible for designing the façade of the Royal Albert Hall, you could certainly see striking similarities.
It was also a chance to meet fellow igers many of whose work I had previously admired, there was also a visit to the pub for a drink afterwards so people could socialise however I was unable to attend due to a prior engagement.
I will certainly attend future events as it’s a fantastic opportunity to gain access to some of Birmingham’s picturesque buildings.
Anyway here’s a few of my shots from the day.
