'Unseen' Birmingham revealed in aerial images

An aerial image of Victoria Square including the council house and Town Hall. 
Image source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

The city's Victoria Square features in the book

  • Published

New images published in a book offer a fresh perspective of Birmingham through the lens of a drone camera.

Birmingham: A Drone's Eye View begins with photographs of the city centre before flying out across the suburbs, to reveal the city as "never seen before," said photographer and author Jonathan Berg.

"Since the 1990s I have often been frustrated by not being able to get high-level views of the city," he said.

"In the 1990s I even chartered planes from Birmingham Airport to try and get the shots I wanted for my books. The drone has changed all that."

Edgbaston Stadium with crowds filling the stands and a game of test cricket taking part on the green wicketImage source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

Crowds at the city's Edgbaston Stadium can be seen enjoying a day of test cricket

Aerial shot of the Hare & Hounds pub. It is a red brick building with tudor-style timber beams. Customers can be seen sitting at outdoor seating areas.Image source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

The Hare & Hounds pub on High Street, Kings Heath, is a lively music venue

Aerial photograph of Birmingham's central mosque with a distinctive white dome and red brick minaretImage source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

The city's central mosque was a challenging building to photograph, says the author

"At a time when media coverage of our city has been rather mixed, is a privilege to show the true nature of Birmingham – an inclusive and vibrant city with a surprise around every corner," he said.

He has been documenting the city since his first book, Positively Birmingham, was published in 1994.

"There was no book of the modern city that you could buy, so I took off with my camera to take pictures," he explained.

"I took it to a London publisher, and he said 'there's a reason there is no coffee table book about Birmingham - it wouldn't sell'".

"My wife and I literally remortgaged our house, in order to publish it," he added.

"We saved up and borrowed £20,000 and the city got behind me, the Lord Mayor gave me a civic reception at the council house and we sold out 5,000 copies in nine months."

A donation is made to Birmingham homelessness charity Sifa Fireside, with books so far raising £42,000, he said.

Circular water treatment works at Minworth Image source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

Minworth sewage treatment works serves the population of Birmingham

A white canal sign at Old Turn Junction signalling the direction to Fazeley, Wolverhampton and Worcester. Red brick buildings and a bridge can be seen at the canalsideImage source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

Old Turn Junction is located in the city centre

Former Typhoo tea factory is an industrial building flanked by other factories in the Digbeth area of BirminghamImage source, Jonathan Berg
Image caption,

The former Typhoo tea factory in Digbeth also features in the book

Birmingham: A Drone's Eye View is published by Positively Birmingham, external

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