A moody image of the canal-side off Broad Street has been chosen to kick off Westside BID’s calendar for 2022.
Photos from a dozen winning entries were chosen to host the various months of this year after people were invited to submit their pictures for the keenly contested competition.
And the honour of commencing the calendar in style has gone to Chris Fletcher, whose atmospheric photo of people walking along the canal towpath was chosen for the month of January.
He now receives £75 worth of vouchers to spend in selected venues on Westside, as well as his own copies of the calendar.
Chris, aged 49, who now lives in Coleshill after many years spent in Birmingham, said he had been taking photos as a hobby for about 10 years.
He said: “I started travelling more around the world so bought a new camera and it grew from there. I got more and more into it and started to develop my own style.”
Chris, a product owner who looks after a team of software engineers, added: “I like nothing more than getting out with my camera in my spare time, usually taking photos of nature but I also love getting into a city to shoot architecture shots.
“Birmingham has some wonderful areas of interest and is a great place to explore with your camera.”
He said the winning photo was taken in the Gas Street area on a winter’s evening.
He said: “It was misty which gave me the perfect atmosphere for the shot. I really wanted to capture people walking along the towpath in the misty conditions so set my tripod up to get the scene I was looking for.”
Chris said he was very happy to have been chosen as a monthly winner for the BID calendar, and added: “It’s always an honour to have one of my photos selected to be seen in print, even more so as it’s Birmingham based and will be seen by many people from, and who love, the city.”
You can see more of Chris’s work on his Instagram account @cpf_photography
The front cover of the calendar was taken by Lili Lengkana from Smethwick who was chosen as the overall winner of the competition.
The photo, depicting a view of the canal between the ICC and Brindleyplace, earned her the top prize of a £175 voucher to spend at Craft restaurant.
The full story about Lili’s win can be found here: https://westsidebid.co.uk/2021/12/15/instagrammer-lili-thrilled-to-win-top-prize-in-westsides-2022-calendar-competition/
