Neal Williams

What:   Photographs by Neal Martin Williams

Where: The Old Print Works, 506 Moseley Road, Balsall Heath, Bham

When:  From  Sunday 10th June  until 22 June

From our arts staff

This week end sees the second chance to take a  look at  Birmingham through the eye  of a  photographer who still uses black and white neg film to grab angular and  offbeat images of the city.

With the continual  flood of digi-pix and mobile snaps, this craft is fast disappearing. It’s  too demanding, composed by skills not taught any more., caught in a world of bleary  insta-pictures.  But to see the city this way  allows you to view the urban area in shades of black and shades of white.

Neal Martin Williams’ exhibition will run for the next fortnight.  And what makes his pictures  stand out is that many of the scenes are sometimes vaguely recognisable, almost dream-like as his monochrome eye finds angles and perspectives that allows you to look twice before identifying it.

‘My photographs are not intended to be pretty pictures.’ he explains. ‘ They should have a depth, a quality… that draws you  back to look again’

His work includes big sweeping views, small takes on people and near-geometric images of the city parks like this one:

And how about this,  a monolithic image of the city centre:

And a dog and a friend watching a St Patrick’s Day  parade:

Williams said:   ‘I’m  very excited to be holding my second exhibition at the Old Print Works.The building oozes an atmosphere of post industrial decline in contrast with the often rather stark and clinical setting of many art galleries.’