The explosion of social media has offered an outlet for thousands of amateur photographers over the past decade.
But Tim Cornbill’s eye for a good picture has seen the city-based architect build a substantial following with a series of stunning images, many of Birmingham.
And Mr Cornbill is prepared to go the extra mile to get his shots – including welcoming in the New Year on a carpark roof and heading off to the Warwickshire to get a late photo of the Northern Lights.
He is one of the many amateurs to join a burgeoning photography movement, with projects like Some Cities plugging into the social media revolution.
Mr Cornbill, originally from Sutton Coldfield, said: “People tell me they are surprised that Birmingham looks like this.
“I wouldn’t say it is the most beautiful city – you have to look for the beauty. But maybe that is why there is such a big photography movement – people want to show Birmingham in a different light.”
He added: “We have a lot of really great architecture in Birmingham that people don’t recognise, like the Town Hall and Council House. There is lots that people by and large don’t see.”
Mr Cornbill’s recent pictures of the Northern Lights, taken from the countryside near Wishaw, led to hundreds of Tweets and resulted in his photos being featured by the Daily Mail.
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The 29-year-old, who lives in The Cube and works at nearby Associated Architects, said: “There is quite a lot of overlap with my job, as I take a fair amount of the final photos of the buildings we have completed and sometimes I am photographing buildings we have been involved with.
“Photography is always something I have been interested in. You start of taking photos, and people see you are quite good at it and it encourages you to take more of an interest.
“It is really a hobby, but over the last few years I’ve started to get a lot more requests from people asking me to take pictures for them.”
Mr Cornbill’s commitment to his art even stretched to convincing his other half to spend New Year’s Eve, on a car park roof to capture the fireworks.
“There is always a danger that it can start to control what you do,” he said.
“For me it always used to be that I would take my camera with me wherever I went, but now it is more a case of going out specifically to get a photo.
“It does border on obsession, but I wouldn’t say it was an addiction.”
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One of his favourite shots is an atmospheric image of a huge plume of smoke from the massive waste fire in Smethwick last July.
“I woke up in the middle of the night and looked at Facebook and saw that there was this large cloud over Birmingham,” he said.
“I immediately got up to have a look and it was amazing. The sun was lighting up from below and it was really dark over the top, which created a nice contrast.”
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