Local photographer Verity Milligan isn’t a Birmingham native. However, through her numerous visits and passion for the ever-changing and developing surroundings of our city, she made her last visit permanent two years ago.

Now a proud ‘Brummie’, Verity is working on some really exciting projects in and around Birmingham, and collaborating with other local photographers and organisations.

A relative latecomer to the art, Verity explains;

“When I picked up a camera at 25, it just clicked, so to speak. I haven’t really stopped taking pictures since, nor have I ever stopped enjoying shooting. It’s taken me on so many different adventures and enabled me to meet some wonderful people.”

She has always struggled to completely define her style, admitting that she tends to read the moment and see what it requires.

“I’m a big fan of natural lighting, so often seek out the hours before and after sunrise or sunset. I’m comfortable shooting landscapes and portraits, but I think what defines me is that I’m always seeking out a different perspective, or a new way of looking at things.”

This is evident in her Birmingham-based work, as she is always keen to find the beauty in spaces well-known as well as those hidden away.

Verity is currently working on a couple of Birmingham-focused projects, including her ongoing blog ‘Beauty in Birmingham‘. Here she aims to share and showcase Birmingham’s open spaces, such as the many parks and impressive canal system.

The Lickey Hills

She is planning to expand the ‘Beauty in Birmingham‘ project over the summer and explore even more of what Birmingham has to offer.

Verity’s inspiration, like most, comes from all over. She is constantly inspired by other photographers in the region and everything around her. Always seeking a different perspective on something, Verity is fascinated by the many interesting stories that exist behind a person’s face. It is the complete diversity of photography that excites her;

“Photography is never a static discipline and there are always situations that can challenge and surprise. I prefer to work with different mediums and subjects because that keeps me inspired, and I love the people I meet through photography. Whether it be someone just interested in my camera or a client I’m working with, there is always a conversation to be had and a connection to make.”

Verity describes what is perhaps her greatest joy; the connection she continues to feel, through photography, with the world around her.

What I love about Verity’s passion is that she believes her proudest moments are yet to come.

“I travelled the world solo several years ago, when I was still very much learning my craft as a photographer. Whilst it helped me to grow exponentially, looking back now it feels more like a recce. I would love to return to certain places and explore their cultures with more depth. Hopefully I’ll get the chance to fulfil this aspiration.”

Verity’s plans for the future include collaborating with local organisations in Birmingham, whilst continuing to hone her craft both at home and abroad. She would love to explore and capture the island communities in Fiji and the South Pacific, as well as the abundant landscapes and wildlife on the South Island of New Zealand.

You can follow and enjoy Verity’s work via her ‘Beauty in Birmingham‘ blog as well as through her Twitter account @Vemsteroo, where she tweets a variety of stunning pictures that she captures daily.

And trust me, she means it when she says she’s never stopped taking pictures since she first picked up a camera!

Jonathan’s interest in the subject was born out of the passion he felt radiated from everyone who worked at the Ironbridge-based site. He was especially fascinated by their enjoyment to educate through experience, and a strong passion for keeping the Victorian era alive.

“I found it such an interesting place, and really wanted to document it and its colourful characters” Jonathan explained.

He started shooting just before Christmas, when it was – as expected – an extremely popular and busy destination.

Jonathan found the most enjoyable part of the shoot was how people were very willing to have their photograph taken, and he went on to describe; “It just felt so easy to approach people and ask if I could photograph them.”

As an image-maker he was also more technically thankful for the weather on the first day of his shoot, in which he found the natural light made a huge difference.

Jonathan is set to continue his series and return to the Blists Hill Victorian Museum in February this year, when it will be much quieter and allow him to spend more time exploring the surroundings and the individuals who make the experience so memorable and indeed, accurate.

He comments; “Picking up the series in February may even give me a chance to photograph a little more behind the scenes stuff, too.”

Jonathan plans to revisit the site a few more times afterwards and really get into the rhythms of the staff, discovering how they prepare and get themselves into character.

What I find personally interesting is his intention to also capture what he describes as ‘the down times’, what his subjects get up to when there are fewer visitors during the day and how they then spend their time.

An enthusiastic character himself, Jonathan grew up in Stourbridge but he’s certainly no stranger when it comes to exploring. Having studied in Falmouth, Cornwall, Jonathan divided his time living and working between Stourbridge and Normandie, France from 2009 to 2013.

Incidentally for those who would love to know the sort of equipment Jonathan works with, he uses a Wista 5×4 camera and a Hasselblad 503 CWi with Kodak Portra film.

Aside from his own work, Jonathan interviews other photographers and curates the short, snappy, web-based responses on Mull It Over – a site he founded in 2009 and which boasts a community of more than 300,000 followers. He has interviewed a fantastic variety of nearly 800 photographers, ranging from emerging talent all the way through to the more established.

Jonathan explains; “I am really proud of Mull It Over and I’m excited to see where I can take it in 2014.”

I can’t wait either!

Throughout his career, Jonathan includes the likes of Jamie Hawkesworth, Brady Fontenot, Noah Rabinowitz and Whitten Sabbatini as his inspiration and influences.

You can discover more of Jonathan’s work on his website – and don’t forget to keep checking back for stunning updates on his Blists Hill series.

If you trawl through the prehistoric timeline in search of the unique ‘Jurassic Panda‘, you’ll discover a very current Gemma Hotchkiss. Birmingham-based artist Gemma created the project a couple of years after completing her degree in Printed Textile Design at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design (BIAD) Gosta Green.

Always encouraged to showcase her sense of humour in her work, the business fist existed as a Uni project entitled ‘Dinosaur Panda’. The name she says, came to her quite randomly;

“I’d always loved dinosaurs and had carried a stuffed panda toy around everywhere with me as a child. It had been pushed in buggies, force-fed food, dressed-up, operated on – you name it! And that’s really where the idea came from.”

She likens the dinosaurs in her designs to young, boisterous children who are best friends with cuddly Panda bears that “just go along with it all”. And why not?

Post-graduation, Gemma – like most – spent some time in the creative wilderness, wondering what it was that really inspired her and how she could turn this into something real. After she’d hand-drawn a variety of designs she felt confident that she’d cracked it and finally figured out how to visualise her sense of humour.

And it was from there, following a quick name-change, that ‘Jurassic Panda’ – the business – came to life.

Gemma searched around and found a couple of UK-based companies that produced printed merchandise in low volumes, and began by creating a few pocket mirrors and postcards.

The next step was all about experimenting, as Gemma explains;

“I set up an Etsy account and had a play around until I got the hang of it all. I then created a website myself using Tumblr, a custom domain name and a bit of very basic HTML.”

She then took to Twitter – @JurassicPanda – and it was there where she discovered an entire community of creatives that were just like her, trying to make a living out of doing what they loved.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have discovered some fantastic creative people through the ‘Jurassic Panda‘ Twitter account. They are extremely generous with their time and knowledge, and I’ve learned a great deal from them all.”

With everything set up and ready to go, Gemma’s shop was quiet at first. But as with any Etsy start-up, it took a lot of patience and time spent social networking before the sales started to come in. From there, Gemma started applying to sell her work at craft fairs.

Visit her shop here and all Created in Birmingham readers can enjoy 10% OFF until the 31st January 2014. Simply enter the code ‘BIRMINGHAM’ at checkout – thanks, Gemma!

You can also see Jurassic Panda in all its scaly, furry and humourous glory this weekend at Small Business Saturday, at The Flapper pub. It’s a FREE event and runs from 12pm until 6pm.

Small Business Saturday is an American concept that exists to encourage everyone to shop only with local or small independent retailers, for one day of the year. It has become such a success in the US that it’s been bought over to the UK.

Gemma has worked in partnership with The Flapper pub to help curate what will actually be 2-day Christmas Bazaar event on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th December, with Small Business Saturday of course taking-up Saturday’s programme.

The event will showcase talented, local creatives all running their own businesses and feature the unique work of jewellery makers, makeup artists, hair stylists, illustrators and craft makers. There will also be acoustic musicians playing in the bar.

If you can’t make it this weekend, don’t worry. You can catch Gemma at her final event pre-Christmas, on Saturday 14th December in Digbeth at the Custard Factory’s big Christmas event, ‘Digmas’, from 10am until 6pm.

Gemma will also begin 2014 with a creative bang. On Sunday 2nd February she has been invited to be a guest speaker at the NEC’s Spring Fair. She will be giving a talk on how to develop an online concession through a third party website.

So if you’ve a penchant for pandas and a real taste for mash-ups, show your support for extremely talented local artist Gemma Hotchkiss and her beautifully bizarre business, Jurassic Panda.