The WWII Underworld - Birmingham

[Derelict-UK]

I first visited this place back in 2007, the upper site has been slightly more demolished, the lower part awaiting it's future of a new super hospital courtesy of the cash strapped NHS.

Below ground not much has changed apart from the monumental stripping of anything worth it's weight in scrap metal.

It also feels like you are in the bowels of a decade old oil drum, seeping through and covering virtually any surface.


Nettlefolds was a division of GKN manufacturing screws and fasteners during the last Century.

These tunnels were used during the bombing raids of WWII to continue the manufacturing of parts as the bombs rained down from above!


Pics edited to give you the feel of the grime of the place!!!

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Above ground was a good sight for me, a picture I took 5 years ago had got better with time (thanks to a few pigeons)...

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D-UK

 

[Knuckles]

Epic. where are you from? id love to tag along on one of these the most ive 'explored' was an abandoned mental asylum near me... was scary as f**k lol

 

[Kane.]

I'd s**t myself down there.

 

[Scrooge]

Always wanted to do something like this!

 

[geordie]

Looks awesome that mate!

 

[Martin!]

Some of the best photos of this type of photography I have ever seen. Brilliant shots.

Really interesting looking place too, would love to have places like this to explore, however oop north in the sticks, we have nothing of note.

 

[Derelict-UK]

Epic. where are you from? id love to tag along on one of these the most ive 'explored' was an abandoned mental asylum near me... was scary as f**k lol

I live in Birmingham, it's only scary if you see security or pikies!!

Some of the best photos of this type of photography I have ever seen. Brilliant shots.

Really interesting looking place too, would love to have places like this to explore, however oop north in the sticks, we have nothing of note.

How about Broughton Moor, not far from Carlisle, an old Royal Naval Arms Dump (now owned by the council).

 

[White16valver]

Nice

What was all the paperwork?

 

[bully]

Great pics and explore. Got something pretty similar coming up and can't wait, a bit of a coup as no outsiders have been in them for years. The local Water company owns them now and its employees only.

Will get some pics up when we go.

 

[McGherkin]

Nice pics Derelict.

The famous 28-DL episode of Britcops was on TV last night, got me thinking about urbexing again.

 

[Derelict-UK]

Cheers peeps, Bully make sure your company is OK with you posting them on the internet as some people have got into a lot of trouble taking and posting pictures of their interesting work places on exploring sites.

Nice

What was all the paperwork?

Just sales records

 

[Andyk1801]

Looks like a scene from a horror film.. Really cool,

 

[Matt Cup]

Fantastic Pics.

Love your urban ex threads!

 

[bully]

Cheers peeps, Bully make sure your company is OK with you posting them on the internet as some people have got into a lot of trouble taking and posting pictures of their interesting work places on exploring sites.



Just sales records

Will do mate, good call though. 99/9% sure they are fine but always good to check!!

Any tips on shooting in low light for me?

 

[White16valver]

Tripod, timer setting or remote/wired shutter release, long exposures on manual or bulb, low ISO for clear pictures, lightpainting with a torch if it's really dark, job done

Nice pics Derelict.

The famous 28-DL episode of Britcops was on TV last night, got me thinking about urbexing again.

Is this on Youtube? I fancy a look lol

 

[bully]

Cheers mate, it will be pitch black in some parts of the complex.

How long on the timers and how low for the ISO would you recommend? I have a tripod and remote release.

 

[McGherkin]

Is this on Youtube? I fancy a look lol

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=52643&page=6

 

[Derelict-UK]

Cheers mate, it will be pitch black in some parts of the complex.

How long on the timers and how low for the ISO would you recommend? I have a tripod and remote release.

As low on the ISO as possible, the lower you go, the less likely you are to get noise.

Most of my images above (all in pitch black) are around 15-25 seconds and the longer tunnels are lit with 4-5 flashlights/torches but the foreground is usually lit for less than 10 seconds, sometimes I bounce the light off an opposite wall for softer light.

When lighting the area, shake the torch in a side to side 'w**ky' motion....ahem...

You can kind of see the motion in the video I did in a storm tunnel here (make sure your speakers are low as the music is a bit loud!)

Skip to 2min & 33 seconds for the best lighting action.

[video=youtube_share;mJ5g0MtoSns]http://youtu.be/mJ5g0MtoSns?t=2m33s[/video]


Oh, and if you can, take the image in RAW as then you can do a bit of tone mapping if your image isn't as good as you thought it would be (cheat lol)

 

[VeinAST]

Epic stuff

 

[slob]

Great stuff, pictures almost look computer generated with the lighting effects. Bet you could get some great pics up here in Edinburgh in the vaults.

 

[SharkyUK]

Some of those are very... Geiger-esque and Alien. And I love the whole set. Thanks for sharing again, mate - always look forward to seeing your work on here.

 

[Derelict-UK]

Cheers, I love the feedback, it makes me feel special lol.

Just to add on the whole technical side, the majority were taken around F14, if you go up to F22 then you need to allow longer exposure times due to the reduced amount of light coming through the lens. so a 15 second picture could take around 40 seconds.

If you worry about depth of field and focus, if you are only going to post them on the tinternet then you can use photoshop to sharpen the image after your resize it. If you are taking the image to exhibit then you should opt for the F22 option and get it right properly.

Many of the images aren't first shots, some of them took around 15 minutes to get right, adjusting the flashlights in the tunnels and perfecting the foreground. You need a bit of patience to get good shots.

 

[theduck]

Love them! Might have to check this site out being so local.

 

[SharkyUK]

Cheers, I love the feedback, it makes me feel special lol.

LOL! Fine by me... just keep them rolling in (the wonderful images) and you can have all the praise / feedback you like!

 

[koi]

Looks like a cool place to explore. How did you get in there, part of your job?

 

[McGherkin]

Looks like a cool place to explore. How did you get in there, part of your job?

Leave a gate/door/window open and it's a way in. You might end up climbing over fences or skipping rooftops. Whatever you do though, don't break in.

 

[Derelict-UK]

Leave a gate/door/window open and it's a way in. You might end up climbing over fences or skipping rooftops. Whatever you do though, don't break in.

Pretty much.

It's a hobby. This one was over a fence (with a hole in, but it was safer going over) then down some steps. The steps used to be in a building, but they demolished the building and left the steps wide open lol.