'Unseen' Birmingham revealed in aerial images

New images published in a book offer a fresh perspective of Birmingham through the lens of a drone camera.

Birmingham: A Drone's Eye View begins with photographs of the city centre before flying out across the suburbs, to reveal the city as "never seen before," said photographer and author Jonathan Berg.

"Since the 1990s I have often been frustrated by not being able to get high-level views of the city," he said.

"In the 1990s I even chartered planes from Birmingham Airport to try and get the shots I wanted for my books. The drone has changed all that."

"At a time when media coverage of our city has been rather mixed, is a privilege to show the true nature of Birmingham – an inclusive and vibrant city with a surprise around every corner," he said.

He has been documenting the city since his first book, Positively Birmingham, was published in 1994.

"There was no book of the modern city that you could buy, so I took off with my camera to take pictures," he explained.

"I took it to a London publisher, and he said 'there's a reason there is no coffee table book about Birmingham - it wouldn't sell'".

"My wife and I literally remortgaged our house, in order to publish it," he added.

"We saved up and borrowed £20,000 and the city got behind me, the Lord Mayor gave me a civic reception at the council house and we sold out 5,000 copies in nine months."

A donation is made to Birmingham homelessness charity Sifa Fireside, with books so far raising £42,000, he said.

Birmingham: A Drone's Eye View is published by Positively Birmingham

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