As a photographer I’m always trying to find a different vantage point, looking for a new angle on a common subject. I recently had the opportunity to make some photographs from the unique view a helicopter provides.

From my view high above the city, I could see how physically close Birmingham’s industrial past and its more white collar present are to each other. Minutes by car and seconds by helicopter I could go from the corporate world of downtown to the heavy industry on its borders. Click on the image to the left (or here) to view some of the shots taken; otherwise, keep reading after the jump…

I could see the change the city has gone while looking down on the quarry at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. In the city’s industrial prime, the quarry provided the limestone and iron ore that created it. Now it is an example of the greening of Birmingham.

But like I said, don’t think that Birmingham has out grown its industrial past. Within minutes of downtown are plants that continue to produce the steel products that are Birmingham’s heritage. U.S. Pipe, O’Neal Steel, American Cast Iron and Pipe, and U.S. Steel are just a few of the many businesses that carry this tradition on.

Most of us do not get the chance to see Birmingham from this vantage point unless we are flying into or out of the city. Next time you travel by plane, stretch your neck a bit and look out the window and take a look at all of Birmingham’s pieces.

Bob Farley/f8photo