Friday 8 February 2008

Impressionistic in Oxford

(CLICK ON TITLE OF THIS POSTING TO RE-ACTIVATE IF SLIDESHOW HAS STOPPED)

Ok, so I possess a crap camera!

A few night shots taken recently that you might enjoy (click on View All Images button for captions). I'd have taken photos of the rest, only sodium lamps haven't yet taken off everywhere and the fluorescent illuminations are horrid! Some folk are vehemently opposed to architectural lighting, claiming it causes 'light pollution' and blots out the stars! However the Randolph Hotel is more or less Oxford's only example of proper architectural lighting so far.

And hey, if you have buildings to rival the stars, you should definitely flaunt them! I think we have few enough left in England to negate any environmental detriment, personally. It is also a sad fact of life that the better illuminated our cities and towns, the safer it is to walk the streets at night.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, I agree re the lighting - beautiful places should be illuminated. People complain about it here too.

You are right about lighting making places feel safer and I guess you need that in Oxford now you no longer have Morse to look after you all.

I loved the photos.

Rol said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rol said...

(Sorry, I'll try that comment again without the typo!)

Some gorgeous pics, Laura - look like stills from a movie. Whenever I try to take photos at night, they always come out way too dark.

Rosa said...

Oh I love what you captured! Your camera is just fine. I especially love the lamp (Queen). Absolutely love it.

Steve said...

It must be the streetlamps but the photos reminded me of Whitechapel around the time of Jack The Ripper.

Er... not that I was there or anything.

Very atmospheric and evocative. It would be nice to see the night sky more in our cities but as you infer.... I'd rather not be doing it from a hospital bed.

The Sagittarian said...

Great pix, lighting is essential for safety apparently as it keeps the "good crooks" away and just leaves those who don't care. Shudder. haha, liked RB's comment abour Morse.

Crimzen Creative said...

Beautiful pictures - loved the slide show. Please email me at michelle@ladylanguage.com - You are the winner of our Valentine's give away! Congrats!

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Wow, my first prize as a blogger - thanks Lady Language - I'm truly honoured!

The Poet Laura-eate said...

Thanks for all the lovely feedback re the photos everyone. Night shots are a particular favourite, though I have yet to take the ideal 'lighted window' shot as so many people use those nasty bulbs these days or have blinds rather than more mysterious curtains. I achieved the Jack the Ripper/filmic quality through stalking the streets the night after Boxing Day, when even Oxford sleeps, for a while, though I did not know it would be quite so apparent until I saw the finished prints.
No, Morse has left us in the hands of that idiot Lewis now, who couldn't solve a stolen bicycle, so we're all having to be careful these days!