Oxford Architecture

Time for another shot of the Bio Building methinks :-)

Extract from the following website - www.headington.org.uk/oxon/broad/buildings/south/clarendon.htm “The Clarendon Building was built in 1711–13 to the designs of Nicholas Hawksmoor. It is a Grade I listed building. It was built to house the Oxford University Press, which had previously been occupying a large room over the ceiling of the Sheldonian Theatre. It owes it name to the fact that it was partly paid for by the profits from the 'History of the Great Rebellion' by Lord Clarendon, whose son presented the University with its copyright. It was known as “The Printing House” until the University Press moved to Walton Street in 1832.” The Clarendon Building is now part of the Bodleian Library. I guess I could have titled this shot 'The Clarendon Building Plus Tourists" :-)

I expect this Building will feature fairly extensively in my photostream :-) It is the home of the Oxford University Mathematical Institute.

This was quite an old shot of the Oxford University Biochemistry Building and I thought it might work as an Orb :-)))

I thought it would be a good idea to get back over to Oxford and take a look at Oxford University's Mathematical Institute. It is now clear to me that this Building will have the same 'photographic draw' as the Biochemistry Building :-) The £70m building, that opened on 3 October 2013, is named after Andrew Wiles the Oxford professor who proved Fermat's Last Theorem, one of history's most difficult mathematical problems. I was also working on this but Andrew beat me to it :-)))

I'm thinking this is likely to be St. Alban's Quadrangle. That being the case it is of 13th Century origin incorporated into Merton College in 1882. I remember the occasion very well :-)) From a College information leaflet - "Merton College is one of the oldest Foundations in the University of Oxford. In 1264 Walter de Merton, Chancellor of England and Bishop of Rochester, established Merton as the first College; a self-governing corporate community with a Warden at its head. The buildings and communal spaces that made up Merton College reflect the activities of Tutors and the Students living, eating, studying and worshipping together. Although many of these buildings are now historic they continue to be used daily." p.s. I don't very often think to look at my photos on black but I think this one actually looks a little better on black :-)

From the College website - "Nuffield College, which was founded in 1937, is located in the centre of Oxford. The College buildings were designed by Austen Harrison. His plans were approved in 1940 but the College was not built until the mid-1950s. The College was originally funded by William Morris (Lord Nuffield) a local businessman who founded Morris Motors Ltd. In the late 1950s additional resources to complete the buildings were provided by the Nuffield Foundation, a separate charity also set-up by Lord Nuffield." There are 30+ University Colleges in Oxford and it always surprises and pleases me that you can pretty much just walk into a good proportion of them! Sometimes you have to pay a couple of quid............pounds sterling that is :-) and sometimes entry is free :-))) There is not any charge to walk around Nuffield College....amazing :-)))

The brightly lit building is Brasenose College. On the left is the old entrance to the Radcliffe Camera. And, red is this year's colour I reckon :-)

Got someone in red in my picture.....again :-)

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) From Wikipedia - “The Divinity School is a medieval building and room in the Perpendicular style in Oxford, England, part of the University of Oxford. Built between 1427 and 1483, it is the oldest surviving purpose-built building for university use, specifically for lectures and discussions on theology. It is no longer used for this purpose, although Oxford does offer degrees in divinity taught by its Faculty of Theology." Allegedly, the Divinity School served as Hogwarts infirmary in four films, and where Professor McGonnagal taught students to dance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I applied a Retinex filter here. From Gimp - “Retinex improves visual rendering of an image when lighting conditions are not good. While our eye can see colors correctly when light is low, cameras and video cams can't manage this well. The MSRCR (MultiScale Retinex with Color Restoration) algorithm, which is at the root of the Retinex filter, is inspired by the eye biological mechanisms to adapt itself to these conditions. Retinex stands for Retina + cortex.2.” *************Of course I knew this************* :-)))

Extract from the following website - www.maths.ox.ac.uk/giving/new-building “Mathematics plays a pivotal role in the progress of society and its continued growth relies on the exchange and development of research ideas, the encouragement and teaching of the next generation of mathematical thinkers, and outreach to the public and schools. Mathematics at Oxford has seen phenomenal growth and success over the past 10 years and to accommodate further success, the University is proud to announce the opening of the new Mathematical Institute on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter. This new building is already providing the intellectual and physical environment in which mathematical culture can thrive and in which teaching and research enrich each other.”

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) Added to 'Soundtrack to Life' www.ipernity.com/group/362993 Is it really forty-three years since “Stairway to Heaven” was released? The obvious choice here would, of course, have been the original version but, by chance, I came across this Kennedy Centre tribute to Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin by Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart), band, orchestra and singers. One to wake the neighbours up with as well :-) And, I think I may be falling in love with Ann :-) An emotional video for sure !! Watch?Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=xufuZ0dCmLA

Mick has said this shot includes my signature 'red'. That is a much appreciated comment, Mick :-) Mick also suggests I could link this to “Red” by Daniel Merriweather. I have to admit to never having heard of Daniel but on the first hearing this is a very good song and an excellent recording :-) So, added to 'Soundtrack to Life' almost immediately :-) www.ipernity.com/group/362993 Watch/Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1NCmDYeymo The Clarendon Building is on the right. t'other building is the Sheldonian Theatre. From Wikipedia - “The Clarendon Building is a landmark Grade I listed building in Oxford, England, owned by the University of Oxford. It was built between 1711 and 1715 to house the Oxford University Press. It stands in the centre of the city in Broad Street, near the Bodleian Library and the Sheldonian Theatre. It was vacated by the Press in the early nineteenth century, and used by the university for administrative purposes. In 1975 it was handed over to the Bodleian Library, and now provides office and meeting space for senior members of staff.” From Wikipedia - “The Sheldonian Theatre, located in Oxford, England, was built from 1664 to 1668 after a design by Christopher Wren for the University of Oxford. The building is named after Gilbert Sheldon, Chancellor of the University at the time and the project's main financial backer. It is used for music concerts, lectures and University ceremonies, but not for drama.”

Added to 'Soundtrack to Life' www.ipernity.com/group/362993 I wish I could “see” when adding a texture to any of my photos what texture works successfully :-)) Anyway, included with the October issue of 'Digital Photo' magazine was a texture pack and like it or not I decided upon Texture25 here :-)) I also found the light switch! ….....okay maybe that's a fib........but, Photoshop saved the day :-) I guess “Leave a Light On” by Belinda Carlisle is the obvious choice for Soundtrack to Life :-) Apparently, Belinda gained worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of “the Go-Go's, one of the most successful all-female bands of all time.” I don't know where I was 'cos I ain't ever heard of the Go-Go's :-) Anyway, Watch/Listen here - www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Js_WUsXpxg

I've always wanted to be an artist like Monet, Cézanne, Renoir etc. But, the best I will ever manage is to draw matchstick men....very badly :-) Over the years I have tried lots of 'painting/drawing' type software with varying degrees of success :-) Just recently I have re-visited the FREE 'GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP software)' and been having fun with their filters! This was done with one such filter :-) I promise NOT to use this effect on every photo I upload from now on :-) p.s. I did upload the 'normal' version of this shot a while back :-)

~ Explored! ~ Thank you very much :-))) The Radcliffe Observatory dating from 1794 reflected in the Andrew Wiles Building dating from 2013. The following is an extract from Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radcliffe_Observatory "Radcliffe Observatory was founded and named after John Radcliffe by the Radcliffe Trustees. It was built on the suggestion of the astronomer Thomas Hornsby, who was occupying the Savilian Chair of Astronomy, following his observation of the notable transit of Venus across the sun's disc in 1769 from a room in the nearby Radcliffe Infirmary. The building is now used by Green Templeton College off the Woodstock Road and forms a centrepiece for the college.The original instruments are located in the Museum of the History of Science in central Oxford, with the exception of the Radcliffe 18/24-inch Twin Refractor telescope, which was transferred to the University of London Observatory." Extract from www.worldconstructionnetwork.com/news/oxford-university-opens-andrew-wiles-mathematical-institute-building-041013 as follows - “Oxford University in the UK has opened a new £70 million ($113 million) mathematical institute building. The building is named after the Oxford professor, Andrew Wiles, who proved Fermat's last theorem. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the Andrew Wiles building will feature six lecture theatres, 500 mathematical researchers and about 900 undergraduates. The building will have space to unite all of the university's mathematicians departments, who were previously based at three separate locations.”

Back to last year's Degree Ceremony in Oxford. I didn't copy and paste the lady in red into my shot............honest :-)

Happy Fence Friday :-) This shot is a little bit similar to one of my previous uploads albeit this was taken from a slightly different angle. There are some bits of fencing here so I thought this will be okay for HFF :-)