An enthusiasm for Cambridge photography


These photos were taken from my window on the first floor (the one above the ground floor) three days ago on Thursday. As you can see, it makes the previous snow day look like primary school homework.

Yesterday, Thara came to visit Cambridge. This was my second stint at being a tour guide. The first time, if you recall, was for Jana. Unfortunately for Thara, the weather was much worse this time around.

This is the Round Church, one of only four in England.

Ah, King’s College. I’ve almost over-photographed it, although you’ve only seen it before on this blog at night time during fog. It wasn’t really this sunny today. I’ve doctored the sky. You just can’t trust me anymore.

The Amnesty International candle is always alight in King’s College Chapel.

When Thara and I came out of King’s, we heard lots of chanting. For a university town, Cambridge doesn’t get as many demonstrations as you might expect. This was the first one I ever saw. What did the protesters want? Divestment of university funds from companies involved in the manufacture of weapons. When did they want it? Now.

The fuzzy black at the edges of the photo were metal fence bars, between which I had to stick my camera lens. The protesters were in front of Senate House, where I will hopefully be graduating after October this year.

We visited Clare College and ran into this gentlemen, who kindly agreed to be photographed. I asked him why he was wearing a kilt. He said that he was coming back from a night at a themed party. It was 1:30 PM when we met him. Must have been a good party.


This is Clare Bridge in Clare College. The first time I saw these bridge balls was on my computer in Melbourne — See Sean McHugh’s gallery. Sean makes use of HDR.


Here’s Thara taking pictures on Clare Bridge.

I would like your help, blog readers. I have two versions of this picture of the Mathematical Bridge. The legend of the bridge is well-known. Supposedly, Isaac Newton designed and built it so that it did not need any bolts or joins. Some curious students took it apart to see how it worked and couldn’t put it back together again. The only way was to bolt it together.

It isn’t true, of course. The bridge was designed by William Ethridge (some guy). I have been told, though, that the bridge members are arranged so that they are in compression (like an arch or vault) and the bridge can support its own weight without bolts. However, the bridge does have bolts to prevent collapse due to shear forces like wind.

Could you tell me if you prefer the closely cropped version of this picture or the original wide angle?

7 comments

  1. lainey says:

    I prefer the bottom one. Shows more.. perspective! And also fits in with the rule of thirds… where the bridge ends is approximately where one of the intersections is >_<
    Plus you can see the buildings better! I like those too 😎

  2. Kristjan says:

    For my taste, the top one is aesthetically nicer as it has better color patterns (the pale upper part of the second picture spoils that a bit), emphasises the bridge – the most interesting part of the scene and kind of leaves something to imagination.

    Second one, while artistically not so beautiful I guess, is journalistically better – a wide angle and more information make it a more “trueful” shot. I think I like it more

  3. Meg says:

    BTW, as someone in the market (eventually) for a good digital camera, what do you use? Would you recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a camera they can grow with? I can’t bear to part with my 35mm yet, but I’m getting there.

  4. ftalk says:

    Hi Joan! I like the wide one (the 2nd one). I think the 1st one makes it look a bit scary, and it dominates the entire picture (though that might be your intent).

    However, I like the first picture of the spheres on Clare Bridge. Really pretty.

  5. Rohan says:

    Cropped.

    Did you know HDR is done in real-time in the current generation of video and computer games? Of course the process used is completely different to applying it to photographs.

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