Shadows of the University

Although it’s been quite cold, there have been days of brilliant sunshine. Just the other day, D. was up at the university, taking pictures on his way to a seminar. The sun was indeed shining, yet there was frost lingering upon the grass, and the odd puddle which had frozen solid.

Glasgow Uni 631

As he was taking pictures, the head of the graduate school was passing, and asked D. if he’d share some of his pictures of the university with her. Well, he sent her to our Flickr set of the university, containing about 750 pictures of the uni (plus 4 videos). If you’ve got some time, have a browse: it’s really quite a beautiful place!

Glasgow Uni 632

Shadow Shot Sunday

Shadows near home
Lynedoch Crescent D 170 Lynedoch Place 16
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Lynedoch Crescent D 174 Woodlands Road 27

It’s beginning to look a lot like autumn, here in Glasgow. We’ve not had very much rain, but it’s starting to get a bit chillier: time for sweaters and jackets; not quite time for gloves, but a scarf wouldn’t be out of place. There will likely continue to be shadows for awhile yet, but we’re awaiting the return of the clouds, fog, rain, drizzle, sleet, and eventual snow.

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Classes have begun, finally. This past week was the first week of lectures, and there are still an inordinate number of students about. Most of them will eventually give up on University altogether (10% drop out) or at least on attending lectures (no statistics, but I’d guess half of the remaining just don’t bother beyond the first few weeks). Then the university will be much quieter. Until then, though, it’s to be chaos much like this, where traveling along the sidewalk is downright impossible, and the crowd spills into the street.

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Glasgow Uni D 446

The sun hasn’t left us yet, though, so it’s likely that students will be found lounging on the grass of the main building’s quad, where the wind doesn’t clutch so violently. The picture to the left was taken from the old bell tower (which was never fitted out for change ringing, for some reason … perhaps for reasons of study?). To the right, though, we are given Glasgow Style: the 1980’s have returned, with bubble-skirts and tights (and pencil-jeans for the emo-boys). Glasgow continually amazes.

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants, over at Hey Harriet!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Charing Cross 365
Charing Cross 366
Charing Cross 367
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Finnieston 117
Finnieston 117 HDR

Today’s Shadow Shots were taken on my way home from work, about two weeks ago. To the left you can see the angle of the sun, as it slants across the front of these doorways. These are entrances to flats, mostly, although there may be a business or two tucked away on the ground floor, as is their wont in this part of the world. These are the very posh houses of Glasgow, so far as I can tell: they’re on Park Circle, at the very top, and are generally very well maintained.

To the right are … well, not proper shadows, except in the first picture, which looks up towards those very same ritzy flats (and is in black and white, to show the shadows a bit better). The second two show the Royal Scottish Orchestra building (formerly a church), taken looking along Berkeley Street from Elderslie Street. The one which looks all shadowed is how the streets … well, “actually” look: an incredibly bright sky, and darkened streets. The second of the series is the result of HDR: 3 images, each exposed at 2-stop increments, and mixed together using Photomatix. The result is somewhat surreal, but gives a better idea of what you’d see, if you were standing on the street, because that’s what HDR is all about: what your eyes do when you look at things (which is to say that your pupils dilate and contract to “expose” each thing you’re looking at, rather than “exposing” the whole scene at once).

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants, over at Hey Harriet!

Shadow Shot Sunday

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Glasgow Uni 210

Glasgow Uni 424

Today’s picture is from one of the last sunny days of Summer, here in Glasgow. Shown is the front of the Wellington Church (Church of Scotland), which sits towards the middle of Glasgow University’s sprawling main campus. Designed by Alexander “The Greek” Thomson, it (as all of Thomson’s building designs) is supposed to resemble Grecian architecture. If you’re interested, or for more information, there’s a Greek Thomson Society.

Today’s bonus picture is probably the biggest shadow you’ll ever see: the moon!

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Be sure to check out the rest of the participants, over at Hey Harriet!

Shadow Shot Sunday

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Lynedoch Crescent D 148

Today’s Shadow Shots come from having been keeping my nose to the grindstone, working on writing up a chapter of the PhD. These are from our front window, looking out over the park, or looking to the left onto the cobblestone roadway. The sun can be truly brilliant, when it deigns to come from behind the clouds.

It’s raining this morning, and it looks to keep it up for awhile. I jokingly said to my cousin that Glasgow had only 3 seasons: California Winter (a.k.a., Spring), California Spring (a.k.a. Summer), Oregon Winter (a.k.a. Autumn), Washington State Winter (a.k.a. Winter).

The idea that temperatures peak out, here, at at most 80°F / 26°C during the summer was frightening, when we first thought about it, but … yeah, that’s about right for what we’d expect during Spring, in California. The other comparisons … well, they’re about right, too. When all is said and done, will we acclimate back to California’s summers of 115°F / 47°C?

Lynedoch Crescent D 153 HDR

Be sure to check out the rest of the participants, over at Hey Harriet!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Lynedoch Crescent T 21

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a Shadow Shot Sunday. This is because I’ve been busy, writing up a chapter for my PhD. It’s been a long while, during which there have been many shadows.

There have been many meals eaten at the computer… (Remember your first computer at home, and the rules your parents made about never eating at the keyboard? Uh, yeah. Sorry, Mom and Dad.)

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…and many hours scowling over just the right word. And then, many lost hours of clowning when writing should have been getting done. *cough*

Welll, let’s just draw a veil over the wasted time, shall we?

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Some of the best shadows, though, have been to do with T’s orchid. She’s managed to get it to send up a new spike, and to flower again!

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This is the first orchid we’ve managed not to kill, never mind the flowers. How was this done? Well, by neglecting the heck out of it, putting it in a non-sunny corner of the room, watering it only once a week (if that), and not giving it any fertilizer, of course!

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I think that we care a bit too much for our plants. They’d probably like for us to go on vacation more often (or to work more on our writing).

Happy Shadow Shot Sunday! And Happy September (soon)!

Shadow Shot Sunday

Today’s Shadow Shots are from our window, here in Glasgow, Scotland. This magpie is one of the ones who lives in our park. This particular morning he was just … irresistibly wandering about. After taking his picture, I looked up & noticed that the towers across the way were shadowy as well.

Happy Shadow Shot Sunday! And Happy August!