Carfax, Oxford, a photo from Oxfordshire, England

Photographer's Note

This is "Carfax" in Oxford and for someone like me who hates heights, this was not a pleasant photograph to take!

The name "Carfax" derives from the Latin "quadrifurcus" via the French "carrefour", both of which mean a "crossroads". And at this junction stands St. Martin's Tower, the only remaining part of what was once the City Church of St. Martin of Tours.

In fact the tower itself is now generally known as "Carfax Tower" and for a small entry fee you can climb to the top of it at 74 feet (23 metres) and have a fine view of the City of Oxford.

Here we are looking due east along the length of High Street with the tall spire of All Saints Church, now no longer a church but the library of Lincoln College, poking up above the horizon while the dome of the Radcliffe Camera can be seen farther to the left.

The other roads at this crossroads are Cornmarket Street to the north, St. Aldate's to the south and Queen Street to the west.

You can see the location of the tower at: 51.751994, -1.258140 .

ISO 100, 1/50 sec at f/13, focal length 24mm.

You can see a larger version of this photograph at this url: https://i1.trekearth.com/photos/48186/img_6122.jpg

As a matter of fact, this photograph was taken during a lovely "mini" TE meeting hosted by Richard Beghin (Ricx) in Oxfordshire in 2012. I'll see if I can find a photograph of him to add as a workshop!

ikeharel, pajaran, Fis2, holmertz, jhm, jean113, COSTANTINO, alvaraalto, PaulVDV, ChrisJ, macjake, adramad ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

ifege (48291) 2020-05-20 0:02

Hi John
Despite your fear of heights you managed a great photo of the intersection and introduced to a new word - carfax. And the French would was only familiar to me through the retail Carrefour chain.
cheers
Ian

emka (158204) 2020-05-20 0:05

hello dear John,
I was in Oxford also in 2012 and after the TE meeting, but Rich was busy so he took me to Oxford and then left alone (hahaha).
Nice picture from above, I also have vertigo but try to climb the towers. 23 m is not so high, but it offers a charming view from above. very interesting crossroad. beautiful view of the corner building, nice dome, maybe Radcliff camera? Bev also showed Oxford yesterday.
Stay safe

MAlgo xx

Silvio1953 (221813) 2020-05-20 0:29

Ciao caro John, great POV on fantastic city, really a vertigo view, wonderful colors, excellent clarity and splendid light, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

Fis2 (170975) 2020-05-20 1:17

Witaj John!
A beautiful panorama of town.
Interesting POV, composition and colors.
Curious architecture, the dtreet makes impression.
Nice scene from daily life.
Well done.
Nice day.
Krzysztof

holmertz (102866) 2020-05-20 1:27

Hello John,
This is a truly magnificent view with such a lot of details to watch. Looking at people from straight above always fascinates me, and from this angle we probably get a better view of the narrow façades on the curving corner than would have been possible at ground level. The rather irrational looking white lines in the street are also quite interesting.
But what by far strikes me the most is the splendid quality of this photo. It could be almost limitlessly enlarged without losing its sharpness, and the colours and clarity are admirable. Even at a maximum size there isn't any trace of noise in the sky, and no signs of deliberate blur. It's amazing.

Kind regards,
Gert

BennyV (34748) 2020-05-20 6:59

Your bravery in the face of the deep has been rewarded, John! This is a terrific picture. Congratulations!

BEnny

Tue (92560) 2020-05-20 10:28

Hello John,
How I love Oxford and this is a truly amazing photo of the city. Thank you so much for taking it, despite your fear of heights. The weather was also perfect and the pleasant sunlight illuminated many of Oxford's 'dreaming spires' as well as the iconic dome of Radcliffe Camera so well. The foreground shows the junction very nicely with a great impression of daily life. Great work!
Lars

jhm (211736) 2020-05-20 10:37

Hello John,

What a wonderful image taken out of the height.
So much lovely details with nice buildings and towers and perspective and depth.
Perfect of colours too.
Very well done, TFS.

Best regards,
John.

jean113 (27901) 2020-05-20 13:11

Hello John, I know Oxford hardly at all, but seeing these recent pictures from you and Beverley, I think that after lockdown,(when?) I would like to revisit.
This is a very sharp shot. So many different styles of building to enjoy.
You had perfect weather with lovely sunshine to enhance all the colours etc.,
Lovely to see the trees and fields in the far distance.

Interesting notes.
Kind regards, Jean.

lousat (139400) 2020-05-20 14:38

Hi John,I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one to suffer from vertigo on TE... hahaha .. but the photos from above are often the most beautiful, and this view of Oxford confirms it, truly spectacular, even if it hangs a little to the left. No comment on the photo of a hot and tired Richard..hehehe ..Have a nice evening and thanks,Luciano

COSTANTINO (116698) 2020-05-20 23:34

Hello dear friend
tanks for sharing with us this pretty postcard
remitted from you to all of us
difficult photo taken perfectly from above
showing interesting architectural details
and many people down there...
I didnt know that the name carfax...
derives from the latin quadrifurcus
welldone
regards
costantino

federico (6109) 2020-05-21 3:22

hello John, very good view indeed, wonderfull light and well chosen POV
regards
Federico

Royaldevon (85932) 2020-05-22 2:51

Hello John,

I had to do a double take, when I saw this; John looking down from such a height!!

How good that you were able to overcome your vertigo, to obtain a photograph as good as this! The clarity and colours are excellent and, in addition, we can see details of the buildings and their layout, not possible at street level!
We can see how facades obscure roofs, we can see quadrangles of colleges, we can see how spires and towers rise above the already lofty buildings and we can see the Radcliffe Camera, strongly positioned.

The photograph gives the impression that Oxford is close to the countryside or has integral parks, a nice mixture alongside these beautiful, eclectic buildings.

Have a good day and keep safe, Bev :-)

alvaraalto (42804) 2020-05-22 6:42

Hello John,
Oxford is popular on TE for the moment. Both Bev and you has surprised us with a sunny image of this beautiful historic city and soon a few impressions for my travelogue from England and Wales will follow. Unfortunately with a lot of less beautiful weather.
You have used your POV perfectly to portray street life from above.
Excellent work
Have a nice day
Be careful and stay safe, Rob

PaulVDV (63026) 2020-05-23 5:47

Hello John,
I understand that some have a hard time looking down from a height.
But towers or other viewpoints give us a different and usually magnificent view of what normally takes place at our feet.
It's the first time that I see a picture of Oxford taken from this point of view.
I'm pleasantly surprised that forests and meadows can be found so close to the city center. Of course it's Oxford itself that appeals here in the first place.
We find wonderful architecture on the entire left corner on the other side of the intersection.
Furthermore, various towers and spires all over the town and a very large dome, I suppose the dome of Radcliffe Camera.
Excellent clear and sharp cityscape!
Best regards, Paul

ChrisJ (171888) 2020-05-25 7:08

Hi John

It seems that London does not have a monopoly on interesting sights and architecture. Excellent sharpness and a superb elevated pov looking down the street from above. Tfs!

macjake (98518) 2020-05-28 18:00

Hi John
Oh man, how do you even begin to try and correct the tilt on this one. I get the feeling if you try to straight out the horizon line, then other buildings and such get screwed up. and if you try to correct the horizontal AND vertical tilt, you may lose some of your subjects along the bottom. I would certainly pay the fee to go up here, especially on a day with such awesome cloud coverage. I remember when I was in the Czech Republic, i once went up a tower 3 times in 2 days, just because I liked the view so much. and i paid 3 times haha. the lighting is A+ here, and the view is fun, its a birds eye view. looks great. cheers
Craig

adramad (73040) 2020-05-30 9:20

Hi John.
Spectacular this panoramic view, from the top of the Carfax tower, it is worth going up because the view is impressive, what beauty of facades, and monument towers, many possibilities for lovers of photography, the buildings on the corner to the left are wonderful.
Gorgeous POV, very pleasing to the eye.
Colorful, sharp and bright are captured effectively.
Very good composition, magnificent presentation.
Have a good weekend and keep safety.
Warm greetings.
Luis.