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View Full Version : Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol , England.


KeithM
February 19th, 2008, 06:38 AM
A good challenge this one - how to get a fresh perspective of this engineering icon :) - which I don't think I did :D

Visible on all good maps as the B road toll bridge crossing over a River Avon and the A4 at Clifton. I say 'a' River Avon as there's more than one on this island of ours... don't try and follow, for example, the River Avon that runs through Stratford upon Avon...

The toll is 50p ( at the time of writing ) - in 50, 20 or 10p coins. If you don't have the right money, you can pull up on the bridge approach ( either end ) and walk to a kiosk to get change.

Local parking... there isn't any - well none dedicated to visitors to the bridge. We had to explore the local streets till we found a space. Some roads have time restrictions, others not.

There's also a camera obscura in the observation building overlooking the bridge and gorge ( which we only read about after we got home :rolleyes: )

All shots Fuji S3 + Sigma 10-20mm

Keith.

Postscript. About the Rivers Avon.... sounds like a good old fashioned misunderstanding to me. The Welsh for 'river' is 'afon' ( pronounced 'avon')...

...so you can possibly imagine a couple of thousand years ago, or so, as a cohort of roman legionaires approached what is now the Welsh borders, they stopped at a river. Wanting to be correct, for mapping purposes, they grabbed a local ( whose distant children would be natives of todays Wales ) and demanded the name of the river. In fear, the local just replied 'river!' - Right, they said 'River Avon' it is then ( probably throwing the local into the afon for good measure ) .... maybe :)

Ol'coot
February 19th, 2008, 07:18 AM
Very cool shots and wonderful perspectives with #2 my favorite in this series

Lou M
February 19th, 2008, 08:04 AM
I'm afraid that I'm going to have to bore you all and post mine.
It was a fab day out, even though I missed the turning, it was worth the detour.

I'll get playing tonight and try to post later.

Lou

Melody
February 19th, 2008, 11:58 AM
I agree some great perspectives, I was really enjoying them until that last one made me realize how high up I was!:lol::lol:

I can't get over how there isn't a bunch of people or cars distracting the images.

Melody

KeithM
February 21st, 2008, 05:48 AM
Glad you liked them. Perhaps not the place to go if you're not comfortable with wide open space or heights :)

..... I can't get over how there isn't a bunch of people or cars distracting the images.
Melody

It wasn't very busy, but there was a constant stream of pedestrians, cyclists and cars. There's a 4ton weight limit so nothing big gets over - we did see a couple of ambulances crossing, they get to cross for free though we noticed :) For most of my shots, I just waited for everyone to clear - but the shot below is one where I wanted to show the bridge as a very much working piece of industrial heritage.

Lou has been looking up the prices of the nearby hotel which overlooks the gorge and bridge ( visible to the left of the last shot in the first post ).... I'll let her quote some tariffs when she posts her shots :D

Cheers,

Keith.

Lou M
February 21st, 2008, 09:15 AM
Well here is my favourite from the day. It took me a while when we walked up to realise why the sign was there, but when you looked down it was obvious. Did get a good shot of this with Keith stood looking down, but thought that looked a bit gorey!


Lou

sandman
February 21st, 2008, 02:26 PM
The boy dun good !!
Very nice Keith ,great wide angle perspectives , but the prize must go to Lou's ''Samaritons'' shot .

Brian

KeithM
February 27th, 2008, 01:00 AM
Thank you Brian ( from both of us.... :) )

Lou got some good shots which do justice to the place - she was using a Sigma 28-200 on her D70. I'm currently working out which 18-xxx lens to buy her for her Birthday - she likes shooting at longer focal lengths, but would like the convenience of wide when needed. Lou tried a number of lenses in our local ( and very helpful ) Jessops - Nikon 18-200VR, Sigma 18-200, 18-200OS, 18-125(OS ?) and Tamron 18-200 on a D80 body. The VR/OS are somewhat heftier and she prefers lighter weight, but when she managed an acceptable shot at 200mm and 1/25s, she appreciated the benefit.

Keith.