Stairway of Light

It is spring break week at Penn State, and that is usually an awesome time to walk around and take pictures of campus that have few if any people in them. The weather was beautiful and sunny on this morning, and the timing was perfect. I had to be on campus anyway, so I seized the opportunity to make some pictures.

I do a lot of nature and outdoor photography, but I also love shooting interesting buildings both inside and out. This was my first opportunity to visit the new Biobehavioral Health building that sits between Henderson and Henderson South, below Old Main.

And so it was that I went inside and discovered this wonderful stairway of light. It sits just inside the glass wall facing the HUB, and there are pretty little tables and chairs arranged along the wall. Such an inviting place to sit and enjoy the good light and a nice view.

I also took a few minutes to walk around the HUB while it was practically deserted. It is a pretty, colorful space, and I enjoy taking pictures there. On this day, there were physical plant employees everywhere, doing tasks they cannot do when students are present: cleaning things, making repairs. I've included a photo in the extras of the colorful (empty) chairs near the aquarium (aquarium = the two blue splotches in the top of the photo) on the ground floor.

Of course, I had to visit central campus too, and so I strolled around Old Main and Pattee Library under perfect, heartbreakingly blue skies. Just below the library, I came across a little art installation that gave me hope: a whole collection of the world's flags, including our own, arranged in the shape of a heart. I've included a photo in the extras of the heart of flags.

I usually pick just one song to go with a day's blip posting, but since I've posted three pictures, here are three songs to go with them. For the stairway, here is Duran Duran's Last Chance on the Stairway. For the empty chairs at the HUB, here is Don McLean, with Empty Chairs. And for the heart of flags, here is an old favorite: an acoustic Jackson Browne performance of In the Shape of a Heart.