Back on campus ... and in Indiana: Ball State University, Muncie

Until the Wednesday after Labor Day, the day we set out to return to North Carolina from a long holiday week in Indianapolis, it had been almost three years since I had been to an Indiana university or college campus to do a photo documentation.

And it wasn't until that very day -- when Lee Ann decided we would return to North Carolina by way of Muncie so that her daughter Lea could stop at Ball State University to confer with a faculty member to discuss job prospects and referrals -- that I had an inkling I'd get that chance.

In my nearly 40 years of living in Indianapolis, I'd never been to the Ball State University campus. It took me two years removed from Indiana to get there. In almost all of the previous visits to Indiana school campuses, it was in tandem with a seven-year project -- Game Day -- to visit all of the small colleges and universities in Indiana that fielded football teams. Last week's visit involved no game.

I had only an hour and a half to cover as much turf as I could, and in retrospect, I probably spent more time on the football stadium and basketball arena facilities than I should have if I were to divide the time proportionately. But there was a good reason for me to do it: I had access to the insides of both athletic facilities. At my last campus shoot, in Buies Creek, N.C., the home of Campbell University, I was shut out of the football stadium.

I was very impressed with what I saw at Ball State. Don't ask me why, but I was expecting to be underwhelmed. It was quite the contrary. BSU is a nicely laid out and maintained campus, and I liked the football and basketball facilities.

A photo of the Shafer carillon tower (above), in the center of campus on a modest median along North McKinley Avenue, BSU's primary north-south thoroughfare, ordinarily would have been a logical choice to lead off the post. Or perhaps a shot of the iconic Beneficence (below), a/k/a "Benny," the institutional sculpture facing West University Avenue that is used on Ball State stationery.

But I as contemplated what to use for my lead-off photo, I repeatedly came back to a photo of the back side of the Teachers College building, bedecked with a large "We Fly" banner (the catchy phrase used in the school's new marketing campaign). That's what I ended up using to top the post.

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a full gallery of the Ball State University shoot, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I did the entire shoot with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens equipped with a B+W polarizing filter. I took three slightly different exposures (one as metered, one 2/3 stop over and one 2/3 stop under metered), which I blended into a single frame in post-processing using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software. Most of the shots were taken at 100 ISO or close to 100 ISO and f/8. I used the shutter as my variable for the differing exposures for each composition.

One more view (above) of the bell tower, as seen from the north end of McKinley Avenue heading toward the center of campus. Below, a BSU welcoming sign adorned with the iconic Beneficence figure.  

A section of the fountain (above) in the mall near the Alexander M. Bracken Library (below), the main library on campus. 

Above and below: Two views of Emens Auditorium, the one above from the left side, the one below from the right, peering through some ornamental grass. The second photo below is an op art installation outside the auditorium.  

Above: I thought I'd be remiss if I didn't include at least one photo of the David Letterman Center for Communications and Media. 

I include an exterior shot (above) of the Whitinger Business Building because that's where Lee Ann spent a lot of her higher ed schooling getting her M.B.A. The photo below is a portion of the exterior of the University College of Architecture and Architecture Library. I found it ironic that the architecture college's distinguished (I think?) architecture ... is obscured extensively -- on both sides -- by trees. 

Above: I don't know much about the transit system either on campus or in Muncie, but I noticed a lot of buses along McKinley Avenue during the time I traversed the thoroughfare on foot. 

Above is a full perspective shot of Beneficence, which a page at the university's website said was finished by sculptor Daniel Chester French in 1937. It's where graduates and their families go to pose for photos after outdoor graduation ceremonies. 

The Frank A. Bracken Administration Building on West University Avenue (above). Across the street from it is the Ball State Student Center (below). 

Above: I include a shot of the Charles W. Brown Planetarium in honor of one of my college roommates, who spent his collegiate and post-collegiate career managing and directing planetariums. He spent the lion's share of the time at the Roger B. Chafee Planetarium in Grand Rapids, Mich. 

Two eye-catching views (above and below) of Scheumann Stadium, where the Ball State Cardinals play their home football games. The second photo below is a simple geometric composition of the pillars behind the north end zone. The third and fourth photos below are shots inside the stadium. 

Another geometric composition (above) at a stairway to one of the football stadium gates. Below are two large footballs, one red and one black, positioned at opposite ends of the west entrances to the stadium. The red one is on the north end, the black on the south end. A worker I encountered near this area told me that it is tradition for Cardinals fans to rap on the footballs as they enter the stadium. 

 

Exterior shots (above and below) of Worthen Arena, the home of Cardinals men and women's basketball, volleyball and gymnastics teams. 

A look at the arena court (above) and Worthen Arena concourse (below). 

Just south of Worthen Arena is the Lewellen Aquatic Center (above). I include this partially because classmate of mine in high school (Milwaukee, Wis.) has a child who swam on the Ball State swim team some years ago. 

Above: A short jaunt from Scheumann Stadium is the alumni center. This is the side facing West Bethel Avenue. 

There's more to Fishers church campus than is seen from the road out front

I've driven past St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church on Hague Road in Fishers, Ind., countless times commuting to Lee Ann's former home or the home of her daughter, both of which are in the Sunblest subdivision just north of East 116th Street and east of Allisonville Road.

The wife of a work colleague at The Indianapolis Star was a member of the congregation probably since or shortly after its founding in 1978, although that was before construction of the current church and school facilities. So I've always had some interest in coming back to the campus for a photo documentation. That day happened on Labor Day last week, as I was returning to Lee Ann's daughter's house where we were staying during a recent visit to the Indy area over the holiday.

I picked a good day for it; because it was a holiday, the campus was deserted except for a mother and child enjoying the playground equipment in the far exterior of the property.

And speaking of the property's exterior ... once you get behind the church -- the sanctuary is the only church structure visible to motorists passing on Hague Road -- you come upon a visually impressive campus.

For starters, there is a grotto with a circular prayer labyrinth and bench where one can sit and enjoy the scenery. Sprinkled about in the same vicinity, there is an outdoor Stations of the Cross for Catholics to indulge (for the benefit of non-Catholic, the Stations of the Cross is a traditional Lenten devotion commemorating Jesus' last moments on Earth, beginning with his condemnation by Pilate. Catholics stop at each of 14 pictorial (in what appears to be stained glass) "stations" to remember each step of Jesus' journey to Calvary).

The campus also has a school (which opened in 2000), a playground, soccer field, community hall, youth ministry facility and parish offices. And in separate places on the parking lot asphalt in front of the school, there are paintings of rosary beads and a map of the United States. I guess it's one of those things you have to see to appreciate. Or ... simply take in my pictures. :-)

As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. This is particularly helpful when accessing the blog from a mobile device. To view a full gallery of the shoot at St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church, click on the link in this sentence.

Photo geek stuff: I did the entire shoot with my Canon 6D and Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD lens equipped with a B+W polarizing filter. I took three slightly different exposures (one as metered, one 2/3 stop over and one 2/3 stop under metered), which I blended into a single frame in post-processing using Photomatix high-dynamic range (HDR) software. Most of the shots were taken at f/8 and 100 ISO (or close to 100 ISO), although in extremely shady areas I boosted the ISO to much higher levels. I used the shutter as my variable for the differing exposures for each composition.

The most distinguishing feature of the church exterior is the Guardian Angel Bell Tower and crucifix (above), donated in 1993 by parishioner John Burkhard in memory of his wife, Beryl, who had died the previous year. A closeup of the bell appears below, and a closeup of the statue that you see in the bottom of the photo above ... is in the second photo below. According to a plaque on the brick inside the tower cove, the bell was cast for St. Bridget parish in Logansport, Ind., in 1887. I don't know the story behind how it eventually came to rest at St. Louis de Montfort, but the plaque indicated it was dedicated at its current location in 1993. 

The front facade of Craig Willy Hall, the community gathering spot (above), and the circular prayer labyrinth (below) near the grotto, bench and Stations of the Cross, one of which (the one where Jesus falls for the third time while carrying his cross to Mount Calvary) is shown in the second photo below. 

Above is a perspective shot of the grotto, and the two photos immediately below are closeups of a young woman praying (she is just outside the left side of the photo above) and the young man, who is at the right in the photo above.  

Above: The bench near the grotto, circular prayer labyrinth and stained-glass pictures for the Stations of the Cross. 

A view of the school facade and adjacent playground (above). The soccer field can be seen in the background of the second photo below. The exterior of the youth ministry center, which is across the parking lot from the school, is shown in the first photo below. 

Rosary beads and the cross painted on one section of asphalt parking lot in front of the school (above) and the United States map painted elsewhere (below). 

Above: A bench outside the youth ministry center, a gift from the school's Class of 2018. 

The "lower level" (not sure what that term means) parish office and food pantry (above) and the main (upper level?) parish office and rectory (I think) below.   

Above: These three crosses were in the planter right by the church entrance from Hague Road. I had to wonder if the crosses represent more than just religious landscaping. Are they intended as memorials of some kind, perhaps? (shrug)