Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Most Inspiring

So, um, I got this cool e-mail from the Yale Office of Public Affairs & Communications last night:
Congratulations! Your Instagram photo is the winner [of the Founders Day Instagram Challenge] for the category Most Inspiring. . . . [W]e'll repost your photo on the main Yale Instagram account. (Please don't tell anyone until we've made the announcement by leaving a comment on your original photo.) Thanks and congrats!
The "Most Inspiring Instagram" was defined as "the best overall shot taken anywhere on the Yale campus during the Founders Day celebration." The prize? Lunch for the winner and a guest with University President Peter Salovey!

So, now that they've officially announced me as the winner, I can officially post this blog!


I joked about winning lunch with the President all day as I submitted thirty-one photos to the contest through my Instagram account with the tag #InspiringYale. Though I tried really hard by taking lots of photos, oddly enough, the winning shot was the first one I took! It's a view down toward Timothy Dwight College from the eighth floor conference room in my office.

Red tree in TD. #InspiringYale

I edited the photo in Instagram to punch the colors a bit, add a vignette around the corners, and use the radial tilt-shift to blur the edges and focus in on the single red tree in the center of the courtyard.

Below are the rest of my shots from the day. The photo captions are how I tagged the photos for the contest.

In addition to the winning view of campus, I tried to get a few overhead views of the campus from a couple of higher vantage points.

Harkness Tower etc. from the roof of the Loria Center. #InspiringYale

Yale and West Rock from the roof of the Loria Center. #InspiringYale

Kline Biology Tower, Marquand Chapel, Gibbs, Peabody Museum, School of Management, 55 Whitney, and East Rock. #InspiringYale

I'm lucky to have this skyline view from my office each day. Inspired by Yale. #InspiringYale

As a part of the day of celebration, I took the Yale Sacred Places Tour led by the Chaplain's office. We started in Battell Chapel, visited the Hindu and Muslim prayer rooms, walked through Old Campus, and ended up in the Buddhist shrine in the base of Harkness Tower.

Battell Chapel. #InspiringYale

Connecticut Hall, 1750. #InspiringYale

Fan vaults in the Harkness Chapel. #InspiringYale

Wood carvings in Harkness Chapel. #InspiringYale

I also popped in on the President's open house at 43 Hillhouse. The artwork he has on display from the Yale University Art Gallery and Yale Center for British Art is amazing!

Welcome home, Mr. President. #InspiringYale

Oh, you know, it's just an old Albers in my parlor. #InspiringYale

I call this one "Founders' Day Selfie with Albers & Sleeping Toddler" #InspiringYale

May I take a message? #InspiringYale

The President's garden. #InspiringYale

YIMBY Mr. President. #InspiringYale

The Yale Center for British Art also opened their Founder's Room in honor of Paul Mellon.

Paul Mellon's Founders Room at the Yale Center for British Art. #InspiringYale

Louis Kahn's Yale Center for British Art. #InspiringYale

I Kahn't get enough of this building! #InspiringYale

Even my day-to-day business as I walked around campus allowed me the opportunity to post some additional shots of cool spaces and places, and the preparation for the Founders Day celebration.

Inspiring music. #InspiringYale

Ross Library at SOM...but where are the books!? :) #InspiringYale

Reflecting inspiration. #InspiringYale

Berkeley courtyard with autumn colors, presided over by Sterling Memorial Library. #InspiringYale

At the end of the day, I walked through Beinecke Plaza and stopped into the Beinecke Library on my way over to Cross Campus for the end-of-day festivities.

Fall colors are #InspiringYale

Calder on campus. #InspiringYale

The Gutenberg Bible at Beinecke Library. #InspiringYale

Noguchi? No problem! #InspiringYale

The day culminated with a celebration on Cross Campus in front of the Sterling Memorial Library, with yummy fall snacks and remarks by President Peter Salovey.

President Salovey is #InspiringYale

Shamelessly trying to win lunch with the President...but this is the closest I've been so far! :) #InspiringYale

Yummy fall treats for Founders Day. #InspiringYale


Party time! #InspiringYale

After the President's remarks, I left the celebration and headed back home on my bike, passing one last view of campus I always enjoy as I ride past each day: Harkness Tower as seen between Morse and Stiles Colleges.

Mind the gap, Harkness. #InspiringYale