UCO Campus From the Air

Old North Tower and the UCO CampusAerial view of the iconic Old North Tower on the University of Central Oklahoma campus.

Old North Tower is the iconic landmark at the historic entrance to the University of Central Oklahoma. It's also rumored to be the oldest building of higher education in the state. UCO is my alma mater located in Edmond!

I visit Edmond a couple of times each year usually to celebrate Mother's Day and Thanksgiving. I visit at this time of year mainly to avoid the heat of summer in Oklahoma of which I have grown less tolerant over the years.

I had this perspective in mind for a few years before I could finally capture it. Old North had to be the centerpiece since it was the most recognizable building on the campus. Plus, its iconic clock tower is a great feature. I wanted to show more of the campus which you cannot see from the ground. Since the building faces west the photo needed to be captured in the late afternoon. I also didn't want a bunch of cars or people in the photo. As it turned out, 5 pm on a Sunday afternoon in May was the perfect time. Avoiding the usual winds of central Oklahoma was also an objective since I was using a flying camera (drone) for the photo. One of the things I like most about the photo is the symmetry of Old North and the recently updated landscaping on this part of the campus. Old North really stands out against the randomness of the surrounding campus. It looks a lot better now than it did in the mid-1970s when I attended.

This image is probably not going to end up on anyone's wall unlike most of the photos I write about. But, in the two years it's been available as a stock image it's been licensed over 30 times. Maybe you saw it in a brochure, publication, or online article. As is the case with most of my photo ideas, I also make ground-based photos with a traditional camera. These have also been popular stock images but none as popular as the aerial version. "UCO Campus From the Air" is available here if you're interested.