As the University photographer, Adam Fenster sees鈥攁nd subsequently documents鈥攎ore than the average person at Rochester. And as in years past, he picks some of his favorite photos and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what makes each one special.
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Remembering Dean Burgett
Paul Burgett鈥攎usician, scholar, teacher, and University leader for over half a century鈥攄ied this year at the age of 72. Although this portrait was taken in 2014 for a in Rochester Review, Fenster chose to include it among this year鈥檚 photos as a tribute to the larger-than-life person many of us knew simply as Dean Burgett.
鈥淚t was during this profile鈥攃overing his classes and ‘The Fiery Furnace鈥� speech, making his portrait鈥攖hat I began to get a sense of who Paul was as a person and educator,” Fenster recalls. 鈥淭here really is no one else like him. He touched a lot of lives.鈥�
For his portrait, Burgett chose the Welles-Brown Room. Fenster lit him with a soft box while allowing a window just outside the frame to provide subtle illumination on the bookshelves and the right side of Burgett鈥檚 face. 鈥淭he result is a dark, contrasty image that allows Paul鈥檚 warmth to shine through.鈥� This portrait was used on the memorial service program and website.
Grounded in (augmented) reality
In this photo, chemical engineering students congregate around a table that uses an interactive augmented reality platform to let students simulate the reactions in a chemical plant.
Fenster heard about the table and went to scout it out. 鈥淎s soon as I saw it, I realized this definitely calls for an overhead photo. So, I took my monopod, stuck my camera on it, and got the shot.鈥�
The only light is from the table itself and the doorway. Fenster had to wait for the opportune moment when the students were interacting with the technology and each other. 鈥淥therwise, it just looks like coffee mugs on a glowing table. The human element is what helps to fully illustrate this new and different technology.鈥�
Telling shells
Fenster photographed items from the University鈥檚 former natural history museum to promote the Ward Project, a new initiative that enables scientists, historians, and archivists to recreate the inventory of Henry Augustus Ward, a faculty member at the University from 1862 to 1875.
Pictured here is an item from Ward鈥檚 inventory: the skeletal shell of Dasypus novemcinctus, also known as the nine-banded armadillo. 鈥淚 like this photo because it’s all about texture, lighting, and repetition. You鈥檝e got a color photo that looks black and white. It checks a lot of boxes aesthetically for me.鈥�
I鈥檓 with her
Louise Slaughter, who died in March, represented the Rochester region in Congress for more than 30 years. During that time, she worked tirelessly to fund and support research initiatives at the University.
More than 2,000 guests鈥攊ncluding family, friends, and government officials鈥攇athered to celebrate her life during a memorial service held in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. Among the speakers was former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton.
鈥淔or something like this,鈥� notes Fenster, 鈥測ou don鈥檛 want it to be all about Hillary鈥攊t鈥檚 about Louise, after all鈥攂ut Hillary鈥檚 still a part of it. You want a photo that shows the whole scene, so that means shooting the same scene but in different ways, with a different focus, using different exposures.鈥�
Fenster has shot in Kodak Hall countless times and credits his experience as a photojournalist for teaching him to cover his bases. He says, 鈥淓ditors drill it into you: move around, get to different locations if you can, give the client multiple options.鈥�
Cartwheels on the quad
Sarah Cawley 鈥�21, a former gymnast and current club volleyball player, performs an aerial cartwheel on the Eastman Quad in April.
鈥淲hen the weather鈥檚 nice and I’m on my way to and fro, I’ll see a lot of activity on the quad, those 鈥榮lice of life鈥� moments on campus,鈥� Fenster says.
When he noticed Cawley, he recognized the potential for a different take on an otherwise typical 鈥渒ids on the quad with Rush Rhees Library in the background” shot. So, he asked for her permission and then got in low with a wide lens and a high shutter-speed (1/1600th of a second, in this case). 鈥淲hen you freeze the action like that, it almost looks like she鈥檚 levitating.鈥� For Fenster, that unexpected element is what elevates (pun intended) this photo to year-in-pictures status.
Pensive visage
Finding those unexpected elements can be challenging with recurring or annual events, such as first-year student Move-In Day. 鈥淵ou can show all the cars lining up鈥攚hich they do every year鈥攁nd that tells you what they experienced. But I also look for moments that try to convey what they felt.鈥�
Here, Callista Zaronias 鈥�22 of Broomfield, Colorado, is captured peering out from the backseat of a car waiting in the parking lot. In the background, another incoming student鈥檚 blurred face acts as a visual echo of Zaronias and the hundreds of other new students who descend upon the River Campus at the beginning of each academic year.
Meet the music man
Adrian Jackson, a first-year viola student from Austin, Texas, stands outside the Eastman School of Music for a portrait.
The first notable aspect of the photo is the location. 鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to photograph someone in front of Kodak Hall unless you get really far away,鈥� says Fenster. Fortunately, Jackson was game, the traffic was minimal, and the bright but slightly overcast sky created good lighting.
鈥淭he other interesting thing here is Adrian himself. If you had asked me to art direct someone鈥檚 outfit, I wouldn鈥檛 have been able to come up with this look. The contrast of the yellow chucks with the classical instrument鈥攊t makes you want to stop and read the caption to find out who this guy is and what he鈥檚 about.鈥�
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Let鈥檚 get in formation
The Class of 2022 forms the University’s spirit 鈥淩鈥� logo on the Wilson Quad to kick off Wilson Day, the annual day of community engagement for new undergraduate students.
For years, Fenster has been advocating to get each incoming class to take a portrait together during the early days of their time at the University. 鈥淐redit to Eleanor Oi and the orientation staff because this is the year we finally got it right,鈥� he says. String outlining a giant 鈥淩鈥�, hundreds of students in matching shirts, and a bucket truck operated by the facilities team helped make this single still photo possible.
In full swing
Missy Pfohl Smith, director of the Program of Movement and Dance, was appointed this year to lead the Institute for the Performing Arts for a three-year term.
Pfohl Smith is a dancer, so the O鈥橞rien Hall dance studio was a logical choice for the location. Fenster took a series of more traditional portraits in the setting but prefers this shot because it鈥檚 鈥渋n the moment. She doesn’t even seem to be aware that the camera is there.鈥�
He adds, 鈥淵ou can see how she鈥檚 framed by this rectangle in the background, yet her feet and legs are breaking out of that grid. It鈥檚 peak action.鈥�
Star quality
Stars and the Milky Way Galaxy light the evening sky over Lake Ontario, as viewed from the shore at Chimney Bluffs State Park. Fenster was asked to photograph the scene to help illustrate the University鈥檚 鈥�.
鈥淚f you want to show a person with the stars, you need a low angle, a lot of space, and a dark area,鈥� Fenster says. 鈥淐ameras nowadays with their high ISOs [light sensitivity], it鈥檚 almost like they can see in the dark. It didn鈥檛 look that way in person, but if you expose it right, the sensor takes in all the light and allows you to see the galaxy.鈥�
How Hitchcockian
Allen Topolski, associate professor of art and art history, is pictured with his installation, 鈥淎 Common Inculcation,鈥� at PLAY/ GROUND, an immersive art exhibition featuring 29 artists at the former high school in Medina, New York.
Fenster brought a single light with him for this outing. The silhouette next to Topolski was continually changing and at one point crossed its arms. 鈥淪o, I asked Allen to cross his arms, too. He鈥檚 a nice guy and was willing to work with me to realize my vision.鈥� And the final result features what looks to be a shadow or cutout of Topolski.
Monet at the MAG
Using a fish-eye lens and monopod, Fenster documented visitors to the Memorial Art Gallery鈥檚 exclusive exhibition: Monet鈥檚 Waterloo Bridge: Vision and Process.
Instead of a close-up of a single Monet painting, Fenster wanted his photograph to tell the story of the whole exhibition: that is, you can take your time to compare, contrast, and contemplate eight versions of the same London scene side by side.
Notice how in the photo the paintings themselves radiate with an opalescent quality. 鈥淭he team at the MAG did a great job with the lighting and layout of the exhibition,鈥� says Fenster.
Home court advantage
Basketball icon and activist Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visited Rochester in November to meet with students and discuss his perspective on some of the issues dividing the United States, including racism, economic inequality, and social injustice.
The event itself, held in the Palestra, was at maximum capacity. Fenster snapped this shot as Abdul-Jabbar received a standing ovation from the crowd. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a legend, he came to our campus to speak, and we got to hear his insights firsthand,鈥� Fenster says. 鈥淚 even got my photo taken with him.鈥�
New look at an old song book
In this photo, librarian and archivist Autumn Haag holds the title page of 鈥淔arewell Song of Frederick Douglass.鈥� The piece鈥攐ne of only two copies known to exist鈥攊s contained within a volume of sheet music recently acquired by the University鈥檚 Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation.
Fenster photographs his fair share of books, documents, and other items from the library鈥檚 special collections. When it makes sense, he tries to incorporate an element of humanity in these photographs of inanimate objects. As Haag held up one page from the fragile volume,
Fenster used a front light. But it was the backlight that proved crucial. One tiny flash from behind illuminated the all-important cover page (featuring Frederick Douglass鈥檚 name) while also casting light on the sheet music that follows.
鈥淭hat backlighting is really where the magic comes from in this photo.鈥�
Next-Gen Nobel?
Sara Bucht, a graduate student in the Plasma and Ultrafast Physics Group, is reflected in a grating used in her lab at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The smaller grating in the foreground is the one used in the 1980s by Donna Strickland 鈥�89 (PhD) in the work for which she received a Nobel Prize in Physics this year.
鈥淲e wanted to show the contrast between Donna鈥檚 original small [grating] and this big new one, and how these researchers are carrying on her work today,鈥� says Fenster. Aptly enough, at least to this writer鈥檚 mind, the image successfully blends the classic 1980s aesthetic with a futuristic vibe. The end result is a photograph that is distinctly Rochester.
