2015: The year in pictures

With 2015 coming to a close, we asked University photographer J. Adam Fenster to select his favorite Rochester photos from the past year.

Rocking on: The UR Rock Climbing Club encourages Rochester students to explore the sport of rock climbing. Club members often visit area rock climbing gyms, including this one at RIT, to practice, work out, or let off some steam. Here, Miriam Grigsby ’17 scales the wall as her fellow rock climbers look on.

“For this shot I was partly inspired by the awesome photos you see in climbing magazines,” says Fenster. “Plus, it’s always great to show our students in situations outside of academia and the classroom.”

Pill power: Medical Center researchers are testing a new oral vaccine to prevent infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Unlike traditional HIV vaccines that are given as shots, this vaccine is taken in pill form. Here, one such capsule is held between a nurse’s gloved fingers.

“I only had about a minute to photograph the capsule because it’s normally kept in a freezer until right before the patient takes it,” Fenster says. Although macrophotography such as this can be challenging, the end result was worth the effort: “It made me really proud to be able to capture this illustration of how far we’ve come in terms of HIV/AIDS research, in general and here at Rochester.”

And the Grammy goes to… In February, Paul O’Dette, professor of lute at the Eastman School of Music, won his second Grammy Award. Fenster was asked to take a portrait of O’Dette, and so he went to the professor’s office. “I saw the organ there and thought it might work to include it in the background while he played the lute,” explains Fenster. Using lighting and framing, he was able to obscure the rest of the professor’s workspace.

“I had never heard anyone playing a lute before, and here I was getting a private recital with one of the world’s best.”

Winter wonderland: Winter is a fact of life in Rochester, but one of the upsides is an abundance of picturesque campus shots available for the taking. This photo was taken from atop the Brooks Crossing Apartment and it shows the River Campus in its winter glory. “I like showing off our distinctive bend in the Genesee River. The plan now is to capture this view during all four seasons,” comments Fenster.

Artist in action: In March, the University tapped Rochester-based artist Sarah Rutherford to paint a mural on one of the tunnel walls under Dewey Hall. Her University-themed mural includes an image of women’s rights activist Susan B. Anthony and the University’s official flower, the dandelion.

Rutherford painted the mural over several weeks, and Fenster wanted to catch her in action. “My first thought was that the Dewey tunnel hallway is not the most aesthetically pleasing space for a mural of such creativity and beauty,” notes Fenster. “However, in a sense, that makes it the perfect place since besides having a need for art it gets a lot of traffic, especially in the winter, so students and the community will have the chance to see an artistic tribute to the godmother of our city.”

From Eastman to Hollywood—and back again: Emmy Award-winning composer and Eastman School of Music alumnus Jeff Beal has created acclaimed scores for film and television, including Netflix’s House of Cards. In April, he returned to his alma mater with his wife, vocalist and fellow Eastman alum, Joan. While at Rochester, Beal taught master classes and even lead a small group coaching session with Eastman jazz students (pictured above).

“Here’s a guy who’s at the top of his profession, and he comes back to Eastman to impart his wisdom to current students and jam with them,” says Fenster. “How cool is that? It’s the epitome of an Eastman education.”

This year the Beals gave back in another major way: They committed $2 million to launch the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School.

The birds and the bees and the … frogs? Fenster loves photographing creatures and critters. When he discovered the opportunity to join ecology and evolutionary biology students on one of their annual outings in search of salamanders and frogs in the ephemeral ponds of nearby Mendon Ponds Park, he jumped at the chance—even though they were heading out at 10 p.m.

“We don’t have too many opportunities to photograph our scientists in the field, doing what they do. Add amphibians to the mix and it’s not a hard sell for me.” On this particular trip in April, they came across this spring peeper.

“It was a night after the winter snows had melted, and we stumbled across this little guy, totally in his element, probably calling for his mate amid the deafening chorus of his fellow frogs. We used our headlamps and flashlights to light the scene, and the shallow depth of field from the macro lens gives the image an ethereal feel.”

Into ambient air: Fenster relishes the technical challenge of illustrating the research of the University’s scientists and engineers. “Ideally the research is something you can render visually. This image probably represents the limit of what we can photograph without using a microscope.”

In this case, Fenster opted for a lower angle and mixed a long exposure with added light to illustrate the research of optics PhD student Fabrizio Buccheri and his advisor, professor Xi-Cheng Zhang. The pair has shown that a laser-generated microplasma in ambient air can be used as a source of broadband terahertz radiation.

Lest we forget: In April, University of Rochester students affiliated with Active Minds (a national organization dedicated to mental health awareness) planted 1,100 pinwheels, each one representing a college student lost to suicide annually. Here, Raey Gesese ’16 plants pinwheels on the Wilson Quad. “It’s a pertinent yet sometimes hidden issue on college campuses across the nation. The contrast between the hundreds of pretty yellow pinwheels and what they represent in this case is jarring yet effective, and the overcast light helps the photo convey the gravity and seriousness of the message,” explains Fenster.

Baby on board: Every May, Fenster shoots six different commencement ceremonies at the University. Besides the typical stage and podium shots, he’s always on the lookout for special moments. “Whenever I can, I get there early in order to see the candidates prepping.” Before this year’s doctoral degree ceremony, he spotted Sarilyn Ivancic and her husband, Steven, getting ready with their eight-month-old son Henry. “Henry’s walking with us the whole way,” Ivancic explained.

Fenster knew he had to capture that moment, so he kept an eye on them during the ceremony. True to her word, Sarilyn crossed the stage with Henry in her arms. “This is definitely one of my favorites. I’d never seen a baby cross the stage before, and Henry pulled himself together in time for the moment,” recalls Fenster.

Walk this way: “This is your quintessential commencement meta-photo,” says Fenster. After years of shooting commencement ceremonies on the River Campus, the photographer has learned where to set up in order to capture the best candid moments. Here, candidates from Arts, Sciences & Engineering process down Wilson Boulevard with iconic Rush Rhees Library in the background. “There’s always lots of energy from the students, who are all fired up and excited about achieving this great milestone in their lives.”

College Town, Our Town: “We photograph a lot of buildings, but College Town is one of the most noteworthy recent additions to the University. If you remember what that corner looked like a few years ago, it’s a total transformation,” says Fenster.

“We needed something dramatic since this was going to be the opening spread to illustrate the College Town story in the alumni magazine.” Twilight is one of the best times for this type of photo, so Fenster placed his camera on a tripod and made an eight-second exposure from the intersection of Elmwood and Mt. Hope Avenues.

“This was one of only a handful of frames that worked. It’s a balance between the ambient light of the sky, the light from the buildings and traffic lights, and the sea of light in the foreground from the passing cars.”

Play ball: To illustrate a study about how our brains track moving objects—and why we’re sometimes fooled by motion-related optical illusions—Fenster joined the University’s videographer who was filming Yellowjackets pitcher Rob Mabee throwing a curveball.

Shot on a tripod and with a long lens, this image represents a single pitch captured in seven frames and then assembled in Photoshop. “We initially photographed the pitcher from behind, but I wasn’t happy with the result. So I switched sides, and we’ve got this nice, even background that highlights the trajectory of the ball.”

See you in the NICU: The largest capital project undertaken by the University, the new, eight-story Golisano Children’s Hospital opened its doors this summer. Fenster worked with the Medical Center communications team to help illustrate not only the bricks-and-mortar aspects of the hospital but also the emotional component of this achievement: the patients who benefit from its state-of-the-art capabilities.

Here, Danielle Scarborough holds the hand of her son, Hudson Brinkman, in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), part of the new hospital. Hudson was born in July via emergency Caesarian section.

“This moment between a mother and her newborn son really struck me—the two of them holding hands, her smile and reflection as she looks down on him with so much love. One of my kids spent a harrowing week in the old NICU at Strong, so I could identify a little with what this woman was experiencing and also appreciate how nice this new facility is.”

Veep visits Rochester: One of the most important news stories for our region was the announcement that the city of Rochester will headquarter the new American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. The University of Rochester is a key partner in the consortium that won a national competition to advance U.S. photonics manufacturing capability.

In July, Vice President Joe Biden came to Rochester to announce that the federal government has decided to provide $110 million in funding for the photonics institute. “It was a packed house,” recalls Fenster. “You know something’s a big deal when the vice president comes to town.”

Back to school: Another major news story this year was the University’s partnership with East Upper and Lower Schools, beginning with the 2015–16 academic year. The first day at the “new East” marked a new era for the school’s students, families, teachers, and staff.

The energy and enthusiasm of the day is palpable in Fenster’s photograph. “We weren’t allowed to show student faces; fortunately, this frame is filled with the happy faces of everyone else, and that’s what carries the photo.”

Falling for Rochester: Autumn on college campuses is a special time of year. “It’s prime photography season, a great time to get out of the office,” says Fenster, who shot this image of Tara Vrooman ’19 in a leaf pile in the Susan B. Anthony Bowl. “Believe it or not, this photo is 100 percent legitimate: freshmen out enjoying the beautiful weather and the fall leaves.”

A glimpse of the future? Tom Howard, professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, has a new laboratory dedicated to exploring robotics and artificial intelligence. Fenster scoped out the lab a couple of times, but it was on a follow-up visit that he shot PhD student Mike Napoli guiding a type of robot called a “Turtlebot” to study robotic motion planning and reception.

“Once I saw those cones, I knew I had to implement them in the photo,” Fenster says. The lens he selected gives the overhead view a nice curvature, while the cones add a distinctive pop of color, shapes, and shadows.

Early Douglass daguerreotype: Once owned by Susan B. Anthony, this daguerreotype of famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass is on loan to the Rush Rhees Library from the Chester County Historical Society in Pennsylvania. University scientists will examine the portrait in order to further historical knowledge and aid conservation efforts.

“Another photograph of a photograph, only this time it’s a daguerreotype of the man you could call the godfather of our city,” says Fenster. The regal colors of the case containing the monochrome daguerreotype add contrast and warmth, resulting in a more compelling image.