Retired Professors and past colleagues from
the
School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences at RIT
Any successful enterprise is built on the shoulders of
skillful and dedicated
individuals who generously give of their life to cooperatively
contribute to a
common goal. This is also the case in the history of the School of
Photographic
Arts and Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology. We should
recognize
all the retired professors and all our past colleagues and thank them
for a "job well done" on behalf of
future generations of students and faculty who will benefit from their
initiative and ultimately from their life's work! Here are a few of
them.
Due to the large number of images this page may take a little
time to load
and also note that after the portraits there is a section devoted to
"news".
I have decided that this "gallery" would be dedicated to the
memory
of all those who at one time or another helped advance the cause of the
School
of Photographic Arts and Sciences and so I plan to also include the
photographs
of colleagues who worked at our school and whose photographs I could
find as well as those of good friends who now only live in our
memories.
I was very fortunate to recently have to opportunity to use my
little Agfa
ePhoto 1280 digital camera to copy a number of photographs from the
"Zakia
Archives" going back to the 1950's, '60's and 70's. Then I started
adding some
pictures I found in my own "archives" and recent "candids" taken as I
meet
colleagues here and there. If you click HERE
you can see them!
At various conferences, lectures or special events, I also
"ran across"
several individuals who at some time in the past were instructors here,
whether
in a visiting or full time capacity, and I started a collection of
their
portraits also. You can check it out by selecting Other Friends.
![[photo by Reatllack]](giants/2008-retallack-5205Am.jpg) Recently
I also became
aware of the fact that John Retallack photographed many of SPAS faculty
members and staff and has made available online a collection of his
portraits. These are a few samples. You can see his entire collection
by following this link: John Retallack's collection
By the way, those individual's names, below, that are
highlighted in a different color are "hotlinked"
to an e-mail program and you can send them e-mail by just clicking on
their
name. Do it!
![[Leslie Stroebel]](photofile-c/stroebel-1m.jpg) |
![[Hollis Todd]](photofile-c/todd-1m.jpg) |
![[John Trauger]](photofile-c/trauger-1m.jpg) |
![[Ira Current]](photofile-c/current-1m.jpg) |
![[Burt Carroll]](giants/carroll-1m.jpg) |
![[Richard Zakia]](photofile-c/zakia-1m.jpg) |
![[David Engdahl]](photofile-c/engdahl-1m.jpg) |
Leslie
Stroebel (d)
|
Hollis
Todd (d) |
John
Trauger (d) |
Ira
Current (d) |
Burt
Carroll (d) |
Richard
Zakia (d)
|
David
Engdahl (d) |
![[Joe Beneate]](giants/benenate-1m.jpg) |
![[Jim Rice]](photofile-c/rice-1m.jpg) |
![[Don Smith]](photofile-c/smith-1m.jpg) |
![[Martin Rennalls]](giants/rennalls-1m.jpg) |
![[Jim McMillon]](photofile-c/mcmillon-1m.jpg) |
![[Ed Cohen]](photofile-c/cohen-1m.jpg) |
![[tom hill]](photofile-c/hill-1m.jpg) |
![[bob kayser]](photofile-c/kayser-1m.jpg) |
Joe
Benenate (d) |
Jim
Rice (d) |
Don
Smith (d) |
Martin
Rennalls (d)
|
Jim
McMillon (d) |
Ed
Cohen (d) |
Tom
Hill
(d) |
Bob
Kayser (d) |
![[Mac McCune]](photofile-c/McCune-1m.jpg) |
![[Charles Arnold]](photofile-c/arnold-1m.jpg) |
![[Lothar Engelmann]](photofile-c/engelmann-1m.jpg) |
![[John Compton]](photofile-c/compton-10m.jpg) |
![[Al Rickmers]](giants/rickmers-2012-1m.jpg) |
![[Nile Root]](photofile-c/nileroot-2m.jpg) |
![[Wes Kemp]](photofile-c/kemp-1m.jpg) |
![[Tim Holden]](photofile-c/holden-1m.jpg) |
Mac
McCune
(d)
|
Charles
Arnold (d) |
Lothar
Engelmann (d)
|
John
Compton |
Al
Rickmers (d)
|
Nile
Root (d) |
Wes
Kemp
(d)
|
Tim
Holden (d) |
![[Doug Lyttle]](giants/little-1m.jpg) |
![[Bob Kushner]](ipt/kushner-1m.jpg) |
![[Bill Shoemaker]](ipt/shoemaker-1m.jpg) |
![[Tom Wilson]](giants/tom_wilson-1m.jpg) |
![[Richard Norman]](giants/2008-norman-1m.jpg) |
![[Neil Croom]](giants/neil-croom-2m.jpg) |
![[Ron Francis]](giants/francis-10m.jpg) |
Doug
Lyttle
(d)
|
Bob
Kushner (
d) |
Bill
Shoemaker
(d) |
Tom
Wilson
(d) |
Richard
Norman
(d) |
Neil
Croom
(d) |
Ron
Francis
(d) |
|
News items
It
is with a certain amount of contrition that I have to admit that this
site has not been updated in quite a long time. Hopefully I can upload
some record of at least the photographs from the monthly lunch meetings
among those retired and friends who live in the Rochester area.
Unfortunately the virus has put a damper on local activities and there
is not much to share these days.
ZOOM
meetings installed
A recent development as a esult of the pandemic is that for now at
least the monthly retirees lunch meetings have been replaced by
"virtual" gatherings on Zoom. The great adavantage of this is the fact
that friends from across the contry or possibly world) can attend.This
is a visual record of those who attended our meeting on February 24,
2022. Invitations to participate are sent out monthly. Contact Andrew Davidhazy at andpph@davidhazy.org to receive an invitation for next meeting.

Recent retirees include the
following: Loret Steinberg, Angela Kelly, Willie Osterman and Ken
White. This added here on October 5, 2021
Another of our long term colleagues departed from this world recently. Mark Haven, who since retiring had
been living in NY city passed away last week of September. I don't have
many details but will update this site as soon as I find out more. He
was a quiet gentleman and a PJ expert.

Mark began his RIT career in the applied photography department in 1984
and retired in 2011. Mark Haven had a combined a career of teaching,
exhibitions and editorial photography for over 45 years. In the U.S. he
did assignment work for the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Nest,New
York Magazine and Harper's and Scientic American Maagazine. His
documentary work has appeared in DoubleTake, Nest Magazine and in
Europe in such publications as Zoom International, Zeit Magazin
(Germany); Das Magazin (Switzerland); Moda (Italy). His documentary
projects include a beach resort for nuns, "St. Mary's by-the-Sea",
“Harper Park”, a mobile home community and “The Commute”, a document of
an American Highway. He has been a MacDowell Colony Fellow. His work is
in numerous private collections, the New York Public Library and the
Brooklyn Museum of Art. (This from an RIT announcement)

Long time friend and
colleague Brad Hindson passed
on Monday, June 15th, 2021, in the
morning at 8:26 am. Gentle man with a twinkle in his eyes. Ready to
smile at the drop of a hat. Always available to lend a helping hand. He
will be missed by all.
John Pfahl, 81, world renowned photographer focused lens on Buffalo
Sad to mention that one of the movers and shakers in the fine art
phtography world and retired faculty member, John Pfahl, passed away on
April, 2020 in Buffalo, NY. In this photograph he is seen with his
spouse, Bonnie, once when he came to visit the group in 2008. In 2011
at another lunch gathering Doug Lyttle is laying a benediction on him
per the Greek Orthodox faith. A couple more photographs are included in
the obituary link here: giants/2020 john pfahl passing.html

Recently I received a little anecdote forwarded to me by Jim Langone. I
don't know who told it to him but here it goes. It is about Les
Stroebel. "I was there 75-79. (probably RIT) I'll have to give you a
call sometime so we can relive the excitement of the "Cage." I ran into
Dick Zakia at a Duke football game a year or two before he passed. He
was surprised I recognized him. Actually, I wasn't sure so I just went
up and asked. ;) Don't know if you ever heard the Strobel view camera
story from his trip to the Eastman House. Seems he took some family
(probably out of towners) to the GEH and as they were passing that
ginormous view camera on the first floor some guy was astounding a
group gathered around it about it's use etc and he kept referencing
Strobel and his book but he was a (ahem) a little confused in what he
was saying. Strob listened for a bit and then figured he didn't want
his good name sullied so he corrected the gentleman. The guy promptly
went on the defensive and asked who he was. Strob said he cleared his
throat and said I'm Leslie Strobel the guy that wrote the book and and
noticed your incorrect comments, or something to that effect. He said
you could hear a pin drop. He never really told many anecdotal stories
in class but man I can still see the grin on his face when he told that
story."
Note:
Clicking on photographs with a blue margin will show you a larger
version.
It
is always sad to report on the passing of one of our friends and
collagues but note that Dr. Lothar Engelmann passed in October 2019 in
Cologne, Germany. I personally rember the twinkle in his eyes and his
German accent along with his teaching contributions at the School.
Here
are most of the 2015 group photographs of locals who meet monthly for
lunch.
Sometimes we are joined by visitors and guests ... such as Jamie Young,
Bob Keough
and Kimberly McKenzie.
 Jan
 Feb
with Jamie Young and his panoramic photo
 Mar
 Apr
with Doug Manchee
 May  Jul
 Aug
 Sep
with Kimberly McKenzie
 Nov  Dec
with Bob Keough
I received a couple of photographs from friends who live far away.
Carol and David Robertson (Florida) and Wes Kemp (Florida) ... John
Compton also lives in Florida!
Group photo from sometime
in 2014 when John Compton and Bob Cooper came to visit.
Found a strip of negatives made with a 1/2 frame camera by Bob Kushner
I believe. Smitty, Todd, Neil and ???
This is a set of photographs from May 12, 1984 that were made with a
110 camera probably at the retirement of Henry Leichtner (?). Plus
three
photos of Al Rickmers, Muhamed Abouelata and Les Stroebel "in
action"but don't knw date they were made.
If you know the year that the photograph below was made please let me
know. Email me at andpph@davidhazy.org
Old News: In December
2015 I ran across this news release in reference to Kathy Collins:
Kansas City, MO – Kathleen Collins, president of the Kansas City Art
Institute since 1996, announced recently she'd retire in June
2011. During Kathleen Collins's tenure as president of the Kansas
City Art Institute, the campus has been infused and transformed by $29
million in renovations and new buildings. The college has erased a
deficit, increased enrollment, reorganized into four schools, launched
an animation major, and a planned launch of a new digital media major.
Collins cited the creation of the H&R Block Artspace, as well as
the new library and painting buildings, as some of her proudest
accomplishments.
In June 2011, when she retires, Collins will have served as president
of the college for 15 years. That's longer than any president in the
125 year history of the Art Institute. Laura Spencer, KCUR News.
Charles
Arnold
Celebration of Life 1922-2011
I have been asked by Ginger Arnold to disseminate information
about a celebration of life gathering at RIT in remembrance of Charlie
Arnold. Ginger is concerned that time is getting short and she said she
could use all the assistance possible to make his friends and past
students aware of this event.
It will be held in Rochester, NY on April 21, 2012 at 2 pm Location
will the the Carlson Auditorium on RIT campus. Following will be a
reception.
There has been a block of rooms reserved at the Comfort Suite on 2085
Hylan Dr. Rochester, NY, US, 14623 a couple of miles from the RIT
campus. Phone: (585) 334-6620 Fax: (585) 334-9649
Ginger does not have email but you can communicate with her through her
daughter Betsy Convery at sewmanythings@cox.net. Jim Hartsen is also
gathering contacts and making local plans. You can contact him at
2putuintouch@gmail.com
It would put Ginger's mind at ease knowing that you are planning on
attending. You can let me know (andpph@davidhazy.org) or Betsy or Jim.
Well, that is about it. Let's make this a memorable day for Ginger ...
as memorable as Charlie was in our lives. Please send this on to anyone
you think might be an appropriate recipient for this notice.
On behalf of Ginger, thank you!
Andy Davidhazy andpph@davidhazy.org
Photo by John Retallack
A
note from the founding father, C.B.Neblette, appeared among my papers
and I thought you all might get a kick out of perusing it. His wishes
came about but later they were ignored. Weird if you ask me. Get the
article he wrote and which appeared in the 1927 August issue of
American Photographer magazine where he proposes a College of Photographic Technology.
Click on the link below:
A message arrived from John Compton
inforning us that Don Smith
passed away:
For those SPAS old timers among us it's with
sadness that I note the passing of Prof. Don Smith. Don taught for
nearly 40 years at SPAS and when I was a student there I took his
course in the 2nd year of Pro Photo. Smitty was dedicated to his
students and always went above and beyond to help. And he was an honest
man - he told me at the end of his course that if I was planning on
make my living as a photographer, I should be prepared to starve to
death. That advice helped direct me to major in photographic technology
and to start a teaching career focused on the same. He bacame a good
friend and colleague.
I was also saddened to hear of Don Smith's passing. I remember his as
patient, knowledgeable and caring. A master craftsman and another
unforgettable instructor from my past. Photo of Smitty made by Les
Stroebel in the late 50's or early 60's.
I am also saddened to relay this note from Renee
Zakia: Dear Friends and Family, I ask for your prayers for the repose
of the soul of Richard Donald (born: Rashid Elisha) Zakia, who left us
for Heaven on March 12, 2012. We will be making arrangements for the
Funeral Mass and will write back then. - Renee (if you would like to
contact Renee write to me at andpph@davidhazy.org
Richard (Rashid) Zakia, beloved father,
grandfather and friend, passed away on March 12, 2012. He is
predeceased by his son, Aleck and his wife Lois; brothers, Br. Joseph
(Mounier) Marie Zakia, SA, and Fred (Fuad) Zakia. He is survived by his
daughter, Renee Zakia; son-in-law, R. Patrick Fahey; grandchildren,
Evan, Liam, Lydia, Luke, Joseph and Haley; sister, Gloria O'Neil;
nephews, James and Thomas O'Neil; and niece, Joanne Kemp. Mass of
Christian Burial will be held at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church
in Apex, NC on Monday, March 19, 2012 at 11:00 AM, followed by
inurnment at St. Andrew's Columbarium. In lieu of flowers, our father
has requested donations in his memory to the Epilepsy Foundation, 8301
Professional Place, Landover, MD 20785 or online. We wish to thank
Hospice of Wake County and Waverly Hematology-Oncology for their care
and support.
Update on March 3, 2012 - note that all
photographs can be seen larger by clicking on them
Dr. Richard Zakia is in need of your thoughts and
prayers as at this time his condition is precarious. For contact
infornation with his family drop me a note - andpph@davidhazy.org
Departed colleagues: These past few months have taken
a toll on the group. Tom Wilson, Charlie Arnold, Dick Norman, Don Smith
and Bob Kayser all passed on. They are missed. Sherry has moved to be
with her Mom for a few months. Charlie will have a celebration of life
event at RIT in April. The local retirees and some friends from afar
got together to buy RIT memorial bricks for all of them to be installed
along the
quarter mile.
Al
Rickmers "found".
When somebody at one of the retirees lunches mentioned Al Rickmers
nobody seemed to know where he was. This prompted a grad from the 70s
to "track him down". He is living here: 20230 Nightwatch Ln, Ashburn,
Va 703-723-0179 arickmers-at-yahoo.com. I spoke to him today and
he was his chipper old self. Good to hear him. You might give him a
call! There was a celebration in honor of Al on February 18 and this is
the group that attended!
On
February
23rd several local members of
the retirees "club" got together for lunch at the Radisson as usual. A
new activity was started having to do with inviting local alumni and
other celebs to join (entertain) the group. This month's guest was John
Myers a successful local commercial photographer who profusely
acknowledged the
contributions to his success by everyone but particularly Howard
LeVant.
Going a bit further back in history,
during the meeting of October 27, 2011
our
guest was Walter Colley. He is also working in the Rochester area but
his clients are diverse and far flung.
If you have news to share or anything realted to this webpage
please do not hesitate to communicate that to me. Andy Davidhazy by
email at andpph@davidhazy.org
News from June, 2011:
The photograph
attests to the fact several local retirees attended a lunch meeting on
June 2, 2011 arranged to coincide with a visit to Rochester by Lothar
Engelmann. CLICK
HERE to see a 2 minute Youtube video clip made at the meeting
when the discussion centerd on comments about the rapid decline of the
film industry. You should note that John Retallack is having a book of
almost 100 portraits printed
by the Cary Press at RIT.
Briefly, in other developments, there are two more retirees joining the
"club". Glenn Miller and Bill DuBois. Bill and Dawn are on an Alaskan
cruise
currently. More info to follow but this is all for the time being.
FROM
THE NORTHEAST: Zakia update and small group at lunch
in January
Willie Osterman had an exibition
opening in North Carolina and he dropped in to visit Dick Zakia. They
spent a pleasant afternoon chatting over coffee. Dick is quite
recovered from his recent health issues and here is a photograph that
Willie made of him at the time.
Then late January 2011 a group of four met for lunch at the Radisson.
On this special occasion Doug Lyttle blessed John Pfahl as can be seen
by the photograph. Needless to say this is a very unusual and special
occasion and the rest of the group toasted the distinction by raising
their glasses of .... water!
FROM THE NORTHEAST: After a long absence here are some
latest news
On December 29, 2010 this group met for lunch at the
Radisson as usual. Our sympathy is extended to Bob Kayser whose Maggie
passed away recently.
Lothar Engelmann was expected for this lunch but he and
Waltraud were essentially snowed in in Cologne and decided not to make
the trek west at this time. Of course conversation was all about them!
;) John continues to make photographs and just acquired a new high end
full frame Nikon DSLR.
Howard stays busy in many ways. Andy mostly listens. We heard that Tom
Wilson is heading out on another overseas trip. Doug Lyttle is active
and plays tennis on a regular basis.
A bit of a scare recently as Dick Zakia had some kidney
trouble and was in hospital for a few days. It is all cleared up and he
is back home and feeling good as they say. He also just recently
celebrated his 85th birthday. Les Stroebel is well and spends time
(much bridge!) with buddies at his community residence facility near
Park Ridge hospital.
I had forgotten that sometime ago Les Stroebel gave me some
photographs to digitize and install in a "gallery" associated with the
100th Anniversary Celebration of the start of instruction in the area
of photography at RIT. Now I must admit that his photographs don't go
back quite as far as 100 years ago but there are some interesting
candids and formal faculty and student portraits from the 40's and
later anyway. See them here: HERE.
FROM THE NORTHEAST: John Retallack joins last Thursday of
month lunch reunions
On August 27, 2009
it was a pleasant surprise to have John Retallack attend the monthly
Last Thursday of the Month retired SPAS faculty "meeting".
Unfortunatley several of our colleagus had to tend to other commitments
and so Bob Kayser,
John Retallack and Andy Davidhazy (not quite retired yet) formed the
intimate group on this day. As usual they exchamged tall tales, related
personal reminiscences and histroical anecdotes and otherwise enjoyed
time togwether. Hopefully next month the attendance will be larger but
either way, it is always good to see old friends and share some time
together. Les Stroebel is missed but he is doing well in his retirement
but can't really get around much after having recently had a couple of
bad falls and broken bones.
Northeast update on Sept 12, 2009
SPAS Faculty and Staff
work from 1988 an
exhibition in
the North Hallway display cases
from September 10 through 25, 2009
A selection of photographs from the portfolio including Rea,
Arnold, Retallack, Defibaugh, Osterman, Dear, Barnett, Peterson,
Miller, White, Peres, Davidhazy, Haven, DuBois, W. Kemp, LB Kenp,
Cartwright, LeVant, Current and Butler.
Click on the thumbnail for a larger version
of the announcement
|
Northeast and the East update on May 22, 2009
On
May 21 2009 several retired faculty members got together for the
monthly lunch at the Radisson. This time they were joined by an annual
visitor from the east, Lothar Engelmann who was in town to visit family
and friends. It was good to see him. He was in good health and good
sopirits and reports that life in Cologn, Germany is good!.
Attending were Tom Wilson, Brad Hindson, Bob Kaiser, Doug Lyttle and
Andy Davidhazy along with Lothar.
We were accompanied in spirit by Ira Current for whom the assembled
group drank a toast and shared reminiscences about him. We miss you
Ira.
It is with sadness I report that Professor Emeritus Ira
Current
passed away on May 19, 2009 at age 98.
Ira is remebered as an always friendly, helpful and knowledeable
professor and colleague. He came to the school after a career with
Ansco and GAF in Binghamton, NY. He is a contributing author and author
of several books dealing with color and toning. Notably the Materials
and Processes of Photography book and his Photographic Color Printing
book.
His early experinces include commercial photofinishing and work during
World War II at the Naval Photographic Science Laboratory. For almost
40 years Ira held various managerial positions at GAF Corporation and
his photographs have been exhibited in numerous one-man and group
shows.
His life's work in photography is archived and housed at the University
of Colorado.
In the year 2000, on the celebration of
Ira's 90th birthday there were
a few snapshots made at the event. Click on the link to visit the
collection. http://people.rit.edu/andpph/giants/a-ira-current-birthday/
Ira was a dedicated writer and kept a detailed daily journal. In
addition, he composed an article about his early days at ANSCO, his
arrival and on-the-job anecdotes prior to WWII. You can read it at: http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-ansco.html
The following was printed in the Democrat and Chronicle May 21, 2009
Ira was born in Colorado Springs, CO, to Park and Anna Current in 1910.
He began photography with still and moving images by 1926 and worked at
Stewart Brothers photo finishing in Colorado Springs beginning in 1928.
Following graduation from the University of Colorado with a degree in
chemistry in 1934, he began working at Agfa Ansco in Binghamton. NY as
head of various standards and quality control departments. During WWII,
he served as head of the technical department of the Naval Photographic
Science Laboratory in Anacostia, DC. He served in the US Naval Reserves
for several decades, retiring at the rank of Commander. He returned to
Ansco, then called GAP, in 1946 and retired as head of the
Indus¬trial
Photo Division in 1972.
He joined the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology in 1972 and
served as Staff Chairman of the Professional Photography Department. At
RIT he co-authored several textbooks on photographic process and
materials to add to an extensive list of smaller books and articles. He
retired as Associate Professor in 1980 and served as an adjunct
professor until 1987. He served on the editorial staff of the
Photographic Society of America Journal for over 42 years. He is a
fellow of the PSA and Society of Motion Pictures and Television
Engineers.
During the centennial of the Civil War, he performed in costume as
Mathew Brady photographing recreated battle and other scenes using
1860-era glass plate methods, including an appearance on the Today
Show. He designed, machined and installed several active displays
illustrating the processing of photographic materials for the Science
and Technology division of the Smithsonian Institution. A collection of
over 60,000 negatives, prints and slides as well as over 200,000 feet
of 16 mm movies, amassed over a 7 decade span, have been added to the
archives of the University of Colorado.
He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ellen (McGarry); their 4
children and their spouses, Michael and Carol Current of San Jose, CA,
Susan and Eugene Current-Dorr and grandson Brendan of Chelmsford, MA,
Brian and Joanne Current of San Diego, CA and Richard and Susan Current
of Suffolk, VA. He is also survived by his brothers and sisters,
Richard, Eugene, Maloa Brown, Irma Hilfers and Grace Ball.
Friends may call Friday, 4-6 PM at the funeral chapel (2305 Monroe
Ave.). A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Saturday, 9:30 AM at St.
Thomas More Church, 2617 East Ave. (Rochester 14610). Interment will be
held privately. Donations in memory of Ira may be directed to St.
Thomas More Church, or Rochester Institute of Technology, Office of
Development, 116 Lomb Memorial Dr., Rochester, NY 14623.
|
Theron T. (Tim) Holden
Rochester:
August 3, 2008 at age 97. Predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Alberta
Rittenhouse Holden. He is survived by his daughters, Donna (Donald)
Barratt of ME & FL, Trudi (Richard) McKeeby of NJ, and JoAnna
Sheridan of NY; 8 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and 3 niecesm,
including Jeanne Wiltsie of Rochester. He was a Graflex retiree. A
Memorial Service will be held in September at Asbury First United
Methodist Church. Donations may be made in his name to the Memorial
Fund of Asbury First United Methodist Church (1050 East Ave, 14607).
www.CrawfordFuneralHome.com Published in the Rochester Democrat And
Chronicle on 8/6/2008
Tim was "Mr. Graflex" for decades at the famous Rochester camera
manufactory. When publisher Morgan & Lester first asked for
cooperation in producing "Graphic Graflex Photography" (virtually the
manual on large-format work) Graflex management wisely decided that
everything in the book had better be correct. Tim was assigned the job
of "working on the book." Little did he know what a project that would
become!
M&L gathered chapter manuscripts from a large number of "noted
experts" in various specialized fields of photography. It turned out
that few really had a total technical mastery of their topics, and
almost none of them were great communicators or competent writers! Tim
had to verify and correct all the technical details of this very
comprehensive book, and then rework the text into a readable style. Of
course, the 1940 book was a great success, and numerous editions
followed over the years. Our man Tim was the 'silent partner' of many
of America's leading author/figures in Professional Photography.
Tim was the "contact man" at Graflex, representing the firm to
customers, as well as relaying feedback from the market to the
appropriate specialists in the company. Graflex was willing to produce
Custom-Made cameras for special applications, and Tim helped design
such special cameras and saw to it they did the job. There were many
such cameras that never appeared in catalogs, but are known to exist.
The Ring-Side 4x5 was one that had wide-angle, wide aperture lenses,
designed for Boxing Matches. There were custom aerial cameras and many
military designs.
Tim gave his famous "Trip through the 1952 Graflex Plant" slide show
many times and was a big hit at The 2000 PhotoHistory XI symposium at
George Eastman House. He would always charm any audience, if they
brought in Graphic/Graflex cameras. He could tell stories about each;
many of them "inside" (unpublished) tales about camera production, and
the features & quirks of various models.
- Nicholas M. Graver
Tim Holden also taught in the Photofinishing Management program at RIT
for several years after retiring from Graflex. |
NEWS FLASH: 5 current faculty
members
in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences have announced plans to
retire fully or partially at the end of the 2007 academic year. They
include: Prof. Elaine O'Neil, Prof. John Retallack, Prof. Elliott
Rubenstein, Prof. Jack Karpen and Prof. Guenther Cartwright. There was
a celebration event (not exactly a retirement party but it was hard to
tell the difference!) at a bistro in Pittsford in their honor. You can
take a peek at a visual record of the event by following this link:
http://www.rit.edu/cias/ritphoto/a-news/2008-SPAS-CELEBRATION/
Congratulations to all new retirees and welcome to the retired
SPAS faculty group! There is a spot reserved for you at the Radisson
lunch table where they meet the last Thursday of every month to catch
up on life's minutia. C'mon down, you hear!
While
driving around in Rochester in late April, 2008 I happened upon Richard
Norman and Milton Pearson who invited me to have lunch with them at
Applebee's on
Winton Road. We had a great time. Dick Norman had recently been treated
at Kirkhaven and was pretty much back to his old self especially when
it came to a dry and witty sense of humor. Of course we were regaled to
several jokes and PC incorrect commentaries! Apparently this pair has a
regular lunch meeting every couple of months and one of the celebrated
guests, of course, is Rita. I think it would be a good idea to drop in
on them sometime! However, the unexpected happened and this is
unfortunately no longer a possibility.
It is with sadness I report that Richard Norman
passed away on May 09, 2008. He had a long career with the School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences and was the person who built many custom
items for faculty allowing them to explore all sorts of photographic
research and applications. From microscopy to practical photography. In
trhe former case he made macro adapters, modified microscopes, and
fixed rack and pinion stages for light-scanning photography. In the
second case he made ingenious folter holders, Hugo-lators, telephoto
adapters, collimators, flash circuits and more. Truly a man for all
seasons! He will be remembered for his wealth of knowledge,
his quick wit and for telling it like it is. Not to speak of his
fondness for limmericks and jokes which regrettably now only have a
home with him bringing cheer to the afterlife. |
![[stroebel]](giants/stroebel-7463m.jpg) Richard Zakia and Les
Stroebel were honored by the PIEA or
Photo/Imaging Education Association for long term teaching excellence
in photographic education as well as a extensive contributions to the
photographic literature. Richard Zakia received his award in North
Carolina during a lecture he presented at Wingate University. Lex
Youngman, his host said: Richard Zakia came to Wingate on February 7
and spoke to both of my photo classes about the topics
in his 2007 book, Perception and Imaging, Photography: A Way of Seeing.
He had my students
fascinated; they were attentive and animated as he involved them in the
discovery of Gestalt principles. Les Stroebel was presented with his
award at the February 28, 2008 lunch meeting of the retired professors
in Rochester. CONGRATULATIONS !
Attending the lunch meeting this month was John
Pfahl with
spouse Bonnie. Although John lives in Buffalo we had not had the
peasure of his company in the past. He was in town visiting RIT, the
Eastman House, Doug Lyttle and the rest of the crew at the meeting.
And here is a selection of photographs from the event sent in
by
Doug Lyttle who obvioulsy had a good vatange point with the window
behind him! As usual click on the thumbnails to see a larger version in
a new window.
![[]](giants/2008-feb-3m.jpg)
![[]](giants/2008-feb-4m.jpg)
![[]](giants/2008-feb-6m.jpg)
From the Southeast on January 10, 2008
John Compton sent a brief update on his
activities and it
goes like this:
My wife Kathy and I are now living in
Bonita Springs, FL having moved here this past
October. Bonita Springs is a suburb of Fort Myers. We built a house in
a golf course community and are
enjoying the lack of snowy, cold weather. Attached
are some photos of the house and surrounding areas.
This past year I was working for Vertis Communications
as VP of Quality and Training but left them in early
December. So I'm back doing consulting work once again
on quality and process improvement still in the
imaging and printing arena. My wife has her own
business designing and developing home decor products
with companies in Asia and travels there frequently.
Our health is good and we are enjoying this phase of
our lives together.
How are things at RIT and SPAS?
There are many times that I miss being in the
classroom and working with you and others to build new
and better programs.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2008, John
John Compton
14669 Speranza Way
Bonita Springs, FL 34135
From the Europe January 10, 2008
Lothar Engelmann sent year end
greetings and some news:
Hello Andy, it is this time of the year again. We hope and wish you are
doing well and your CMML is successfully kept in check. Waltraud's CLL
is one year after chemo still holding, and we are very happy about
this. I am doing well. My heart is still beating irregularly, but it is
beating.
How is RIT treating you?
Anyway, we are wishing you and Sue anbd all our friends an enjoiable
Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
Lothar and Waltraud
The picture was taken from our terrace across the Rhein with a
300mm lens
From the Northeast on Nov. 10, 2007
Charlie Arnold had an exhibition of his
Xerographs at the
Harrisburg Community College Rose Lehramn gallery in Pennsylvania.
"Love of the Visual" was installed in the gallery from October 15 -
November 16, 2007. He also gave a lecture on his work in the Rose
Lehrman Theatre on November 6th and and visited with students there.
Bea Nettles, who is a professor at University of
Illinois, sent this note: Bea Nettles Creates Disc Icon for
Springsteen
The Three of Swords by Bea Nettles appears on Magic, the latest release
by Bruce Springsteen. It is one of her original photographic tarot
cards from Mountain Dream Tarot, created during the years 1970-75. SONY
found the image in an Australian fashion magazine. The second printing
of the deck came out in 2001. More about her work can be seen at
http://www.beanettles.com/. Nettles taught photography at RIT in 1971-2
and again from 1976-1984.
bea@beanettles.com
It
is always a sad time when a report arrives of a friend and colleague's
passing but John Trauger died
on October 1, 2007 in Canandaigua. He was 91 years old. He was
instrumental in establishing the Biomedical Photographic Communications
program at SPAS in the 70s. He also was active with the retired
professors group and organized their monthly meetings for many years
until his health did not allow him to do it. He is not only remembered
for his contributions to the school but but also his friendly and
jovial attitude. |
From the Northeast
In July 2007 Michael Peres unearthed among some papers that
were in one of his cabinets a document written by William Soule
Shoemaker about the history of the school from 1931 until 1981, the
occasion of the 50th anniversary of its establishment. The document
also contained a brief biography of C.B. Neblette and William Brehm as
well as a listing of past faculty members and speakers at the school. I
used Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to transform the
typed text to a digital format and made it available for your
information here. Read SPAS
history here!
On May 24th, 2007 or thereabouts the retired members of the
School of Photographic Arts and Sciences met for their regularly
scheduled monthly lunch at the Radisson just down the road apiece from
the school. The meeting was a week earlier than usual due to the visit
in town by Lothar Engelmann who is living with his wife Waltraud in
Cologne, Germany. He is there during most of the year except for these
short visits to Rochester to visit family and friends. For this
occasion Bill Springer also joined the group and brought everyone up on
developments in the "photo lab" which is moving from the basement to
the 3rd floor of the building. You can see in the photographs of the
event that everyone had a good time!
![[May 7, 2006]](giants/2007/2007-lunch-may-0943m.jpg) ![[May 7, 2006]](giants/2007/2007-lunch-may-0953m.jpg) ![[May 7, 2006]](giants/2007/2007-lunch-may-0955m.jpg) ![[May 7, 2006]](giants/2007/2007-lunch-may-0964m.jpg) ![[May 7, 2006]](giants/2007/2007-lunch-may-0970m.jpg)
News from Andy Davidhazy in the DIPT: This is to let you know
that I will be away from the Institute for an undetermined (but
possibly 3-4 months) time undergoing a stem cell transplant procedure
at the Fred Hutchinson hospital in Seattle, WA. FYI I will try to stay
connected and I will be happy to help over email whenever possible. I
leave for Seattle on the 14th of October. Thanks again and I hope to
see you all in the Spring quarter, andy
I am happy to say that I have returned to Rochester after a 6
month stay in Seattle and things look OK at the moment.
On October 9, 2006 I received this note from
Les Stroebel in connection
with the Alumni Reunion that took place the previous weekend and the
opening of the Bernie Boston exhibition in the SPAS Photo Gallery:"
Thanks for your e-mail and your address. We did stop by your office,
hoping to catch you in, but understanding that you had more important
things to do. Reunion events kept us busy from the opening reception
for Bernie Boston on Friday evening all through the day Saturday from
the Golden Circle Breakfast through the wine hour, by which time we
were bushed. The attached picture shows Dick, Art Herz, a fellow
classmate from 1942, and me on the lead golf card for a tour of the
campus after the breakfast. We will look forward to a reunion with you
sometime after you return (from Seattle) with a real Mission
Accomplished. With the best of luck, Les".
![[Charlie Arnold Exhibition]](giants/2006-charlie-2m.jpg) ![[Charlie Arnold Exhibition]](giants/2006-charlie-4m.jpg) Towards
the end of September 2006, there was an exhibition of Xerographs by
Charlie Arnold at the University of Rochester's Rare Books Library. It
was a delightful exhibition not only for the opportunity to see
Charlie's work but also the photographs and messages of thanks and
admiration sent for the event by numerous of Charlie's past students.
There was also an opportunity to see a film produced by James Cochran
about Charlie. The U or R library will house the Charlie Arnold
collection.
From Europe (once again)
Lothar
Engelmann dropped in to Rochester and attended the regular retired
faculty lunch at the Radisson held on the last Thursday of every month.
During his visit he celebrated his 80th birthday with family and
friends. We spent a few very pleasant moments together and he told me
things are going well in Cologne and he just had a recent exhibition of
his snowflake photographs. He remains active and involved in
activities. Waltraud is also well and accompanied Lothar during this
visit. Happy Birthday, Lothar! and don't wait a decade to
return!
We have come to expect an annual message of greeting
from Dr. Lothar Engelmann who is now happily retired and living in
Cologne, Germany. Here is the card he sent along and this is the
accompanying message: "Hello Andy,
with this view from our terrace we send you greetings and best wishes
for Christmas and a happy and healthy 2006!
I assume you are still active at RIT and enjoy all the interesting
developments there. We will be coming to Rochester for a short time in
late January and I would very much like to see you. Maybe you can come
to the "fossil" luncheon on Thursday, January 26, which I plan to
attend. As you know, we had planned a visit last summer, but a fall
which resulted in my breaking the right thighbone put me out of
circulation for more then two months. I, obviously, hope that will not
happen again. With the help of the pharmaceutical industry I otherwise
keep reasonably healthy, which we also hope for you and your good wife.
Please give my best regards to the colleagues!
All the best,
Lothar and Waltraud"
|
From the Northeast
It is with sadness that I report on the
passing of another good friend and long term colleague. David
Engdahl passed away on October 18, 2005. I prepared a more complete
webpage with a brief biography and details about his family HERE.
|
A photograph by Les Stroebel
was placed on display at the Arts Fest in Brighton High School in June
2005. News catch up rather slowly here but now everyone can read all
about it - by clicking on the image to the left - along with a brief
summary of Les' recent photographic activities as well as a brief
synopsis of how he became a faculty member at RIT at the 7-word
invitation of CB. Les says: "It is difficult to make accurate notes in
a phone interview, so some things I said (to the reporter) are a little
different in the article. The seven magic words Neblette said that
changed my life, for example, were "Les, how would you like to teach?".
But overall I am pleased with the article". I guess accuracy is one
characteristic that distinguishes Les from many of the rest of us!
(smile!)
CONGRATULATIONS are due
to Doug Lyttle for the successful completion of the treatise that he
has been working on for the larger part of the last 10 years at least.
A book on life at a monastery in Greece. The book has been published
and is available for purchase. It is a magnificent volume and the
photographs in particular are great! The success of his work is
patently evident by the fact that Doug has acquired a Greek middle
name: Demetrios. Read all about it in the book! It is available from
him or you can purchase Miracle on Monastery Mountain through
Amazon.com
From Mendon Ponds Park in May 2005
![[SPAS picnic 2005]](giants/2005-LeVant-picnic-1m.jpg)
Although this is not exactly a historical
reference it will soon be! Howard LeVant (who recently actually and
finally retired and so there is a connection to this page after all!)
took some photographs with his Canon Digital Rebel that he is totally
in love with, at a SPAS family picnic organized as a final outcome of
the
Images from Science exhibition that opened three years ago and
that has been traveling the world even since. Proceeds from this
venture defrayed the expenses related to the picnic. There were about
50 SPAS faculty and staff and families that attended this event that
may be the precursor of more to come in the future. Whiffle ball tested
the coordination of young and "mature" as well. Catering by the
Dinosaur Barbecue provided a memorable culinary experience for everyone
and a chance to enjoy a classic country-style barbecue with pulled
beef, beans, and various other accoutriments. Conversation flowed
helped along to be sure by generous amounts and varieties of local and
imported hops derived refreshments.
From Rochester in Fall 2004
More of a pictorial report than anything else and this is one of those
things I had forgotten about but last Fall (I forget the date!) I
attended one of the monthly meetings of the retirees and it just so
happened that it was one that Lothar Engelmann also attended as well as
David Engdahl, who now has returned to the Rochester area. Found the
Florida scene not to his liking. Notably absent was Les Stroebel whom I
had seen at every previous lunch gathering I had attended in the past!
Here are a couple of snaps of the group:
From Europe (really!)
We
have come to expect an annual message of greeting from Dr. Lothar
Engelmann who is now happily retired and living in Cologne, Germany. We
were not disappointed. Lothar's card arrived on time and he sends best
wishes to all retirees, current faculty, staff and students! Here is
the card he sent along.
|
From the Northeast
![[Rus Kraus at retirement in 2004]](giants/kraus-2004-1m.jpg) Two
faculty members of the School have retired at the end of a 26 year
stint each. Rus Kraus who came to SPAS as its
director and subsequently stepped into the shoes (figuratively
speaking) of Les Stroebel and taught the major portion of the Materials
and Processes of Photography course for 20 years retired to move to New
Mexico and to enjoy life with Elaine in the desert in Las Cruces, NM.
Howard LeVant, with Nancy at his side, who taught
primarily in the advertising and commercial photography areas after
having had a productive career in the discipline in Chicago, has not
quite retired to the Penn Yan and Keuka Lake where he plans on
harrassing the local fish and will be teaching on an adjunct capacity
in his spare time.
Check out more details of their careers and accomplishments HERE.
From the Southwest
It
is with sadness that I report on the passing of another good friend and
long term colleague. Nile Root on April 2, 2004, at peace and at home
with Abby and son Jim. You can reach Abby at the following email
address:
abbyr314@aol.com. There is a more extensive webpage with additional
details about him and his recent accomplishments in the digital
photography arena HERE.
On June 6, 2004 we received this note from Les: He says:
The June issue of the Smithsonian included the winners of their photo
contest, one of which was a photograph by Nile. I am attaching copies
of the
picture and the caption in case you have not already have them. Please
post them on your retirees Web site. The caption with the photograph
says:
Finalist,
Americana
Nile Root, 77
Tucson, Arizona
Photographed Summer 1964
Big Sprngs, Nebraska
Root, who died of esophageal cancer as we went to press (but
after being notified he was a finalist), snapped this photograph of his
father, Victor (far right), and Victor's dog, Duke.
From the Northeast
Jim McMillion passed away on December 19,
2003. He
was a Professor Emeritus, School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.
Helped establish the Photofinishing Management Program and was awarded
the first James E. McGhee Distinguished Professorship in Photographic
Management in 1967. There is a more complete webpage with a brief
biography and an additional photograph HERE.
|
From CB Neblette in 1944
Perusing some old boxes I came across a reprint of a 1944
Popular Photography article in which CB Neblette (along with others
such as Lazlo Molholy-Nagy, Eliot Elisofon and Bernice Abbot) made some
predictions about the future of photography. You can read the article
by following this LINK.
And I also found another "visionary" article by CB in a
reprint from Modern Photography but this one was from 25 years later,
as the new RIT campus was being built. Click on: Should you
study photography in college? to read it!
From Germany
With this view from
our terrace overlooking the Rhein we send you greetings
and best wishes for a healthy and peaceful year 2003!
Best regards
Lothar and Waltraud Engelmann
P.S.: The angel only shows up occasionally!
From Rochester
We were
saddened to her of the recent passing of Bob Kushner. Akira Hasegawa, who is the
nephew-in-law of Kush, sent this note on Sunday, Nov. 17: "Hello.
I'm extremely sad to inform you that Kush has passed away on Nov. 6,
2002, in Austin, Texas. The immediate cause of his death was Acute
Renal Failure.
Kush, after being seen by a doctor at Stanford, flew to Texas with
Yoshiko to be with his youngest daughter, Liz.
Liz is a nurse and he felt comfortable to be with her while he received
treatment. But his condition got worse. - No one expected that his life
would end so soon.
My family and I flew to Texas to see him. I feel grateful that I had a
chance to talk to him before he passed away.
I just returned from Austin on Nov. 14, which would have been Kush's
78th birthday.
-Akira
This photograph was taken this past summer of Bob and one of
his past students Jeff Myers
who wrote:
"Thought I'd send along a photo from a fishing trip I took last week. I
met Prof. Kushner up in British Columbia for a week of fishing. Lots of
Rainbows and of course the old Professor still taught me a few things
about catching them."
![[Faculty Portrait in 1982]](giants/spas-faculty-1982-1m.jpg)
Recently there was some kind of get together at RIT and I
happened
to run across Neil Croom who was looking to attach names to all the
faculty members that posed for the above photograph. He had been able
to identify about 5 of us! So I decided to give him a hand but even so
there were a few faces who at this time still have not been connected
with their proper name. If you happen to be reading this and would like
to try your hand at making a list of
participants in this group photo by Michael Soluri and Guenther
Cartwright start from the left and work your way to the right. The
first person that get the whole list done before I post my take on all
the names wins! Remember you click ON the picture to see it bigger!
Send
your list to me, Andy, at andpph@rit.edu
OK - Guenther Cartrwight, on December 29, 2002 sent me a VERY
complete list and I added my $.02 and we have a list that is almost
complete
lacking on two names to finish it up. The list we came up with is
included below. Let us know if we've made any mistakes!
01. Will Peterson
02. Gunther Cartwright
03. ID unknown
04. Ed Cohen
05. Jim Reilly
06. Russ Kraus
07. Bea Nettles
08. Malcolm Spaull
09. Charlie Arnold
10. Nile Root
11. Tom Wilson
12. Ira Current
|
13. Doug Lyttle
14. Eric Timmerman
15. Mike Geissinger
16. Wes Kemp
17. Les Stroebel
18. Elliott Rubenstein
19. Bea Nettles #1
20. Jack Karpen
21. Steve Diehl
22. Tom Iten
23. Arnold Sovari
24. Owen Butler
|
25. Dave Robertson
26. Neil Croom
27. Bill DuBois
28. Arnold Sorvari
29. Brad Hindson
30. John Pfahl
31. Richard Zakia #2
32. Henry Leichtner
33. Stephen Small
34. Larry Scarff
35. Martin Rennalls
36. Joe Benenate
|
37. ID unknown
38. Bill Shoemaker
39. Charles Werebrig
40. John Compton
41. John Trauger
42. Ron Handy
43. Tom Hill
44. Howard LeVant
45. Don Bruening
46. Mac McCune
47. Jim MacMillion
48. Don Smith
|
49. Al Rickmers
50. Andy Davidhazy
51. Richard Floberg
52. John Head
53. Bob Kushner
54. Bob Kayser
55. Terry Bollman
56. Mike Soluri
#1 (for Kathy Collins)
#2 (w/Hollis Todd photo)
|
![[compton at blackboard]](giants/compton-at-board-1m.jpg) ![[compton at blackboard]](giants/compton-1970s-1m.jpg) ![[timmerman and root walking to lunch]](giants/timmerman-root-1m.jpg) I came across some old
(a relative term of course) negatives that
apparently were taken as part of a project to put together a
promotional brochure and among the negatives found some of John Compton
and Al Rickmers "in action". Apparently John is giving a presentation
about the arrangement of the color sensitive emulsion layers and dye
absorption deficiencies while Al is doing what he does best and that is
talk about statistics and sampling theory. While in a nostalgic mood
let me share with you a couple other photographs I found. One is of our
late colleague, Erik Timmerman, walking with Nile Root towards the
Union from our School probably going to lunch sometime in the early
801s. And this one is of Olive LeFevre and her husband at a picnic
somewhere.
Searching
through sand-covered vaults in his attic, Dick Zakia sent us this
heretofore unpublished photograph of one of the stalwart, handsome and
long-sung heros of the School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences, aka Lawrence of RIT. Details
are scarce but
this much has come to the light of day: "Captain Leslie D. Stroebel,
U.S Air
Force geodetic control unit in Taif, Saudi Arabia, 1945--out of uniform
but in
a royal uniform thanks to a gift from King Ibn Saud."
Recently the Annual SPAS Faculty exhibtion was inaugurated in
the School's Photo
Gallery. During the course of the opening severaL snapshots of the
activity
were made and later compiled into a small "album". To take a peek at
the goings
on of January 11, 2002 simply click on the following words: 2002 SPAS
Faculty
Show. Hmmm ... I need to find the correct link nbow that RIT
changed servers! sorry
From the East
Dick Zakia's
birthday was Dec. 9th, and was
celebrated at their daughter and son-in-law's home in nearby Carey. One
of
Dick's grandsons took the picture. (It was later deftly retouched by
none other than Les Stroebel on his computer)
He sent a note to Les Stroebel on the occasion and here are
some
exerpts from that letter:
... You are absolutely correct regarding the picture on the wall behind
me. It is by Barbara Morgan and of a Martha Graham dancer jumping in
the air. The photo is appraised at 5000 bucks. Sorry that the
Daguerreotype photo did not come through ok. I will check it and see
what I can do to correct it for it is quite impressive, considering it
was scanned.
Thanks for the information regarding your recent lunch. Nice
to know that I am one of the younger members of the group. I will not
think that 76 is young.
And thanks for taking the time to forward the mail that came
to me at RIT. Am
azing that I still get mail there. I suppose you do also along with
Lothar and the rest of us. I got a call from Dick Norman yesterday and
he is doing well. He had just made up on of his Normal lyrics and was
anxious to share them with L
ois and me. I think the reason he does not attend the luncheons is that
Lothar is no longer there. He and Lothar were good buddies. But I would
not be surpri
sed if he showed up for a couple of them next year.
I got a email Christmas from a former student in Korea and one
from a former student in Israel. email is wonderful in that respect.
Also got a card from a former MFA student who now heads up the grad
program at Savannah College of Ar
t and Design. The program has 500 students in it and the college is the
largest private art college in the US of A.
Regards,
Dickz
From the Northeast:
![[photograph by trauger]](giants/2001/trauger-2m.jpg)
Once again that time of year rolled around and the Retired
Faculty
installed another exhibition of their photographs in the 2nd floor
hallway display cases. I managed to make photographs of some of them
while the photographs were being installed but missed Doug Lyttle. The
faculty appear in alphabetical order, Charile Arnold, Ed Cohen and Ira
Current, David Engdahl, Bob Kayser, Les Stroebel and Jouhn Trauger.
Since Dick Zakia and Nile Root are enjoying their retiement years away
from the snow and cold of the northeast they sent their contributions
in so I don1t have portraits of them either. Examples of their work,
however, are included and on the bottom row they are shown (from L to
R) as Lyttle, Root and Zakia. Another set of crackerjack photographs!
Thanks, y'all for taking the time and effort to install this exhibition
for the benefit and enjoyment of students and faculty alike.
NOTE: You
might speed up viewing of the larger images that you can obtain by
clicking on the small ones by opening them in a second window. With
PCs this is opened by holding down the right button and with Macs by
keeping the single button help down for a couple of seconds.
Closing the second window returns you to this page without having to
reload it from scratch.
On
the Fourth of July, 2001 Dr. Lothar Engelmann, retired Dean of the
College of Graphic Arts and Photography got on a plane with his wife
Waltraud and headed back to Germany after more than a 40 year stay in
the States. He promises to be back to visit from time to time and we
all look forward to this. Lothar and Waltraud will be moving into an
apartment in Cologne. He welcomes email at the address given in the
card and linked to his name in the portrait section.
![[Terry Bollmann]](giants/bollmann-1m.jpg)
Terry Bollmann
We were all saddened by the following note, sent by Bob Rose,
a SPAS graduate and long time friend of the School, when it was
received at the SPAS office:
Terry Bollmann passed away on December 9th, 2000 at his
home in Florida after a lengthy illness. He was born June 6, 1938.
Terry came to RIT originally as a student in the fall of
1969 and started
teaching shortly after graduation with a BS degree in Professional
Photography
from the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences.
He retired in 1991 and moved to Florida to take care of his mother and
continue
his work as a photographer and gadget guru.
I can offer the following which was his introduction one
day when he presented a lecture at the Webb Auditorium:
Terry Bollmann: A Teacher, a Counselor, a Confidant, a
Friend, a Professional Photographer, all wrapped up in one package.
Bob Rose
As usual for the last umpteen years or so, several
distinguished members of the
retired and other past faculty put on a small exhibition of their
photographs in the 2nd floor
display cases in the hallways of the School of Photographic Arts and
Sciences.
A special feature of this year's exhibition was the fact that the
exhibit
included work from faculty who now are only with us in our memories but
whose
photographs still allow us to make a connection with them.
NOTE: These reproductions were made rather simply and
expeditiously through
the plexigalss windows of the display cases and so the quality may not
be the
highest obtainable but the purpose was to simply give the visitor a
glimpse of
what this exhibition was all about. You might speed up viewing of the
larger
images that you can obtain by clicking on the small ones by opening
them in a
second window. With PCs this is opened by holding down the right button
and
with Macs by keeping the single button help down for a couple of
seconds.
Closing the second window returns you to this page without having to
reload it
from scratch.
The alphabetical listing of authors this year, reading from
left to right, is:
Charlie Arnold, Robert Bagby, Fred Brehm, Ed Cohen, Neil Croom, Ira
Current,
David Engdahl, Lotahr Engelmann, Mike Geissinger, Betty Hahn, Ralph
Hattersley,
Brad Hindson, Tom Iten, Bob Kayser, Jim McMillon, Nile Root, Charlie
Savage,
Les Stroebel and John Trauger.
The photographs were "up" during the last couple of weeks in
October and this very
special exhibition owes a great deal of gratitude to Bob Kayser for
bringing it
all together. Good show, y'all!
By the way, to see the photographs from last year choose Exhibit from
1999.
Ira Current celebrates 90th birthday!
![[Ira's Birthday]](giants/current-bday-1m.jpg) On
October 8, 2000, family members and friends from his neighborhood,
colleagues and fellow photographers gathered to help Ira celebrate his
90th birthday. The occasion was also marked by the awarding ot the
fourth Gold Star to Ira for his contributions to the PSA journal. The
award was presented to Ira by Tim Holden. Also present at the
festivities were John Trauger, Bob Kayser, Jim McMillon, Andy Davidhazy
and Les Stroebel (who is shortly starting out on a cross country road
trip). Ira and Ellen and their children made everyone feel just like
one with the family and everyone had a super time and will long
remember this very special occasion. Feel free to drop a note to Ira,
who is a savvy email user. Just click on tnerruc@aol.com. To see a few more
snaps taken during the event just click on HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRA!.
The latest from the Rochester group
On June 30, 2000 the Rochester Retirees from SPAS met for
their
regular monthly meeting which consists of lunch at the Radisson.
Several visitors from campus also attended the luchen and everyone had
a grand old time. There were no new news to report although Dave
Engdahl brough everyone up to date with his relatively recent illness
and subsequent triple bypass surgery. We were glad to have him present
and in such good spirits. The occasion was turned into photographic
memories and it is available for your visual enjoyment by simply
clicking on Lunch on the 30th!. (Use
your browser's "back" button to return to this page).
From the Southeast:
Brief note from Rickmers
We enjoy Howard LeVant's "News Releases" but we have moved and
now have a
new address. Howard, keep up the good work and tell, who needs to know,
what
our new home address is: Al and Rena Rickmers, 40 Surry Cicrle North,
Pinehurst, NC 28374
From the Northeast:
This note was received by Howard Levant and is posted here
since it is in
reference to C.B. Neblette and what he was doing in 1929!:
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 11:41:09 -0500
From: "William E. Carnahan"
Howard,
Don't know if the following is of any interest to you or to
the SPAS, but
thought I would send it "for what it's worth."
I am the archivist of my professional association,
Agricultural
Communicators in Education (ACE). The organization was founded in 1913
at the University of Illinois. I am writing a history article for our
quarterly "The Journal of Applied Communications." In going through
newsletters from the 1920s, I found the following from which I am
excerpting. It appeared in the October - November 1929 issue of our
newsletter, "The ACE."
"A photographic contest for Texas county and home
demonstration agents
drew fifteen entries from men and five from women with a total of 115
prints submitted in a recent competition for three prizes offered for
the
best story-telling pictures. The entries were projected via lantern
slides and briefly criticized from a composition standpoint by R. R.
Lancaster, Rural Organizer in the Extension staff, and C.B. Neblette,
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station photographer. At the conclusion,
the three winning pictures were shown.
"Individual aid in improving photographic techniques was
offered by Mr.
Neblette in his studio each day during the week, but only two agents
availed themselves of the opportunity."
I did not know Mr. Neblette had worked in Texas, let alone
for the Texas
Ag Exp Station. He was head of the Photo Department when I went to RIT.
Bill Carnahan - Photo 1951 (Nearly 50 years ago. I hope to
come to campus next year to
celebrate).
Another retiree establishes email connection!
Bob Kayser tells me that you can send him email at the
following address: gunnkayser@aol.com
I am not sure how propmpt he is about responding so if you
find out please let me know!
From the Southeast:
A recent message from Wes Kemp says:
Date: Thu, 10 Feb 2000 20:50:07 -0500 (EST)
From: wespics@aol.com
It was a treat and a delight to see the faces of our 'senior
friends". I must say you came up with a most pleasing portrait of me.
You can be my Editor any time ! ;)..... when, you have a moment, please
update my e-mail address (the RIT e-mail address in no longer 'active')
wespics@aol.com will do the
trick.
In the past hour, I learned of the death of Ralph Hattersley.
He had been in failing health over recent years and had been confined
to a nursing home. I talked to Charles Arnold a few minutes ago....
about Ralph's death.
Very best regards,
Wes Kemp
Note: the following message was posted on Andy Davidhazy's
guestbook. You
might drop the Hattersley children a note ...
We would like his former friends and colleagues to know of the
passing of Ralph
M. Hattersley Jr., former
teacher of photography at RIT, on Feb. 5, 2000. His kids, Cleve, Craig,
and
Lissa, live now in Austin,
Texas, and will greatly miss him.
Craig R. Hattersley cowcasa@texas.net
Austin, TX, TX USA - Saturday, February 05, 2000 at 17:00:06 (EST)
Note that the David Engdahls will be spending the winter in
Lehigh Acres, Florida starting on January 11, 2000. They will have
internet connections since they are bring an IBM computer with them.
Our e-mail address is stampbum24@aol.com. Our snail mail address is 52
Heath Aster Lane, Lehigh Acres, FL 33936-7351. Phone: (941) 368-1109.
Do not use the old e-mail address: daepph@rit.edu.
.... and
For
those of you who have been looking for John Compton's
address, here it
is: 1064 West Sutton Street, Palatine, IL 60067 (this is old new ... he
has since moved to Florida and his address is mentioned higher up in
this page)
From the Southwest:
Nile Root had this to say recently among many other things:
... Have you looked at my web site yet? I'm having a great
time with it. Let me
know what you think. I'm adding new stuff each day.
www.niler.com
Good to hear from you. All is well here. Nick (Graver) and his
wife are visiting for a
week or more soon, and then Elliott Rubenstein and his wife on th 24th
of this
month. Your turn to come see us. Back to the web site - Nile
From the Northeast:
Towards early February 1999, Dr. Richard Zakia announced that
he was going
to be moving out of the Rochester area and moving closer to his
daughter's
family in North Carolina. He is looking forward to spending
significantly more
time with his grandchildren!
The School of Photographic Arts and Sciences organized a
farewell party on
this momentous occasion and friends from near and far came to wish him
a well.
Here are some "snaps" from the celebration:
![[photograph]](giants/zakiaparty2-m.jpg) ![[photograph]](giants/zakiaparty4-m.jpg)
From left to right, you can see Bill DuBois awarding a Willie
Osterman print to Dr.Z while the congregation gives witness, Les
Stroebel engaged in animated conversation with Milton Pearson and Irv
Pobboravsky as Dr.Z looks on in surprise, Dr.Z chatting with Owen
Butler
while Nathan Lyons is amazed by a digital camera manipulated by Gordon
Brown, Howard Lester making a point with Loret Steinberg and Lynne
Bentley-Kemp, Bill DuBois and Judi Murray
hamming it up for the camera.
We
have heard from Martin Rennalls and he is doing well in sunny
Florida. He
has this bit of news to share with us: he was recently nominated for
and
awarded Lifetime Achievement Award in Jamaica for contributing to Film
and TV
production in Jamaica and the Governor of Jamaica has agreed to publish
his autobiography. In addition, he was honored by the Jamaican
government with the
second highest civilian honor awarded to a citizen of the country - the
Commander of the Order of Distinction for outstanding contributions to
Jamaica's development in the area of communications. The photograph
showing
him, along with his wife Ivy, receiving the Award and wearing the
Commander of
the Order of Distinction (C.D.) Medal. To get in touch with him his
address is
Martin A. Rennalls, C.D., 4050 N 51 Avenue, Hollywood, FL 33021-1629.
Skip Battaglia became the last faculty member to be
admitted into the
exalted ranks of the "Full Professors" of the School of Photographic
Arts and
Sciences. The event was celebrated last Spring by a group of colleagues
taking him to lunch at a local eatery. A good time was had by all.
On a more pressing issue, the full professors group currently
has no elected
chair or organizational structure. It seems to me that the group could
very
well have become an anachronism. Hopefully something "develops".
Hollis Todd: We were deeply saddened by the sudden
passing on July
12, 1998, of a good friend and colleague as a result of an accident.
Prof.
Hollis Todd was a pillar and a cornerstone upon whom the School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences was constructed. He was a faculty member
at RIT
and the School of Photography (which was to become the School of
Photographic
Arts and Sciences) from 1946 until 1976 and taught photographic
physics,
sensitometry and mathematics. In 1966 he was honored with the RIT
Outstanding
Teacher Award. His contributions were particularly influential in a
philosophy
that permeated the school over the years and gave it a very distinct
"flavor"
and a wide ranging "menu" when compared to others. Hollis, thanks.
Radisson Lunches: As you might know, the
local retireees from the School and their friends,
regularly meet for lunch at the Radisson every last Thursday of the
month. Here
are some snapshots taken at the last meeting where Ira Current brought
his son
to the meeting.
SPAS Reorganized: In case you missed it, the School of
Photographic Arts and Sciences does not
have a Director anymore but three Administrative Chairs (?) have split
that
office's functions. There is a "latent" desire to collaborate and
conduct joint projects
and so on and essentially to keep the "look" to the outside as
undistrubed and
transparent and seamless as in the past. Let's see how things
"develop".
Scott and Carol Williams depart for
greener pastures!
On the evening of May 22nd, 1998 (or thereabouts) faculty from the
department
and their spuses met at Portobello's restaurant for what was to be the
last
supper at RIT for one of the Imaging and Photographic Technology
Department's
"luminaries" over the last four years. Dr. Scott Williams departed for
industry
but promised to keep in close touch with his many friends in SPAS. You
can contact him by e-mail right HERE!. He will be
working at
Foto-wear, Inc. 101 Pocono Drive, Milford, PA 18337. You can also send
him
cards and letters to 1532 Hemlock Farms, 109 Saddlebrook Ln., Hawley,
PA 18428.
We will all miss him.
Luncheon Photo from a few years back!
Les
Stroebel brought in the photograph that you see here. It was taken at a
lunch gathering at a restaurant by the Genesee river just over the
tracks right
here in Henrietta (although it might be Brighton!). Anyway, I have no
information on the year the photo was taken (even though I myself was
present
at the event) so if you could help me out that would be much
appreciated.
BTW, that woman in a red outfit was not a part of the group in
case you are
wondering. She was not even a she. IT was a mannequin.
Photos from
the Attic: Digging through ancient and dusty
crevices in his basement, Dr. Richard
Zakia recently unearthed a relic from the past ... a relic to remind us
of our heritage, indeed, the heritage of the School of Photographic
Arts and Sciences.
His find relates to a photograph taken by Ralph Hattersley of a faculty
meeting presided over by C.B. Neblette sometime in the late
1950's when RIT was still located in downtown Rochester and the School
occupied
the upper floors of the Clark Building locatedon the corner of
Washington and Broad streets in the 3rd ward.
Let's see how many of our colleagues you can identify! Well,
from left to
right: Richard Zakia, Ed Wilson, Charlie Arnold, (who is that above
Charlie's
head?), Al Rickmers, Robert Bagby, Don Smith, David Engdahl, Charlie
Savage,
Hollis Todd, Bill Shoemaker and with his back to the camera: C.B.
Neblette.
There was someone else present, it seems, with his back to the
camera and
between Zakia and Neblette but was "retouched" out. Who was that? And
where is
Les Stroebel? Was this _everyone_ or only those that came to the
meeting? Was
Minor White there? What year _was_ this anyway?
The Ira Current family is online and plugged-in!!! It
is about the most extensive
family listing of websites that has come to our attention and listed
below are
all manner of contacts with Ira's family.
Ira's site is at: http://members.aol.com/tnerruc/index.html
Daughter Susan's is: http://www.tiac.net/users/scurrent/home.html
Son Brian's is: http://members.aol.com/bricurrent/index.html
Son Richard's is: http://members.aol.com/ricsuecar/index.html
From the Southwest:
We have learned that Nile
Root has an selection
of his photographs on
exhibit at the Artist of the Month Gallery, 4831 East 22nd Street,
Tucson, AZ
from February 11 to March 6, 1998.
The exhibition, CyberVisions - Digital Images by Nile Root,
consists of ancient
motifs - current technology. The sample image shown here is entitled:
Rock Art
Gallery - Chaco Canyon (it is Copyright 1998 by Nile Root). There will
be an opening reception on Sunday,
February 15, from noon to 2pm. If you are in the area you are invited
to
attend.
From the Northeast:
Professor
Emeritus Charles
Arnold recently designed a comprehensive set of brochures to
promote each of the departments within the School of Photographic Arts
and
Sciences. A "thumbnail" image of the folio cover is seen at left and
below are the illustrations gracing the pages of some of the
departmental brochures. If you
click on any of these small images you can see an enlarged version.
Prof.
Arnold made these images based on rolled and folded paper forms.
On a separate item, Charlie sends this
photograph to visually share with you
all what his mornings are dedicated to most days this winter. Click on
it to
see it in somewhat larger size.
RIT School of Photographic Arts and Sciences Professor
Emeritus Dr. Richard
D. Zakia recently published a new book on visual perception
under the title of: Perception and Imaging. From the preface:
"Pictures, regardless of how they are created and recreated,
are
intended to be looked at. This brings to the forefront not the
technology of
imaging, which of course is important, but rather what we might call
the
eyenology (seeing)."
"Photography has not changed since its origin except in its technical
aspects, which for me are not important". Henri Cartier-Bresson
"The visual system of a single human being does more image processing
than
do the entire world's super computers." Dr. Calvin Mead
Understanding the principles of human perception will allow
photographers to
design pictures that are more effective at accomplishing their
objective. As
useful as this book might be for students, it may be even more valuable
to
photography instructors for it contains most of the information needed
for a
basic course in human perception.
Comments from some readers:
"This book is a nuts and bolts primer on how human beings make
sense of the
world they see. Anyone interested in learning more about visual
literacy and
the way pictures convey their messages would benefit by reading this
book."
- Dr. Bruce Cline - Head, Photo Department, Lakeland Community College,
Kirkland, Ohio
"Your lovely book, Perception and Imaging, is now a mandatory text in
our
combined media course: Concepts, Theories and Production. We will use
it in
both the digital as well as the photography parts of the course." -
Professor Hans Westerblom -Program Director, Photography, Ryerson
Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Perception and Imaging Focal Press, 1977 307 pages,
$34.95 To order: call 1-800-366-2665 or fax 1-800-446-6520.
In Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand - Reed Academic
Publishing Asia, 37 Jalan Pemimpin, Union Industrial Building, Block B
07-05, Singapore 2057, Tel: 65-356-1968 Fax: 65-356-1925.
In Europe and Rest of the World - Butterworth-Heinemann, Reed Book
Service, PO Box 5, Rushden, Northants, NN10 6PU, United Kingdom, Tel:
44-1933-58521.
Communications
To drop a line to one of the retired faculty members who does
not have e-mail, send me a message and I will try to locate the faculty
member you want to reach and help establish communication between you.
Wrtite to me, Andrew Davidhazy at andpph@davidhazy.org.
Writings by several retired, current and former
professors
REMINISCENCES OF BILL SHOEMAKER
Personal reminiscences by Walter Elling about his long term
relationship with
Bill Shoemaker, SPAS Director in the 60's and early 70's.
QUOTATIONS FOR TEACHERS
A compilation by Dr. Richard D. Zakia of quotations from men and women
through history with particular relevance to teachers. Dr. Zakia is a
Professor Emeritus
from the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at RIT.
ANSCO MEMORIES
Article by Prof Emeritus Ira Current, retired faculty member, about his
early
days at Ansco (later Agfa/Ansco), his arrival and on-the-job anecdotes
prior
to WWII.
WRITING TECHNICAL REPORTS
This is a brief article that was prepared and distributed to his
students by the late Dr. Ronald Francis, of the Photographic Science
department in the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences at RIT. It
is included here in his
memory and to continue to serve students of photographic sciences into
the
future.
ELECTRONIC PHOTO EDUCATION
Article by Sabine Susstrunk (now with Corbis Corporation) on the
integration of electronic photography into traditional photography
programs and education.
INTRO TO TECHNOLOGY OF
PHOTOGRAPHY
Andrew Davidhazy'sbrief review of fundamental image formation
principles,
camera systems, and special cameras and imaging techniques used in
scientific,
technical and instrumentation photography for the purpose of
visualizing
otherwise invisible events or to make measurements of such events. The
article
describes in brief how the various systems work and the technology that
makes
their operation possible.
COFFEE DEVELOPER
A novel application for coffee - DEVELOPING your film and photographic
papers
with it! Detailed in an article by Dr. Scott Williams and his Technical
Photo
Chemistry students and published in Sept/Oct 1995 issue of Darkroom and
Creative Camera Techniques.
COLOR INTERPRETATION
Characteristics of modern color emulsions are reviewed and summarized
by
Professor Michael Peres particularly for Biomedical applications but
expandable to other situations as well.
HIGH SPEED PHOTOGRAPHY 101
Paper presented by Andrew Davidhazy at the 20th International Congress
on High
Speed Photography and Photonics describing an introductory course in
high speed
photography taken by Imaging and Photographic Technology students at
RIT
If you want to
take a peek at recent news from the Imaging and Photographic Technology
department simply choose TECHNEWS. And if
you have
news to share drop me a line!.
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