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.

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	Hollis Todd (d)	John Trauger (d)	Ira Current (d)	Burt Carroll (d)	Richard Zakia	David Engdahl (d)

Jim Rice	Don Smith	Martin Rennalls	Jim McMillon (d)	Ed Cohen (d)	Tom Hill (d)	Bob Kayser

Mac McCune	Charles Arnold	Lothar Engelmann	John Compton	Nile Root (d)	Wes Kemp	Tim Holden (d)

Doug Lyttle	Bob Kushner (d)	Bill Shoemaker (d)	Tom Wilson	Richard Norman (d)	Neil Croom (d)	Ron Francis (d)

John Pfahl	Bea Nettles	Howard LeVant	Rus Kraus	Guenther Cartwright	Elaine O'Neil	Elliott Rubenstein

Jack Karpen	John Retallack

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.

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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.

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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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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 the Northeast

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

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

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.

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

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."
 

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)

 

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:

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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

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!

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

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:

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.

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.

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@rit.edu.

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!.