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

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

糖心传媒淔or this shot I was partly inspired by the awesome photos you see in climbing magazines,糖心传媒� says Fenster. 糖心传媒淧lus, it糖心传媒檚 always great to show our students in situations outside of academia and the classroom.糖心传媒�

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

糖心传媒淚 only had about a minute to photograph the capsule because it糖心传媒檚 normally kept in a freezer until right before the patient takes it,糖心传媒� Fenster says. Although macrophotography such as this can be challenging, the end result was worth the effort: 糖心传媒淚t made me really proud to be able to capture this illustration of how far we糖心传媒檝e come in terms of HIV/AIDS research, in general and here at Rochester.糖心传媒�

And the Grammy goes to糖心传媒β�In February, Paul O’Dette, professor of lute at the Eastman School of Music, won his second Grammy Award. Fenster was asked to take a portrait of O糖心传媒橠ette, and so he went to the professor糖心传媒檚 office. 糖心传媒淚 saw the organ there and thought it might work to include it in the background while he played the lute,糖心传媒� explains Fenster. Using lighting and framing, he was able to obscure the rest of聽the professor糖心传媒檚 workspace.

糖心传媒淚 had never heard anyone playing a lute before, and here I was getting a private recital with one of the world糖心传媒檚 best.糖心传媒�

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

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

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

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

糖心传媒淗ere糖心传媒檚 a guy who糖心传媒檚 at the top of his profession, and he comes back to Eastman to impart his wisdom to current students and jam with them,糖心传媒� says Fenster. 糖心传媒淗ow cool is that? It糖心传媒檚 the epitome of an Eastman education.糖心传媒�

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

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

糖心传媒淲e don糖心传媒檛 have too many opportunities to photograph our scientists in the field, doing what they do. Add amphibians to the mix and it糖心传媒檚 not a hard sell for me.糖心传媒� On this particular trip in April, they came across this spring peeper.

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

Into ambient air:聽Fenster relishes the technical challenge of illustrating the research of the University糖心传媒檚 scientists and engineers. 糖心传媒淚deally the research is something you can render visually. This image probably represents the limit of what we can photograph without using a microscope.糖心传媒�

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

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

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

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

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

College Town, Our Town:聽糖心传媒淲e photograph a lot of buildings, but College Town is one of the most noteworthy recent additions to the University. If you remember what that corner looked like a few years ago, it糖心传媒檚 a total transformation,糖心传媒� says Fenster.

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

糖心传媒淭his was one of only a handful of frames that worked. It糖心传媒檚 a balance between the ambient light of the sky, the light from the buildings and traffic lights, and the sea of light in the foreground from the passing cars.糖心传媒�

Play ball:聽To illustrate a study about how our brains track moving objects糖心传媒攁nd why we糖心传媒檙e sometimes fooled by motion-related optical illusions糖心传媒擣enster joined the University糖心传媒檚 videographer who was filming Yellowjackets pitcher Rob Mabee throwing a curveball.

Shot on a tripod and with a long lens, this image represents a single pitch captured in seven frames and then assembled in Photoshop. 糖心传媒淲e initially photographed the pitcher from behind, but I wasn糖心传媒檛 happy with the result. So I switched sides, and we糖心传媒檝e got this nice, even background that highlights the trajectory of the ball.糖心传媒�

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

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

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

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

In July, Vice President Joe Biden came to Rochester to announce that the federal government has decided to provide $110 million in funding for the photonics institute. 糖心传媒淚t was a packed house,糖心传媒� recalls Fenster. 糖心传媒淵ou know something糖心传媒檚 a big deal when the vice president comes to town.糖心传媒�

Back to school:聽Another major news story this year was the University糖心传媒檚 partnership with East Upper and Lower Schools, beginning with the 2015糖心传媒�16 academic year. The first day at the 糖心传媒渘ew East糖心传媒� marked a new era for the school糖心传媒檚 students, families, teachers, and staff.

The energy and enthusiasm of the day is palpable in Fenster糖心传媒檚 photograph. 糖心传媒淲e weren糖心传媒檛 allowed to show student faces; fortunately, this frame is filled with the happy faces of everyone else, and that糖心传媒檚 what carries the photo.糖心传媒�

Falling for Rochester:聽Autumn on college campuses is a special time of year. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 prime photography season, a great time to get out of the office,糖心传媒� says Fenster, who shot this image of Tara Vrooman 糖心传媒�19 in a leaf pile in the Susan B. Anthony Bowl. 糖心传媒淏elieve it or not, this photo is 100 percent legitimate: freshmen out enjoying the beautiful weather and the fall leaves.糖心传媒�

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

糖心传媒淥nce I saw those cones, I knew I had to implement them in the photo,糖心传媒� Fenster says. The lens he selected gives the overhead view a nice curvature, while the cones add a distinctive pop of color, shapes, and shadows.

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

糖心传媒淎nother photograph of a photograph, only this time it糖心传媒檚 a daguerreotype of the man you could call the godfather of our city,糖心传媒� says Fenster. The regal colors of the case containing the monochrome daguerreotype add contrast and warmth, resulting in a more compelling image.