The RIT Big Shot 35 Years of Painting with Light Exhibit

At the end of 1986-87 school year, Prof Emeritus Bill DuBois and then Instructor Michael Peres were critiquing the recently completed school year and were brainstorming activities for 1987-88. During their brainstorming, they considered creating a nighttime event loosely modeled after the Sylvania Big Shot. Their goal was to create a challenging community photograph that would be illuminated using simple hand-held lighting equipment with the goal of teaching problem solving, team building and having fun. SPAS alum Dawn Tower DuBois was recruited to operate the 4 x 5 film camera. Never could they have imagined 35 years later Big Shot would be still going strong.

The first Big Shot photograph and feature story, Rochester Times Union newspaper December 1987
Left – the only photograph of Emeritus Professor Bill DuBois and then Instructor Michael Peres taken December 4, 1987 at Big Shot No 1.
Right Prof DuBois, Dawn Tower DuBois and Michael Peres celebrate Big Shot No 16 The Alamo San Antonio, Texas. March 10, 2001
62 students traveled to San Antonio to participate in the event along with then RIT President Albert Simone. Photo by Henry Levinson, MD

The signature RIT Big Shot is featured in an Exhibition hosted in the University Gallery. The storied history of the RIT Big Shot, one of Rochester Institute of Technology’s signature events, is being celebrated during an exhibition running Aug. 15 to Oct. 16 in University Gallery. The show is a dynamic display of the stories behind the first 35 years of the nighttime community photographic project. It features large-scale prints — made in RIT’s Imaging Systems Lab (ISL) — of dramatic images of well-known landmarks, artifacts and news clippings from past events, and archived behind-the-scenes images and video footage. Below are shared some photographs of the installation.

Opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Prof Dan Hughes discusses with students “particulars” from RIT Big Shot No 32. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
A visitor enjoying the display of film prints at the opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
Planning documents from various projects on display at the RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
The opening reception of the RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
Asst Professor Eric Kunsman exchanges stories with colleagues at the Opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
RIT President Dr David Munson, and gallery director Wendy Marks enjoy the opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
A visitor examines the massive prints at the opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
35 years after making the first Big Shot, Prof Michael Peres, Dawn Tower DuBois and Bill DuBois enjoy a moment during the opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
RIT Photo faculty James Porto (l) and David Turner discuss Big Shot during the opening September 8, 2022. Photo by Fan Yang
University Gallery is the perfect space to share the RIT Big Shot 35 Years of Painting with Light Exhibit. Photo by Michael Peres
Asst Prof Eric Kunsman and Dan Hughes reveal the subject of Big Shot No 35 at the opening of RIT Big Shot Exhibition on Sept. 8, 2022. Photo by Quinn Freidenburg ’24
RIT Big Shot No 35 will illuminate National Susan B. Anthony House and Neighborhood Nov. 6

Rochester Institute of Technology’s Big Shot will be shining a light on voting rights and equal rights at the photo project’s next location. On Sunday, Nov. 6, the team plans to illuminate the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, located at 17 Madison St., and the surrounding neighborhood. Big Shot co-coordinators Dan Hughes and Eric Kunsman are eager to bring the project back into the Rochester community for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team planned to shoot at the historic museum in March 2020, but it was postponed.

Kunsman, assistant professor of visual communications studies in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, said it felt natural to pick up where they left off in 2020 and to hold the event close to Election Day. The plan is to capture both the museum and the sculptures of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass located in a nearby park.

“For me, it is not just the architecture of the Susan B. Anthony House, but rather the message that Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass both bring to this historic photograph, just two days shy of Election Day,” said Kunsman. “We want this photograph to celebrate two very important Rochesterians in the history of the United States and to remind people of their contributions to society.”

The RIT Big Shot, described as “painting with light,” engages student and community volunteers by asking them to provide a light source while RIT photographers shoot an extended exposure image. It’s a signature event for RIT’s College of Art and Design and is led by the School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS), which is nationally recognized for its degree programs.

“Each Big Shot offers unique technical challenges. For example, the Susan B. Anthony neighborhood park offers a chance to illuminate a whole series of houses where there is no place to easily hide masses of people from the view of the camera,” said Hughes, lecturer in SPAS, as he described the process. “We’ll also have reenactors in the picture of the Susan B. Anthony House to create a story about the history she brings to America. Both of these elements will provide a fun challenge for the whole group to tackle.”

The Big Shot team anticipates taking the first photograph at 5:30 p.m., roughly a half-hour after sunset. Participants should plan to arrive between 4:30 and 5 p.m. and should bring their own flashlights or light sources. The event is free and open to the public, but the coordinators ask attendees to not bring cameras or tripods as all participants will be moving in complete darkness.

RIT’s 35th Big Shot is sponsored by the City of Rochester. During the event, Madison Street, Madison Park North, and Madison Park South will be closed.

Follow this link for more information

Leave a Reply