RIT Big Shot No. 33 – Old Fort Niagara
All external lighting was provided by 825 volunteer participants using hand-held electronic flash units and flashlights. Additionally, Profoto B1, B10 and B1X electronic flash equipment was used.
September 29, 2018 – 8:45 pm
Temperature 51F
Estimated crowd of approximately 825
Cameras: Six Nikon D850 cameras
Lenses: 20mm f/1.8
Exposure time: 90 seconds @ f/16 ISO 100
This is how Old Fort Niagara looked before “painting with light.”
The RIT Big Shot is a nighttime community photographic project that began in 1987.
The result shared above is a composite made from the files from six cameras equipped with 20mm lenses. The RIT Big Shot crew was excited to again try this approach to our long-standing project. A single shot capture would have required a very wide-angle lens and the magnification differences of the foreground to the background would have been amplified in the final image. Using six cameras enabled the computational photograph to appear more proportional, closer to how the scene would appear to the eye. This photograph was complex to make because of all the variables, including weather, scale, and size of the subject.
Located in the parade field are re-enactors dressed to portray American, French, and British soldiers from approximately 1725. A cannon was discharged to complete an engaging scene of an important monument.
RIT Big Shot Partners
RIT Big Shot is fortunate to receive continued support from terrific partners who help make these projects possible. We wish to recognize those companies and organizations who continue to contribute their expertise, time, financial support and products to make RIT Big Shot Magic. Thanks to Old Fort Niagara, RIT, Nikon, Profoto and Kodak. The results are unique and represent a once-in-a-lifetime experience for countless attendees.
About the Subject
The history of Old Fort Niagara spans more than 300 years. During the colonial wars in North America, a fort at the mouth of the Niagara River was vital, for it controlled access to the Great Lakes and the westward route to the heartland of the continent. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, however, the strategic value of Fort Niagara diminished. It nonetheless remained an active military post well into the 20th century.
The three flags flown daily above the parade ground symbolize the nations which have held Fort Niagara. Each competed for the support of a fouth nation: the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. The French established the first post here, Fort Conti, in 1679. Its successor, Fort Denonville (1687-88) was equally short lived. In 1726 France finally erected a permanent fortification with the construction of the impressive “French Castle.” Britain gained control of Fort Niagara in 1759, during the French & Indian War, after a nineteen-day seige. The British held the post throughout the American Revolution but were forced, by treaty, to yield it to the United States in 1796. Fort Niagara was recaptured by the British in 1813. It was ceded to the United States a second time in 1815 at the end of the War of 1812.
This was Fort Niagara’s last armed conflict, and it thereafter served as a peaceful border post. The garrison expanded beyond the walls following the Civil War. Fort Niagara was a barracks and training station for American soldiers throughout both World Wars. The last army units were withdrawn in 1963. Today, the U.S. Coast Guard represents the only military presence on the site.
Old Fort Niagara was restored between 1926 and 1934. It is operated today by the Old Fort Niagara Association, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, in cooperation with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.