The Ultimate Event<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These students were going wild, and I wondered why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The annual Farewell Celebration for Seniors and Faculty was everything it\u2019s meant to be. Heartfelt and joyful, seniors celebrated side by side in Gray Athletic building with the faculty members who\u2019ve helped shape their journeys at Bates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But this group was focused on a laptop. That\u2019s because Daniel Snider \u201925 (green cap) and his Bates Orange Whip ultimate frisbee teammates were streaming the Division III Ultimate championship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was easy to see why Snider couldn\u2019t miss it. He helped lead Bates to its first-ever berth in the previous year\u2019s national tournament and was named winner of the 2025 Donovan Award \u2014 Ultimate\u2019s highest honor for skill, spirit, and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis event was special,\u201d said Snider, a French and Francophone major from Belfast, Maine, \u201cbecause we were able to be around each other as friends, rather than just as students and professors. Saying goodbye isn\u2019t easy \u2014 but I\u2019m grateful for everyone who made Bates such a meaningful place.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m grateful, too, for the chance to share some of that meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I saw this scene developing I thought to myself, \u201cDo I capture this now, with everyone walking toward me, and risk the child changing their behavior, or do I allow them to pass by me and capture them walking away?\u201d Historically, I want to see faces, but photographically, that umbrella on the ground is just as good as any face. For me, the child’s gesture and casual umbrella use was enough to stop and wait for this frame to play out. I did my best to “keep it cool” as I did not want to break mine or the child’s focus. As I made my way past the family, I calmly took a knee, turned around, and made my frame and had a laugh. Happy reunion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I noticed this Quad Walker from a distance. His behavior distinguished him from me and the countless others who cross campus with smart phones or mirrorless cameras \u2014 less so with our mind\u2019s eye \u2014 intent on memorializing what we see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The way he was looking up in awe at the beautiful fall foliage reminded me of the simple but profound advice Bates Commencement honorand Gwen Ifill offered 2012 graduates. \u201cLook up,\u201d she suggested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s so much simpler to look down. Your feet are down there, our screens are down there. But our fears are down there too. If you look up and away from the fear you will see the destinations you are headed toward, and you will see the opportunities. If you look up, you will see the chance to speak and to act on behalf of the discouraged and the diminished. \u2026 If you look up you will see that a Bates degree is the beginning of your life\u2019s education but not the end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her words, not mine, but they represent a blueprint for life worth keeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morehouse College student Junias Lunsford-Peaks \u201928, foreground, writes in a notepad while sitting in a pew in Gomes Chapel ahead of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Keynote presentation on Jan. 20, 2025. A painting of the Rev. Peter J. Gomes \u201965 is seen through the main door nave hanging on the entrance lobby wall. MLK Day on Bates\u2019 campus has so many layers. What’s always stood out to me are the individuals, the participants, and especially the students who have chosen to be there. I like the color temperature and color palette, the daylight in the foreground and amber in the background. I like the attire; I really like the tie and bowtie. I like the bricks and polka dots. I like the focus, the idea, and the moment. I really like whoever propped the main door open because this was the first time I saw this opportunity. Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2025 Lewiston-Auburn Balloon Festival is a community celebration centered on hot air balloons, and typically attracts 100,000 visitors. The festival features more than 20 food stands, live entertainment, 13 balloons, and a parade. This year\u2019s theme, \u201cThe Rise of the Balloons,\u201d perfectly characterizes the scene I documented..<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like an angler, a photographer has to choose a favorable location and hope that you\u2019ll land something. Each year at the balloon festival, I\u2019m humbled by my need to accept that I\u2019m at the mercy of the elements. Will the balloons even take off (the day before they couldn\u2019t), and if they do, will the winds send them my way? As I crouched at Auburn\u2019s Liberty Park on Main Street for the 6 a.m. launch, I tamped down my minimal expectations. The odds were not in my favor that I would leave with anything memorable, I thought. But why even stumble out of bed if I can\u2019t gin up the enthusiasm necessary to animate my efforts? And honestly, the balloons typically deliver in one way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I tried. On this Saturday morning, loaded with passengers, they sailed over the piercing spire of Lewiston City Hall, one after another. Does this represent symmetry? Vulnerability? Silhouette? Take what you like. I was happy to leave with this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a single word in photography to describe removing the horizon line. \u2026 Something adjacent to maybe 2D? It’s a deliberate artistic choice. In this photograph, I chose to emphasize the visual elements of the subject and the environment, focusing on its form, texture, color, lines, and shape. In removing the horizon line, I hoped to deepen the relationship with the subject and environment versus incorporating the division of foreground and background \u2014 a dynamic canvas painted by the waves and rusted rock life. Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As members of the Class of 2025 processed by the sundial to take their seats, I stood in front of the stage to photograph their arrival. After four years in proximity, it\u2019s not surprising that I recognized many of them. But suddenly Izzy Beck \u201925 floated into my viewfinder. I had photographed her at various times during her Bates experience: as a coxswain for the men\u2019s rowing team, as a Center for Purposeful Work intern for the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, and then again as a Purposeful Work fellow. Just a couple of weeks before, Izzy had described her senior honors thesis, \u201cA President or a Prince? Tracing the Development of Unitary Executive Theory,\u201d to me as I\u2019d made a portrait of her for the Admission team. So I quickly focused on her blissful smile. This layered photograph, with out of focus foreground and background, accentuates her uniqueness. I like to think that it supports my belief that each and every individual on this campus has a story to tell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I learn something new about field hockey every year. This year I learned that after two overtimes, you go to a shootout. At the sound of the buzzer after the overtime periods, I asked Bates Associate Athletics Communications Director Aaron Morse, \u201cWhat happens next?\u201d After a short pause, everyone at the scoring bench declared with puzzled expressions, \u201cI\u2019ve never witnessed a field hockey shootout.\u201d I asked if it would be like ice hockey, to which they replied, \u201cNo clue.\u201d As a buckle-up for what was about to happen, which, to me, could have been anything at that point, I planted myself at what would be the 25-yard line on a football field \u2014 enough space to catch the goal or reaction depending on what happened. As I watched our goalie give the performance of a lifetime, I prepared for player reactions. Caught in full frame, I watched as #2 Elena Agosti \u201927 celebrated after scoring her goal during the shootout. I really enjoy that this frame is not cropped, captured on a 300mm lens, and truly the best part is that it\u2019s not centered. Yes, I might be slightly in love with symmetry, but I really love some un-centered, full-framed photographs. I had a really good time following the field hockey team’s journey this season and congratulate them on an impressive season. Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a beautiful June day for the annual Bates BWell 5K run and walk, where more than 200 Bates faculty and staff made their way through a winding course that ends with the home stretch on Alumni Walk. I had photographed her then as well, her arms spontaneously raised as she sped toward my camera. She told me her story after the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later, at another Bates BWell 5K, she mentioned that she might like a photographic portrait without her shirt. Someday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAny time you\u2019re ready, just let me know,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Taylor passed me early on in this year’s race, she raised her arms in celebration as she had in previous years. I smiled in recognition. It felt like part of a tradition. I had moved to the finish line when Taylor suddenly re-appeared in my viewfinder, shirtless. I wasn\u2019t as ready as I wanted to be \u2014 moving to the right would have eliminated that row of trash cans. But the power of her gesture trumps the background. Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I like the graphic-ness of this photograph. With the player yelling, I almost feel like I can still hear the ringing in my ears from all the \u201cwoos.\u201d Often, I find myself deselecting frames like this one thinking that there\u2019s definitely a better storytelling photo or action photo available from the shoot. There usually is. However, it is assignments like this one (photo favorites) where I’m asked to reflect and am reminded that diversifying content has its upsides and a place. Sometimes the photo right before or after the moment is fun in a slightly different way. In this photograph, I’d argue it leans toward that direction, with the net removing the eyes of the subject. Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n A typical summer for me \u2014 pandemic notwithstanding \u2014 includes spending several days in my hometown, NYC, where I photograph a lineup of Bates students with Purposeful Work internships. We photograph interns in other cities, too, but I relish the New York experience. It\u2019s a chance to be in a place that I love, doing what I love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve covered the bases from sustainability to the arts, from activism to law, from finance and communications to medical research. But nothing quite like this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reagan White \u201926 of Duxbury, Mass., was to be one of 18 interns at Kleinfeld Bridal, where hit TLC television show Say Yes to the Dress<\/em> was filmed for 23 seasons, each episode chronicling the shopping adventures of brides on the hunt for their perfect gowns. White had been watching the show since childhood, when she would sketch dresses after each show, pretending she was a designer. And during her study abroad semester in Italy, she worked as a wedding dress seamstress, sewing gowns for eight hours a day at Atelier Daniela De Souza in Milan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew of Say Yes to the Dress<\/em>, but had never watched it, although I\u2019d seen wedding dress hunting rituals on other reality shows. My own experiences of wedding dress shopping, for myself in 1978, and then decades later in 2023 for my daughter, were nothing like those. But I am not sure any research would have prepared me for the shock of marching into the showroom at 110 W 20th St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the brides (from El Paso, Texas) was being attended to by White and Kleinfeld stylist Caroline Roy (left), who shouted in unison to her: \u201cAre you ready to make a commitment to this dress?\u201d She shouted back that she was. I literally almost fainted. But instead, I moved in closer to experience \u2014 and show\u2014 their emotion. Wow. This was, in fact, a real, not manufactured moment, that resulted from 90 minutes of the trio working together to find just what this bride had dreamed of. From watching clients fall for a dress, to modeling couture itself, to seriously considering a future in fashion industry communications, White, a rhetoric, film, and screen studies major, enjoyed the \u201csummer of a lifetime.\u201d Sampling the visual feast with my cameras made my day at Keinfeld the photographic highlight of my summer, proving that at least for the two of us, Kleinfeld is \u201cthe happiest place on earth.\u201d (See our picture story, She Said Yes to a Lifelong Dream<\/a> written by staff writer Alexandra DeMarco)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweet and simple, a rose and its promise, in this case, the Bobcat. I have a flair for the dramatic and an ardor for the poetic. As I was shooting a <\/em>Bates Women\u2019s Basketball game against Tufts on Feb. 16, I was drawn to the simple black and white leather seat cushion in Alumni Gym, an emblem of the institution, and the deep color red (so close to garnet), which evoked the love, courage, and excellence we recognize as associated with Bates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Phyllis Graber Jensen says<\/em>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the 10-foot bronze state of Muhammed Ali was unveiled at 65 Main St. near Lewiston\u2019s Bates Mill #5 on Sat., June 1, much of the Twin Cities turned out. The Ali tribute, designed by Philadelphia-based artist Zenos Frudakis, is the first full-body bronze statue of Ali and celebrates Ali\u2019s 1965 \u201cPhantom Punch\u201d victory that put Lewiston on the global sports map 60 years ago. Ali\u2019s fight with Sonny Liston lasted just two minutes and 12 seconds. Its legacy \u2014 like Lewiston\u2019s \u2014 is enduring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A series of speeches prefaced the statue\u2019s reveal, and the crowd\u2019s energy was palpable. The gathering included the press, local boxers, summer residents, elected state and city officials, and Bates students, faculty, and staff \u2014 including President Garry W. Jenkins and Ilyas Bashir \u201925, who you can see here, just to the left of center \u2014 a newly minted Bates grad from Auburn, and New England Golden Gloves champ. Maine Governor Janet Mills told the crowd that she, as a 17-year-old, was supposed to attend the fight: her boyfriend had bought them tickets. But at the last minute, they broke up, and she didn\u2019t go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Architect and developer Tom Platz, who attended the fight as a seventh grader and worked with a local group to shepherd the project through years of fundraising, pulled the cover off the statue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Up jumped Gov. Mills,. who thrust her arms into the air, revealing her Ruth Bader Ginsburg socks \u2014 and her admiration for those who stood for what they believed in. This moment, imperfect as it is, with some obscured, and others with backs to the camera, represents some of the emotion I experienced that day. Our news team had agreed that I would not<\/em> photograph the event, but my vivid memories of the fight \u2014 I was 11 in 1965 \u2014 and my respect for Ali propelled me to attend at the last minute. I\u2019m so happy that I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theophil Syslo says<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you look closely enough at the opening clip, you can see that the edges of the magnet have been through the wringer. I didn\u2019t think of making an establishing shot until after capturing the 123 photographs. This meant that the magnet I was using for this project looked brand new in certain shots and very used in others, though I can promise I purchased that magnet from the College Store specifically for this video. Beyond my intro sequence mishap, I really found this production to be a creative use of photography as a means for vertical video. Did the video really need an establishing shot? Debatable, but I do think it helps the viewer to understand that this was a human-created project and that the Bates logo was printed on a real-life object versus created in post-production. This summer project has inspired me to create an adjacent project this upcoming summer using a similar technique, but with different execution. Stay tuned.![\"Bates](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250519_Faculty_Senior_Dinner_0387.webp\")
Rainy Day Reunion<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Moments](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250607_Reunion_8454-1.webp\")
Look Up<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Foliage](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/251021_Campus_0270.webp\")
A Moment in Gomes<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Moments](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250120_MLK_6117.webp\")
Floating Over the City<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"It](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250816_Balloon_Festival_0648A.jjpg_.webp\")
Color of the Coast<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Bates](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250718_Nubble_Light_6449-copy-1.webp\")
That Big Grin<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bates](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250525_Commencement_0661A.webp\")
For the Win<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Bates](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/251101_Field_Hockey_Hamilton_0445.webp\")
Running for Awareness<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
While approaching the finish of the BWell 5K is a positive and joyful moment for most, it was especially meaningful for Associate Professor of Sociology Heidi Taylor, who triumphantly removed her shirt revealing her double mastectomy as she approached the finish line. It\u2019s a practice some breast cancer survivors use to normalize mastectomy and show the positive sides of healing.
An avid runner, Taylor was treated for breast cancer in 2021 and had to cancel many of her races in order to schedule various treatments and surgeries. But there was a short window between surgeries when she could fit in one race \u2014 and that just happened to be the 2021 Bates BWell 5K. \u201cIt meant so much to me. I was sort of nervous about it, and my friend [Associate Professor of History] Joe Hall met me and he raced to the end of it with me. And it just felt so victorious,\u201d said Taylor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLast year I thought I would whip my shirt off and then I didn\u2019t. But this year \u2026 I\u2019m like \u2018Just do it.\u2019\u201d she said. Awareness matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250612_Employee_5k_2653.webp\")
Head in the Game<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Saying Yes to a Dream<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"And](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250723_Raegan_White_Kleinfeld_Bridal_A_3204.webp\")
Ardor for Alumni<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"Bates](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250216_W_Babll_Tufts_9318-900x600.webp\")
Unveiling Ali<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
![\"https:\/\/www.sunjournal.com\/2025\/05\/31\/citys-new-guardian-statue-of-muhammad-ali-challenges-encourages-reflects-lewiston\/\n\nOn](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2025\/12\/250531_Muhammad_Ali_Statue_Unveiling_1468.webp\")
Logo Around Town<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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