"Click."
The split-second sound of the shutter captures a moment in a still-frame photo. For one retired UF professor, it was a familiar sound for more than 65 years. This lifetime of work earned him the Lucie Award for Achievement in Fine Arts.
Professor emeritus Jerry N. Uelsmann, an 81-year-old Gainesville resident, said he had no basis for who selected him or how he’d been selected. He just knew he’d been nominated.
On Oct. 27, he was presented with the award in Carnegie Hall in New York City. The Lucie Award has been presented to the world’s best in photography nominated in several different categories. Previous winners include a White House photographer, Pulitzer Prize winners and an Olympic Games staff photographer. He said he’s taken pictures for more than six decades and began his career at UF.
He became a professor of photography at UF in 1960, the first and only place he’s ever taught as a professor, he said.
"It was a big honor," he said of receiving the award. "People were kind. They wanted to have their picture taken with me." During the event, he said, a slideshow showcased his work.
Uelsmann is now retired in Gainesville. He said he lectures occasionally but also travels and sits on panels to talk about photography and his work.
"I love the University of Florida," he said. "It’s been very supportive of photography and very positive over the years."
Robert Fichter, 75, is a retired photographer and former student of Uelsmann’s.
He began his undergraduate studies in 1965 but couldn’t pass Beginning Spanish. His only option was to take photography.
He said he took one class with Professor Uelsmann and switched his major to painting and printmaking — photography wasn’t offered at the time.
After that, he said he went to Indiana University under Uelsmann’s mentorship and graduated with a master’s in photography and printmaking. He returned to Gainesville to teach at UF for one semester. Fichter said Uelsmann has been a great friend and mentor.
"He’s a golly genius," he said of Uelsmann. "He reinvented the idea of putting two or three images together to make one coherent picture." He said people had done it before, but no one had thought to do it the way his mentor had. He said he’s proud of Uelsmann for the work he’s done over the years and for the recognition he’s receiving now.
Uelsmann said he doesn’t know where his inspiration comes from; he can’t pinpoint it. But of his favorite picture, he said, "It’s the one I’ll take next."
Professor emeritus Jerry N. Uelsmann accepts the Lucie Award at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
