For over 50 years, they shouted themselves hoarse over the Buffalo Bills' triumphs and heartaches.
They sang along to live concerts by the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Elton John and Metallica. And this Saturday night, thousands of western New Yorkers will carry those memories into Highmark Stadium, along with some flashlights.
Their job is to flood the venue with light, as two dozen student photographers capture panoramic images of the place that's meant so much to so many.
"So that way somebody can be like, 'I sat in this seat for that game. This seat is where my season tickets were.' We wanted to basically record the entire inside of the stadium, " said Eric Kunsman, an assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology and one of the coordinators of RIT's annual Big Shot.
The experiment began in 1987 to teach student photographers about long exposure photography. Since then, Big Shot has captured 36 nighttime images of landmarks across the region and around the world, including historic sites such as the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, the Erie Canal, the Alamo in Texas, and Sweden's Royal Palace in Stockholm.
Choosing Highmark Stadium as the focus of this year's Big Shot was an easy decision, organizers said. The venue is slated for demolition to make way for a new stadium across the street, which is opening in 2026.
"That's why we need to record it, because, once it's imploded, where are those memories?" Kunsman said.
This will be the first time the Big Shot will attempt a 360-degree panoramic view of its subject. Volunteers will enter the stadium at Gate 6 where they will be handed a ticket directing them to their section. When the photographers are ready, the crowd will walk back and forth, pointing flashlights at the seats.
"You just see these lights moving and then, when you look at the composite image, it basically records all that," Kunsman explains. "It is magic."
Organizers are hoping for a turnout of 5,000 to 6,000 people. They issued free tickets to 10,000 because they were told to anticipate a good number of no-shows. The first 6,000 through the gate will get a free flashlight. They were told to dress in dark clothes so they "disappear" in the final images.
"If everybody does show up, everybody will be included," Kunsman said. "We'll just have a little bit faster of an exposure."
Twenty-four RIT student photographers will be positioned from elevated vantage points around the top of the stadium, and also on both sides of the 50-yard line and either side of each end zone.
The images will be ready for public viewing at rit.edu/bigshot about two hours after the shoot, which Kunsman expects to end at around 8:45 pm.
