Glorious to View ‘This Beautiful Place of Nature and Learning’: Through Garrett’s Lens Take a trip back to your alma mater with these evocative images by a Class of ’25 alum—who shot thousands of photos as a student By Beth Saulnier “The second I stepped on the campus, I was absolutely in awe of the natural environment,” says Garrett Spillerman ’25. “Every season is unique—it’s an all-year-round, beautiful place that’s always changing.” During his four years on the Hill, Spillerman captured thousands of images of that splendor—using photography as a way both to chronicle his Big Red experience and to manage the everyday stresses of student life. The resulting oeuvre depicts the Cornell campus at its loveliest—be it displaying fall foliage, spring’s joyful florals and bright greens, or the more austere allures of winter. In fact, his images of the Hill’s chilliest days—along with the many sunsets he snapped—often seem the most evocative. “Even the cold winter has its beauty—whether it’s the ice formations in the gorges, or the bare trees, or that wet snow that sticks to everything,” says Spillerman, who’s Zooming with Cornellians from his childhood bedroom, where his work lines the walls. “While winter might seem long, the seasons themselves are pretty quick—and your time at Cornell moves so fast. I simply can’t believe it’s over for me already.” A Pennsylvania native, Spillerman fell hard for photography at age 10, when his grandparents gifted him a rudimentary digital camera. For his bar mitzvah service project a few years later, he took nature photos, had them printed in large format, and mounted them in pediatric cancer wards. “Hospital rooms have those fluorescent lights and white antiseptic walls,” says Spillerman, who plans to attend law school in fall 2025. “It became this beautiful thing where I could bring the outdoors inside.” As a comm major in CALS, Spillerman took an even deeper dive into photography—practicing the art almost daily, as he captured myriad scenes on campus and beyond, including Cayuga Lake and nearby state parks. While winter might seem long, the seasons themselves are pretty quick—and your time at Cornell moves so fast. His senior spring, he even used a collection of his photos as the final for an academic course: taking the popular class (taught by Corey Earle ’07) on the history of Cornell, he jumped at the chance to create a digital scrapbook as his end-of-semester project. “Nature is something that I think a lot of people take for granted,” he observes. “But going to a school like this, in this location—having this tremendous opportunity to be in this beautiful place of nature and learning and community, and being able to showcase what we get to see every day—that’s really, really cool.” Given that many of Spillerman’s images have an otherworldly quality—with saturated hues and ethereal lighting—viewers may be surprised to learn that he eschews filters and does little or no postproduction, beyond the occasional crop. He shoots with an iPhone—whose cameras have, of course, become increasingly sophisticated over the past decade. And since he always has it in his pocket, it allows for innumerable moments of photographic serendipity. “Something I struggle with a little bit,” he admits, “is knowing when to take a picture, and when to take a deep breath and just savor the moment.” Scroll down for an album showcasing some of Spillerman’s favorite campus photos! (All photos courtesy of Garrett Spillerman ’25.) Published June 26, 2025 Comments Greenbaum Bettsie 26 Jun, 2025 What a tremendous achievement for Garrett to have chronicled the seasons of life at Cornell over his 4 years! Garrett has the rare ability to appreciate, with insight and wisdom, all of these fleeting moments. Why don’t we put his stunning images in every hospital room in the entire country! This is a young man who will go far…and as his friend, I get to watch him shine…lucky me! Reply Lynn Medley 27 Jun, 2025 Absolutely stunning! Reply Adele Cirone Oliva 30 Jun, 2025 I have never seen anyone capture the true beauty of Cornell. This should be made into a photo book. Thank you for bringing me back to Ithaca!! Reply Roslyn Joffe 1 Jul, 2025 These photos are really fantastic. Thank you for sharing the beauty of the location. The pictures make me feel as if I am there in person. Fabulous. Love, Roslyn Joffe Reply KG O’Donnell, Class of 1977 1 Jul, 2025 Simply amazing! I go back every year and take pictures, I wish I had done that while I was an undergraduate. Reply Joe Como, Class of 1977 7 Jul, 2025 KG, I tried to do this our senior year but my photos don’t compare to these. I miss our beautiful campus. Reply Diane Bishop Hanson, Class of 1959 1 Jul, 2025 The wintry ones touched me the most. I once again felt the cold in my bones. Reply Sulaiman Wasty, Class of 1989 3 Jul, 2025 Cornell makes me Proud! Reply Jenny Park, Class of 1991 6 Jul, 2025 Garrett has a true talent and eye. Love the accents of bold color amidst the soft natural surroundings throughout the seasons. He has chronicled what makes Cornell one of the most beautiful campuses. Thank you for sharing! Reply Andrea Strongwater, Class of 1970 6 Jul, 2025 Thanks so much for remembering Cornell in such lovely pictures! Reply Ken Rubin, Class of 1979 6 Jul, 2025 What an incredible collection! Thank you Garrett for sharing your wonderful pictures and reminding me of the timeless beauty of Cornell and Ithaca. Reply Herb Fontecilla, Class of 1966 6 Jul, 2025 Fantastic photographs! Does he sell them? Herb Reply Jonathan (Jody) Goldsmith, Class of 1977 6 Jul, 2025 Wow! This young man has vision … and vision! Reply Kath Wang 6 Jul, 2025 WOW! Truly mesmerizing photos that should be shared in a live photo exhibit. Love the bright color foliage and the pristine snow scenery! Cornell looks like a fairytale land in these fantastic photos! Reply Gaia, Class of 1999 6 Jul, 2025 The pictures are stunning and brought back snippets, moments, and memories of my time at Cornell. Reply Heidi Norden Burnett, Class of 1986 6 Jul, 2025 Intentionally seeking that which is beautiful…that habit gets many of us through challenging times. But intentionally and generously sharing those visions? That exponentially increases the positive ripple effects. You GO, Garrett! Reply Brinda Govindan, Class of 1989 6 Jul, 2025 These photos truly capture the natural beauty of the most gorgeous campus in the world–looking at them makes me feel like I’m there. Thank you for sharing your talent! Reply Karen Kaplan, Class of 1975 6 Jul, 2025 The four seasons of the Cornell campus are what make it so very special! Garrett has captured them beautifully. Reply Esther, Class of 2004 6 Jul, 2025 Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your photos and your backstory inspire me. Best of luck in law school, Garrett! Reply Alice Katz Berglas, Class of 1945 7 Jul, 2025 I found myself quietly singing the Evening Song and then the Alma Mater to my laptop screen as I scrolled through the photographs. It took me until the end of the images to realize I was singing… Thank you, Garrett. Thank you, Cornell. Reply claude philippe, Class of 1995 7 Jul, 2025 This is truly special. an incredible eye. and thank you. Nothing else but deep appreciation ! ciao! claude philippe medard (95′) Reply Cynthia 7 Jul, 2025 These are stunning! I’ve been here for 30+ years and I sometimes forget how beautiful it is. Reply Sue Stine Thompson, Class of 1967 7 Jul, 2025 I’ve always thought Cornell to be incredibly beautiful. Garrett’s photos are indeed stunning and revive in me such a nostalgia to return to Ithaca. After graduation my Cornell husband and I moved to Texas and haven’t had the opportunity to return as often as we’d like. Garrett, your talent needs to be showcased! Reply Frann Shore, Class of 1979 7 Jul, 2025 Very beautiful! The red brick of the buildings and the sunsets are evokative. It calmed my nerves scrolling through all the photos. I would love this as a downloadable file. Reply Karen Zelkind Buglass, Class of 1977 8 Jul, 2025 Gorgeous! Reply DONNA TONGUE 9 Jul, 2025 Is there a book of this collection of photos? Please??! Reply Jeanne, Class of 1974 10 Jul, 2025 Thank you for the memories of a beautiful times often forgotten. Reply Bailey & Celia, Class of 1980 10 Jul, 2025 Fantastic article – it brings us back to the beautiful campus and the memories of friends we’ve made for life. We were very fortunate to have been there and many many thanks for sharing these photos and the feelings they evoke. Reply Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. 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