We present BVRI photometry of supernova 2011fe in M101 from 2.9 to 182 days after the explosion .
The light curves and color evolution show that SN 2011fe belongs to the “ normal ” subset of type Ia supernovae , with \Delta m _ { 15 } ( B ) = 1.21 \pm 0.03 mag .
After correcting for extinction and adopting a distance modulus of ( m - M ) = 29.10 mag to M101 , we derive absolute magnitudes M _ { B } = -19.21 , M _ { V } = -19.19 , M _ { R } = -19.18 and M _ { I } = -18.94 .
We compare visual measurements of this event to our CCD photometry and find evidence for a systematic difference based on color .