Library's latest art exhibit features Schuster's photography

Ashley Schuster of New Rockford is the newest artist whose works are displayed at the Eddy-New Rockford Public Library. Schuster, a New Rockford native and the New Rockford Transcript's graphic designer and photographer, displays a series of five butterfly photographs that can be viewed during the library's regular hours. Schuster chose the photos because she wanted something bright that looked like spring was coming.

Schuster started taking pictures as a young child, using her mother's digital camera to snap pictures of the animals around the farm. Then, as it became apparent that she really liked photography, Schuster received her first camera as a birthday gift when she was about a fifth-grader.

She learned the importance of getting great shots during her early years when she was making posters to advertise puppies. She sat and played with the puppies for a long time in an effort to get good shots of each of them, making them as cute as possible to ensure they would go to the best homes.

Mostly self-taught, Schuster took a few photography classes while she was attending Bismarck State College, where the classes were a requirement for her graphic design program. In addition to learning techniques with the camera, she also learned how photographs could be enhanced by applying just a few Photoshop edits to them. Prior to those classes, she said she used mostly the automatic settings on her camera when she was shooting pictures. Now she has learned to take pictures with the camera's manual settings to get better results and to use high dynamic range imaging (HDR).

HDR imaging is a technique used in imaging and photography to reproduce a greater dynamic range of luminosity than is possible with standard digital imaging or photographic techniques. The aim is to present a similar range of luminance to that experienced through the human visual system, according to a Digital Trends article. The human eye adjusts constantly to adapt to a broad range of luminance present in the environment. The brain interprets this information, so we can see in a wide range of light conditions. The lens of the camera is not able to adapt in the same way.

Schuster explained that when taking a picture in HDR, you take the photo three times; one over-exposed, one under-exposed and one where the exposure is right on. By combining all three pictures together, you get the complete range of the photo and are then able to pull the photos into an HDR photo-blending software and merge them together to get a better range of luminosity.

Schuster has developed a love of landscape photography over the years. She loves hiking and sees objects from a different perspective when she views them in the frame of her camera lens. Schuster spoke about the golden hour in which sun is starting to set, lending long shadows and resulting in great pictures. An evening walk with her dog can sometimes result in hundreds of pictures. She said she doesn't go out with a specific purpose in mind. "When you take pictures of nature, you need to be ready when the opportunities present themselves," she said.

She also follows other photographers on Instagram whose work she appreciates and inspires her to keep trying new techniques. Warsing Dam has become one of her favorite places to take pictures since it is nearby, and she is able to go out in her kayak. One of her photos from Warsing Dam was particularly beautiful and Schuster explained that the photo was actually taken from her kayak inside a large culvert on Warsing Dam. It's an awesome picture! This picture can be be viewed along with other pictures she has taken on http://www.ashleyschuster.com.

Schuster said eventually she may want to sell prints of some of her works, but right now she just loves taking pictures of the beauty she sees around her.

Schuster has taken several trips to take new photographs for the three recreation guides printed by Transcript Publishing. One of those trips to the Lake Metigoshe area yielded over a thousand pictures. Another trip to the northeastern corner of the state resulted in almost that many. Schuster said her view of North Dakota has changed as she has been taking pictures throughout the state. One day, she says she will have taken photographs in all of North Dakota's state parks.

Originally thinking that North Dakota was a place where there was relatively little to do with a boring flat landscape, she has gained a new appreciation for the scenery of the state as she has hiked through many of its parks and captured its many different nuances on camera.