http://www.lamar.edu/newsevents/news/207_4800.htmAshmore combines science and art for new perspective
11/13/2006
Less than a decade ago, Richard Ashmore was an outstanding science student on the Lamar University campus, but today an interest in photography sparked while in the field pursuing scientific discovery is fulfilling new ambitions to share his understanding of the surrounding world.
Now he is artfully pursuing a passion for photography and earning welcome accolades for his work. It was his role as a photographer and videographer on a Lamar University geology research team at Big Bend under the tutelage of James Stevens, professor emeritus of geology, that he realized a passion for capturing images.
As a student, Ashmore was selected as one of only 20 college students nationwide to be named to USA Today’s All-USA College Academic Team. No stranger to academic success, the dual major in earth science and geology also received honors in the American Association of Community Colleges for his excellence in research and was named to the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society.
After graduating in 1998 as a Plummer Award recipient, Ashmore pursued his master’s of geology degree at Texas Tech University, from which he earned a degree in 2003. In 2004 he joined the faculty at Lamar as an adjunct instructor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences. Today, he is pursuing his doctoral degree in biology at Texas Tech University.
“I spent two full summers in Big Bend in 1995 and 1996, studying the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Boquillas and Pen formations,” said Ashmore. “I would take photos of the areas we explored and studied, and of the fossils we found and collected.”
He says he also took many personal photos at the time, which consisted of mostly landscapes and sunsets. “At that time, I was very much the amateur since I had not formally studied photography,” he said. “In fact, everything I know of photography has been self-taught.”
Beginning his affair with photography around age six, Ashmore says his father shot photographic slides throughout the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, which inspired him to shoot his own photos.
While he produces several genre of photographs, it’s the panoramic photos that he really enjoys. “I like panoramic photos because they allow me to capture a broad image that gives the viewer the feeling that they are actually at that place when viewing the photograph,” he said. “It is great when you produce the illusion that you can walk into or reach in and touch something in the photo.”
He began experimenting with panoramic photos on a Lamar geology trip to Yellowstone National Park in 1998. “The scenery was so great and overpowering that I couldn’t capture the entire scene in one standard 35 mm photo,” he said. “The photos I made from that trip were very crude compared to the panoramic photos I produce today.”
After eight years of learning how to shoot and process the photos, Ashmore says he can now produce a truly seamless photograph. Through trial and error, he taught himself the best way to capture an image and process it. “Believe it or not, I could probably teach the procedure to most people who have an understanding of photography and Photoshop in about a day,” he said.
With such a broad range of interests, Ashmore says some people wonder why he has so many degrees in science and none in photography. “It is my education and experiences that shape my perspective of the world around me,” he said.
To be a successful artist, he says, one must have a thorough understanding of his subjects. The better he is able to understand what he’s photographing, the better he is able to communicate with others through his art. “I don’t plan on being just a photographer,” he said. “I would, rather, like to be thought of as one who effectively communicates science, history, and culture to others through photography.”
He says the ability to produce work that allows him to share unique perceptions on any given subject with others in an intensely intimate way is very satisfying for him. It is a level of communication for Ashmore, and it greatly transcends other ways in which he communicates with others.
“When someone views my work and is affected emotionally or is forced to stop and rethink the world around them, then I consider that a success,” he said.
Currently, Ashmore’s photography is displayed at the Buddy Holly Center Fine Arts Gallery in Lubbock in a show that opened on Oct. 24 and runs through Dec. 2. His latest exhibit at the International Cultural Center at Texas Tech University ran from Oct. 12 through Nov. 9. These exhibits were for multi-artist Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) exhibitions in Lubbock.
With so much success, Ashmore looks forward to pursuing photography for many years to come, as well as continuing to teach and pursue his education in the sciences.
“Hopefully, my career as a scientist and a photographer will allow me to show others the world in new and intriguing ways.”
