Published: June 11, 2008 04:52 pm         

Orange photographer captures national prize

Special to The Leader



Richard Ashmore, an Orange native and adjunct instructor of Geology at Lamar University, recently received the First Place Juror Award for Color Photography at Viewpoint 2008 for his photograph: Illuminated Memories, 2007.

Of the several hundreds of entries, two of Ashmore's photographs were selected for exhibit along with 48 other images by artists from throughout the United States. Viewpoint 2008 is a nationally competitive photography exhibit, produced by the Bosque Conservatory in Clifton, Texas.

Ashmore's work was selected for the exhibition by Juror Eli Reed, Magnum Photographer and Clinical Professor of Photojournalism at the University of Texas at Austin.

The award winning photograph, Illuminated Memories, 2007, depicts the glowing crosses at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Bridge City at sunset.

Illuminated Memories, 2007 is the second photograph of Ashmore's to earn a national award. Last spring, Ashmore's Javelina Draw - Black and White, 2005, another large composite digital panoramic photograph, earned a Juror Award at Illuminance 2007, a nationally juried photography exhibit at the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas.

Ashmore's other photograph chosen for exhibit in Viewpoint 2008 was Alligator Carcass, 2006, which shows a Hurricane Rita victim decaying on the beach at Sea Rim State Park near Sabine Pass.

Another of Ashmore's Hurricane Rita photographs, Cars, 2006, was also recently selected for another national juried fine art exhibit, Texas National 2008. This is the second consecutive time for Ashmore's to be selected for Texas National.

A geologist and biologist, Ashmore's documentary work reveals his interests and professional training in the sciences, art, human nature, history, and architecture. Many of his photographs are high-resolution composite panoramic images. Over the past several years, he has experimented with and employed low and wide-angle techniques to give his photographs a sense of intimacy, producing for the viewer an illusion of being with the photographer at the time the photographs were taken.

To date, Ashmore has had 12 photographs selected for exhibition in nationally juried exhibits in the last two years. Four of these photographs have been of work documenting the effects of Hurricane Rita.

For more information on Ashmore, visit www.richardallenashmore.com.

     

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