Lights, camera, nature: Ashley Peterson puts North Dakota's great outdoors into focus

Jan. 5—BISMARCK — There's no such thing as a typical day, it could be said, for Ashley Peterson.

As photographer and videographer for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department in Bismarck, Peterson's job has taken her from the farthest southwest corner of the state to the northernmost tip of the Red River Valley — and most points in-between.

Sometimes, in a matter of days.

"I didn't realize it was possible to really cover that much ground in such a short amount of time and that many different topics, and I've lived in North Dakota my whole life," Peterson said. "And it wasn't until I started working for Game and Fish that I really took notice of the variety of habitat and ecosystems, outdoor recreation, critters — you name it — that you can find just within the state of North Dakota."

Other days, Peterson is in the office editing photos and videos. Her work appears in the Game and Fish Department's magazine,

North Dakota OUTDOORS;

the weekly webcasts and video segments the department

produces and posts on its YouTube channel

and shares with media outlets across the state (including the Herald's parent company, Forum Communications); and any number of special projects.

It's all about sharing with others, the goings-on within the Game and Fish Department and the outdoor opportunities that are available.

"Her images and videos are distributed across all media outlets in North Dakota and beyond," said Mike Anderson, the Game and Fish Department's video project supervisor.

Growing up on a farm near Rugby, North Dakota, Peterson says she got her start in photography with a basic film camera that was a step or two above the disposable cameras that were popular in the days before digital took over the market.

Pets, family, livestock and farm scenes "and just kind of whatever else you could see" were all fair game for Peterson's camera lens.

"I grew up taking a lot of pictures," she said. "And then by the time I got to high school, I got my first digital point-and-shoot camera and started doing more things. It was a lot easier to carry, and it was digital. So, I think if I remember right, I could take up to 300 pictures at one time and see them on the back of the screen and that was the coolest thing ever.

"And I could just transfer it to my computer. I didn't have to go and print it just to see it. So I thought that was a super crazy, really convenient concept."

A 2013 graduate of the University of Mary, Bismarck, Peterson says she had to successfully complete a semester-long internship as a requirement for her communications degree.

"The adviser I had at the time very much wanted to place me with Game and Fish for the type of stuff that I like to do," Peterson said.

As an intern, Peterson worked closely with Anderson, the Game and Fish Department's video project supervisor, "and he really put video on my plate, so to speak," she said.

After completing her internship, Peterson landed a job with Midco in Bismarck, where she spent five years producing TV commercials. The career path eventually led her back to Game and Fish, where she will mark her fifth year in May.

She's been an "incredible asset" to the Game and Fish Department's communications section, Anderson said.

"Ashley's skillset with wildlife photography, videography and editing contributes to the Game and Fish Department's magazine, video programs and social media outlets every single day," he said. "(She) does extensive research to ensure our cameras, lenses and editing software are up to date with leading technology. Ashley is willing to do whatever it takes to gather outdoor images and video to support the Game and Fish Department's mission, whether it's spawning northern pike on a cold windy day in April or in the Badlands looking for deer in rut in November — or sitting in a slough with waders on, getting an image of a young waterfowl hunter."

Some might say she has the best job in the department.

"I get that a couple of times," Peterson said. "Not necessarily from people within the department, but I personally feel that way. Of all the positions that Game and Fish has available, I think I nailed it, as far as where I think I could best fit."

Peterson's assignments occasionally become voyages of discovery, as well. In September, for example, when she traveled to the Pembina Gorge to document the Game and Fish Department's release of juvenile lake sturgeon into the Pembina River, Peterson had the opportunity to photograph northern lights for the first time and also photograph her first brood of ruffed grouse, perhaps the least abundant of North Dakota's upland game bird species.

Photographing northern lights in the Pembina Gorge was unsettling, Peterson admits.

"I'm in the Pembina Gorge all by myself and it's pretty dark, but there's trees everywhere," she said. "And I'm on a road that is carved into a slope of the Gorge, trees on both sides. I don't remember the last time I was so jumpy, and every single little noise, I was jumping."

About that same time, the spaceX Starlink satellite — a cluster of satellites that "looked like a floating train in real life," Peterson says — came "moseying across the sky," adding to the sense of eeriness.

"It was going slow enough (that) I was able to get three or four individual frames of it, and each exposure was at about 25 or 28 seconds apiece," she said.

The satellite shows up as a streak of light in Peterson's northern lights images; three or four minutes later, it was gone.

Creepy though the experience was, the photos were a highlight, Peterson says. One of the northern lights photos is on the back cover of the October 2023 edition of North Dakota OUTDOORS magazine.

"I liked what I got out of it — it was a really good product," she said. "I do wish that I would have stayed longer, but I was so on edge. Even if I would have had my dog with me, it would have made a world of a difference. Any other knowledgeable living soul that I could just have talked to while I was there would have made that 10 times better."

A self-confessed "chronic overpacker," Peterson says it's not unusual for her to bring more gear than an assignment might require, just to be ready for whatever situation or outdoor opportunity arises.

There are situations, she says, where video represents a particular situation better than a photo can.

"Sometimes, you don't really know what you're walking into," Peterson said. "And you almost have to take everything in the vehicle because then when you get to where you're going, sometimes you can just leave stuff behind.

"You don't have that option if you don't bring it in the first place."

A good outdoors photo, she says, leaves the viewer wanting more. Simple as it sounds, it also should be in focus, so keeping the camera steady is crucial.

"What's very important to me is when a person looks at that image, looks at that subject, they want to keep looking at it, and they want to know more about it," Peterson said. "How did this happen? What was the situation? Can you tell me how you got it? To me, it sparks a conversation — that's what makes a good outdoors photo."

Aspiring photographers, she says, also should consider their goals and expectations and know their equipment.

"Knowing what your gear is and understanding what its capabilities are, knowing and understanding how the camera sees things and how the human brain interprets things are two very vastly different scenarios," Peterson said. "Our brains are just the most amazing things out there — it just floors me — and cameras are dumb.

"It doesn't matter what camera it is, I will say — especially cell phone cameras — are pretty dumb."

And when it comes to photographing wildlife, patience is essential.

"You learn very quickly that if you give up too soon, you can really lose a lot of opportunity," Peterson said. And, because getting up close is rarely an option, Peterson says she doesn't recommend cellphone cameras for wildlife photography.

"Cellphones can and do work for plants and insects and certain types of landscape photography and that's kind of my personal opinion," she said. "I know some people that would differ in their opinion on that. Try finding the light — I'm not even going to say finding the best light — because there's almost always usable light.

"It's just understanding how to use it."

For Peterson, it's all in a day's work.