"From the River's Perspective" is a unique exhibition of photographs of downtown Dayton open now through Feb. 3, in ArtStreet Studio D.

The display features montages of a number of bridges from the perspective of the bicycle paths and kayaks in the Great Miami River.

Susan Byrnes, director of ArtStreet, and local artist and photographer Donnie Eagleson came up with the idea in order to create an opportunity for the University of Dayton River Stewards every year, Byrnes said.

According to the Fitz Center for Leadership in Community's website, the River Stewards participate in a "three-year program focused on leadership development and civic engagement."

The River Stewards began an annual, two-day orientation outing throughout the city of Dayton in August 2001, Byrnes said. The first day involves kayaking and activities on the river, while the students explore nature in the city itself on the second.

"We were given this opportunity to 1) capture the architectural beauty of some of the Dayton bridges and 2) to familiarize ourselves with the many bridges that span across Dayton's Great Miami Valley River," said sophomore Alexander Gaskins, a civil engineering major, in an email to Flyer News. "We [the volunteers] were given liberty to take as many pictures as our camera would supply, and to photograph how ever we felt."

Eagleson, who previously worked together with Byrnes and the River Stewards in the summer of 2011, said they wanted to do something fun and relatively risk-free, so floating down the river with special plastic cameras seemed like a possible adventure.

"We thought it'd be a great idea because the bridges on the Great Miami River are diverse, beautiful architecture," Byrnes said.

Byrnes said she has visited Paris before and compares the bridges in densely populated areas overseas to the ones in downtown Dayton.

"It's a little bit of Paris in a college town," she said.

Bridges are a major part of Dayton, and this project was a great way to represent the city, Eagleson said.

According to Byrnes, there are more than 18 bridges between downtown and the university. Nine to 12 students used special cameras that capture specific lighting and create a certain kind of image to put together collages and highlight urban opportunities for being on a river in a populated area, Byrnes said.

"The cameras produce interesting and unpredictable photos, and the students ended up really loving the results," Eagleson said. "When we got the results back, we were thrilled ... because I had no idea how the photos would turn out, and they turned out amazing, luminous and soft ... really beautiful."

Byrnes said she and Eagleson contributed to the display by providing equipment, coming up with the focal idea, organizing the photos and working with the River Stewards to put up the finished projects.

"Students who come to the exhibition can also learn about photography due to a panel with information about the cameras that will also be shown with the montages," Byrnes said.

Katie Schoenenberger, a geology department faculty member, helped print the images in larger sizes, Eagleson said.

Byrnes said the exhibit gives students a unique perspective on the city of Dayton and how beautiful if can be.

"It was a pleasure to work with the River Stewards," Eagleson said. "They show a real commitment to Dayton, the river and building community, and want to show people how peaceful the river is."

Gaskins said students will like the collection because it brings pride to Dayton.

"It says 'hey, we have a river and it ROCKS!'" Gaskins said in his email. "We have bridges that cross our water ways worth looking at. In many big cities, rivers run through, but are unattractive and trashy. However, here in Dayton, the river complements the city. They exist in a harmony so to speak."

The opening reception will be held from 4-5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20, in the ArtStreet Studio D Gallery.

For more information about ArtStreet events, call 937-229-5101 or visit artstreet.udayton.edu. For more information about the Rivers Institute, call 937-229-4638 or visit rivers.udayton.edu.