Aerial Photography

Shuster’s aerial photography reflected the bulk of his collection, enabling him to capture the incredible growth of the town as well as the rapidly changing landscape. Referred to as “the flying photograph historian” in the book Legendary Locals of Arcata, California, his images revealed the dramatic evolution of the environment with breathtaking detail. “The result,” the book asserts, “was an incomparable visual compendium of mid-twentieth-century Humboldt County.” Because he was often commissioned by insurance companies, he also chronicled the occurence of natural disasters such as fires and floods.