After three years in college studying pre-engineering and architecture, he enrolled in 1973 at Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, CA, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Photography and Color Technology in 1976.

From 1976 – 1980, Richard was Technical Staff Assistant at the University of Texas Department of Journalism where he managed the photo lab and instructed students in lab and studio photography techniques. During that time he honed his black and white and color landscape photography skills in Texas and the American Southwest.

From 1980 – 1983 he continued to improve his nature and landscape photography skills while living in Greensboro, NC. In 1983, he returned to Texas to take a job as Chief Photographer for the Texas Tourist Development Agency and in this position, he traveled the state, documenting its people, tourist attractions, and numerous natural resources. During that time Richard’s photographs were used thousands of times in travel guides, encyclopedias, textbooks, magazines, and newspapers around the world.

In 1990, he struck out on his own to establish a stock photography business specializing in Texas subjects. During that time he continued to sell his work to prominent state and national publications such as Texas Highways, Texas Parks and Wildlife, National Geographic Traveler, Sunset, Southern Living, Outside, Reader’s Digest, Westways, AAA World and many others.

Richard has been the sole photographer of a cookbook, 10 books of landscape and nature photography, and co-photographer of two others; the sole photographer of several dozen calendars, and has 28 Texas Highways covers to his credit.

He currently resides in Austin, TX with his wife, Nancy.