Photography by Richard Ritari

About the Photographer

Photographing Osprey in Cedar Key, FL - March 2002

Working as a Halloween Event Photographer - October 2002

Photographing the American Red Cross 'Bikers On Parade' Event - Gainesville, Florida - November 2002

Photographing the Sunrise on Paynes Prairie - Gainesville, FL - December 2002

Astro-Photography via Telescope - January 2003

Photographing The Player's Championship at Sawgrass - Ponte Vedra, FL - March 2003

I have been working in photography since I was about 8 years old, having been introduced to the art while working with an older brother in his darkroom. At the age of 15, I saved every penny I could and purchased a Konica Autoreflex T3. It was a state of the art SLR at the time, and I used it to take some great photos. In high school I shot photos for the local newspaper (mostly football & basketball), along with various photos for the school yearbook. To this day I still have those old negatives in my files, and for all of my formal training at the time (NONE!), I did pretty good. I also processed all of my own film and printed all of my own enlargements. To this day the smell of black & white darkroom chemicals is like perfume to my soul.

After college I worked as a sound engineer, a lighting designer, a pyrotechnician, stage manager, production manager and numerous other jobs in the entertainment industry. Live concerts, rock videos, fashion shows, outlandish business theatre, TV commercials and movie sets were all very comfortable places for me to be. The life was very creative, and it took me to many parts of the globe. However, after a solid 10+ years working way too many hours per week, I needed a break from the heavy workload, and found myself totally switching gears to a career in IT. After working my way through the ranks of "nerds" over the next 10 years, I finally ended up in IT Project Management.

After a vacation to NYC just a week before 9/11/2001 (Where I had my birthday dinner on the top floor of the World Trade Center!), it really hit home that life is not something to wait for. I had previously replaced my trusty old Konica with a new Nikon and an arsenal of Nikon lenses, and it was there that I rediscovered a part of my life that had been long neglected. Today I find that my artistic inspirations are rekindled every time I shoot, and have created many images that reach out and touch people. These images reflect my vision of the world and the places I have been. Photos of people are always at the top of my list, but everyday items seen from my unique perspective (Including the many details that most people never notice), or a vast array of stunning colours are always likely to be captured. I hope you enjoy my work, and find something in my images that inspires you!

Richard Ritari
After 2,794.2 Miles

All images copyright 2000-2006 by Richard Ritari.
All rights reserved. No images may be reproduced
in any form without express written consent.