Until mid-2006 when he took early retirement, Richard was employed as a business/systems analyst for software interfacing applications between time registration and loan secretaries. Now he has more time to devote to his wife, two grown-up children and several hobbies. His age isn't important, but can be revealed here! He's a young, dynamic and motivated fifty.

Richard is an amateur mineral collector with a very keen interest in mining history and all of its archaeological and industrial aspects. He loves being underground, exploring disused mine workings. Richard started mineral collecting in 1995 with very little knowledge of mineralogy. He soon became a die-hard collector, making the transition from being a layman to something of an authority in the field of micro-minerals in just a few years. He has now amassed a wonderful collection of English minerals of which he is justly proud.

Rolling on from one hobby to another, Richard began exploring the possibilities of macro-photography of his mineral specimens in 2003. With his Russian-made MBC-10 microscope and Nikon camera, he made his first astonishing photographs. Very soon, however, he had reached the limits of this technology and became even more ambitious!
Having obtained a Zeiss Stemi 2000c microscope and undertaken extensive training, a lot of practice resulted in considerable refinement of his technique and thus results. By the end of 2007, more than 2,500 of his photographs had been published on the mineralogical database Mindat. Richard has documented several lectures, had his research published on many occasions and frequently contributes to the work of others. He is always happy to hear from fellow enthusiasts.

Read for more at : http://www.denul.net or http://www.minerapole.com