With his father’s guidance and encouragement, Rick developed an interest in photography as a young boy in grade school. This interest intensified during a two year high school science fair project that included construction of a small telescope and photography of the Solar Green Flash. This science project (which took national honors) brought together an interest in both photography and optics, and became a major influence on both his vocation and avocation. After receiving an engineering degree, Rick worked for Eastman Kodak in Rochester, NY, for over 26 years designing and developing precision microfilm equipment and 35mm consumer cameras. During that time in Rochester, he enjoyed astronomy as a hobby, built many telescopes and two observatories, and began using his long focal length equipment for wildlife photography. Rick has experienced a photo safari in Tanzania, Africa and photographed scenes in Britain, Ireland, Alaska and many other locations. Rick lives in the Cumming, GA, area, and while he directs most of his photographic activity toward nature, he is experienced in a wide range of photo subjects. The photos in this gallery show some of the professional level digital equipment Rick uses to capture his photos. In some situations it is very useful to have long focal length equipment to “reach out” and get close images of wildlife without getting too close and disturbing the wildlife.