Peter Richards: Living his dream adventure
All photos taken by, or courtesy of, Peter Richards
By H. Michael Buhler
Sun editor
Peter Richards had an unassuming Leelanau County life, growing up in Suttons Bay, and graduating from Glen Lake High School in 2004. And then it hit: photography entered his life as he entered Northern Michigan University that fall.
“I hadn’t really picked up a camera until I was 18,” Richards explained. Instead of pursuing medicine or outdoor recreation, Richards graduated with a BFA in Photography. “We used film throughout my program, and they switched to digital after I left. I kinda had to start over.”
While at Northern, Richards also earned his EMT license, and at 19 he attempted to tackle Mt. Everest [Read our story from 2006 about Richards’ Everest adventure]. And it was on that climb that he really developed his interest in photographing nature. Soon he thought that would be a great profession. “And shooting for National Geographic was a dream.” Richards began to work on travel and photography, and developing his skills.
Soon he met local resident and Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Taro Yamasaki. “He became my mentor,” Richards said. “I showed him my best photos and he said “not good enough, do them again. And he helped me grow. Taro also taught me that I had to be at or above the level at which I wanted to work, because [National Geographic] won’t pay me to get to that level.”
After time in the Upper Peninsula and Boulder, Colo., Richards moved to Tanzania, as it was inexpensive to live and relatively safe, having avoided civil unrest. He worked in an orphanage with a medical clinic, and began to think about medical school. However, he kept shooting pictures and learned Swahili. Returning to Northern for a pre-med program, a friend passed on a posting for a job at National Geographic Magazine.
“I thought I blew the interview, but the editor called a week later and offered me the job.” Richards has been working with them on and off for several years now. “It’s all project and expedition based, and I’m with a team that includes journalists, scientists and tourists. I have a collection of jobs, taking the photos, helping with logistics, and also teaching tourists to shoot pictures. I like working with such talented and diverse people, with their unique skill sets and interesting backgrounds.”
Last year Richards and two friends spent 21 days with 70-pound backpacks trekking 311 miles across the wilderness of Iceland. His next assignment is to travel to Morocco in September. Until then Richards is enjoying life in Glen Arbor and baking at his mother’s Compass Rose Bakery (“Dad had a bakery in Suttons Bay when I grew up, and I learned French pastries in Boulder,” Richards noted). He may travel some more until Morocco, or just soak up Glen Lake and the Dunes in the meantime.
