In the tradition of black and white photography, Craig Richards has been traversing the Canadian Rockies with his large format (4x5 inch) camera for 16 years, capturing the elusive light that plays upon these monumental forms. His passion for photography and the natural environment has led him to the mountains. Rather than describe, he tries to evoke the drama of nature and to capture the arresting "quiet beauty" of the Canadian Rockies.

The sense of place and the joy of being in this rugged landscape are powerful elements in his photographs. Each photograph is the expression of a solitary man interacting with a landscape unequaled in its power and strength. On a more abstract level, photographically, he is continually excited about the almost impossible challenge of making two-dimensional images of this grand landscape.

As Peter Duthie writes in the introduction to Craig's book "he speaks of an interaction with the land rather than a running up against it; of taking but not destroying, and of a giving back."

Richards has exhibited extensively both nationally and internationally. His work is carried in galleries in Canada and in the United States and is included in many private, public and corporate collections.

Craig Richards is currently Head of Photography at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff. He has been a guest instructor at photographic workshops with Photographic Arts Workshops (Bruce Barnbaum) in the Canadian Rockies, the United States and in Mexico. He also runs workshops out of his darkroom/studio in Canmore, Alberta just outside the park gates of Banff National Park.

Since 1987 he has been working on a extraordinarily sensitive and intimate study of the highland Mayan people and the volcanic landscape of Guatemala. In 1990 he was awarded a grant by the Canada Council to continue this photographic project. This work is nearing completion and will soon be ready for publication.