"ABOUT" – DAVID'S BIOGRAPHY

Over the years, David Ritchey has explored a variety of occupations. His initial academic training was in economics. This was followed by a five-year stint as a naval officer during the Vietnam War. After his discharge, he entered the business world, but soon decided his inclinations were more of the artistic sort, and he took up Fine Arts Photography. Becoming fascinated by the psychology/neurology of creativity, he returned to school to train as a psychotherapist. After 15 years of clinical practice, he wrote a book, The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P., about people who are highly sensitive.

That done, in the early 2000s, he returned to what he considers his "true vocational calling" – Fine Arts Photography.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he received more than sixty awards for photographic excellence, including winning the prestigious "Expo III" national juried exhibition. He was represented by Mussavi Arts Center of New York City, Galerie Triangle of Washington, DC, Art Masters of Princeton, NJ, and Lasting Impressions Gallery of Bucks County, PA.

His photographs have been described as "definite yet yielding, detailed yet ethereal, subjective, emotional and profound". In his own words: "My energy is directed toward capturing the emotional impact of what I see. I'm looking for the 'soul' of my subject, whether it is animate or inanimate. What is important to me is the quintessential being, not the tangible reality, of whatever it is that I happen to be photographing."

After a number of years in New England, in 2007 David returned to live in Bucks County, PA, where, he says, there is sufficient subject matter to keep him clicking for many years to come. He is especially enthusiastic about having the opportunity to again explore his photographic roots.