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Dale Richards

Dale lives in Kent, OH with his wife Marylee and son Ben. His son Evan lives and works in Pittsburgh, PA, and his daughter Maeve lives and works in Columbus, OH.

Dale retired as Emeritus Associate Vice President from Kent State University in 2005. Since then, he has consulted for both Kent State and the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.

In May 2008, Dale completed his fourth Kent State degree, a Master of Arts in Teaching to prepare for a second career teaching language arts and literature at the secondary level. He is currently teaching composition for Kent State as a part-time instructor and seeking continuing employment as a teacher of students who are willing to struggle to develop their voice as writers.

Featured Galleries

Arlington Cemetery one year later : My father, Charles Richards, died in February 2005 at the age of 88. He was a gentle, honest man with a bright intellect and an inexhaustible curiosity for the natural world. He served honorably in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II, and so he was buried with full military honors in Arlington Cemetery, according to my mother's wishes. I have gone to visit the cemetery several times since, often with my mother. I made a solitary visit first in 2006, roughly a year after his death and took my camera to help me fix my memory of this place and to help fix my own memories of a good man. Each time I visit this place, whether with family or alone, I try to keep in mind the whole life of all who are buried here and the families they have left behind. I strive to honor who they were apart from their duty to violence as well as whatever courage and/or luck (whether good or bad) led to their death and purchased their entry to this hallowed piece of real estate.

Arlington Cemetery one year later

My father, Charles Richards, died in February 2005 at the age of 88. H ...

Updated: Jan 13, 2009 4:40pm EDT

Kent State University :

Kent State University

Updated: Jan 28, 2013 8:47pm EDT

Monochrome :

Monochrome

Updated: May 11, 2013 8:12pm EDT

Friends & Family

Top 20 Photo Keywords

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Galleries

Flowers, Plants, etc. :

Flowers, Plants, etc.

Updated: May 13, 2013 7:11pm EDT

Landscapes :

Landscapes

Updated: May 12, 2013 8:33am EDT

Monochrome :

Monochrome

Updated: May 11, 2013 8:12pm EDT

Sidney : In fall 2012, Kent State University installed a work entitled "Sidney," by alumnus Thomas Wick. Named for his late first wife, this sculpture occupies a quiet place on front campus to the south of Rockwell Hall. The installation includes seven chairs in variable arrangements facing both toward and away from the human figure, as well as apparently deliberate piles of twigs and bark. It all sits near an aging, decrepit old birch tree that I have admired since my earliest days on this campus.

Sidney

In fall 2012, Kent State University installed a work entitled "Sidney, ...

Updated: Feb 09, 2013 3:16pm EDT

Kent State University :

Kent State University

Updated: Jan 28, 2013 8:47pm EDT

Birds :

Birds

Updated: Oct 28, 2012 8:35pm EDT

Statues :

Statues

Updated: Jul 25, 2012 5:15pm EDT

Close-up :

Close-up

Updated: Jul 24, 2012 12:22pm EDT

Journal : I was enjoying the luxury of an extended car ride with a wise and kind soul. It often has happened that the context of sitting side by side shut off from other company provides a point of entry to sustained reflective conversation. Some of the most memorable conversations with family members and friends have happened in this way. They are memorable because they help fix and clarify something lasting and important in the relationship or in our understanding of something larger that shapes and grounds our lives. We were talking about our creative endeavors, and I mentioned as an example how I have been stuck in my photographic expression lately. I shoot pictures, process them, and like them well enough, but they don't seem to form any coherent statement. I have not posted anything for almost three months, partly due to preoccupation with other matters, but mostly due to a lack of confidence in what I am doing. This person responded, without judgment, that most of my work doesn't say anything because it primarily observational: It records animals and plants, objects, moments, and occasionally events. It's chief statement, however, is each idiosyncratic observation. If I were to do a body of work that developed a series of observations toward something that reveals a more inductive "meta" observation, that might get me somewhere. I am not at that point of mastery as a photographer, however. He suggested two ideas: (a) Find something personal and meaningful and try to explore that within a series of images, perhaps with some explicative or reflective words and (b) Compose a journal of reflections to accompany my disconnected, chaotic stream of images. This gallery is an attempt to do the latter. For the most part, I am starting with a set of previously unpublished work and reconstructing the reflections I had at the time I took the picture or processed it. I have also added one entry from my private journal from last summer along with an already published image. This is an experiment. Will I sustain the regular publication of my reflections?

Journal

I was enjoying the luxury of an extended car ride with a wise and kind ...

Updated: Jul 23, 2012 3:10pm EDT

Landscapes: the Constructed World :

Landscapes: the Constructed World

Updated: Apr 29, 2011 5:11pm EDT

Reptiles, Mammals, etc. :

Reptiles, Mammals, etc.

Updated: Apr 03, 2011 7:37pm EDT

Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, OH :

Lakeview Cemetery, Cleveland, OH

Updated: Jul 30, 2010 2:13pm EDT

Zoos :

Zoos

Updated: Jun 05, 2010 10:11am EDT

Structures :

Structures

Updated: May 24, 2010 3:23pm EDT

Bath Road Heronry :

Bath Road Heronry

Updated: Mar 19, 2010 4:02pm EDT

Ray Wilken's Dahlias :

Ray Wilken's Dahlias

Updated: Oct 16, 2009 11:11am EDT

Summer 2006 :

Summer 2006

Updated: Jan 15, 2009 4:10pm EDT

Arlington Cemetery one year later : My father, Charles Richards, died in February 2005 at the age of 88. He was a gentle, honest man with a bright intellect and an inexhaustible curiosity for the natural world. He served honorably in the United States Navy in the Pacific during World War II, and so he was buried with full military honors in Arlington Cemetery, according to my mother's wishes. I have gone to visit the cemetery several times since, often with my mother. I made a solitary visit first in 2006, roughly a year after his death and took my camera to help me fix my memory of this place and to help fix my own memories of a good man. Each time I visit this place, whether with family or alone, I try to keep in mind the whole life of all who are buried here and the families they have left behind. I strive to honor who they were apart from their duty to violence as well as whatever courage and/or luck (whether good or bad) led to their death and purchased their entry to this hallowed piece of real estate.

Arlington Cemetery one year later

My father, Charles Richards, died in February 2005 at the age of 88. H ...

Updated: Jan 13, 2009 4:40pm EDT

Outer Banks, July 2008 : We stayed in Avon, NC for a week this year. It has been several years since the family took a vacation on the Outer Banks and this was a welcome return for us. Tropical Storm Cristobal was moving slowly up the Atlantic coast early in the week. This kept the weather a little cooler than normal and produced several heavy thunderstorms. It also delivered some interesting patterns in the sky throughout the day, but particularly at sunrise and sunset. I was not aware that Avon had a working harbor on the sound side. It was a delight to explore the area around the harbor, with its interesting denizens.

Outer Banks, July 2008

We stayed in Avon, NC for a week this year. It has been several years ...

Updated: Aug 06, 2008 3:05pm EDT

Elizabethan Gardens, Roanoke Island, NC :

Elizabethan Gardens, Roanoke Island, NC

Updated: Aug 06, 2008 10:52am EDT

Ben's Graduation :

Ben's Graduation

Updated: Jun 03, 2008 5:02pm EDT

A place like Towner's Woods : High tension power lines run along the southwest edge of Towner's Woods, a county preserve near Kent, OH. Sometimes the land under the towers is thick with brambles and scrub, but this year most of the higher vegetation was cleared away. I come back to this place for quiet and to connect with rich memories associated with my visits here in all the seasons. On August 30, I took a walk through here with my camera as the sun was setting. I have tried to capture the timeless associations this place holds for me, even while I am focusing my energy on what lies ahead in my life.

A place like Towner's Woods

High tension power lines run along the southwest edge of Towner's Wood ...

Updated: Sep 08, 2007 5:04pm EDT

Winter 2007 :

Winter 2007

Updated: Feb 19, 2007 7:07pm EDT

National Zoo 2007-01-09 :

National Zoo 2007-01-09

Updated: Jan 14, 2007 5:28pm EDT

Christmas 2006 :

Christmas 2006

Updated: Dec 31, 2006 3:07pm EDT

Nesting Canada Geese : In mid April 2006, I was hiking through an isolated section of woods near Brady Lake, OH. I came upon this nesting pair of Canada Geese, who were anything but pleased by my presence.

Nesting Canada Geese

In mid April 2006, I was hiking through an isolated section of woods n ...

Updated: Oct 23, 2006 4:31pm EDT

Near Towner's Woods 9/1/06 : I headed out on my bike Friday morning September 1 around 8:00 a.m. with my camera and gear in my backpack. I was planning to leave the bike by Towner's Woods park and follow the power lines down by the pond that stretches from there over toward Beckwith's. While I was on the bike trail coming from Beckwith's, however, I decided to pull off and take a stroll through the little woods to the north of the trail. I came out into a meadow and spent the next hour and a half cataloging all the life that was teeming there.

Near Towner's Woods 9/1/06

I headed out on my bike Friday morning September 1 around 8:00 a.m. wi ...

Updated: Sep 03, 2006 12:01pm EDT

Pittsburgh July 2005 :

Pittsburgh July 2005

Updated: Aug 02, 2006 8:38pm EDT

Waking : I found this small caterpillar rolled up and placed it on a dead leaf. I stayed around to watch it unroll itself and move off to follow its purpose.

Waking

I found this small caterpillar rolled up and placed it on a dead leaf. ...

Updated: Jul 27, 2006 8:37am EDT

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