Things I see, things you see, things we all see.

A 1998 hitch-hiking trip to Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria saw Richard J. Adkin meet photography. Upon his return to Budapest, Hungary, where he was attending University, Richard realized his new hobby could become something more. Subsequent experimentation in film, lighting, cameras, lenses, concept and whimsical subject matter, meant it was not long before the artist found his groove.

Trademark features such as; forever-skies, eccentric angles and zealous, contrasting, saturated color emerged. A distinctive style which soon brought Richard to the attention of corporations and magazines. Commercial work funded creative projects, which, in turn, have taken Richard across Europe from from Portugal to the Black Sea, from Albania to the Arctic Circle. Travels which birthed exhibitions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Born in 1974 in St. Thomas, Ontario, the artist has been based in Budapest for nearly a decade. Richard is equally known for his landscapes and cityscapes, as for his portraiture. His photographs of the world around him represent not only a delight in nature, wide open spaces, powerful infinite skies, but also a love of people. Richard's award winning portraits are an in-your-face meeting with the humanity of individuals. Often choosing minorities as his subject matter, such as Eastern European Roma, the artist has used his portraiture as medium to promote human rights issues and raise awareness of the plight of minorities.

Increasing demand for his work, and a need for artistic expansion means Richard and his girlfriend, human rights activist Tara Bedard, are planning to eventually leave Eastern Europe and set out through Siberia, Mongolia and China, making their way across the Pacific into South America. The final journey will be north into southern Ontario where Richard and Tara plan to settle and begin their family.

- Sue Healy