AUTHOR DETAILS

RICHARD McLAREN was born in Moss Vale, New South Wales on 2 December 1946. He had a normal childhood and upbringing, somehow surviving his teenage years in the '60's in a small country town. Life became a little more turmultuous after his father died suddenly in 1965 three weeks before Richard's first marriage.

He joined the Royal Australian Airforce in 1966 for the thrill of the travel, new companionship and of course, adventure. His service saw him in every state of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam; the latter in 1969-70 as a helicopter crewman.

Leaving the service in 1971 and struggling to find a suitable career for the next ten years, he ended up being accepted into Griffith University where he gained a degree in Administration.The degree proved to be a real turning point and on completion  he entered the world of teaching in Queensland Technical and Further Education. Being a real sponge for knowledge and enjoying the opportunity to share his knowledge, he excelled in teaching in Management, Marketing, IT, Communications, Retail Management and Small business operations.

Diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in 1995 he lived a life of depression and anxiety for the next six years culminating in a silent heart attack forcing him to leave the work force albeit most reluctantly. Again struggling to know what to do with himself he turned to writing down his thoughts in a journal. This was the beginning of a rapid change in Richard's health and quality of life and with the able support of his wife Karen, he has begun a career in photojournalism, photographing and writing stories about real people, places, and events.

Richard's love of photography now sees him as the resident photographer for the Brisbane Writers Festival and the Melbourne Writers Festival. His main interest in photography is people; capturing true characterisations through candid shots.

March 2007