Richard Bickel is a career photojournalist who came to Apalachicola on assignment and decided to make it his home.  Richard has photographed over 70 countries and has been published throughout the world.  He's worked for The New York Times Magazine, Civilization magazine, Island, Stern (Germany), and Geo (France).  He has also contributed to numereous books including those by Travel and Leisure and National Geographic.

Richard was one of the first western photojournalists to photograph Castro's Cuba and photographs from over a dozen visits there have been published and exhibited through the United States.  His experience in Cuba also inspired the lead character, an American photojournalist, in novelist and Time magazine essayist Pico lyer's book Cuba and the Night.  Richard's book, The Last Great Bay, chronicles Apalachicola Bay, Florida as one of America's last working environments and his most recent one, Apalachicola River: An American Treasure reveals portraits of inhabitants along the Apalachicola.

A recipient of numerous awards, including the 'Golden Quill' for photography and the New York Art Directors Club Award, Richard is currently affiliated with Corbis, a Bill Gates-owned photographic agency.  For more information, visit his website at http://www.richardbickelphotography.com