He is well known as the authority on platinum and palladium printing and has given more than 30 workshops and seminars on the subject. His work is included in most major museums and corporate collections. In 1969, after amateur activities, Dick Arentz began three years of study with Phil Davis of the Photography Department at the University of Michigan. His interest at that time was in the large format silver contact print. As an informal "thesis," he produced the Death Valley Portfolio in 1972. That was reproduced in a 1973 issue of Camera Magazine.