Jim Richardson

Jim Richardson is a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and a contributing editor for its sister publication, TRAVELER Magazine. Richardson has photographed more than fifty stories for National Geographic.

Richardson's work takes him around the world, from the tops of volcanic peaks to below the surface of the soil that provides our food, from the Arctic to the Antarctic and most places in between. ABC News Nightline produced a story about the long process of assembling a National Geographic coverage by following Richardson in the field and at National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C.

In addition to his color photography, Richardson has built a distinguished body of black-and-white documentary work about rural Kansas life. His audiovisual presentation, “Reflections From a Wide Spot in the Road,” has toured internationally. His 40 years of photographing life in the Kansas town of Cuba, population 230, was published in National Geographic and featured twice by CBS News Sunday Morning, most recently in May 2004. His 1979 study of adolescence, “High School USA,” is now considered a photo essay classic and is used in college classrooms. He was named Kansan of the Year in 2007 by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. In 2015 he was honored by his fellow National Geographic photographers as their “Photographer’s Photographer.” In 2017, Kansas State University bestowed an honorary doctorate for his work in cultural and environmental communications. He is co-founder of Eyes On Earth, an educational collaborative seeking to inspire next-generation environmental photographers.

Whether the subject is Feeding Planet Earth, life on wee Scottish islands, the urgent need to save our night skies, small-town lessons of community survival, or the skills and pleasures of travel photography, audiences around the world have delighted in Jim's depth of knowledge and engaging, lighthearted spirit.

He's spoken to gatherings of schoolchildren in Africa, NASA scientists, world business leaders, and hometown folk. He's spoken aboard airliners and cruise ships, in concert halls to 3,000 people, and in one-room schools. Jim's spectacular photography is always a hit, but audiences respond overwhelmingly to his ability to bring the world to life through his stories.