Jim Richardson

Jim Richardson (USA) is an American photographer whose work for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler has taken him from volcanic peaks and Arctic landscapes to the Antarctic and beneath the surface of the soil that provides our food. Over more than three decades and 50 magazine stories, his photography has explored the connections between people, culture, place and the natural world.

Growing up on a farm among the wheat fields of Kansas, Jim began experimenting with a camera his father had found in a pawn shop. He photographed the dogs, ducks and everyday life around him, built small lighting setups and even tried making photographs through a microscope. What began as childhood curiosity gradually became a career after he joined his college newspaper, followed by 15 years as a newspaper photojournalist. That grounding in journalism shaped a lifelong belief that meaningful photography begins with understanding the story.

Alongside his international assignments, Jim created an extensive body of black-and-white documentary work rooted in rural Kansas. For nearly 50 years, he returned to the small town of Cuba, not simply observing from the outside but gradually becoming part of the community he photographed. The project followed ordinary life across generations — people growing up, falling in love, raising families and building a shared sense of belonging. His 1979 project High School USA, an intimate study of adolescence in small-town America, became a classic documentary photo essay and continues to be used in college classrooms.

Jim photographed more than 50 stories for National Geographic and served as a contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler. He was named Kansan of the Year, received the “Photographer’s Photographer” award from his fellow National Geographic photographers and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Kansas State University. He is also the co-founder of Eyes on Earth, an educational initiative created to inspire the next generation of environmental photographers. Based in Lindsborg, Kansas, Jim continues to share a philosophy shaped by decades in the field: research deeply, stay curious and take the time to understand a place before trying to tell its story.