Jim Richardson has built a photographic career around visual storytelling by creating groundbreaking work in documentary, environmental photography, and the critical issue of feeding our planet. Jim is a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and a contributing editor for its sister publication, Traveler Magazine. Over the years he has shot more than 50 stories for National Geographic. 

Originally from Kansas, in 2007 Jim was named Kansan of the year by Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. In 2015 he was honored by his fellow National Geographic photographers as their “Photographer’s Photographer. Jim is an international speaker, storyteller, educator, and amazing photographer. He has covered everything from life on wee Scottish islands, the urgent need to save our night skies, small-town lessons of community survival, and much more...

We discussed:

• His love of Scotland
• His first camera and how he got into photography
• What he looks for in a shot
• His work with National Geographic
• Growing up in a small rural town in Kansas
• His favorite whiskey
• Has technology surpassed the photographer?
• Adjusting from film to digital photography 
• Marrying the visual with the story 

And much more...

Jim Richardson 

My Take: A great photographer is not simply a shooter of images or someone who freezes a moment in time. It is someone who tells a visual tale through his images. He is someone that makes you stop and wonder, or feel deep emotion when you look into the soul of his image. Photography has always been, and will continue to be, a powerful tool to convey stories, to capture a moment in time, or to simply share a happy moment. 

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