Jim Richardson has built his photographic career around visual storytelling by creating groundbreaking work in documentary, resource issues, environmental photography and the critical concerns of feeding the planet. Before concentrating his working life at National Geographic for the last 35+ years he was noted for his innovative documentary narratives of rural life and adolescence that won him special recognition in the World Understanding contest three times (1975, 1976, 1977) and the Crystal AMI for best multimedia presentation in the world in 1983.

For National Geographic he pioneered fresh visual narratives of water issues in the 1990’s before beginning his work on food, agricultural development, and the problems surrounding feeding our growing (and hungry) world. Since his first story in 1984 (the flooding of the Great Salt Lake) he has photographed 32 NatGeo magazine assignments and another 20 for National Geographic Traveler.

Besides teaching at the Missouri Photo Workshop, Summit Workshops, Santa Fe Photo Workshops and many others, he speaks world-wide on food issues and his longtime fascination with the culture and landscape of Scotland. Among his awards he is proudest that his fellow National Geographic photographers named him their “Photographer’s Photographer” in 2014 and that the people of Cuba, Kansas (Pop. 186) named him their “Honored Citizen.” In 2017 Kansas State University bestowed an honorary doctorate for his work in cultural and environmental communications.

Jim Richardson

Photographer | Lindsborg, Kansas

Artist Process

His process is deeply immersive, blending techincal expertise with storytelling to create visual narratives. He conducts extensive research on his subjects, he studies historical context, geography, and local cultures to grain a deeper understanding before shooting. Much of his work highlights the impact of human activity on nature, from climate change to sustainable farming. He photgraphs aim to educate and inspire action by showcasing both teh beautfy and fragility of our world.

In 2009 Jim was photographing a story on soil for National Geographic Magazine, a complex but worthy subject to capture a soil realm never seen before. Jim’s friend, Dr. Jerry Glover, was a soil and plant researcher at the Land Institute just a few miles away in Salina, Kansas. He had grown prairie plants in long PVC tubes (about 10’ in length) buried in the ground. After growing for two years the plants were mature and Jerry could pull the PVC tube out, split it in half and lay the plant out on a long wire screen table. They washed the soil out of the roots with a hose and he had a full prairie plant. Some of the plants grown were fourteen feet long with their roots intact.

In order to photograph the plant in great detail, Jim settled on the idea of mimicking an old fashioned copy machine, one where the platter moved over the light source. Essentially he decided to build a very large copy machine.

They laid a fourteen foot long sheet of plexiglass on sawhorses and then laid the plant out on the plexiglass and begun the long production of photographing it. After he captured all the different sections of the plant he imported them into PhotoShop and assembled them into the composition hanging in the hotel.

Jim and his team did this for eleven different prairie plants and took just about two years from start to finish. They have been seen around the world and used by many institutions and botanical gardens to illustrate the complexity of the plant world and why prairies are so resilient and drought resistant.

"Prairie grasses are amazing creatures, nutrient machines that harness sunshine on a vast scale, guardians of the soil, host to the teaming herds of migrating wildlife that astound us, forever the unsung heroes of life on earth." Jim Richardson

Jim Richardson in Populus

Our Collaboration

Jim Richardson’s photography was chosen because it highlights the fragility and beauty found in the prairielands. Prarielands are drought resistant with grasses that have roots which can grow up to 12 feet deep, allowing to keep soil in place during extensive rains and extreme drought. Jim’s peices connect with Brent Learned’s peice, Bison and Prairie Dog. Bison are an important part of restoring and mainting the health of praielands by grazing, compacting soil,and dispersing seeds.

Switchgrass Prairiegrass

Level 2 | Enclave

MATERIAL
Reproduction Print

The image from Jim helps tell the story of how important Prairielands are. Earth is becoming less and less biodiverse, reducing the stability, integrity, resilience, and beauty of the entire planet. The habitat of the American Prairie region of the Great Plains remains intact and stable enough to support the same vast North American wildlife that they did just two centuries ago. Prairies are enormous stretches of flat grassland - that includes native wildflowers - with moderate temperatures and rainfall, and few trees. Prairie grasses in the United States and Colorado, hold soil firmly in place, so erosion is minimal. Prairie grass roots are very good at reaching water more than a meter deep and can live for a very long time. Grains are a type of grass, so the prairie grassland is perfect for growing grains like wheat, rye, and oats. They provide rare native habitat for butterflies, insects, birds reptiles and other small wildlife. The prairies in North America formed as the Rocky Mountains grew taller because of plate tectonics. Once the mountains became tall enough, they blocked significant amounts of rain from falling on the east side of the mountains, creating what is called a rain shadow. This rain shadow prevented trees from growing extensively east of the mountains and resulted in the prairie landscape. By the middle of the 20th century, nearly all the North American prairie grasslands had been destroyed due to extensive farming which resulted in miles and miles of soil with no strong prairie grass to hold it in place, and few trees to block the wind. When drought struck the prairie in the 1930s, high winds blew the dry soil into huge, frequent dust storms, devastating the Great Plains and what led to the Dust bowl during the Great Depression. Because this type of land is ideal for agriculture, less than one percent of the two million acres of North American prairie, is not used for agricultural development. It’s vital to protect and restore the prairielands.

More From Jim Richardson

Richardson speaks nationally and internationally. He lives in Lindsborg, Kansas, where his work is featured at his gallery, Small World, on Lindsborg’s Main Street. Explore Jim Richardson beyond Populus.

Artist Site