Randy
Olson has spent the last ten years working in places as diverse
as the Siberian arctic, Sudan, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Newfoundland,
Guyana, American Samoa, Turkey, Republic of Georgia and the South Pacific
for National Geographic. Before becoming a contract photographer for National
Geographic, Randy Olson was awarded Newspaper Photographer of the Year
in 1992 by a jury of his peers in the Pictures of the Year Contest sponsored
by the University of Missouri and the National Press Photographers Association.
Olson was also awarded An Alicia Patterson Fellowship to support a seven-year project documenting a family with AIDS. His work has earned him a Robert F. Kennedy Award for social documentary of the disadvantaged (for a story on the problems with Section 8 housing). He was awarded the Nikon Sabbatical grant in 1996. While teaching photojournalism at the University of Missouri, Olson received a National Archives grant to preserve the Pictures of the Year archives. A graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri, Olson has contributed to numerous book projects on various subjects in various countries. National Geographic Books Division recently published his book on County Fairs. He was awarded third place Magazine Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition in 1999 and last year was named runner-up Magazine Photographer of the Year.
Olson was also awarded An Alicia Patterson Fellowship to support a seven-year project documenting a family with AIDS. His work has earned him a Robert F. Kennedy Award for social documentary of the disadvantaged (for a story on the problems with Section 8 housing). He was awarded the Nikon Sabbatical grant in 1996. While teaching photojournalism at the University of Missouri, Olson received a National Archives grant to preserve the Pictures of the Year archives. A graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri, Olson has contributed to numerous book projects on various subjects in various countries. National Geographic Books Division recently published his book on County Fairs. He was awarded third place Magazine Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition in 1999 and last year was named runner-up Magazine Photographer of the Year.
