Randy Olson Freelance, National Geographic

 Randy has spent the last four years traveling extensively for National Geographic. He is currently finishing a story on the Black Sea culture. Olson was awarded Newspaper Photographer of the Year in 1992 in the Pictures of the Year Contest. He 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 disadvantage. He was awarded the Nikon Sabbatical grant in 1996. A graduate of the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri, Olson has contributed to and photographed numerous book projects. He recently published a book entitled County Fairs. He was awarded third place Magazine Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition in 1999 and this year was named runner-up Magazine Photographer of the Year.